Behringer RD-8 Rhythm Designer Drum Machine

Plenty of sounds of good quality, but be prepared to be puzzled when trying to play it. I didn't find it very intuitive and went round and round pressing buttons with increasing frustration. All could be solved with a better user manual. I think it will take me 5-6 hours to get to know just the basic functions.

Great as an entry level drum machine. The sounds of each hit really pop and it's only when compared against VST hits you get to appreciate the difference between analogue and digital.

It's easily incorporated into DAW workflow for making music, but equally I've found myself jamming with it on its own - it really is an instrument in itself. Recommend.

Mine came with firmware 1.2.6 and a Type C mains plug :( I had to call BAX who have now sent me a Type C to Type G adaptor which is UK spec.



The RD8 is a really good machine, I like it. Beh have taken the idea of a drum machine and added many extra features that make it very playable live, a very "hands on" instrument. I can get a "Song" programmed up, jam over it, drop in fills and repeats, Flam is interesting, Prob(ability) adds interest (misses hits out randomly), I've not tried the Poly rhythms yet. The audio input is good - I can take a direct out to a reverb feed it back into the RD8 get a great snare sound for very little wiring effort. It has many sync options so about to hook it to my Kawai Q80 sequencer for a DAWless playtime.

It is fascinating, when I get an 80's synth going, get a beat running on the RD8 and it's like everything comes into focus, I can hear a recognisable sound that all blends together.



One thing that's not clear in the manual, which needs to be updated, is the RD8 has two memory spaces, "Storage" and "Live" - one holds the data when powered down, the latter does not which can be very confusing at first. Or at least that's how it seems to me. I think Beh intend that for live one-off-gig mode. Probably suit people who take their TD8 to gigs and play it for the crowd mood.

If you're in the market for a TR-808, save yourself £3k and buy one of these. It's very intuitive, and you'll be making beats within a couple of minutes. Sounds just like the original with a few additional features, which do not detract from it. The TR-808 was the first drum machine I owned in the 80's & this RD-8 is a welcome modern take on the classic.

If there was one negative, it's the PSU - which is a wall wart, would have been nice to have an internal psu.

OK yes, as the other review notes, there are *some* issues but these are to be fixed soon. So i'll focus on the positive. Did you want an 808? Well, here you are. But it's not a complete facsimile and that is very much a good thing. You also have a heap of features that didn't exist in the original. The wave shaper, filter, note repeat, flam, probability, randomness and even polyrhythm per *sound* and all of this makes it an 808+



I have no idea how it compares exactly to a real 808 because like most of the people reading this, I don't own, and will never own one, but for wish fulfilment purposes, this does the job and then some. I just hope the 909 isn't as good because I don't think i have room enough for that...

OK i am one of the first to get this machine so my review should be gauged with care against the time you are reading it and the firmware model available - currently it is 1.18 which is going to be worked on as it has acknowledge issues, now that is out of the way.



I would recommend the unit happily to anyone BUT you need to know it is not 100% as per 23.09.2019, if you accept some limitations in its software that are in the process of being fixed then you will probably not be disappointed - i would go 5 stars if the unit was 100% right now but it is not.



Fantastic build, looks and sounds amazing, ultra low cost for this type of quality - the videos you see and hear do not do it justice. I have a lot of gear and the RD8 does not look out of place among nice things, it is a lovely machine.



That said there are negatives and reasons why i cannot go 5 stars. Granted Uli has acknowledged the software issues and apologised in public which takes balls and integrity, he knows what is wrong and has promised an update to the firmware, i have no doubt his team will provide, when is anybody's guess but they have a good track record of late.



Software needs some work and some functions need polishing/a good rethink to avoid users wasting time while creating patterns, midi also needs work. If this is done and done right it will be a killer machine and make lots and lots of people very happy, as it is right now it is brilliant BUT there are missing functions and flaws all over the place, buyers should be aware of these (go to gearslutz for a full breakdown) but you do not need to avoid the unit as it will be fixed very soon i am sure.



I hope to come back to edit my review to 5 stars in the next few weeks after a substantial update.