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Roland TR-6S review: An impressively small and powerful drum machine
Roland’s TR-6S includes digital emulations of classic drum machines like the 808, 909 and 606, as well as a quirky FM percussion engine and sample playback. It’s perhaps the most versatile portable drum machine out there. But be prepared to do a lot of menu diving.
Roland's TR-8S mashes all your favorite 80s drum machines together
In the 80s, Roland drum machines were at the epicenter of hip hop, house, techno, acid house and other music genres. The 808, 909, 707, and 606 helped create the beats of some of your favorite songs. But if you wanted to pick up any of these vintage drum machines today, you'd probably end up dropping thousands of dollars. Fortunately, Roland just made getting all those vintage drum sounds a lot easier and cheaper with its new TR-8S, drum machine.
Roland's System-8 synthesizer does almost everything
As Roland's product-packed 909 day comes to a close, one of the more impressive announcements is the new System-8 synthesizer. Taking a design cue from the Aira line, the new keyboard is packed full of features including the ability to add and control multiple synth profiles at once.
Roland's new take on the iconic TR-909 delivers nostalgia aplenty
Roland's Boutique line of synthesizers broke from cover last fall and today the company announced three more members of the series. Appropriately enough for 909 Day, the highlight of the trio is a revival of the iconic TR-909 drum machine. The new version, officially called the TR-09, "recreates the influential hybrid sound of its predecessor" thanks to ACB (Analog Circuit Behavior) technology according to Roland.
Hone your drum machine skills with an HTML5 808
For the aspiring DJs and living room producers, there's now a way to craft your drum machine chops with nothing more than your favorite web browser. An HTML5-driven site lets you choose between iconic instruments like Roland's TR-808 and TR-909, alongside Elektron's Machinedrum, the LinnDrum and a regular ol' acoustic kit for the luddites. In addition to turning nobs to get the perfect sound, you can save samples for use during your next studio session. What's more, when you're all finished, the site allows you to export loops as a WAV file that can be employed in a more robust production app. If you'll recall, there's also a web-based MPC that'll let you try your hand at piecing together samples used by J Dilla and Kanye West. With these two tools in your browser, there's really no excuse for not exploring that music habit.
Artists build a Roland TR-909 drum machine for giants
Roland made some of the most iconic drum machines used in electronic music, and its TR-909 is entering its 30s. So, what's the best way to celebrate three decades of tones? Well, you could build a 9-foot long playable version of the unit to rage on with your mates, and that's just what Scottish audio/visual outfit Ray did. The frame is constructed with a combination of aluminum, steel and wood with a TD-12 module (from a set of V-Drums) and AIRA TR-8 drum machine providing the sounds. That Roland gear wrangles rhythms from a dozen PD-8 drum pads mounted underneath the super-sized buttons, and MIDI signals beam visuals to a projection system for added effect. Don't take our word for it though, there's a short clip of the massive gadget in action just after the break.
Neo hands-on with MWC lineup
UK and Dubai-based neo is at MWC this week with a collection of handsets giving us a peek into the now and what the company plans for the future. We take a few minutes with neo's Senior VP, Amjad Ali as he walks us through the ins and out of the tiny 808i, the neo Ellipse, the neo Steel, neo Flip, and the up and coming neo 909. The Ellipse and the 909 are the standouts in the group, what with the really slick design of the Ellipse and the potential Androidness and maybe even 3G coming to the potential redesign of the 909. These sets all live in Asian markets now and that's well reflected in the pricing and features, but we're always enthused to see folks making a solid effort to bring something interesting to the lower-end market. Follow on for a gallery of the sets and a video hands-on interview.%Gallery-45175%
