Selecting Sounds
The sounds in the MC-303 can be selected via MIDI by using bank select and program change messages. Some computer based sequencers have patch lists or ‘templates’ available for various products. These ‘templates’ allow you to select from a list of patch names, and will then send out the appropriate messages for you. You should check with the manufacturer of your particular sequencer to see if they have a MC-303 template available. If not, you must enter the proper bank select and program change messages to choose a sound.
To select a sound in the MC-303 you will need to send three (3) messages from your sequencer (2 Continuous Controller (CC) messages and a Program Change (PC) message). A continuous controller is a message that is defined in the MIDI specification. There are 128 different CCs that perform a number of different functions. Volume (CC7), Panning (CC10), Modulation (CC1), and Hold (CC64) are commonly used controller messages. Controller 0 and 32 are used to select banks of sounds. If you look at the Tone List on pages 85-89 of the Owner’s Manual, you will notice that each sound has an associated PC and CC0 value. CC32 will always be set to 0 on the MC-303. You can usually insert these messages in the event list editor of your sequencer to be played back with your song. If you use this method, insert some space between each message (a few clock pulses should be fine). Here are some examples:
To select “101 Bass 1” send:
Message Value
CC00 64
CC32 00
PC 10
To select “12str.Guitar” send:
Message Value
CC00 65
CC32 00
PC 58
To select “Sky Vox” send:
Message Value
CC00 71
CC32 00
PC 35
The rhythm sets in the MC-303 are assigned to MIDI channel 10. There is a list of the rhythm sets on pages 90-93 in your Owner’s Manual. You do not need to send a bank message (CC0/32) to select the different sets – only a program change message on MIDI channel 10. For example:
To select “HipHop set” send:
Message Value
PC 81
To select “House set” send:
Message Value
PC 41
To select “Techno Set2” send:
Message Value
PC 57
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