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#375493 - 11/16/13 08:58 PM Re: Roland TR-808 drum machine.....King of the Hill? [Re: Nigel]
ianmcnll Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
Originally Posted By: Nigel
Originally Posted By: ianmcnll
Originally Posted By: Fran Carango
Wow Ian...the beauty of the TR-707 was ..programmable..



Yes, that's true, Fran, but at the time I was just not willing to put the time in on it...if I remember correctly, it had some sort of matrix display for programming the drum hits per measure.
Ian


Well the matrix was to program a 1 measure pattern then for the song you would simply make a pattern list. It was very simple to program actually. I still like that matrix interface. It was much the same with the TR-808 as well only it was analog not digital.


Yep, I remember the way it was set up. Actually, a pretty cool idea.

However, it didn't work as well with the DX-7II's sequencer as did the Yamaha RX, and time was of the essence, so we didn't hold on to it.

One of the trios I played in, bass, keys, guitar, used a CR-series drummer, that was operated by the bass player using footswitches. It was a great rig indeed.

Now the TR-808's drums are available on most any arranger, as well as VST's, although some purists have to use the real deal.

It is a similar sitsu to the Roland TB-303 bass module...in fact, they were often used together.

Both worth more than a few bucks today in good condition.

Ian
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Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.

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#375497 - 11/16/13 09:14 PM Re: Roland TR-808 drum machine.....King of the Hill? [Re: Mark79100]
Diki Offline


Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14182
Loc: NW Florida
My very first arranger (a Roland RA90 module) was initially bought ONLY for the drums section. I was playing with duos and trios with drum machines (mostly Yamaha and Alesis) and feeling very musically constricted by having to program the entire song in advance or else you have one pattern for the whole song (!), and the arranger's two patterns and two fills you could trigger with a simple footswitch was a huge boon.

Fast forward to today, and now I have four patterns, six fills, breaks, intros, count-offs and endings, and synced audio loops, and drums so realistic many ask me what drummer I recorded! I think back to those simpler days... Nah! I think I like it better today!
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An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!

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