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 JPY). It was one of the earliest stand-alone microprocessor-driven CV/Gate music sequencers,[1][2] following EMS Sequencer 256 in 1971[3] and New England Digital's ABLE computer (microprocessor) in 1975.[4] 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 note information and 16 kilobytes of random access memory which allowed a maximum sequence length of 5200 notes, a huge step forward from the 8-16 step sequencers at the time.[1][5] It also allowed the user to allocate multiple pitch CVs to a single Gate channel, creating 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.[1][6]
- ^ a b c Gordon Reid (Nov 2004). "The History Of Roland Part 1: 1930-1978". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
- ^ Chadabe, Joel. 1997. Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, (p. 194).
- ^ Hinton, Graham (2001). "Synthi Sequencer 256 (1971, formerly Synthi Moog Sequencer)". Electronic Music Studios (Cornwall).
- ^ "Synclavier Early History". Synclavier European Services.
- ^ Russ, Martin (2008). Sound Synthesis and Sampling. Focal Press. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-240-52105-3. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ Vail, Mark (1993). Vintage Synthesizers: Groundbreaking Instruments and Pioneering Designers of Electronic Music Synthesizers. San Francisco, California, United States: Miller Freeman. pp. 244–7. ISBN 0-87930-275-5.