Because it’s packed with digital models rather than analog circuits, Roland’s AIRA TR-8 can be more than just a drum machine. It’s a platform for expansion.
And today, as expected, Roland has gone further into their back catalog of genre-shaping drum sounds to expand on its hit TR-8. The 7X7-TR8 Drum Machine Expansion brings TR-707 and TR-727 sounds to the AIRA box and even builds on the 808 and 909 models included so far. The only bad news here is that it’s a paid update.
What’s new:
- 30 original sounds from the TR-707 and TR-727 (by original, that means the sounds themselves are identical – these were digital waveforms on the 707 and 727, so they’re included verbatim)
- Tune and Decay controls for all the new 707, 727 sounds
- New TR-808 “noise” sounds, finger snaps
- Modified TR-909 kick and snare with “enhanced attack characteristics
At top, you can listen in on the new sounds. The TR-727 are, of course, a bit more varied, adding some Latin spice. It makes for more fun, no question. If you want a value-priced drum machine, if you want to buy someone a drum machine for Christmas, the TR-8 is the obvious top choice.
But I’m actually most intrigued by the new 808 and 909 sounds. Keep watching in the video, because it’s when these grungy noises enter that you might perk up your ears. (The 707/727 you’ve … well, heard before; that’s sort of the point.)
One of the things I like about the SYSTEM-1 is its largely unsung default mode. It doesn’t sound like anything before, because it’s new – driven by the analog models Roland has built, but designed by the engineers to be something Roland hasn’t actually made before. The 808/909 additions are subtle, but they begin to give the TR-8 a character all its own.
The architecture of the TR-8 also expands on the original. The 909’s eight-stage flam interacts with the 707’s accent behavior. You get swing, rolls, and faders that the 707 and 727 didn’t have, either. For anyone saying Roland should have just re-released the originals, well – no, they shouldn’t have.
The total is greater than the sum of the parts. You get a more playable 707/727, and while the TR-8 sounds mostly like some very, very familiar drum machines, its accessibility and expanded variation options mean you are getting something that starts to come into its own.
Roland has released a behind-the-scenes video where they talk about their modeling work. In short, they worked from the original PCM samples, but also modeled circuit behaviors. They did a lot of work here – per-instrument circuit models, for instance.
Now, if you want unlimited sounds, you should go get a software drum machine – and you’ve got some amazing choices. And that may well be a good choice, depending on the music you’re making. (My answer to anyone who says they’re bored with these sounds – good! Skip the TR-8 and make your drum sounds in other ways!)
So that’s not what this is about. But this is a good way for the AIRA to close out the year (and just before the holiday buying period). It makes the TR-8 a hybrid interface that combines familiar sounds in a combination that didn’t exist before. I hope the Roland engineers can let loose in 2015 and make some new drum sounds, so their invention can sing in some new ways.
The 7X7-TR8 expansion isn’t free. Roland is charging US$95 / €75 (with VAT). The announcement was made today, but the expansion download will be available next Friday 19th of December. So far, it appears there’s no bundle for new buyers yet, either (a “buy a TR-8, get a voucher for a free 7×7 download” affair); that seems a no-brainer for the future, but may be unnecessary with TR-8s in high demand.
7X7-TR8 Drum Machine Expansion for TR-8 [Product Page]
Maybe it’s time to sell my 707. Does TR8 have any trigger out that can sync with 101? Or do i have to sell 101 too and get System1 😀
Not specifically but it does have a pair of aux outs that might work. Roland would be happy to sell you their new sync box though. http://www.roland.com/products/en/SBX-1/
I applaud they came out with the sbx-1… but it costs just as much as the TR-8 itself.. that seems a bit crazy. I’m sure it can be justified, but still…
Right, so you could use the Roland SYNC box as below or – this is useful, too.
http://koma-elektronik.com/?product=rh301-rhythm-workstation-utility-tool
Pricey, but then you get a lot of creative options in addition to the problem you were trying to solve.
Too expensive 🙁
This is how it should work (for free with sync output):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfKzHpsQkxo
That’s free, so long as you kidnap Gerald and rob his studio.*
*Please, let me be absolutely clear, DO NOT DO THIS!
Gerald is I think using the AIRAs a bit, by the way (when he isn’t deep in Reason, wildly!)
So good!
I like that he had to move his hand to see which X0X drum machine he was looking at. 🙂 “oh, what? this old thing?”
Maybe it’s time to sell my 707. Does TR8 have any trigger out that can sync with 101? Or do i have to sell 101 too and get System1 😀
Not specifically but it does have a pair of aux outs that might work. Roland would be happy to sell you their new sync box though. http://www.roland.com/products/en/SBX-1/
I applaud they came out with the sbx-1… but it costs just as much as the TR-8 itself.. that seems a bit crazy. I’m sure it can be justified, but still…
Right, so you could use the Roland SYNC box as below or – this is useful, too.
http://koma-elektronik.com/?product=rh301-rhythm-workstation-utility-tool
Pricey, but then you get a lot of creative options in addition to the problem you were trying to solve.
Too expensive 🙁
This is how it should work (for free with sync output):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfKzHpsQkxo
That’s free, so long as you kidnap Gerald and rob his studio.*
*Please, let me be absolutely clear, DO NOT DO THIS!
Gerald is I think using the AIRAs a bit, by the way (when he isn’t deep in Reason, wildly!)
So good!
I like that he had to move his hand to see which X0X drum machine he was looking at. 🙂 “oh, what? this old thing?”
Maybe it’s time to sell my 707. Does TR8 have any trigger out that can sync with 101? Or do i have to sell 101 too and get System1 😀
Not specifically but it does have a pair of aux outs that might work. Roland would be happy to sell you their new sync box though. http://www.roland.com/products/en/SBX-1/
I applaud they came out with the sbx-1… but it costs just as much as the TR-8 itself.. that seems a bit crazy. I’m sure it can be justified, but still…
Right, so you could use the Roland SYNC box as below or – this is useful, too.
http://koma-elektronik.com/?product=rh301-rhythm-workstation-utility-tool
Pricey, but then you get a lot of creative options in addition to the problem you were trying to solve.
Too expensive 🙁
This is how it should work (for free with sync output):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfKzHpsQkxo
That’s free, so long as you kidnap Gerald and rob his studio.*
*Please, let me be absolutely clear, DO NOT DO THIS!
Gerald is I think using the AIRAs a bit, by the way (when he isn’t deep in Reason, wildly!)
So good!
I like that he had to move his hand to see which X0X drum machine he was looking at. 🙂 “oh, what? this old thing?”
I appreciate what Roland is doing here. I just don’t love it. I want to love it.
I appreciate what Roland is doing here. I just don’t love it. I want to love it.
I appreciate what Roland is doing here. I just don’t love it. I want to love it.
For an extra price! Typical Roland.
i kno rite? typical companies, charging money for their products
lol
For an extra price! Typical Roland.
i kno rite? typical companies, charging money for their products
lol
For an extra price! Typical Roland.
i kno rite? typical companies, charging money for their products
lol
nice, this is cool but i really still need the copy A to B function
Yeah, I would like to see some functionality updates in firmware. But they seem to be releasing a steady stream.
nice, this is cool but i really still need the copy A to B function
Yeah, I would like to see some functionality updates in firmware. But they seem to be releasing a steady stream.
nice, this is cool but i really still need the copy A to B function
Yeah, I would like to see some functionality updates in firmware. But they seem to be releasing a steady stream.
They should have made this as a free update ! The TR8 is already expensive…
Yes, companies should develop and release products for free! And their engineers should also do the work for free!
At $500, the TR-8 is cheap. It’s a spendy software update, but the hardware is starting out inexpensive. And Roland can do this with the AIRAs selling out.
Umm, cheap and expensive are relative terms. For someone who doesn’t have to think about blowing $2k on a workstation, the TR8 is cheap. For someone who needs to do their accounts before they know if they can eat out once this month, the TR8 is not at all cheap. Similarly, compared with the cost of a decently-looked-after TR808, the TR8 is cheap; compared with the price of a cheap laptop and a USB audio interface, the TR8 is quite expensive indeed.
Really, someone who makes £100 synths should get that.
(And thanks for making me write a post that’s giving me deja vu about my deja vu.)
High quality, low compromise true analog circuit modeling takes a LOT of processing power and R&D. But it’s totally worth it.
They should have made this as a free update ! The TR8 is already expensive…
Yes, companies should develop and release products for free! And their engineers should also do the work for free!
At $500, the TR-8 is cheap. It’s a spendy software update, but the hardware is starting out inexpensive. And Roland can do this with the AIRAs selling out.
Umm, cheap and expensive are relative terms. For someone who doesn’t have to think about blowing $2k on a workstation, the TR8 is cheap. For someone who needs to do their accounts before they know if they can eat out once this month, the TR8 is not at all cheap. Similarly, compared with the cost of a decently-looked-after TR808, the TR8 is cheap; compared with the price of a cheap laptop and a USB audio interface, the TR8 is quite expensive indeed.
Really, someone who makes £100 synths should get that.
(And thanks for making me write a post that’s giving me deja vu about my deja vu.)
High quality, low compromise true analog circuit modeling takes a LOT of processing power and R&D. But it’s totally worth it.
They should have made this as a free update ! The TR8 is already expensive…
Yes, companies should develop and release products for free! And their engineers should also do the work for free!
At $500, the TR-8 is cheap. It’s a spendy software update, but the hardware is starting out inexpensive. And Roland can do this with the AIRAs selling out.
Umm, cheap and expensive are relative terms. For someone who doesn’t have to think about blowing $2k on a workstation, the TR8 is cheap. For someone who needs to do their accounts before they know if they can eat out once this month, the TR8 is not at all cheap. Similarly, compared with the cost of a decently-looked-after TR808, the TR8 is cheap; compared with the price of a cheap laptop and a USB audio interface, the TR8 is quite expensive indeed.
Really, someone who makes £100 synths should get that.
(And thanks for making me write a post that’s giving me deja vu about my deja vu.)
High quality, low compromise true analog circuit modeling takes a LOT of processing power and R&D. But it’s totally worth it.
A STARCHIME FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
A STARCHIME FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
A STARCHIME FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
When the TR8 was announced, i wasn’t that excited for it. The first time I played one, however, I realized why it was magic and bought one immediately. It isn’t about the sounds – its about the performance interface that never requires you to top the sequencer for anything. It’s absolutely wonderful and has become my go-to drum machine.
$95 for the upgrade irks me a little…but I get it. They put a lot of work into it, and they are dramatically adding to the sound pallet. Is it worth it? I think so. I use my TR8 so much now, and this will just make it more useful to me.
I agree, mostly, except this seems like a $95 sample pack. If it was adding functionality or something more it would be one thing but from what I can discern from their video, it’s a relatively expensive sample pack. Fun machine otherwise.
Well, yeah, I do expect that some people will simply pass on it – because the TR-8 already does so much, and they may decide they don’t need the extra sounds that badly.
So I get the criticism. I do sort of wish that they had priced this so that it was a no-brainer for all TR-8 owners. That doesn’t have to be free, but I do wonder about the price point.
My guess is this is new territory for Roland, because they haven’t really had a platform/customer base like this. So we can speculate all we like, but they’ll get the sales figures and have some sense of whether they made the right move.
We can already see in reactions online, though – people who want the 707/727 aren’t hesitating to pay (and I would spring for those 808 sounds alone)
Well, sort of; Roland has been in the business of selling sound card upgrades for synths since the early 90s.
After thinking about this a bit more, I don’t even know if it’s cool for them to charge at all for this. People say “they don’t work for free” but I’d argue that giving this away would show that Roland is trying to get more users on board and have a long lasting product. If they price it too high, and don’t get the response they’re hoping for they could just as easily walk away from it like they usually do. Support your product and customers! Add more functionality (or in this case sounds) and create a better value. That way, a year or 2 from now they can still sell these things! Are there other drum machines in this price range with more sounds? I mean realistically, the TR-8 doesn’t have that many sounds. Adding a handful more isn’t that big a deal, especially samples which they obviously had planned to put in there in the first place. We can expect another $100 for the 606 I’d imagine. At some point it would be better to just grab an MPC and a decent sample pack. I say all this as a fan of the machine. Had one on loan and was considering buying one but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Might just heed my own advice and stick with a sampler.
a sampler wont be as light or have as easy an operating workflow. I still think that it’s not that pricey. I also dont think you’ll be able to tune each sample on a sampler as great as you can on the tr-8 as well as the other features as switching samples on the spot. imo, this was a blessing as I’ve been dying to have an 808 or 909 but never imagined spending 3k for either. You can get them second hand in excellent condition off ebay for around $350, which is exactly what I did, as well as the tb-3 and the system1. they get the job done and I’m more than happy to support roland, or in this case…the people who buy from Roland and then I vulture off of them on ebay haha. I’ve tried samples of 808s and 909s, and they just suck. All that work of loading in and trying to get things to work was just a pain in the ass. I’m surprised they didn’t make the Tr-8 $1000 to start off. I’m sure people would still buy it…
I think your right. Roland has a history of broken promises … Remember Varios. If they don’t get sales for digital expansions why build an expandable system? I just scratched this product from my buy list. I will go get an Electribe or maybe an old Emu Mp7 or for that matter an MPC as you suggest.
It’s not just Roland; has any company other than Korg managed to make a go of a firmware-expandable digital synth?
Well put. I think if they’d priced this at $50, nobody would bat an eye. The only question would be whether a user would like the sounds on offer.
I’m in the camp of “interested, but willing to wait another year to see what sort of trend establishes itself when they release another expansion.”
I hope these sounds will somehow interact when sequenced together. In this case, it would not be just a sample pack but a proper algorithm for the engine. A bit expensive but I saw the used 707 on craigs goes for 300-400…and the rare 727…
707’s go in and out of style. I’ve seen them from $200-$500. Mine was $300 and was minty.
“its about the performance interface that never requires you to [s]top the sequencer for anything.”
Have you played around with an Ableton Push yet?
When the TR8 was announced, i wasn’t that excited for it. The first time I played one, however, I realized why it was magic and bought one immediately. It isn’t about the sounds – its about the performance interface that never requires you to top the sequencer for anything. It’s absolutely wonderful and has become my go-to drum machine.
$95 for the upgrade irks me a little…but I get it. They put a lot of work into it, and they are dramatically adding to the sound pallet. Is it worth it? I think so. I use my TR8 so much now, and this will just make it more useful to me.
I agree, mostly, except this seems like a $95 sample pack. If it was adding functionality or something more it would be one thing but from what I can discern from their video, it’s a relatively expensive sample pack. Fun machine otherwise.
Well, yeah, I do expect that some people will simply pass on it – because the TR-8 already does so much, and they may decide they don’t need the extra sounds that badly.
So I get the criticism. I do sort of wish that they had priced this so that it was a no-brainer for all TR-8 owners. That doesn’t have to be free, but I do wonder about the price point.
My guess is this is new territory for Roland, because they haven’t really had a platform/customer base like this. So we can speculate all we like, but they’ll get the sales figures and have some sense of whether they made the right move.
We can already see in reactions online, though – people who want the 707/727 aren’t hesitating to pay (and I would spring for those 808 sounds alone)
Well, sort of; Roland has been in the business of selling sound card upgrades for synths since the early 90s.
After thinking about this a bit more, I don’t even know if it’s cool for them to charge at all for this. People say “they don’t work for free” but I’d argue that giving this away would show that Roland is trying to get more users on board and have a long lasting product. If they price it too high, and don’t get the response they’re hoping for they could just as easily walk away from it like they usually do. Support your product and customers! Add more functionality (or in this case sounds) and create a better value. That way, a year or 2 from now they can still sell these things! Are there other drum machines in this price range with more sounds? I mean realistically, the TR-8 doesn’t have that many sounds. Adding a handful more isn’t that big a deal, especially samples which they obviously had planned to put in there in the first place. We can expect another $100 for the 606 I’d imagine. At some point it would be better to just grab an MPC and a decent sample pack. I say all this as a fan of the machine. Had one on loan and was considering buying one but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Might just heed my own advice and stick with a sampler.
a sampler wont be as light or have as easy an operating workflow. I still think that it’s not that pricey. I also dont think you’ll be able to tune each sample on a sampler as great as you can on the tr-8 as well as the other features as switching samples on the spot. imo, this was a blessing as I’ve been dying to have an 808 or 909 but never imagined spending 3k for either. You can get them second hand in excellent condition off ebay for around $350, which is exactly what I did, as well as the tb-3 and the system1. they get the job done and I’m more than happy to support roland, or in this case…the people who buy from Roland and then I vulture off of them on ebay haha. I’ve tried samples of 808s and 909s, and they just suck. All that work of loading in and trying to get things to work was just a pain in the ass. I’m surprised they didn’t make the Tr-8 $1000 to start off. I’m sure people would still buy it…
I think your right. Roland has a history of broken promises … Remember Varios. If they don’t get sales for digital expansions why build an expandable system? I just scratched this product from my buy list. I will go get an Electribe or maybe an old Emu Mp7 or for that matter an MPC as you suggest.
It’s not just Roland; has any company other than Korg managed to make a go of a firmware-expandable digital synth?
Well put. I think if they’d priced this at $50, nobody would bat an eye. The only question would be whether a user would like the sounds on offer.
I’m in the camp of “interested, but willing to wait another year to see what sort of trend establishes itself when they release another expansion.”
I hope these sounds will somehow interact when sequenced together. In this case, it would not be just a sample pack but a proper algorithm for the engine. A bit expensive but I saw the used 707 on craigs goes for 300-400…and the rare 727…
707’s go in and out of style. I’ve seen them from $200-$500. Mine was $300 and was minty.
“its about the performance interface that never requires you to [s]top the sequencer for anything.”
Have you played around with an Ableton Push yet?
When the TR8 was announced, i wasn’t that excited for it. The first time I played one, however, I realized why it was magic and bought one immediately. It isn’t about the sounds – its about the performance interface that never requires you to top the sequencer for anything. It’s absolutely wonderful and has become my go-to drum machine.
$95 for the upgrade irks me a little…but I get it. They put a lot of work into it, and they are dramatically adding to the sound pallet. Is it worth it? I think so. I use my TR8 so much now, and this will just make it more useful to me.
I agree, mostly, except this seems like a $95 sample pack. If it was adding functionality or something more it would be one thing but from what I can discern from their video, it’s a relatively expensive sample pack. Fun machine otherwise.
Well, yeah, I do expect that some people will simply pass on it – because the TR-8 already does so much, and they may decide they don’t need the extra sounds that badly.
So I get the criticism. I do sort of wish that they had priced this so that it was a no-brainer for all TR-8 owners. That doesn’t have to be free, but I do wonder about the price point.
My guess is this is new territory for Roland, because they haven’t really had a platform/customer base like this. So we can speculate all we like, but they’ll get the sales figures and have some sense of whether they made the right move.
We can already see in reactions online, though – people who want the 707/727 aren’t hesitating to pay (and I would spring for those 808 sounds alone)
Well, sort of; Roland has been in the business of selling sound card upgrades for synths since the early 90s.
After thinking about this a bit more, I don’t even know if it’s cool for them to charge at all for this. People say “they don’t work for free” but I’d argue that giving this away would show that Roland is trying to get more users on board and have a long lasting product. If they price it too high, and don’t get the response they’re hoping for they could just as easily walk away from it like they usually do. Support your product and customers! Add more functionality (or in this case sounds) and create a better value. That way, a year or 2 from now they can still sell these things! Are there other drum machines in this price range with more sounds? I mean realistically, the TR-8 doesn’t have that many sounds. Adding a handful more isn’t that big a deal, especially samples which they obviously had planned to put in there in the first place. We can expect another $100 for the 606 I’d imagine. At some point it would be better to just grab an MPC and a decent sample pack. I say all this as a fan of the machine. Had one on loan and was considering buying one but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Might just heed my own advice and stick with a sampler.
a sampler wont be as light or have as easy an operating workflow. I still think that it’s not that pricey. I also dont think you’ll be able to tune each sample on a sampler as great as you can on the tr-8 as well as the other features as switching samples on the spot. imo, this was a blessing as I’ve been dying to have an 808 or 909 but never imagined spending 3k for either. You can get them second hand in excellent condition off ebay for around $350, which is exactly what I did, as well as the tb-3 and the system1. they get the job done and I’m more than happy to support roland, or in this case…the people who buy from Roland and then I vulture off of them on ebay haha. I’ve tried samples of 808s and 909s, and they just suck. All that work of loading in and trying to get things to work was just a pain in the ass. I’m surprised they didn’t make the Tr-8 $1000 to start off. I’m sure people would still buy it…
I think your right. Roland has a history of broken promises … Remember Varios. If they don’t get sales for digital expansions why build an expandable system? I just scratched this product from my buy list. I will go get an Electribe or maybe an old Emu Mp7 or for that matter an MPC as you suggest.
It’s not just Roland; has any company other than Korg managed to make a go of a firmware-expandable digital synth?
Well put. I think if they’d priced this at $50, nobody would bat an eye. The only question would be whether a user would like the sounds on offer.
I’m in the camp of “interested, but willing to wait another year to see what sort of trend establishes itself when they release another expansion.”
I hope these sounds will somehow interact when sequenced together. In this case, it would not be just a sample pack but a proper algorithm for the engine. A bit expensive but I saw the used 707 on craigs goes for 300-400…and the rare 727…
707’s go in and out of style. I’ve seen them from $200-$500. Mine was $300 and was minty.
“its about the performance interface that never requires you to [s]top the sequencer for anything.”
Have you played around with an Ableton Push yet?
Have they figured out how to make the TR-8 play patterns that are longer than 2 bars yet? I mean, I know that’s super-advanced 21st century stuff, but still.
You can actually loop multiple patterns together if you like (even before this update)… so yeah they have.
Wooo, catching up with the Electribe R any day now. And how many memory slots do they offer? Is it at least a dozen?
My 12 year old XL7 can play 32-bar 16-track patterns – hundreds of them. Oh, and it has song mode too, and most operations don’t require stopping the sequencer. Never mind the tired analog vs digital debate – giving us “modern updates” with 1980’s level memory limitations is a pretty inexcusable design choice, especially given how cheap memory and CPU have gotten.
You’re right why so few kits, sounds and patterns?! I just don’t understand. It seems like this may be just to charge you later for ‘extras’ that other manufacturers might include out of the box…
I’m still torn though. I tried one out at the local shop today and it sounds great. When you have it in front of you its also really fun and fast to use. The interface is very compelling which I think is the biggest thing that it has going for it.
They’re doing something right with the UI, because a lot of people have your reaction. And I haven’t heard any legitimate complaints about the sound quality; I don’t have a problem with digital if done right and some people fetishize analog to an absurd degree. I just don’t understand the weird limits on memory (one review I read says you also can’t save the knob positions on kits?). It’s just a weird design choice to me. And it’s too pricey to just be a couch noodler.
It’s not just Roland; the new Electribes look cool but have shorter pattern lengths than the originals.
You are so right. My Electribe MX has so many sounds I will never use them all and my old Emu MP7 has massive capabilities …. plus dare I say it, the MP7 sounds fat with super low bass it may sound better then many analog drum machines.
Have they figured out how to make the TR-8 play patterns that are longer than 2 bars yet? I mean, I know that’s super-advanced 21st century stuff, but still.
You can actually loop multiple patterns together if you like (even before this update)… so yeah they have.
Wooo, catching up with the Electribe R any day now. And how many memory slots do they offer? Is it at least a dozen?
My 12 year old XL7 can play 32-bar 16-track patterns – hundreds of them. Oh, and it has song mode too, and most operations don’t require stopping the sequencer. Never mind the tired analog vs digital debate – giving us “modern updates” with 1980’s level memory limitations is a pretty inexcusable design choice, especially given how cheap memory and CPU have gotten.
You’re right why so few kits, sounds and patterns?! I just don’t understand. It seems like this may be just to charge you later for ‘extras’ that other manufacturers might include out of the box…
I’m still torn though. I tried one out at the local shop today and it sounds great. When you have it in front of you its also really fun and fast to use. The interface is very compelling which I think is the biggest thing that it has going for it.
They’re doing something right with the UI, because a lot of people have your reaction. And I haven’t heard any legitimate complaints about the sound quality; I don’t have a problem with digital if done right and some people fetishize analog to an absurd degree. I just don’t understand the weird limits on memory (one review I read says you also can’t save the knob positions on kits?). It’s just a weird design choice to me. And it’s too pricey to just be a couch noodler.
It’s not just Roland; the new Electribes look cool but have shorter pattern lengths than the originals.
You are so right. My Electribe MX has so many sounds I will never use them all and my old Emu MP7 has massive capabilities …. plus dare I say it, the MP7 sounds fat with super low bass it may sound better then many analog drum machines.
Have they figured out how to make the TR-8 play patterns that are longer than 2 bars yet? I mean, I know that’s super-advanced 21st century stuff, but still.
You can actually loop multiple patterns together if you like (even before this update)… so yeah they have.
Wooo, catching up with the Electribe R any day now. And how many memory slots do they offer? Is it at least a dozen?
My 12 year old XL7 can play 32-bar 16-track patterns – hundreds of them. Oh, and it has song mode too, and most operations don’t require stopping the sequencer. Never mind the tired analog vs digital debate – giving us “modern updates” with 1980’s level memory limitations is a pretty inexcusable design choice, especially given how cheap memory and CPU have gotten.
You’re right why so few kits, sounds and patterns?! I just don’t understand. It seems like this may be just to charge you later for ‘extras’ that other manufacturers might include out of the box…
I’m still torn though. I tried one out at the local shop today and it sounds great. When you have it in front of you its also really fun and fast to use. The interface is very compelling which I think is the biggest thing that it has going for it.
They’re doing something right with the UI, because a lot of people have your reaction. And I haven’t heard any legitimate complaints about the sound quality; I don’t have a problem with digital if done right and some people fetishize analog to an absurd degree. I just don’t understand the weird limits on memory (one review I read says you also can’t save the knob positions on kits?). It’s just a weird design choice to me. And it’s too pricey to just be a couch noodler.
It’s not just Roland; the new Electribes look cool but have shorter pattern lengths than the originals.
You are so right. My Electribe MX has so many sounds I will never use them all and my old Emu MP7 has massive capabilities …. plus dare I say it, the MP7 sounds fat with super low bass it may sound better then many analog drum machines.
I’m considering picking up a TR-8, and this update makes it all the more enticing.
Are you able to mix different drum hits within kits? For example, can you have the 808 kick and 909 snare active at the same time?
yes
Can you have a kit with both an 808 kick and a 707 kick?
No, unfortunately. That’s still my biggest beef with the TR-8. I’d love to use a 909 as my main kick, and then an 808 as a bass tone, but it isn’t happening.
I’m considering picking up a TR-8, and this update makes it all the more enticing.
Are you able to mix different drum hits within kits? For example, can you have the 808 kick and 909 snare active at the same time?
yes
Can you have a kit with both an 808 kick and a 707 kick?
No, unfortunately. That’s still my biggest beef with the TR-8. I’d love to use a 909 as my main kick, and then an 808 as a bass tone, but it isn’t happening.
I’m considering picking up a TR-8, and this update makes it all the more enticing.
Are you able to mix different drum hits within kits? For example, can you have the 808 kick and 909 snare active at the same time?
yes
Can you have a kit with both an 808 kick and a 707 kick?
No, unfortunately. That’s still my biggest beef with the TR-8. I’d love to use a 909 as my main kick, and then an 808 as a bass tone, but it isn’t happening.
yawn
yawn
yawn
I would love to hear what haters have to say now. Hmm…let’s see…spend $3000+ for a bulky 808 or 909 alone, or $3-450 on ebay for a light machine that has the functionality of 4+ drum machines. No argument. Analog…digital…doesn’t matter. Once you plug an analog piece of hardware into a computer to record, say goodbye to your analog and say hello to your digital conversion. Wake up haters
what’s funny is that, the only reason I still want a real 909 is just for the look of it and the feel of those old school IBM style keys. I just don’t see a reason to spend $3000 for that. Might as well just buy an IBM keyboard lol
Well digital has been substandard in a lot of ways up until recently. Not that digital is incapable of accurately imitating the pleasing qualities of analog, just that it takes a lot of processor load to do it right ( pleasing curved responses, adequate oversampling etc etc ) and there were a lot of DSP compromises and shortcuts going on that no one liked to talk about.
This unit is an amazing example of what “virtual analog”
can do when done right.
True, the problem hasn’t been with digital itself so much as with the implementation and cost-cutting. Digital sound with all the pleasant nonlinear characteristics of analog but without aliasing or other artifacts isn’t cheap or easy (cf Diva or Fractal Audio).
If you dig Diva you should check out the latest from Cytomic: The Drop. High detail circuit modeling of a bunch of classic analog filters. Analog modeled envelope follower. All internal modulation solving at audio rate. It’s a thing of beauty. My “desert island” plug.
I would love to hear what haters have to say now. Hmm…let’s see…spend $3000+ for a bulky 808 or 909 alone, or $3-450 on ebay for a light machine that has the functionality of 4+ drum machines. No argument. Analog…digital…doesn’t matter. Once you plug an analog piece of hardware into a computer to record, say goodbye to your analog and say hello to your digital conversion. Wake up haters
what’s funny is that, the only reason I still want a real 909 is just for the look of it and the feel of those old school IBM style keys. I just don’t see a reason to spend $3000 for that. Might as well just buy an IBM keyboard lol
Well digital has been substandard in a lot of ways up until recently. Not that digital is incapable of accurately imitating the pleasing qualities of analog, just that it takes a lot of processor load to do it right ( pleasing curved responses, adequate oversampling etc etc ) and there were a lot of DSP compromises and shortcuts going on that no one liked to talk about.
This unit is an amazing example of what “virtual analog”
can do when done right.
True, the problem hasn’t been with digital itself so much as with the implementation and cost-cutting. Digital sound with all the pleasant nonlinear characteristics of analog but without aliasing or other artifacts isn’t cheap or easy (cf Diva or Fractal Audio).
If you dig Diva you should check out the latest from Cytomic: The Drop. High detail circuit modeling of a bunch of classic analog filters. Analog modeled envelope follower. All internal modulation solving at audio rate. It’s a thing of beauty. My “desert island” plug.
I would love to hear what haters have to say now. Hmm…let’s see…spend $3000+ for a bulky 808 or 909 alone, or $3-450 on ebay for a light machine that has the functionality of 4+ drum machines. No argument. Analog…digital…doesn’t matter. Once you plug an analog piece of hardware into a computer to record, say goodbye to your analog and say hello to your digital conversion. Wake up haters
what’s funny is that, the only reason I still want a real 909 is just for the look of it and the feel of those old school IBM style keys. I just don’t see a reason to spend $3000 for that. Might as well just buy an IBM keyboard lol
Well digital has been substandard in a lot of ways up until recently. Not that digital is incapable of accurately imitating the pleasing qualities of analog, just that it takes a lot of processor load to do it right ( pleasing curved responses, adequate oversampling etc etc ) and there were a lot of DSP compromises and shortcuts going on that no one liked to talk about.
This unit is an amazing example of what “virtual analog”
can do when done right.
True, the problem hasn’t been with digital itself so much as with the implementation and cost-cutting. Digital sound with all the pleasant nonlinear characteristics of analog but without aliasing or other artifacts isn’t cheap or easy (cf Diva or Fractal Audio).
If you dig Diva you should check out the latest from Cytomic: The Drop. High detail circuit modeling of a bunch of classic analog filters. Analog modeled envelope follower. All internal modulation solving at audio rate. It’s a thing of beauty. My “desert island” plug.
” a value-priced drum machine” – only until you’ve bought 3-5 expansions at 75 EUR each.
” a value-priced drum machine” – only until you’ve bought 3-5 expansions at 75 EUR each.
” a value-priced drum machine” – only until you’ve bought 3-5 expansions at 75 EUR each.
Nice.
Let’s wait for people to use it and judge it, hear what tweeking those “samples” is like.
The tr8 is cheap but if you’ll need to spend more than 200€ to have it fully loaded,
I don’t know how much it’ll make sense. And it will get confusing reselling those machines.
Nice.
Let’s wait for people to use it and judge it, hear what tweeking those “samples” is like.
The tr8 is cheap but if you’ll need to spend more than 200€ to have it fully loaded,
I don’t know how much it’ll make sense. And it will get confusing reselling those machines.
Nice.
Let’s wait for people to use it and judge it, hear what tweeking those “samples” is like.
The tr8 is cheap but if you’ll need to spend more than 200€ to have it fully loaded,
I don’t know how much it’ll make sense. And it will get confusing reselling those machines.
Perhaps Roland, and other companies, should package their software updates on ROMs, like the sample ROMs that people seemed to have no trouble swapping money for to slot into their JV and XV synths. People seem to get all kinds of confused when they’re asked to exchange real currency for something as insubstantial as data; stick it on a three buck Flash ROM, though, and suddenly they get it…
Perhaps Roland, and other companies, should package their software updates on ROMs, like the sample ROMs that people seemed to have no trouble swapping money for to slot into their JV and XV synths. People seem to get all kinds of confused when they’re asked to exchange real currency for something as insubstantial as data; stick it on a three buck Flash ROM, though, and suddenly they get it…
Perhaps Roland, and other companies, should package their software updates on ROMs, like the sample ROMs that people seemed to have no trouble swapping money for to slot into their JV and XV synths. People seem to get all kinds of confused when they’re asked to exchange real currency for something as insubstantial as data; stick it on a three buck Flash ROM, though, and suddenly they get it…
95 dollars for awful samples you can get for free nearly everywhere else though?
95 dollars for awful samples you can get for free nearly everywhere else though?
95 dollars for awful samples you can get for free nearly everywhere else though?
I wasnt interested at all until a friend brought his over – it sounded great in my room and looked really fun to play. If the expansions were priced as impulse buysI’d already have bought the TR and be thinking of a TB plus it would bring a lot more folks in IMHO but its their baby so they can price it as they see fit… if the 606 comes out at the same price, a fully loaded box is gonna be beyond my spending ability (new anyway).
But this is pure GENIUS by Roland. They have made their own hardware platform and brought IAPs to the hardware world… you HAVE to admire that. Its a brilliant move!
I wasnt interested at all until a friend brought his over – it sounded great in my room and looked really fun to play. If the expansions were priced as impulse buysI’d already have bought the TR and be thinking of a TB plus it would bring a lot more folks in IMHO but its their baby so they can price it as they see fit… if the 606 comes out at the same price, a fully loaded box is gonna be beyond my spending ability (new anyway).
But this is pure GENIUS by Roland. They have made their own hardware platform and brought IAPs to the hardware world… you HAVE to admire that. Its a brilliant move!
I wasnt interested at all until a friend brought his over – it sounded great in my room and looked really fun to play. If the expansions were priced as impulse buysI’d already have bought the TR and be thinking of a TB plus it would bring a lot more folks in IMHO but its their baby so they can price it as they see fit… if the 606 comes out at the same price, a fully loaded box is gonna be beyond my spending ability (new anyway).
But this is pure GENIUS by Roland. They have made their own hardware platform and brought IAPs to the hardware world… you HAVE to admire that. Its a brilliant move!
can I put the update on two TR 8’s if I owned two or do I need to buy the update twice ???
can I put the update on two TR 8’s if I owned two or do I need to buy the update twice ???
can I put the update on two TR 8’s if I owned two or do I need to buy the update twice ???
This argument isn’t fair because we all come from different walks and different points in our lives. Someone who has worked in a career for 34 years, has paid off his family home, has no outstanding debts and whose Children are out of the house… that man has a specific world view. Of money especially.He worked hard and has got a little for some things he likes, and will not want for much at all the rest of his days. That person, approaching 60, has an outlook on life that the 21 year old person will not have for decades. The 30+ years spent at-work veteran, career man man is in a different universe than the struggling young father of two who spends 10 hours a day cleaning an office building, toils and scrimps for six months to buy one piece of this AIRA set at a time, for his one hour a day hobby, before he collapses from exhaustion at 10:30pm, in his parents baseent on a matress on the floor- just to do it all over the next day. The older gent wakes up when the sun nudges im gently. He shimmies to the coffee pot and talks no one in the room. The motorcycle is long gone.He plays solitaire on his PC while he drinks coffee and reads the paper. Around 10:55, he decides a shower might be a good idea.The young man has hit snooze three too many times and is late. He slept in his jeans so half the battle getting ready for work is over. Here’s a shirt- BINGO! Eh is STARVING hungry. Scans the cupboards. Spaghetti Sauce. Mustard. Baking soda. Root Beer. Cookies. COOKIES? in the fridge? He shoves three in his mouth. And dissolves the peanut butter triangles with Crapple juice. When Mom says it’s time to get ready for school, he sprints. Not into the house, but to the woods. Teriffic. First day at a new buuilding and he is freaked. He reembers there are three cigarettes in his backpack from last summer in a sandwich baggie. When out of site from his house, he lights one and coughs small parts of what look like dissected mouse out of his mouth and throws the remaining cigarette, baggie and lighter all on the ground, where they stay until a 16 year old named Jeremy happens along the same route, only Jeremy doesn’t cough up any mouse part look a-likes. Both just babies, one considered a man, one a boy- yet only five years apart- and several blocks from one another, oblivious they are both running, full speed, in order to not be noticed as late. Failure: Both are caught within minutes of each other. The janitor is reprimanded and ordered to scrub the stalls at the end of the day, Jeremy is given after school detention. Jeremy will be beaten that night. The other boy… I mean man, won’t get his $40 “Manpower” check today- he was late. Late means no pay. Go home if you want, but don’t come back tomorrow. He won’t be allowed to even touch the family car until Sunday before a church dance. No way can he collect scrap metal or check if there’s farm work on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in his cubicle, the 11 days until retirement gent decides to treat himself to the new Roland 7×7 expansion pack for his latest toy– “What is it?” He ponders? the 809? The 908? One of those. I want the 760 as well! who cares about $95 bucks? I made that between 3:12 and 3:17AM in the Asian stock market while I was asleep! He takes longer to pick which credit card to use because he cannot remember how close he is in card miles on the Visa…. or is it AmEx…..to getting the weekend of guided sailing and scuba in St. Thomas this year,,, oh well, who cares? The miles will come from somewhere. He smiles.
That night Jeremy goes to bed hungry with welts all over his back. His father had the brass buckle on today. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Dad did smash the TR-8 he borrowed from Tommy at school… and right on the back of the head and into the wall. four faders snapped right off. Jeremy only cried at night, where no one could see him.
The fat almost retired Baby Boomer doesn’t read the directions on installing the expansion pack and gives up after 212 seconds. He doesn’t even turn his T-8 on before leaving his soundproofed studio to trudge up the stairs, into the kitchen- where he stops at the fridge before bed to eat ice cream out of the container, staring into the freezer.
This argument isn’t fair because we all come from different walks and different points in our lives. Someone who has worked in a career for 34 years, has paid off his family home, has no outstanding debts and whose Children are out of the house… that man has a specific world view. Of money especially.He worked hard and has got a little for some things he likes, and will not want for much at all the rest of his days. That person, approaching 60, has an outlook on life that the 21 year old person will not have for decades. The 30+ years spent at-work veteran, career man man is in a different universe than the struggling young father of two who spends 10 hours a day cleaning an office building, toils and scrimps for six months to buy one piece of this AIRA set at a time, for his one hour a day hobby, before he collapses from exhaustion at 10:30pm, in his parents baseent on a matress on the floor- just to do it all over the next day. The older gent wakes up when the sun nudges im gently. He shimmies to the coffee pot and talks no one in the room. The motorcycle is long gone.He plays solitaire on his PC while he drinks coffee and reads the paper. Around 10:55, he decides a shower might be a good idea.The young man has hit snooze three too many times and is late. He slept in his jeans so half the battle getting ready for work is over. Here’s a shirt- BINGO! Eh is STARVING hungry. Scans the cupboards. Spaghetti Sauce. Mustard. Baking soda. Root Beer. Cookies. COOKIES? in the fridge? He shoves three in his mouth. And dissolves the peanut butter triangles with Crapple juice. When Mom says it’s time to get ready for school, he sprints. Not into the house, but to the woods. Teriffic. First day at a new buuilding and he is freaked. He reembers there are three cigarettes in his backpack from last summer in a sandwich baggie. When out of site from his house, he lights one and coughs small parts of what look like dissected mouse out of his mouth and throws the remaining cigarette, baggie and lighter all on the ground, where they stay until a 16 year old named Jeremy happens along the same route, only Jeremy doesn’t cough up any mouse part look a-likes. Both just babies, one considered a man, one a boy- yet only five years apart- and several blocks from one another, oblivious they are both running, full speed, in order to not be noticed as late. Failure: Both are caught within minutes of each other. The janitor is reprimanded and ordered to scrub the stalls at the end of the day, Jeremy is given after school detention. Jeremy will be beaten that night. The other boy… I mean man, won’t get his $40 “Manpower” check today- he was late. Late means no pay. Go home if you want, but don’t come back tomorrow. He won’t be allowed to even touch the family car until Sunday before a church dance. No way can he collect scrap metal or check if there’s farm work on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in his cubicle, the 11 days until retirement gent decides to treat himself to the new Roland 7×7 expansion pack for his latest toy– “What is it?” He ponders? the 809? The 908? One of those. I want the 760 as well! who cares about $95 bucks? I made that between 3:12 and 3:17AM in the Asian stock market while I was asleep! He takes longer to pick which credit card to use because he cannot remember how close he is in card miles on the Visa…. or is it AmEx…..to getting the weekend of guided sailing and scuba in St. Thomas this year,,, oh well, who cares? The miles will come from somewhere. He smiles.
That night Jeremy goes to bed hungry with welts all over his back. His father had the brass buckle on today. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Dad did smash the TR-8 he borrowed from Tommy at school… and right on the back of the head and into the wall. four faders snapped right off. Jeremy only cried at night, where no one could see him.
The fat almost retired Baby Boomer doesn’t read the directions on installing the expansion pack and gives up after 212 seconds. He doesn’t even turn his T-8 on before leaving his soundproofed studio to trudge up the stairs, into the kitchen- where he stops at the fridge before bed to eat ice cream out of the container, staring into the freezer.
This argument isn’t fair because we all come from different walks and different points in our lives. Someone who has worked in a career for 34 years, has paid off his family home, has no outstanding debts and whose Children are out of the house… that man has a specific world view. Of money especially.He worked hard and has got a little for some things he likes, and will not want for much at all the rest of his days. That person, approaching 60, has an outlook on life that the 21 year old person will not have for decades. The 30+ years spent at-work veteran, career man man is in a different universe than the struggling young father of two who spends 10 hours a day cleaning an office building, toils and scrimps for six months to buy one piece of this AIRA set at a time, for his one hour a day hobby, before he collapses from exhaustion at 10:30pm, in his parents baseent on a matress on the floor- just to do it all over the next day. The older gent wakes up when the sun nudges im gently. He shimmies to the coffee pot and talks no one in the room. The motorcycle is long gone.He plays solitaire on his PC while he drinks coffee and reads the paper. Around 10:55, he decides a shower might be a good idea.The young man has hit snooze three too many times and is late. He slept in his jeans so half the battle getting ready for work is over. Here’s a shirt- BINGO! Eh is STARVING hungry. Scans the cupboards. Spaghetti Sauce. Mustard. Baking soda. Root Beer. Cookies. COOKIES? in the fridge? He shoves three in his mouth. And dissolves the peanut butter triangles with Crapple juice. When Mom says it’s time to get ready for school, he sprints. Not into the house, but to the woods. Teriffic. First day at a new buuilding and he is freaked. He reembers there are three cigarettes in his backpack from last summer in a sandwich baggie. When out of site from his house, he lights one and coughs small parts of what look like dissected mouse out of his mouth and throws the remaining cigarette, baggie and lighter all on the ground, where they stay until a 16 year old named Jeremy happens along the same route, only Jeremy doesn’t cough up any mouse part look a-likes. Both just babies, one considered a man, one a boy- yet only five years apart- and several blocks from one another, oblivious they are both running, full speed, in order to not be noticed as late. Failure: Both are caught within minutes of each other. The janitor is reprimanded and ordered to scrub the stalls at the end of the day, Jeremy is given after school detention. Jeremy will be beaten that night. The other boy… I mean man, won’t get his $40 “Manpower” check today- he was late. Late means no pay. Go home if you want, but don’t come back tomorrow. He won’t be allowed to even touch the family car until Sunday before a church dance. No way can he collect scrap metal or check if there’s farm work on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in his cubicle, the 11 days until retirement gent decides to treat himself to the new Roland 7×7 expansion pack for his latest toy– “What is it?” He ponders? the 809? The 908? One of those. I want the 760 as well! who cares about $95 bucks? I made that between 3:12 and 3:17AM in the Asian stock market while I was asleep! He takes longer to pick which credit card to use because he cannot remember how close he is in card miles on the Visa…. or is it AmEx…..to getting the weekend of guided sailing and scuba in St. Thomas this year,,, oh well, who cares? The miles will come from somewhere. He smiles.
That night Jeremy goes to bed hungry with welts all over his back. His father had the brass buckle on today. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Dad did smash the TR-8 he borrowed from Tommy at school… and right on the back of the head and into the wall. four faders snapped right off. Jeremy only cried at night, where no one could see him.
The fat almost retired Baby Boomer doesn’t read the directions on installing the expansion pack and gives up after 212 seconds. He doesn’t even turn his T-8 on before leaving his soundproofed studio to trudge up the stairs, into the kitchen- where he stops at the fridge before bed to eat ice cream out of the container, staring into the freezer.