i've been waiting for sos to review this box since oh at least the beginning of the year. infact i haven't been buying sos of late, sometime in january i said oh they haven't reviewed the mv8000 yet, they're sure to review such a significant machine next month ... still waiting

significant because it's not just another groovebox, firstly it's an interesting move by roland who are clearly undeterred by the supposed superiority of software (hallelujiah) and secondly they have decided they have the necessaries to take on akai at there own mpc game ... brave! it's an important piece of music technology, maybe the biggest news (in hardware at least) in the lsat 12 months?

so sos? do you still have any interest in hardware? or are we turning into a computer magazine; 'usb/firewire interface, control surface, software synth/sampler, sequencer, plus the odd high-end outboard box with price-tag to match monthly' catchy

anyway perhaps they'll never review it, does anybody own one? or has everybody succumb to the belief that a laptop plus kazaa will lead to fame and fortune?

so in the absence of a professional review by journalists whose opinion i respect and need to aid me in my purchases i'd love a little more hands on info beyond the poor review in this months futuremusic and various dribblings on the interweb 'the mv is sick dood', 'akai suck, roland are dope' etc

jim

OOh, Jellyjim, you are treading on thin ice there mate.
Someone had their wrist slapped for multiple counts of such an offence, i'm sure one is ok, though. (post, that is)

I dont mind the odd rant meself, as others have said, bit of passion, as much as can be had in this enviroment.

I do not know of the roland machine of which you speak, but i'm sorry to hear you cant find a decent review, but in their defence i would say that so much kit comes out, and they cant review everything, and anyhow they would put the price up even more, or is that even more, and they never tell you when they do, oh thats another 35p, is that thrice this year...."Joke". (Minirant)

Is there a decent music eqpt shop nearby where you could thoroughly examine it?, just an idea, no more, no less.

And people, it's the guys first post, so go easy.

Oh, on a different note, lots seem to refer to Kazaa and a computer, and how this could lead to something, how this is effectively possible i for one cannot see?......i'll stop there for now.

I see .... so you aren't able to investigate kit or buy it without someone else's say-so?

It may simply never get a review in SOS - especially if Roland don't provide a review model. Does that mean that you will never purchase it?

Does the feature list excite you?
Do you like the price?
Can you live with the way it looks?
Are you happy with the Roland sound?

If the answers to the above questions are either 'yes' or 'maybe' then get yerself down to a dealer. Spend some time with it and if you like what it does then buy it.

At the very least have some common courtesy and manners - you wouldn't barge into a stranger's home and demand tea and biscuits. P's and Q's will make a better impression than toys and prams....

The MV-8000 is reviewed in this month's (wash my mouth out with soap) Future Music

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www.oddbodsfinger.net

hello jellyjim,

Welcome to the forums!

oops oops oops oops ... please file my ranting under 'must remember to not post to internet forums shortly after returning from the pub'

so apologies for being brusque and bullish

i'll try again ...

does anyone own the roland mv8000? i would be particularly interested in any views on it's 'mpcness'. Akai's mpc range has assumed near legendary status for their intuitive and creative workflow. Does the mv8000 embody any of the things that made the mpcs great?

i'm trying to decide; mv8000, mpc2000xl, mpc4000.

also ... dear lovely SOS staff, i am surprised that you haven't reviewed the mv8000 i can only assume it's for good reason. I shall wait patiently! On a side note it would be very interesting to know your exact policies wrt reviews? what are the processes involved; editorial, practical etc?

oh and the fm review doesn't say much and my nearest dealer would rather chew his own leg off just below the knee than be helpful

finally, this isn't my first post, i've been annoying on a number of other occasions ... can i have some tea and biscuits please?

jim

Hi Jellyjim - welcome to the forum, and love the avatar... Still got a VHS full of trapdoor

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need to get rid of this stupid sig...

Quote jellyjim:

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dear lovely SOS staff, i am surprised that you haven't reviewed the mv8000 i can only assume it's for good reason. I shall wait patiently! On a side note it would be very interesting to know your exact policies wrt reviews? what are the processes involved; editorial, practical etc?

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Jim,

Roland dance-type products (and the MV8000 is possibly targeted at this market?) tend to be supplied to other magazines before we get a review unit. Maybe it's also got something to do with Roland being in Swansea and other mags in Bath - they can nip along easier than us? Most manufacturers try to share out the review products fairly amongst the mags, so that each mag gets a sort of exclusive product best tailored to what that manufacturer perceives to be the readership type of said magazine. SOS tends not to be thought of by others as a 'dance' mag, hence other mags get a bite at those cherries before us.

Also, because SOS does longer, more detailed testing and hands-on reviews, if there is only one review unit floating around the UK, and perhaps that unit is needed for a quick few days in order to be recorded for someone's covermount CD, let's say, then said unit might come into another magazine's possession prior to SOS receiving it, and if this means we don't have time enough to do a thorough review, we tend to hold over the review and publish it in the next available edition.

Sometimes, a product is in such demand and the manufacturer wants to get the units into the shops, that the manufacturer forgets to keep back a review unit! This never happens with Roland though, but has happened in the past with some smaller comapnies. C'est la vie.

I checked out the MV8000 while at the Toronto Music Show (MIAC) last month, and was personally very impressed with its features and sound quality, and especially the fact that you can record linearly on the unit, rather than always being forced into loop-based music (a step in the right direction to my thinking). It nicely blurs the boundaries. It's crossing over into 8-track HD recorder market but with some very useful live performance/get your song started creative functions that I sometimes feel are lacking in my own computer-based studio. I could easily see myself using an MV8000 (or simialr unit) to spark musical imaginations, and the fact it makes transfer to a computer setup easy and can accept an external VGA monitor are big plus points in my book.

Rest assured there will be an SOS review of it coming up...

As to 'review policy', what exactly do you want to know here? Not quite sure what you'd like me to explain? We review as much gear each month as we can fit into the magazine, whilst balancing the need to trim down some overlong reviews (ie. 20,000 words down to a publishable 10,000) with the need to include a generous mix of hardware and software.

Regarding your earlier sarcastic comments reminding us that some gear is in fact 'hardware', I think you will find that out of all the music technology/recording magazines in the world, SOS consistently has reviewed/tested more hardware products each year and in considerable more depth than any competing magazine. For some manufacturers, SOS is the only place where they will ever have the spotlight shone on their hardware, and that's what makes us the biggest selling mag of its kind in the UK (not in the USA yet, but we're getting there ).

Feel free to pose more questions about reviews, we have nothing to hide.

cheers,
Ian G

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SOS Gear Videos now screening on www.SoundOnSound.tv
SOS Podcasts

ian thank you for your excellent answer, i feel even more sheepish now re bullish drunken ranting

Quote:

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As to 'review policy', what exactly do you want to know here? Not quite sure what you'd like me to explain?

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i meant what you've explained already, so ta

Quote:

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Regarding your earlier sarcastic comments reminding us that some gear is in fact 'hardware', I think you will find that out of all the music technology/recording magazines in the world, SOS consistently has reviewed/tested more hardware products each year ... For some manufacturers, SOS is the only place where they will ever have the spotlight shone on their hardware, and that's what makes us the biggest selling mag of its kind in the UK (not in the USA yet, but we're getting there ).

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yes yes yes i know i know i know, consider me suitably humbled

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checked out the MV8000 while at the Toronto Music Show (MIAC) last month

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thanks that's some really helpful info, the futuremuzak review didn't say anything much really (like their mpc1000 review a few months back)

the reason i am so interested in the mv8000 is because i think i must be one of the few people on the planet who would rather *not* use a computer in the studio (and it's not through technophobia, i program them for a living!). Basically i see it this way, computers are useful 'tools' but they are not 'instruments', something like ableton is a step in the right direction but the interface remains the stumbling block. See computers by definition (see turing/von neumann) are general purpose devices whereas a musical instrument is a device for a specific purpose. Similiarly take soft synths it was someone like barthes or chomsky who saud 'the map is not the place'. If rebirth had just made noises and not looked like a 303, 808 and 909 would it have caught on?

so i for one remain very intereted in 'do-it-all' hardware and i predict a virtual studio backlash sooner or later. Just as we once lamented binning our jupiters, junos and minimoogs for the dx7s of the world will we one day regret that we have to rely so much on a computer to make music?

and that's why i think it's important for sos to review the mv8000!

anyway thanks again!

jim

"we have nothing to hide."

What, not even the chocolate biscuits?