Roland 808 Hardware Clones?(Resolved)

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mztk wrote:as a sound generator, the drumstation seems to offer quite a lot, with
kit presets, midi ccs, etc. but will it SATISFY?!! :x
Short answer:

Yes.

Long answer:

I've owned around a dozen different 909's and none of them sounded the same. I would get one, compare it to the other one I had at the time, and then keep which ever one sounded the best. The 909 I have now is the best 909 out of all them so far but that's not because it's a particularly pristine, fantastic example of what a 909 is supposed to be. In fact, its distorted/saturated sound is exactly what makes it rock the f'ing house, it sounds louder and more compressed than other 909's when putting out the same peak RMS.

All of that is to say that there isn't one single best 808 or 909. Personally, I prefer running Transistor Revolution through URS Saturation to get the above effect but maybe you'll prefer the Drum Station with its built-in distortion. Hell, I'd take a Jomox Mbase any day over the kicks in my 808 and 909.
Last edited by Uncle E on Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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@Rob Lee, Novation response about the Drumstation series/covers polyphony!
Post by someone on Gearslutz wrote:Here's the responses I received from Novation recently.


Q/. Was there an OS Version 1, and if so what did 1.2 which I have improve on?

A/.There was a V1, however the only changes between this and V1.2 were minor code improvements.

Q/. I've read that the DrumStation V.1/V.2 are the same other than a facelift, but is the D-Station different again, I've read that the original DrumStations are 5 voice and the D-Station has 8 voices, is this correct?

If this is so does the 1.3 OS give me the extra 3 voices too?

A/. This is incorrect. This article explains it:

What is the difference between the "V1" , "V2" Drumstations and the D-Station .: Novation Answerbase

Effectively the only differences with this are cosmetic.

In terms of the number of voices, this information may explain this in more detail:

The quoted polyphony for the Drum Station is 8 notes. This is a maximum polyphony. The the ASM sounds require more processing power than the sampled sounds. The maximum number of ASM sounds which can be played simultaneously is not straight forward - it depends on the actual sound. As a guide, the amount of % processing power for each sound is:


909 snare 25
909 bass 14
909 tom 32
909 hats 22
909 crash cymbal 10 - sample replay
909 ride cymbal 10 - sample replay
808 snare 24
808 bass 15
808 tom 18
808 hats 10 - sample replay
808 crash cymbal 28

So a 909 kick + 909 tom + 808 crash + 808 kick = almost 100% of processing power.
(4 sounds)

or 808 hat cl + 808 hat op + clave + maraca + rim + ride + 909 crash + 808
clap = 100% of processing power.
(8 sounds)

So a V.1 or V.2 with OS V1.3 is as good as the D Station

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Quote below

"Compared to the Drum Station that came before it, the D-Station has a few enhancements, namely 8-note polyphony from the former's 5-notes. Besides a new look, the front panel features more robust and tactile rotary knobs"

Rob

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The Drum Station V1 & 2 were also prone to note stealing, i know this cause i owned both. This doesn't happen with the D-Station, not happened to me yet anyways :-)

Rob

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rob_lee wrote:Quote below

"Compared to the Drum Station that came before it, the D-Station has a few enhancements, namely 8-note polyphony from the former's 5-notes. Besides a new look, the front panel features more robust and tactile rotary knobs"

Rob
Is that from the D-Station Manual?

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breakmixer wrote:
rob_lee wrote:Quote below

"Compared to the Drum Station that came before it, the D-Station has a few enhancements, namely 8-note polyphony from the former's 5-notes. Besides a new look, the front panel features more robust and tactile rotary knobs"

Rob
Is that from the D-Station Manual?
Second paragraph here:

http://www.vintagesynth.com/novation/dstation.php

Would have to check the manual but the above is quoted from a reviewer, as iv'e owned both units i have to agree. The knobs on V1/2 and the D-Station are different in feel as well. I can just say that the D-Station has a better feel (same sound though) Either will do what your wanting it for :-)

Rob

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rob_lee wrote:The Drum Station V1 & 2 were also prone to note stealing, i know this cause i owned both. This doesn't happen with the D-Station, not happened to me yet anyways :-)

Rob
If I find it too much of an issue I'll resell it! I'm more into syncopated beats so not dropping kick and snare at same time much, maybe Clap/Snare/Hi Hat at the same time, I think at max I'll only hit 4 note polyphony! We'll see, not read this issue at all with V2, only with V1 original OS!

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Uncle E wrote: Short answer:

Yes.

Long answer:
...
...
...

Jomox Mbase ....
well, i have this Quasimidi Rave o Lution, and...to be honest
i don't know what to make of it, lol. the most frustrating OS
a 'drum machine'(sic) ever had, and yet you can see it having
potential. the sound and wave selection knobs weren't a good
idea and you'd have to spend ages setting it up to have presets
you could deal with(and risk losing them too easily with a wrong
button press). the plus i can see it having is the sort of scene
changes it produces.

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So it arrived Friday - Set it up today, downloaded and printed out the manual, filled up the entire user presets from 26 - 39 with my own edits of mostly 808 and 4 x 909 how I like it too sound, And I'm very impressed with the unit - very convincing sound.

1 problem I have found, pressing the volume button(which you are only meant to turn) in makes the volume louder/have more presence, is this a dirty contact or something?

Anyone had a similar problem with other hardware maybe?

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Bump...

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breakmixer wrote:Bump...
I would spray some contact cleaner in there. Switch the DS off first

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thecontrolcentre wrote:
breakmixer wrote:Bump...
I would spray some contact cleaner in there. Switch the DS off first
I've tried that about one hour ago, found some in the kitchen cupboard, said suitable for electrics in cars, boats etc, thought it would be ok,

anyway sprayed it in and twiddled a while, let it dry out etc, tried to twiddle again - no joy.

Had the unit apart, it's the pot, totally faulty, on Vol 0, you have sound, press it in - no sound, on full vol you have sound, press it in, sound is louder - not alot, but louder,

basically the volume knob is not doing anything, it's pumping out same volume wherever it is set, I need to jam it in/glue it full time on full volume...or send it for pro repair!

looked for the b50k knobs on ebay - the same pots do not exist anymore. :(

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breakmixer wrote:I've tried that about one hour ago, found some in the kitchen cupboard, said suitable for electrics in cars, boats etc, thought it would be ok,
:(
I wouldn't be so sure about that. If it's for vehicles it could be oil based, which is not what you need. Best use a solvent based spray. http://www.maplin.co.uk/switch-cleaner-27515 Won't help if the Knob is knackered tho' ...

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thecontrolcentre wrote:
breakmixer wrote:I've tried that about one hour ago, found some in the kitchen cupboard, said suitable for electrics in cars, boats etc, thought it would be ok,
:(
I wouldn't be so sure about that. If it's for vehicles it could be oil based, which is not what you need. Best use a solvent based spray. http://www.maplin.co.uk/switch-cleaner-27515 Won't help if the Knob is knackered tho' ...
Cheers got a maplins nearby!

If worst comes to worst, anyone knows any good synth repair companies?

otherwise it may be a hidden bluetack jobby!

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don't you always read that you should 'never spray stuff into..' etc.?

if it is just an analogue pot, you should be able to do it yourself.
have you tried opening up the box and having a look?(major dissassembly,
but could be re-assuring). you *must* be able to find 50k pot at maplins.

on a beatbox note, took reception of Yamaha RX5, mint, boxed, and v. nice price...initial ho-hum-is-this-a-drum-machine-too-far? feeling was today dispelled by further investigation! this thing is heavy, and absolutely
enormous: must be bigger than a 808/909.. sounds nothing like, of course,
but a bit of a revelation. (although maybe a mpc1000 can do the same job?)

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