Even with those built in speakers, this latest addition to the Roland Groove line is anything but low end. In fact the EG-101 is a hands-on sampling, synthesizing, groove making real-time workstation for singlehandedly generating entire dance tracks! Take some of the features of the MC-505 groovebox and the SP-202 sampler and you get the basis for the EG-101. It has a wealth of Roland-like sounds including everything from sub-basses to trance pads to 808 and 909 drum kits. Like other Groove products the EG-101 has a DJ/Remix or RPS (real-time Phrase Sequencer) for quickly generating ready-made grooves and beats - good for live DJ use or as a starting point for writing your own tracks! Unfortunately you can't program your own phrases. But you can alter the sounds, tempo and so on to give them your own unique twists.

Only the most important functions are immediately accessible and real-time controllable. These include the filter cutoff, resonance, ring modulator and reverb. A great new feature is an external sound input that can be routed through the filter and/or ring modulator. Borrowed from the MC-505 is the D-Beam for more control (or lack thereof)! As with other Groove products the EG-101 has a good sequencer / recorder implemented for creating your own arrangements. Only one song can be recorded at a time but it can be created in real-time by switching patterns and muting any of the eight tracks allowing you to build and decompose your grooves on the fly! And the built in speakers are actually quite nice allowing this synth a bit of portability and they make the EG-101 ideal for the home user or budding new techno producer!

The sampling section of this Groove machine is limited by most professional standards but still offers a useful stepping stone for most as well as a great tool for new users. A total memory of 16 samples can be created from any external sound source. There's a 7.81KHz sample rate (128 seconds at Lo-Fi quality) and 31.25KHz (32 seconds at Non Lo-Fi). Basic sample edit functions are also available such as pitch, time stretch, filters, effects, auto-looping and truncating. Although these specs may not be great, having any on-board sampler is a definite bonus for any synthesizer workstation. For you budding new Dance artists or those of you who just want a groove machine to play with on the road or in your kitchen - the EG-101 is definitely the biggest and best beginner to intermediate level synth currently around! And it's Groove Approved!!!


I'm going to scoop up a Moog Prodigy and the dude is throwing in a Fender Rhodes 88 key! pretty stoked, even though I don't have the loot, I've always wanted a Rhodes...blah, the dude had this on his list of gear...googled it and it actually looks pretty dope, I think it spreads the sample across the keys like an S950 or ASR but with 303 effects....pretty cool, never knew, might see if he'll throw this in too

"unfortunately you can't program your own phrases"

!!! what? no sequencer, nevermind

for a good price i'd kop it.. i saw one on craigslist for $150, but i'd kop it for $80... i dunno

yeah, it says it has a sequencer.



This thing looks cool but I would like to see it in action before spending a serious amount of $$$

so it does have a sequencer or phrase sequencer... why did deta!l post that it didn't???

this machine seems interesting, this is my first time ever seeing it. I read reviews on harmony central and they said there is no sequencer.

but its advertised as having
"Real-time Phrase Sequencer for triggering complete musical phrases from a single key" I'm not sure what that means.



damn, sounds grimy

if i'm correct it does have a sequencer BUT it is preprogramed and not user programmable. this was pretty inexpensive from the get go and that's why your not allowed to use it the same way as more high-end synths like the fantom.



that explains it all right there. i like how they use the word ready-made as if it's some biscuit dough ready to be thrown in the oven.

Weak.

damn, i thought that EG-101 was a new product

roland has made some weird shit

anyone seen the D2?

yeah, that's a crap product right there. i played around with one for a couple of minutes, it's the same as the eg-101(pre-programed only). i think they were trying to increase their customer base by offering stuff to people who wern't confident enough to do it by themselves.
the eg-101 is at least eight years old.

whats cool about roland though is that they do try wild stuff and sometimes it's right on.

pre-programmed only? wtf

still, an innovative design on the D2, they were thinking outside the square.

but looking at the drum parts it has there...only one hat?! what about open/closed!? i think those sort of oversights would make the novelty of the interface wear off pretty quickly

parts of the D2 remind me of the SP-505, look-wise. they're all relatives of our beloved SPs i guess

EDIT:

youtube of the D2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VscUA1bOe2w

youtube of EG-101
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSQ1M_qgC5I

i'm talkin a lot, don't worry i go back to work 2morrow

yeah the box is the same on the 505 and d2. same with the ef-303 and the sh-32. i think it cuts down on production cost. you know i'm getting the feeling that roland really listens to us cuz it seems that their products are moving in a positive direction lately i.e. changing from gimmick to gotta have that, right? i mean the looper in the 555, programming from the 606, battery power from the 404, hell even the sh-201 is a move in the right direction with it's classic style programming (plus giving us 32 user definable voices, it's no microkorg [which has 128 user definable voices] but it's way easier to program).

i feel like only a few majors are still playing the game well and roland is right there on top.

had to pull up this ancient thread. because i didn't want to go down in history as not being in this thread.

anyway, anyone try on yet. looks like it has real pitch.

i had the D2 some years ago. looks pretty shit, but got inside all the groovebox sound of roland line. some tracks of my ep "ghost of things" were made with it. i never tried the eg101, but i suppose it has the same sounds

this withh any other sampler with cool sequencer could be legit imo