Roland TR-8 Rhythm Performer drum machine

General

Roland have returned to their roots. Their legendary 'small' drum machines from the 1980s turned out to be huge hits later on. Due to the high demand for these retro machines, prices sky-rocketed. The Roland TR-8 Rhythm Peformer drum machine offers the authentic sound of the famous TR-808, the TH-909 and a number of other drum kits in an affordable new product. The TR-8 is part of Roland's Aira series, which features some other old-school gems as well. The TR-8 Rhythm Performer is considerably more elaborate than its predecessors and is equipped with 16 drum kits, built-in effects and USB functionality. The drum machine features a digital sound generator, but Roland have studied their original hardware in minute detail and taken their modelling technology to the limit in order to ensure an excellent sound quality.

Possibilities of the Roland TR-8 Rhythm Performer
The drum machine has an impressive-looking design. The backlit buttons instantly take you back to the space pop and synth pop vibe of the 1980s. Like the original Roland TR machines, the TR-8 enables you to edit your drum sounds individually by means of sound-specific parameters. This means the bass drum has different parameters than the hi-hats, for instance. If you are familiar with the layout of the original TR-808, you'll notice straight away that the TR-8 features many more control elements. Each channel is equipped with a fader and several rotary knobs. As such, the TR-8 offers a lot more options for quick and well-organised hands-on tweaking.

The sequencer of the TR-8
Of course this Rhythm Performer is not complete without an x0x-style sequencer. The term x0x refers to the step-time (16-step) sequencer, which was a typical feature in the good old days, and is still used in modern drum machines. Setting a pattern is easy: a natural sense of rhythm is hardly required as you can enter the note events in step time. An interesting feature of the TR-8 is the possibility to set effects per step. This means you can add a good deal of reverb to the first bass drum of a pattern, for instance, and leave the other bass drums in the pattern untouched. The new Scatter function allows you to add effects such as glitch, gate and stutter to your patterns in real-time.

A bit of history
It is common knowledge that the TR-808 and TR-909 have achieved a classic status. The 808 drums have been part of the Sound Canvas and many other series after that since the early 1990s and it is safe to say that everyone has heard their unique sound. The 909 became the definitive sound of Trance, House and other styles of EDM, thanks to its ultra-tight bass drum, its warm snare and its distinctive cymbals. In the 1990s, Roland themselves weren't all that keen to incorporate the typical (and much sought-after) 909 sounds into their own synths and workstations. Odd, considering that vintage machines were already becoming increasingly more popular in those days. With the Aira series the Japanese company are definitely making up for this shortcoming!

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