Roland MC-202

The Roland MC-202 is a two in one instrument – it is a monophonic analog synth/sequencer that entered the market in 1983 from Roland Corporation. It is similar and sounds so much like the SH-101 and the TB-303 bass synthesizers. At times the Roland MC-202 is thought to be a ‘poor man’s 303’ and features an upgraded version of TB-303 like programming and SH-101 like controls of the VCF, VCO, VCA, LFO, Mixer and Envelope sections. It has an LCD display.

The MC-202 features a single voltage-controlled oscillator with simultaneous square/pulse-width sub-octave square and saw waveforms. It is ultra portable and can operate on batteries or when plugged on an external power supply. Further, there is a 24dB Low Pass Filter, a single ADSR Envelope generator, and an LFO.

Its circuitry is more or less like the earlier SH-101 synths but minus the noise generator, modulation/pitch bend controls and LFO shapes. Unlike the SH-101 however, the MC-202 has a delay on the LFO. Both of the SH-101 and the MC-202 share the same aesthetic design in terms of casing, control layout, lettering, slider caps, and knobs.

The sequencer featured in the MC-202 can playback two different sequences simultaneously. The sequences can be routed to external synths by use of the two sets of CV/GATE connectors found on the unit’s rear. Note that each channel is capable of driving a separate external synth. One of the two sequences controls the internal sequencer.

The MC-202 sequencer is programmed just like the early digital MC-8 and MC-4 Micro Composer Sequencers from Roland wherein the notes are keyed in with gate length, length, and pitch. Further, each note in the sequence can be a slide and accent, which is more or less like the TB-303 and allows for ACID sequences. Note that if the unit is powered down abruptly, the sequences will be lost. The tape interface provided however allows the user to store all sequences so that they can be recalled from an audio tape recorder when needed.

The MC-202 is a very useful and handy unit, if not for anything else, for its DIN-Sync capabilities. It has DIN-Sync inputs and outputs that help the unit synchronize playback as a master or a slave with other DIN-sync enabled units such as the Roland TR-808 or the TB-303. You can receive on one port, and transmit over two different ports, and can also ‘split’ DIN-sync to transmit a signal out to several devices simultaneously. The unit can further generate and sync to Frequency-shift-keying signals from tape recorders.

Being a kind of next-generation TB-303, the idea behind the MC-202 was to program patterns/sequences into it internally which would generate the 303 basslines that lovers of music have come to appreciate. However, programming the Roland MC-202 proved to be too intense for the simple monophonic bass line. There is however the provision of externally controlling it once it is hooked on a MID-CV/GATE converter – where you get yourself an SH-101.