Roland MV8000 Production Studio
40GB Hard Drive. 128 MIDI tracks, 8 Audio tracks. Internal CDR Drive. USB connection.
Overall User Ratings (based on 305 ratings)
Submitted July 4, 2006 by a customer from winfirst.com
"A producer without this is like a carpenter without a hammer."
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This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
I'd buy it again and again. The free updates keep it current and continue to add to it's robust functionality.
Sound
Pristine sound. Very expressive pads. I use it with an MC909 and a VS-2480. Unbeatable combination. I pump it through the 2480's emulated preamps for some different colors.
Features
Very well thought out layout. Everything is intuitively placed which allows for a more fluid creative experience. Get both the expansion cards (VGA & Output)and the memory. It will totally unleash this brute.
Ease of Use
If you get the DVD manual this has a relatively short curve. It takes a while to memorize the icons but once you know what they are you can pretty much clip right along.
Quality
Bullit Proof. It's Roland.
Value
Kicks the crap out of the MPC-4000! for a third less to boot.
Manufacturer Support
Great telephone support. Lots of online info too.
Musical Background:
Producer, Engineer, Bassist, Band Leader
Musical Style:
All - but primarily smooth jazz & funk
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Submitted September 29, 2004 by a customer from tmail.com
"AN ALL IN ONE STUDIO, NOT SAMPLER!"
This product should be with me for years to come. The product meets my musical goals because I dont need to use a software sequencer. Please do not purchase this machine if your use to using software sequencers... it will be a total waste!! If you want to use a sampler and a software sequencer, I advise going with the MPC 1000 or something as small. This thing is a beast...
Sound
I rated this 10, but your sound totally depends on what you put into the system and how you use them.... If sampling rates are a requirement for you, take note that the The sampling rate is set at 44.1khz, whereas the MPC 4000 is 24/96....
Features
Comes with everything you need to get started. The most basic you would need to add is a Mic (if you do vocals) and turntable/vinyl or CD's to sample from. Have a computer sequencer with this machine would be a bit of a waste, since you have the VGA option. In my opinion, ive grown to love this machine without the VGA. But thats just my preference.
Quality
Just for the simple fact that this machine is an all in one and has the VGA expansion makes it great. THe machine is built like a tank, but of course I wouldnt recommend any one dropping their machine to test the waters.... The pads are sturdy and so are the knobs... I advise that you keep this machine covered as it tends to get dusty quick...
Value
I cant list what I paid so I wont say.... but all i will say is do your homework before purchasing this machine at the given price...
I got mines brand spanking new....email me if you want to know what I paid.. steganos007 at tmail dot com
Manufacturer Support
Never needed them. Upgrading the OS was a breeze. No problems to date.
The Wow Factor
its an all in one. I have one so im good...
Musical Background:
Active Musician
Musical Style:
Rap & RnB
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Submitted March 19, 2006 by a customer from yahoo.com
"I just hat the flanger sound that quatizing makes"
Sound
sounds good you just need to adjust the quantization because sometimes it will make a flanger effect
Features
only problem is the effects board makes you use 1 at a time
Ease of Use
very user friendly
Quality
very appealing
The Wow Factor
it will send you tothe next level especially if youplay guitar or live instruments
Musical Background:
Super Producer
Musical Style:
Hip-hop, neo-soul, acoustic
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Submitted September 15, 2004 by a customer from henac.com
"A GREAT ALL IN ONE MUSIC WORKSTATION!!!"
Sound
This is a great product when it comes to sound. It's a great midi module as well as everything else. It comes loaded with alot of sounds to get you started and well on your way to producing music.
Features
The system didn't come with any extra option cards or plugins but, has a few available. I like the way it came and wouldn't expect any more.
Musical Background:
Active Musician
Musical Style:
Hip Hop/ R&B
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Submitted November 12, 2005 by a customer from yahoo.com
"the best hardware sampler on the market"
i use the mv 8k along with a motif es rack it's a pretty good combo, but for what the mv does i couldn't see going any other way.
Sound
this machine has a warmth and a phatness about it that i love.it sounds really thick, but then it's all about the type of sound you put in it.
Features
the idea of start to finnish production in one hardware piece is greate, makes the process much quicker.
Quality
rock solid very happy
Value
for what the mv can do it's worth it.
Manufacturer Support
none needed
The Wow Factor
works for me, very sexy piece.
Musical Background:
writer, producer, engineer
Musical Style:
hip-hop, RnB, rock,"alternative"
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Submitted April 24, 2006 by a customer from aol.com
"the shi"
for many years to come
Sound
the sound quality is very nice.i can make just about any beat whit this
Features
the most useful feature is that when i whant to make a beat and i turn on the sampler there are no i could just start making the beat
Ease of Use
it is by far the most easy machine tha i have used
Quality
the best money could buy
Value
yes it is
Manufacturer Support
the support whas great
The Wow Factor
i would like it better if it was black an grey
Musical Background:
music oroducer
Musical Style:
hip hop ,rap, dance, pop ,techno
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Submitted February 9, 2007 by a customer from rediffmail.com
"71 "
Sound
i use mv8000 and a protools digi 002.the sounding is good but i think it would be nice if the sample rate is 48000/24.
Features
everything is excellent except 2 things.1.midi sync is not accurate.it is always some frame away from the beat.
Manufacturer Support
Then switchs r not so good.i've lost almost all my switches.and the carbon under the,quik edit, roll velocity pads are already gone.please provide ifo about spareparts in the manual
Musical Background:
rythm programmer 4 more than 40000 song in kerala ,india
Musical Style:
any thin goes
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Submitted March 5, 2006 by a customer from yahoo.com
"The best of the best."
I am a rap singer heading towards G-Unit and this product is helping me get there quicker, even if I make it to G-Unit, I'm still using this, hell no I'm using some other product.
Sound
All I got to say, it's the best and if you listen to G-Unit, they use the Rolands.
Features
It included a mouse and a moniter for free.
Ease of Use
It takes time but it is real good looking and easy to use.
Quality
The descripition is just perfect.
Value
The product should'nt be worth around 2000 USD, it should be around 1400 USD to 1600 USD, I have seen a couple on some websites at this price with free shipping and including the mouse and the moniter for just 60 USD more.
The Wow Factor
Yes it does actully have appeal to it, I mean I first wanted the MPC4000 and MPC2500 until I heard the sound quality and the details into it, that made me change my mind, now I'm looking forward to buying a new Roland MV-8000 from you people if I figure what price it is.
Musical Background:
Rap Singer
Musical Style:
Hip Hop, Rap, Soul, and sometimes R&B.
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Submitted May 24, 2007 by a customer from tmail.com
"The MV8000 is the Ultimate Unit which can be turbo charged to take it pass the point of the MV8800 with don't not have a 3.5 dis"
There is nothing that can't be done on or with this Unit . Specially after I turbo charged it to the fullest 19inch monitor for the VGA/6 line outputs/etc.
Sound
The sound is clear and clean as can be the price is half and half depending on if you get it new or used! It is one of the best workstations in the music game and with Reason 3.0 it uts you way ahead of the game this unit is very P.C. Friendly.
A tip for all my sampling Peepz' run all your units that you will be sampling from into mixing console than plug it to the input of your MV8000 this way you can EQ your samples before you put them into the MV8000 for twice the quality for bassy kicks and super clean hand claps. To hear a demo of the MV8000 in the form I'm speaking check it at
www.myspace.com/daillestkomposa
All tracks was done with the MV8000 from start to finish.
Features
My 1st MV8000 came 2.0 ver and did not work at all had to take back to the store
My 2nd MV8000 came with 3.0 ver. It was new in box with manual/demo video tape that really didn't show to much. And my 3rd had ver 3.5 sad to say I had to sale both of them to help a friend's family who had lost there home in a fire everything they had went up in smoke. And the insurance company do not want to do there part and they had full insurance on everything ,now I'm working hard to get back my MV8000 well Before I sold them I made the following demos please check them and tell me whatcha think
Www.myspace.com/daillestkomposa
From Da' Re-Mix King
Djay Ez$Money da Illest Komposa
Da' Last Line Of Defense Ent.
Ease of Use
The sounds are amazing/clean/clear and its what everybody is trying to get there hands on which is that 808/909/727 sounds
To used it is simple as ABC once you become one with it, you can do things you can only dream of the manual helps out a lot. You can play any stlye of music with it there is no limit to it
Quality
The quality speaks for itself.
For live shows its super.
The look is what it is, but looks has nothing to do with preformance at all with is the bigger picture if you ask me.
Value
This unit is one of the HOTTEST units to come out I like it better than the MV8800 because of the 3.5 disk drive that's on it and I,Myself having gone from MPC 60/2000/2XL/1000 and than moving on to Roland's SP606 to getting not just one but 3 of the MV8000
Manufacturer Support
What support? Never had to use them, nice to know there is a team on standby.
As far as upgrade I turned my MV8000 into a Turbo MV8000 I had fully max out the HD to 80 gigs and the 128 MB up to 1ghz, which made it faster than the others on the market Yes it can be done, me and a team of 3 found a way to do this. Cheap and affordable and one out of the 4 of us has a DVD RW in place of his CDR which was my my next step to do before the fire.
The Wow Factor
It was the foundation of my studio.
It would be hotter if it came in Black frame with red and white letters
Musical Background:
Play live all but horns, 31 yrs in the game music is my life
Musical Style:
No Limit/ All Kinds
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Submitted February 22, 2008
"Roland took the VS recorder series and put a sequencer in it. TRASH!"
Timing of the MV sucks. Period. Its like Roland took the VS multi-track series and put a sequencer in it.
Look at this youtube video and listen at the 1:45 mark and at the 2:15 mark to hear the sequencer place the kick/snare notes out of place. The guy's initial metronome timing is off, but the MV's sequencer randomly drifts out of time and you have to correct it. It happens about 75% of the time and its very frustrating...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xhrSIN2fBFY
Sound
Hate it or love it. I found that it gives your bass and drums that extra ummph by adding a lo-end gritty sound to it. But if your after clean and pristine sounds, the Mv will degrade the overall sound.
You may or may not like this...
Features
Alot. It craps on the MPC in this dept. If you use the PC, alot of these features will go unused, making this machine an expensive Trigger finger.
Ease of Use
You either get it or you don't. I found it intuitive and i love linear style of recording..
Quality
Built like a tank. But be careful pushing the F4 and un-do buttons. They are cheap and will cave in. use the VGA to get around this...
Value
If you pay more than $1,000 for the 8k, your an idiot. After summer namm 08' these will be worth about $600 (assuming akai releases a new mv)
Manufacturer Support
Craps on akai in this dept. However, roland has a tendency to put out a product only to abandon it later on: variOS, mv8800 (has not had an update since its release, still waiting on a scrolling cursor)..etc etc...
The Wow Factor
Roland lures you in with the VGA monitor. Don't be fooled. this machine DOES NOT work like a DAW. Visually yes, function-wise NO!!
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Submitted February 26, 2007
Roland MV8000 Customer Review
Why does this product have a 9 rating from over 200 people? They must all work for Roland, theres no other explanation.
I bought this unit from ebay for 1300 dollars. Once I got it, I was so happy cause it looked like everything I needed. But of course dont judge a book by its cover. I loaded samples easily from a CD and tweaked them to my heart's desire. And here is the reason why I'm so angry at this machine, and remember, I'm not the only one whos frustrated at losing their hard-earned money.
When you play a sequence using the machine's pads, even with Track and Rec quantize off, it will never ever record the notes exactly the way you play them. WTF???? Supposedly this is only an error with some of the machines. Well, I'm so damn happy for all those people whose machines actaully work while mine doesnt. *claps hands*
This 1300 dollars machine is now sitting in a box, hopefully if I ever have grandkids they'll get more use outta this junk.
My current setup is Ableton Live, sp808ex, mpc2000xl, and a Zoom Sampletrak. Hoping to add a Kaoss pad 3.
Sound
Sound is good. Not much else to say. The sampled material sounds pretty decent and clear.
Features
Almost everything you'd need to make a whole album right in this box.
The GUI is a bit cluttered. I dont mind the screen size though. Got a hard drive built in along with a cd-rw and a floppy, pretty damn good I suppose.
Quality
The quality is very good. I wouldnt move it around too much though.
Manufacturer Support
never had to deal with em and dont want to after figuring out how Roland works.
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Submitted July 20, 2006
"fire...straight fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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i almost bought the akai mpc, but i'm a roland fan at heart, as long as i'm making beats, you can bet the mv-8000 will be close by
Sound
it sounds great, at first all the instruments were all deep, you must learn this to really take advantage of it, if you couple this with a keyboard workstation, it is a beast
Features
the mouse and vga display makes you "see" your beats in a totally different light...very helpful...and sampling couldn't be easier..i love the auto-chop feature
Ease of Use
i really haven't learned how to modify the sound, i modify the 8000's sound on my roland xp60 workstation..works for me
Quality
it looks great, when people see it in my studio, they all say "what in the hell is that".i love it
Value
it is worth the price,but i think it could be a bit cheaper, or i'm just a cheapskate
Manufacturer Support
there is plenty of support..the support staff will walk you through any concerns you may have,BUT, be warned, some of them will get rude with you..and talk to you as if your dumb.like RYAN, if he answers, get ready to curse him out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Wow Factor
very eye catching
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Submitted September 27, 2005
"Get the real thing...get an Akai"
Sloppy timing...its way off even when quantized. its not tight like the mpc's.
Sound
Not as crisp as my MPC.
Features
A complete Akai rip off.
too many features...and this gets in the way of creativity...slow loading times...ime fed up of this machine. the green screen is horrible. the pads are rotten hard. and the cheap calculator transport buttons...aaarrgghh.
Quality
build is good, but price keeps dropping on this thing. roland are reliable though.
Value
well Akai win here...you always get your moneys worth when you re sell an akai. the roland stuff always looses value. when they release an the next MV, the MV8000 will drop.
At least Akai mpc's don't drop in price.
Manufacturer Support
good
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Submitted November 7, 2004
"Thee groove box ."
This machine is in my studio for good. Roland seem to be committed to upgrading the mv so it can only get better and better. For me the main thing here is the groove templates, they are better than any hardware and software out there at the moment. if you need that extra bit of groove correction on a beat or synth line this does it,something like 72 templates so far.
Sound
The patches you can buy are fat and pro and you can easy set your own up. synth engine lets U adjust patches very deep. the groove templates and list editor are very easy to use.
Features
you can get the VGA card.
Quality
solid. drum pads are rock, has never crached on me.
Value
it has come down so yes it is. it does everthing your computer does but in one complete enviroment.
Manufacturer Support
yes very helpful on telling me about the VGA thing. but could not get vga for free because i am in uk, this is crap.
The Wow Factor
yes it is great to work with. you get what you put in.
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Submitted October 15, 2004
"Cool"
Well, the MV-8k takes some getting used to. I almost returned it a week after I bought it because I felt the whole thing was too oriented towards hip-hop and "beats". But then I slowly made it bend to my will and I came to terms with the way it works. I think it's a much more "musical" experience to produce techno on this than it was using Sonar. Both have good things and bad things. I will probably continue using both for the foreseeable future. Oh, and my drum parts have never sounded so good thanks to the velocity pads :)
The MV-8000 makes me feel like almost anything is sonically possible, and in a way it is.
Sound
Well, I'm not using any of the onboard sounds so I can't comment on those. I use mostly external gear, so I tend to sequence everything via midi, then sample audio phrases from each instrument when I've got it all put together. I'm really torn about the sequencing. There's something very groovy about it, using the mv-8k I have made the tightest sounding sequences ever. On the other hand, though, trying to find and edit that one wrong note using just the Value dial and buttons is painful. This is alleviated by the VGA option, though!
Features
The MV-8K doesn't have an arpeggiator. In a way, it makes sense as this machine seems targeted towards the hip-hop market. But it seems that it would be incredibly easy to implement. The pads are a little bit hard. The sensitivity is adjustable, however.
It's a nice all-in-one box, especially if you're really into samples. Of course, there are individual pieces of gear that do each function better...but I see the MV-8k as more of an inspirational device than the ultimate workstation. When that flash of creativity hits, you can go from sequencing to sampling in about 10 seconds and that's what matters to me. In other words, I wouldn't want to rely on just an MV-8k and its onboard sounds to produce everything with, but there is definitely a place for it in my studio.
Be forewarned though, it seems to have a difficult time reading anything burned onto a CD-R. The USB transfer works flawlessly.
Quality
It seems to be built like a tank. The knobs seem sturdy.
Value
It's cheaper than an MPC4000 if that's all that matters to you...
The Wow Factor
In a way, it's sort of ugly. I think my Yamaha QY-700 is much sexier. Perhaps it's the green screen.
Musical Style:
Goa, Psychedelic Trance, Acid Trance
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