For those who have a burning desire to enter the world of groove-based music, trying to decide exactly which gear to buy can be tough. Should you buy a keyboard, or sampler, or maybe a drum machine? Then you have to think about a sequencer and a sound system to plug your gear into. All this can be very expensive and confusing, particularly since there are so many choices available these days. Well Roland’s new EG-101 ($995 list) might just be the perfect all-in-one dance machine you’re looking for. The EG-101 uses the same sound set of the best-selling (and great-sounding) Roland MC-303 Groovebox. That gives you a total of 448 sounds ranging from ultra phat basses, funky synths, ambient sounds, traditional instruments, sound effects and lots more. Plus you get 12 classic drum kits including the all-important 808 and 909 sets (Editor’s note: Anyone else remember the days when those units were being blown out for $200? And you sure know what it would cost today to buy one!).
Like the MC-303 and MC-505, the EG-101 has ready-to-use onboard dance music styles, so you can start getting down with some great music minutes after opening the box. There are 64 Preset styles, and you can choose from six variations per style. The EG-101 will allow you to mute or solo individual instrument parts and even link them together with other styles to form complete songs. If you’re into House, Techno, Drum 'N Bass or anything in between, you’re sure to find exactly the style you're looking for. There are also 64 user slots where you can design and store your own creations using the onboard RPS phrases.
To add some samples to your mix, the EG-101 also includes a full-featured phrase sampler similar to that of the popular Boss SP-202 “Dr. Sample.” The EG-101 will allow you to record 16 different samples: Up to 32 seconds in Hi-Fi mode and up a whopping 128 seconds in Lo-Fi mode. These samples can then be tweaked using the built-in Pitch Shift, Time Stretch, Ring Modulation and Filter effects. You can trigger your samples from the 49-note velocity-sensitive keyboard. Sampled beats can be substituted for the drum tracks, and samples can also be used with the EG-101’s backing music patterns. The EG-101 even provides Auto Syncing capabilities between samples, onboard styles and realtime phrases so you know your samples will always be in sync with the rest of the mix.
This killer instrument also features a built-in Realtime Phrase Sequencer which allows you to trigger musical phrases assigned to different keys on the keyboard. These phrases can be triggered along with other phrases to create cool musical arrangements. Other live performance features include an onboard arpeggiator and control knobs that allow you to control the filter frequency, resonance, panning, and reverb level. But the ultimate live performance controller is undoubtedly the "D-Beam." The D-Beam lets users actually control cutoff, resonance, tempo and pitch by using hand and body movements through its infrared light beam. This is great to add visual impact to your live performance. You won’t believe how responsive this is, or begin to iamagine all the potential variations you can achieve just by using this one controller. With the EG-101 there is no need for an external speaker system (unless you’re up on stage, of course) because it offers a built-in, fat-sounding 30-watt stereo speaker system with a two-way bass reflex design. There is even a mic input for singers and rappers. The Roland engineering team thought of everything!
It’s incredible how much musical power you get at such an affordable price. So tap a beat on your phone pad to the tune of (800) 222-4700 and talk to your Sales Engineer for more information plus a Sweetwater price that will have you reaching for the plastic. Call now! — Gary Phillips