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Workshop

MV-8800 Production Studio

Making a Beat
© 2007 Roland Corporation U.S.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the
written permission of Roland Corporation U.S.

MV8800WS15

About the Workshop Booklets If you’re using a mouse: If you’re using the MV-8800’s buttons:

Roland’s MV-8800 Production Studio is packed with features for making

music. It’s a heavy-duty sampler that can do all sorts of things with sounds
Left click Right click
you sample or import. Its sequencer has 136 tracks for MIDI sequencing and
playing back audio, and its set of editing tools is deep. It’s a great box for
performing—using its pads or an attached MIDI keyboard—and, of course,
it can even burn a CD of your final master mix.
Scroll
Each MV-8800 Workshop Series booklet focuses on one MV-8800 topic, and wheel
is intended as a companion to your MV-8800 Owner’s Manual.
You select parameters and objects with You select parameters and objects with
About This Booklet a left click. You change the selected the 3, 4, 5, and 6 CURSOR buttons.
parameter’s value by turning the scroll Change a selected parameter’s value by
The MV-8800 is all about making beats, and once you hit the REC button, wheel. You can display an object’s menu by turning the VALUE dial or by pressing DEC
there’s no reason to stop until you’ve got just what you want, whether it’s a right-clicking the object. and INC.
single drum phrase or a full-blown arrangement. This booklet explains how
to make a beat.
Understanding the Symbols in This Booklet
The Buttons, the LCD, or a VGA? Throughout this booklet, you’ll come across information that deserves
special attention—that’s the reason it’s labeled with one of the following
On the MV-8800, you can work on the built-in LCD or on an optional color symbols.
VGA monitor. You can use the MV-8800’s front-panel controls, or a mouse on
your VGA screen. No matter how you like to work, there’s an easy way to get
things done. A note is something that adds information about the topic at hand.

Probably the best idea is to work primarily with a mouse

on a VGA, using the MV-8800’s buttons to quickly get in and out of A tip offers suggestions for using the feature being discussed.
MV-8800 screens. The procedures in this booklet typically assume you’ll be
working this way.
Warnings contain important information that can help you avoid
If you’re not, don’t worry, because the VGA windows and LCD screens are possible damage to your equipment, your data, or yourself.
essentially the same. There are clickable VGA icons for all of the MV-8800’s
buttons. You can also press an onscreen button by clicking your mouse or
by pressing an F button on the MV-8800. The main difference has to do with
how you deal with settings—or “parameters”—and how you select objects.


Getting Ready to Make a Beat Loading the Sounds You Want
Some beats are simple, and use only a single sound, or “patch. “But if you
Setting Up a New Project for Your Beat want to, you can easily record a full-blown arrangement on the MV-8800
without ever hitting STOP. In this booklet, we’ll show you how to do this. (You
We’ll show you how to make a beat by recording one in a brand-new, empty can always stop in the middle if you just want to use a single patch.)
project. Here’s how to create a new project:
Let’s load some patches to work with.
� Press the PROJECT button.
� Select Create New Project to open the CREATE � Press the INSTRUMENTS button.
NEW PROJECT window. � Press the MENU button.
� Press the 3 button on the MV-8800’s keypad to select
Load Patch—the keypad buttons let you quickly
jump to numbered choices in MV-8800 menus.
� Click Select to open the LOAD PATCH window.

� Click Execute—when the MV-8800 asks you if you want to save your
current project before creating a new one, click the desired button. If:
• you’ve got a project of your own loaded that you want to keep—click
Yes.
• you’ve got one of the factory projects loaded, or a project you don’t � If what you see doesn’t look like this, press the 3 CURSOR button until
care about—click No. it does.
� Using your mouse, double-click the PATCHES folder to open it up.
The CREATE NEW PROJECT window has lots of options you should know � Double-click the DRUMKITS folder to see what’s inside it.
about, even though we’re not using them here. To learn more about � Select a drum kit patch—a patch
this window—and about projects in general—see the MV-8800 Creating starting with “DRM”—by double-
a New Project Workshop booklet. clicking it. We’re selecting DR-55-S, but
you can use any kit patch.
� The best place in the MV-8800 for making beats is � Leave the settings in the ASSIGN TO
Pattern mode, so press the PATTERN button. PART/LIBRARY window as they are and
click Execute.


 If you just want to make a beat using a single patch, you can jump now
to “Recording a Beat,” below.

0� After the patch loads, press the 3 CURSOR button, and then double-
click the BASS folder.
� Look up at the Out Part area above the tracks. The Out Part area shows
� Select a bass patch—we’re picking Big Square 1—by double-clicking it,
you the part that’s being used by the track you’ve selected.
and in the ASSIGN TO PART/LIBRARY window, click Execute.
� Repeat Steps 10 and 11, this time opening the SYNTH folder and
picking a synth patch. We’re choosing MA CrunkSyn.
� Press the INSTRUMENTS button—at this point, we’ve got our three
patches loaded into the project’s first three parts:

This MIDI track is using Part 1, which holds the drum kit patch we’ve
loaded. Perfect.
� Press the red REC button to open the PATTERN
RECORDING PARAMETER (MIDI) window. In this
window, you can set up the way you want to record.
We’re ready to start recording. � Set:
• Rec Mode—to Overdub1. The
To learn more about loading patches, see the MV-8800 Loading Patches MV-8800 has a few different ways to
Workshop booklet. record. Overdub1 lets you add new
notes on top of already-recorded
notes each time the pattern loops
Recording a Beat around.
• Count In—to 1Meas. Count In sets
the number of beats you hear before
Recording a Track recording begins when press the PLAY button, as we will a bit
� Press PATTERN to close the INSTRUMENTS window. later on. We like 1Meas, since it gives us the classic “1-2-3-4-go!”
countoff.
� Press TOP to move to the beginning of the pattern.
• Pattern Length—to 2Meas, for “2 measures.” This parameter sets
When you create a new project, the MV-8800 puts one
the length of your beat. Most beats are four measures long, but for
MIDI track and one audio track in each new pattern.
now, we’ll make a shorter beat.
You use MIDI tracks for recording with MV-8800 patches.
• Input Quantize—to Grid. With the default grid resolution of x 120,
� Select this pattern’s default MIDI patch so it becomes highlighted as the MV-8800 automatically fixes any timing mistakes you make as
shown at the top of the next column. you play, rounding everything off to 16th notes.


 We’ll explain the options in the PATTERN RECORDING PARAMETER (MIDI) Whenever you’re actually recording, the REC button’s red indicator
window in more detail at the end of this booklet, on Page 8. These are and the PLAY button’s green indicator light solidly.
the settings we want for now, though.
Maybe one or more notes didn’t get recorded the way you want, or
� You can hear the MV-8800’s click, or “metronome.” This is the beat you maybe everything went perfectly. Either way, let’s get into how you can
play along with when you record. erase any note you want.
For now, we’ll make a kick drum and snare 0� Hold down the EVENT ERASE button above the
rhythm by playing Pads 1 and 2 to record kick pads, and keep holding it. To remove a note, hold
drum and snare notes on our track. down the note’s pad when it plays—the MV-8800
� Before we start recording, play along with scoops it right out as long as you’re holding down
the click on Pads 1 and 2 to practice your EVENT ERASE.
rhythm. � Remove a note or two to see how this works, and then let go of EVENT
ERASE.
If you don’t hear a kick drum and snare when you play these pads, � If you want to add the notes back in, re-play them when the pattern
the pads may be set to play the wrong pad bank. Press the PAD BANKS loops back around.
button, select Bank 1, and press PAD BANKS again. Now we want to add some hi-hat using Pads
4 and 8. The MV-8800’s Rehearsal mode lets
you turn off recording while you work out
If you want your notes to always be as loud as possible, press the FIXED what you want to play. Let’s enter Rehearsal
VELOCITY button above the pads so it lights. mode.
� Press REC again—it flashes to show you’re in Rehearsal mode.
Once we go to the next step, you’ll hear the four-click “1-2-3-4” countoff, � Work out your hi-hat part on Pads 4 and 5. You can play whatever
and then the MV-8800 will start recording what you play on the pads. you want as you figure it out, and—as you can hear—it’s not being
At the beginning of each measure, you’ll hear a higher-pitched click to recorded.
help you know where you are.
� When you’re ready to record, hit REC again—it stops flashing to show
A new pattern has looping on by default, so at the end of the pattern’s that you’re out of Rehearsal mode and that the MV-8800 will record
two measures, it’ll loop around, and you’ll hear what you’ve recorded. anything you play.
Please don’t hit the STOP button until we tell you to! Don’t worry if you � Lay down your hi-hat part.
make a mistake—fixing mistakes is part of our lesson. We want to make � Repeat Steps 13-16 to add any other sounds from your Drum kit patch.
a whole beat arrangement without stopping. Ready?
� Hit the PLAY button—on the fifth click, start playing We’re about to add some more instruments to our beat as part of our
the pads for two measures. lesson, so don’t hit STOP if you want to keep going. If you don’t care,
though, and only want to record a single-patch beat, you can hit STOP
If you don’t know what a measure is, don’t worry. When the two now, and then press PLAY to enjoy your new beat.
measures have gone by, you’ll hear the notes you’ve recorded start
to play back.


Recording More Tracks � When you’re ready, hit REC again to get out of Rehearsal mode, and
then record your bass line.
There may be times when a beat wants more than a single patch, and the � Repeat Steps 18-23 to record a synth part. This time, chose Part 3 in Step
MV-8800 makes it easy to record sound after sound as you build a beat. 19 so the track uses your synth patch.
� When you’re done, press the STOP button—you’ve
In the following steps, we’ll keep going to give you an idea of the power
just recorded a beat on the MV-8800.
the MV-8800 puts at your fingertips. We’ll add two more instruments
to show how the music never stops when you’re making a beat on the
MV-8800.

� Press the MENU button and select Add MIDI tracks with your mouse or
the 6 and 5 CURSOR buttons—you can’t use the VALUE dial for this Some Other Ideas
when music is playing. We could make as many new MIDI tracks as we
want here, but, for now, we’ll just make one new one. Here are some other things you can do while you’re recording a beat—all
without stopping the music. You can:
• record more tracks—using any parts in which you’ve loaded
instruments.
• clear out everything you’ve recorded since you hit REC—by hitting the
UNDO button. To get it back, hit the flashing UNDO button again before
you record anything else.
• name a track—by double-clicking the track’s name with your mouse,
� Leave the Number of Tracks parameter set as it is, but set Output Assign naming the track as desired, and clicking OK.
to Part 2, your bass sound. Here’s what the window looks like for us.
• press MIXER—and adjust your mix by setting each
part’s level.

0� Click Execute—a new MIDI track that uses your bass patch appears, and
it’s already selected.
� Press REC again so it flashes to show you’re in Rehearsal mode.
� Work out a bass part by playing the pads.

If you want to get to higher bass notes, press the PAD BANKS button
to find the pad bank you want, and then press it again when you’re
EQ your tracks from the MIXER screen by clicking →EQ or pressing F5.
done.
(To learn about EQ, see the MV-8800 Using EQ Workshop booklet.)


 You can also assign add effects in the part’s MIXER window: Making a Beat with Audio Phrases
• Add an MFX effect—by setting the part’s Output parameter to an
Aux bus being sent to the MFX processor. It’s just as easy to make a beat from audio phrases as it is to make one using
• Add Delay/Chorus or Reverb—by adjusting the part’s DlyCho Send patches. The process is similar, though there are a few differences. If your
or Reverb Send, respectively. currently loaded project contains audio phrases, here’s how to make a beat
from them.
• press EFFECTS—and select and/or edit an MFX,
or adjust the settings of the Dly/Cho or Reverb � Press PATTERN.
processors. � Press TOP to move to the beginning of the pattern.
� When you create a new project, the MV-8800 puts one MIDI track and
one audio track in each new pattern. You use audio tracks for recording
with audio phrases.
� Select the pattern’s default audio track so it becomes highlighted as this
one is here.

� Press the red REC button to open the PATTERN

RECORDING PARAMETER (AUDIO) window. In this
Don’t Forget window, you can set up the way you want to record.
� Set:
You can always record a beat a track at a time if you prefer to work that way.
• Rec Mode—to Event to record your playing on the pads.
Just hit STOP after each track is recorded.
• Count In—to 1Meas for a “1-2-3-4” countoff.
Also, don’t forget to save your beat by holding down SHIFT and pressing • Pattern Length—to 2Meas, for “2 measures.” This parameter sets
SHUTDOWN•SAVE PROJECT. the length of your beat. Most beats are four measures long, but for
now, we’ll make a shorter beat, as we did earlier.
When you’re done working on the MV-8800, shut it down properly by • Input Quantize—to x 120 to help fix any timing mistakes you may
pressing SHUTDOWN, and if you haven’t already saved your project, make while recording.
make sure to do it now. If you don’t, your work will be lost when your
turn off the MV-8800. We’ll explain the options in the PATTERN RECORDING PARAMETER
(AUDIO) window in more detail at the end of this booklet, on Page 9.
These are the settings we want for now, though.

� You can hear the MV-8800’s click, or “metronome.” This is the beat you
play along with when you record.


� Practice what you plan to record by playing Recording Parameter Details
your audio phrases on the pads along with
the click.
Once we hit PLAY in Step 8 below, you’ll PATTERN RECORDING PARAMETER (MIDI) List
hear four clicks—“1-2-3-4”—and then the
MV-8800 will begin recording at the fifth We skipped over this earlier in order to save time, but here’s what all of the
click. At the start of each measure, there’s a higher-pitched click to help parameters in the PATTERN RECORDING PARAMETER (MIDI) window do:
you know where you are. This parameter: sets the MV-8800 so that:
When the pattern finishes playing through once, it’ll loop, and you’ll Rec Mode notes you play are recorded the way you
hear what you’ve recorded. want them to be. You can set Rec Mode to:
• Overdub1—so that any new notes you
When you record with audio phrases, the MV-8800 goes through the play are added to already-recorded
pattern once, recording what you play, and then automatically switches notes.
over to playback, where no more audio phrases are recorded. • Overdub2—so that you can re-play
notes you’ve already recorded,
replacing them with new notes.
Ready?
• Replace—so that everything new
� Hit the PLAY button—on the fifth click, start playing you record replaces what’s already
the pads for two measures. recorded on the track.
0� When you’re done, hit the STOP button. Count In you hear the desired amount of warning
before recording actually begins. You can
set this to:
After stopping playback, you can record additional audio phrase tracks
by creating a new audio track and repeating Steps 5-10, selecting the
• Off—for no count-in.

new audio track in Step 4.

• 1Meas, 2Meas—to hear four beats or
eight beats before recording starts.
• Wait Note—so recording starts
whenever you play your first note,
with no count-in.
Pattern Length your pattern is the desired length, from 1
measure, or four beats, to 999 measures.
Loop Rest recording can pause for four beats each
time a looping pattern plays through. When
Loop Rest is turned off, the pattern plays
over and over without pausing.
Auto Punch In recording starts at the Auto Punch In location
when the AUTO PUNCH button is lit.
Auto Punch Out recording ends at the Auto Punch Out location
when the AUTO PUNCH button is lit.


This parameter: sets the MV-8800 so that: This parameter: sets the MV-8800 so that:
Metronome Mode the metronome click plays as desired. It can Rate “swing” is added to notes quantized to the
be set to: Shuffle Resolution. A 50% Rate setting means
• Off—so it never plays. no swing. Values below 50% swing each
• Rec Only—so it only plays during backbeat toward the downbeat (Beat 1, 3, 5,
recording. etc.) before it. Values above 50% swing each
• Play&Rec—so it plays during both backbeat towards the downbeat after it.
playback and recording.
• Always—so it plays all the time, even PATTERN RECORDING PARAMETER (AUDIO) List
when you’re not playing back or
recording. If you’re recording using audio phrases, you’ll see the PATTERN RECORDING
Input Quantize Type the timing of notes you play is corrected in PARAMETER (AUDIO) window when you press REC. Here’s what this window’s
the desired way. You can set it to: parameters do.
• Grid—to move your notes to the Grid This parameter: sets the MV-8800 so that:
Resolution note value.
Rec Mode notes you play are recorded the way you
• Shuffle—to move your notes to the
want them to be. You can set Rec Mode to:
Shuffle Resolution note value before
adding “swing” to the notes. • Direct Rec—to record audio directly
from the MV-8800’s inputs. Use this for
Strength quantized notes are moved to the Grid or
recording live audio.
Shuffle Resolution note value as exactly
• Resample MIX—to re-record, or
as you want. With a 100% setting, notes
resample, everything coming out of
are moved precisely to the note value.
the MV-8800’s MASTER output jacks.
With lesser values, they’re moved towards
• Event—to record audio phrases played
the Grid Resolution note value by lesser
on the pads.
amounts.
Sample Type audio is recorded in your choice of stereo
Grid Resolution notes are moved during recording to the
or mono when you’ve set Rec Mode to
nearest:
Direct Rec or Resample MIX. This parameter
• 60 = 1/32 notes doesn’t apply to recording audio phrases.
• 80 = 1/16(triplet) notes
Count In you hear the desired amount of warning
• 120 = 1/16 notes
before recording actually begins. You can
• 160 = 1/8(triplet) notes
set this to:
• 240 = 1/8 notes
• 320 = 1⁄4(triplet) notes • Off—for no count-in.
• 480 = 1⁄4 notes • 1Meas, 2Meas—to hear four beats or
eight beats before recording starts.
Shuffle Resolution notes are moved during recording to the
• Wait Note—so recording starts
nearest:
whenever you play your first note,
• 120 = 1/16 notes
with no count-in.
• 240 = 1/8 notes


This parameter: sets the MV-8800 so that: The End
Pattern Length your pattern is the desired length, from 1
measure, or four beats, to 999 measures. We hope you’ve found this workshop helpful. Keep an eye out for
other MV-8800 Workshop booklets available for downloading at
Loop Rest recording can pause for four beats each
www.RolandUS.com.
time a looping pattern plays through. When
Loop Rest is turned off, the pattern plays
over and over without pausing. For the latest MV-8800 updates and support tools, visit the Roland U.S.
Auto Punch In recording starts at the Auto Punch In location Web site at www.RolandUS.com. If you need personal assistance, call
when the AUTO PUNCH button is lit. our amazing Product Support team at 323-890-3745.

Auto Punch Out recording stops at the Auto Punch Out

location when the AUTO PUNCH button is
lit.
Metronome Mode the metronome click plays as desired. It can
be set to:
• Off—so it never plays.
• Rec Only—so it only pays during
recording.
• Play&Rec—so it plays during playback
and recording.
• Always—so it plays all the time, even
when you’re not playing back or
recording.
Input Quantize the timing of notes you play is corrected
to the nearest selected note value. You can
choose:
• Off—for no quantizing
• 60—1/32 notes
• 80—1/16(triplet) notes
• 120—1/16 notes
• 160—1/8(triplet) notes
• 240—1/8 notes
• 320—1⁄4(triplet) notes
• 480—1⁄4 notes

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