street priceRoland MC-202 was introduced in the 1983. Its development was inspired with the legendary monophonic synthesizer SH-101 (design, interface) and no less famous bass synthesizer TB-303 (sequencer). The abbreviation "MC" stands for MicroComposer, at that time it was a popular name for sequencers by Roland.
MC-202 has a small but durable housing with 32 buttons at the bottom for note entering, an LCD – a rare feature back then, as well as sliders and buttons for manipulating the sound in the upper sections of the synthesizer.
The device is definitely a reminiscence of SH-101, since the sound core is taken from the latter one. Despite this MC-202 lacks a noise generator, and some changes have touched upon the LFO section where there is no selection of waveforms now. Like SH-101, MC-202 includes analog oscillators with saw/pulse waveforms and a sub-oscillator. As expected, each of them has volume control.
They can be modulated by LFO or through ADSR envelopes for subtractive synthesis (attack, decay, sustain, release). The LFO generates a sine wave and is controlled by speed and delay faders. A low-pass resonant 24 dB filter can also be modulated by LFO or envelopes.
The device sequencer can store up to 2600 notes per 2 tracks, but the sequencer is not as convenient as it might seem. Fortunately, it can be synchronized with external devices such as SH-101, TR-606 or TB-303, and its sequencer can control almost any synthesizer that has CV/Gate inputs. You can also add portamento and accent shifts.
Tags: analog synthesizer
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| Usage area | |
|---|---|
| Synthesizer | |
| Usage Design/ Form Factor | |
| Without Keys, Desktop | |
| Archetype | |
| Analogue (A) | |
| Polyphony | |
| Monophonic | |
| Tone Generator / Sound Synthesis | |
| Synthesis Method | Analog Subtractive |
| Oscillator Type | VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) |
| Sub-Oscillators per voice | 1 |
| Waveform/ Spectral form (main generator) | Square |
| Waveform/ Spectral form (main generator) | Saw |
| Filter | |
| Low-pass Filter (LPF) | |
| 2-pole | |
| 24dB | |
| Resonance | |
| Envelope Generator (EG) | |
| ADSR | |
| Modulation | |
| LFO: LFO Count | 1 |
| LFO Waveforms | |
| Sine | |
| Sequencer | |
| Parts count | 2 |
| Note Capacity | 2729 |
| External controllers | |
| CV/ Gate IN | |
| CV/ Gate OUT | |
| Audio out | |
| Analogue: 1/4" (6.35mm) | 2 |
| Power | |
| Power Supply | External |
| Dimensions | |
| Height | 55 mm |
| Width | 343 mm |
| Depth | 204 mm |
| Weight | 1.350 kg |
| Color | |
| Grey | |
| Production start | 1983 |
| Production end | 1985 |
| Production ended | |
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