View source for Roland MC-8 Microcomposer

{{Short description|Music sequencer}}
[[File:Roland MC-8.jpg|thumb|right|Roland MC-8 MicroComposer]]

The '''Roland MC-8 MicroComposer''' by the [[Roland Corporation]] was introduced in early 1977 at a list price of US$4,795 (¥1,200,000 [[Japanese yen|JPY]]). It was one of the earliest stand-alone [[microprocessor]]-driven [[CV/Gate]] [[music sequencer]]s,<ref name="SOS Nov. 2004">{{cite journal |author=Gordon Reid |title=The History Of Roland Part 1: 1930-1978 |date=Nov 2004 |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov04/articles/roland.htm |journal=[[Sound on Sound]] |access-date=2011-06-19}}</ref><ref>[[Joel Chadabe|Chadabe, Joel]]. 1997. Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, (p. 194).</ref> following [[Electronic Music Studios|EMS]] ''[[Electronic Music Studios#Timeline of major products|Sequencer 256]]'' in 1971<ref>{{cite web |last = Hinton |first = Graham |year = 2001 |title = Synthi Sequencer 256 (1971, formerly Synthi Moog Sequencer) |url = http://www.ems-synthi.demon.co.uk/emsprods.html#seq256 |publisher = Electronic Music Studios (Cornwall) |access-date = 2011-10-26 |archive-date = 2013-10-31 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131031040324/http://www.ems-synthi.demon.co.uk/emsprods.html#seq256 |url-status = dead }}</ref> and [[New England Digital]]'s ''[[Synclavier#Processor|ABLE computer]]'' (microprocessor) in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |title = Synclavier Early History |url = http://www.500sound.com/synclavierhistory.html |publisher = Synclavier European Services }}</ref> Roland called the MC-8 a "[[computer music]] composer" and it was considered revolutionary at the time, introducing features such as a [[keypad]] to enter [[Musical note|note]] information and 16 [[kilobyte]]s of [[random access memory]] which allowed a maximum sequence length of 5200 notes, a huge step forward from the 8-16 [[step sequencer]]s at the time.<ref name="SOS Nov. 2004"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Russ|first=Martin|title=Sound Synthesis and Sampling|year=2008|publisher=[[Focal Press]]|isbn=978-0-240-52105-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_D2cTt5DPmEC&pg=PA346|access-date=21 June 2011|page=346}}</ref> It also allowed the user to allocate multiple pitch CVs to a single Gate channel, creating [[Polyphony|polyphonic]] parts within the overall sequence. Due to the high price, only 200 units were sold worldwide, but it represented a huge leap forward in [[music technology]].<ref name="SOS Nov. 2004"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Vail |first1=Mark |title=Vintage Synthesizers: Groundbreaking Instruments and Pioneering Designers of Electronic Music Synthesizers |date=1993 |publisher=Miller Freeman |location=San Francisco, California, United States |isbn=0-87930-275-5 |pages=244–7}}</ref>

==Overview==
The MicroComposer could precisely adjust multiple sound producing and effects elements of a [[synthesizer]], such as the [[Voltage-controlled oscillator|VCO]], [[Voltage-controlled filter|VCF]], and other voltage-controlled components very rapidly, which is nearly impossible to do manually by a performer. The MC-8 was designed to work with large complex modular synthesizers such as the [[Roland System 700|System 700]] and [[Roland System-100M|System-100M]]. It could also be used during a live performance to control lighting by using pre-programmed, timed pulses, and pre-programmed timed voltage levels.

The MC-8 was based on a prototype developed by Canadian Ralph Dyck, a composer and technologist who did [[research and development]] for Roland.<ref name=peahicksinterview>{{cite web |url=http://rolandmc8.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/exclusive-interview-with-ralph-dyck-godfather-of-the-mc-8/|title=Exclusive Interview with RALPH DYCK, Godfather of the MC-8! |last=Hicks |first=Dan |date=January 2010}}</ref>  Roland switched to the then brand new [[Intel 8080|Intel 8080A]] 8-[[bit]] microprocessor and increased the RAM from 512 bytes to 16KB, allowing storage of over 5,300 notes,<ref name=manual>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/synthmanual-roland-mc-8-owners-manual|title=MC-8 MicroComposer Instruction Manual |year=1979}}</ref> which could be entered via the calculator keyboard (the preferred method) or recorded in real-time (not so easy). Backup was via [[Compact Cassette|cassette]] and could take 45 minutes to an hour for a three- or four-minute piece of music to back up and verify. The memory was [[Volatile memory|volatile]], so a loss of power meant complete loss of data. All parameters were variable so the scale and time-base could be assigned number values to suit the needs of the piece being programmed. This made the machine extremely versatile but somewhat unfriendly to approach for the first time.

While only 200 units were sold worldwide, the MC-8 was a revolutionary product.<ref name="SOS Nov. 2004"/> It provided storage for variables in analogue sound production, synchronization capability for multi-channel recording (the time-code could be recorded on a spare track), sufficient capacity for recording full compositions, editing capabilities and rapid access time. The MC-8 provided eight control voltage outputs and eight gate outputs, as well as a six-bit multiplex output with a special seventh bit set aside for portamento control.

==Popular music==
The earliest known band to utilize the MC-8 was the Japanese [[electronic music]] group [[Yellow Magic Orchestra]] in 1978, for their [[Yellow Magic Orchestra (album)|self-titled album]] and for member [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]]'s solo album ''[[Thousand Knives]]'', with [[Hideki Matsutake]] as the [[programmer]] in both albums.<ref name="discogs_ymo_lp">{{Discogs release|453067|Yellow Magic Orchestra – Yellow Magic Orchestra}}</ref><ref>{{Discogs release|1156483|Ryuichi Sakamoto – Thousand Knives Of (CD)}}</ref> At the time, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' noted that the use of such computer-based technology in conjunction with synthesizers allowed Yellow Magic Orchestra to create new sounds that were not possible until then.<ref name="billboard_1979">{{citation|title=Artists and producers strive for inroads overseas|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=26 May 1979|volume=91|issue=20|issn=0006-2510|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_iQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT61|access-date=2011-05-29}}</ref> The band later described the MC-8, along with member Hideki Matsutake who programmed it, as an "inevitable factor" in both their music production and [[Concert|live performances]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Sound International, Issues 33-40|work=[[Sound International]]|year=1981|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sj5LAAAAYAAJ|access-date=21 June 2011|page=147}}</ref>

The German [[electronic music]] group [[Tangerine Dream]] also used the MC-8 on their album Force Majeure, recorded August to September 1978 at [[Hansa Tonstudio|Hansa]] no.3 studio in Berlin.  The band at one point owned 3 MC-8s. 

[[Richard James Burgess]] and [[John L. Walters]] from the band [[Landscape (band)|Landscape]] were also among the first major commercial users of the MC-8. They began experimenting with computer-programmed music and Burgess's co-designed [[Simmons Drum|SDS5]] electronic drums in the late 1970s making records in the emerging [[New Romantic]], [[electronic dance music]] and [[synthpop]] genres. They triggered various synths such as the Roland System 100 and Moogs which also used CV/Gate. Burgess created the drum parts by using the multiplex outputs of the MC8 to trigger the prototype, breadboard version of the [[Simmons Drum|SDS5]] drum synthesizer. Most of the album ''[[From the Tea-rooms of Mars ....|From the Tea-rooms of Mars]]'' (1981) was made this way and Burgess produced many other tracks this way including the European club hit "Angel Face" (1980) for the group [[Shock (troupe)|Shock]]. Burgess and Walters demonstrated the MC-8 on [[BBC Television|BBC TV]]'s ''[[Tomorrow's World]]''.

==Notable users==
* [[Kraftwerk]] on ''[[The Man-Machine]]''<ref name="SOSmar97">{{cite web|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/mar97/rolandmc8.html|title=Roland MC8|work=Sound on Sound|date=March 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115650/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/mar97/rolandmc8.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>
* [[Suzanne Ciani]]<ref name="SOSmar97" />
* [[Landscape (band)|Landscape]] on ''[[From the Tea-rooms of Mars ....]]''<ref name="SOSmar97" />
* [[Giorgio Moroder]] on ''[[From Here to Eternity (Giorgio Moroder album)|From Here to Eternity]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://equipboard.com/pros/giorgio-moroder/roland-mc-8-microcomposer|title=Giorgio Moroder's Roland MC 8 MicroComposer|website=Equipboard|language=en|access-date=2018-09-24}}</ref>
* [[Martin Rushent]]<ref name="SOSmar97" />
* [[Tangerine Dream]]<ref name="SOSmar97" /><ref>{{cite journal|title=Tangerine Dream: Changing Use Of Technology, Part 2: 1977-1994|author=Mark Prendergast|journal=[[Sound on Sound]]|date=Jan 1995|access-date=2016-03-28|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/jan95/tangerinedream2.html}}</ref>
* [[Isao Tomita]]<ref name="SOSmar97" />
* [[Toto (band)|Toto]]<ref name="SOSmar97" />
* [[Yellow Magic Orchestra]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/453067|title=Yellow Magic Orchestra - Yellow Magic Orchestra|website=Discogs|language=en|access-date=2018-09-24}}</ref>
* [[Hans Zimmer]]<ref name="SOSmar97" />
* [[The Human League]] on ''[[Dare (album)|Dare]]''<ref name="SOSmar97" />
* [[Chris Carter (British musician)|Chris Carter]]<ref name="SOSmar97" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.rolandmc8.wordpress.com Roland MC-8 MicroComposer Blog]

{{Roland}}

[[Category:Products introduced in 1977]]
[[Category:Roland synthesizers|MC-8]]
[[Category:MIDI]]
[[Category:Music sequencers]]