New Roland "DANCE" hardware- AIRA TR-8, TB-3, VT-3, SYSTEM-1

Anything about hardware musical instruments.
Locked New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

go draw in your DAW like 2009 if that makes you happy

Post

Sometimes people play acoustic guitars like it's 1299. :)

Image

Post

I'm ASKING, what kind of people will use outdated performance controls on a drum machine?
Direct access knobs, faders, buttons for easy step input - the TR8 is no more or less outdated than any other drum machine out there. In fact, we have volume faders for each drum sound, which can't be said for some other drum machine held in high esteem!


But even if people jam like it's 1999, is this bad?

We zoom through music genres at a considerable speed - is there time to savor it all properly?

Perhaps we can go back now and dial-in into any electronic music genre of the past 40 years and enjoy it at our own leisure, unperturbed by the need to climb the Top Of the Pops tree.. We have both, the software and hardware that can replicate any of the classic sounds with relative ease. Why can't some of us keep on making those 808/909 beats and enjoy them? Is there like an unwritten rule that states that we need to move on the minute some fashionista dictates a new style?

edit:typo
Last edited by himalaya on Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
http://www.electric-himalaya.com
VSTi and hardware synth sound design
3D/5D sound design since 2012

Post

I attend Les Mills Body Combat every week and most of the tunes are old school 90s rave like Scooter, Prodigy and Ultrasonic. I can't really imagine better music to work out to. I hardly ever hear dubstep in fitness classes as the tempo is too slow but there has been the occasional dubstep tune in Body Pump or Shbam, lol. I'm yet to hear anything from Rudimental.

While older dance music may not be the current trend, they still have high functional value, and some of us still like to live in the past.

Post

ghettosynth wrote:
himalaya wrote:
ghettosynth wrote: Who plays live with drum machines like it's 1999? Are they selling out in the U.K. to hip hop guys, or techno producers?.
your post holds no weight at all?...of course they are selling out to techno and hip hop guys in the uk,are you even aware how big acid house and techno was

im 40 years old and totally jumped onboard with the TR8 and TB3 and i only got both so i can have them sit side by side and make some techno like back in the day ,i havent really even considered incorporating them both into my actual studio?

also..1999 is to late for the live drum machine quote,it was the early mid 80's to early 90's when you saw alot of use onstage with drum machines

to add to this im pissed of hearing the lack of real analog with the TB3 and TR8,these current machines are simply BETTER in terms of practicality and overall use and sound 99% authentic,im just not bothered if they are not 100%,i can accept a 1% difference :lol:

well done roland i say
live 11 / Arturia collection / many Softube plug ins / thats it

Post

Roland would sell a ship load more of the TR8 if they made an "MPC" style version with velocity sensitive pads. I think pretty much everyone making hip hop/trap/bass music would be interested in that.

Post

himalaya wrote:
I'm ASKING, what kind of people will use outdated performance controls on a drum machine?
Direct access knobs, faders, buttons for easy step input - the TR8 is no more or less outdated than any other drum machine out there. In fact, we have volume faders for each drum sound, which can't be said for some other drum machine held in high esteem!
No, I don't agree.
Last edited by ghettosynth on Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:45 am, edited 3 times in total.

Post

ghettosynth wrote:
himalaya wrote:
I'm ASKING, what kind of people will use outdated performance controls on a drum machine?
Direct access knobs, faders, buttons for easy step input - the TR8 is no more or less outdated than any other drum machine out there. In fact, we have volume faders for each drum sound, which can't be said for some other drum machine held in high esteem!
No, I don't agree. The TR8 is far more outdated than anything that electron has been doing for years.
You consider direct, intuitive interaction with parameters (TR8) to be more outdated than a system that requires menus for its operation (like the Elektron gear you mentioned) ? This is upside down.
Even DJs don't bother, controllers like the Traktor F1 give you volume controls and knobs for level and effects in a contemporary context. In essence, you miss the point entirely, to me it seems that Roland's looking back to sucker retail nostalgia
Sure, you can set up midi controllers to control whatever you need, we all know that, but the point I was making is that with the TR8 you don't need to, as everything is right in front of you. You can't even control volume on Elektron Rytm for all pads at the same time - in my book, this is the type of design that is backwards.

Your DJs, can spend time faffing around with assigning stuff to midi controllers (that would require three F1 boxes to cover 12 pads on the Elektron, btw) while those with the TR8 will just get on with making sweet music, and if they decide to change the volume on several tracks at once, they can do it easily without external midi controllers, if they also decide to change the decay time of a sound or several sounds, they do it easily, no midi controllers insight.

So, in essence, you like LCD menus and wasting time connecting stuff together. That's fair enough.

Oh cmon, we don't need a TR8 for that
Ok, so you reply to one sentence of a longer paragraph that contained a wider context... Of course you don't need just the TR8 for that. Read the text again and discover that I was talking about the fact that we "have both, the software and hardware that can replicate any of the classic sounds with relative ease".

The cynical side of me says...
I know people who are truly grateful that Roland has released a £399 drum machine that will provide them with some classic sounds that are still sought after, sounds which are immediately accessible and editable.

Personally, I'd love to see the same hands-on approach as presented by the TR8, but with many more sounds and synthesis engines. I can imagine loading a set of sounds based on some acoustic modelling engine...that would be nice.
http://www.electric-himalaya.com
VSTi and hardware synth sound design
3D/5D sound design since 2012

Post

ghettosynth wrote:

Wait, I'm not criticizing anyone's choice to keep doing the same thing, I'm trying to wrap my head around what Roland's vision is? The cynical side of me says that it's nothing more than them recognizing that now is the time to sell a clone of the 808/909 to the ravers that are nostalgic for the past and now have a lot more disposable income.
Are you kidding? Have you seen the second hand prices of the originals? I'd say the TR8 concept was a no-brainer for Roland. BTW, it's not just " ravers that are nostalgic for the past and now have a lot more disposable income" who want this product.

Post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Ob-pp3jAc#t=91

Interesting TR 8 video. Apparently the 707 will be provided as an additional emulation in a future update. This is becoming more and more tempting.

Post

dcfac73 wrote:
ghettosynth wrote:

Wait, I'm not criticizing anyone's choice to keep doing the same thing, I'm trying to wrap my head around what Roland's vision is? The cynical side of me says that it's nothing more than them recognizing that now is the time to sell a clone of the 808/909 to the ravers that are nostalgic for the past and now have a lot more disposable income.
Are you kidding? Have you seen the second hand prices of the originals?
Yes, because they are original. I think that it's largely collectors buying 808s and 909s.
Last edited by ghettosynth on Mon Apr 21, 2014 4:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post

himalaya wrote:
ghettosynth wrote:
himalaya wrote:
I'm ASKING, what kind of people will use outdated performance controls on a drum machine?
Direct access knobs, faders, buttons for easy step input - the TR8 is no more or less outdated than any other drum machine out there. In fact, we have volume faders for each drum sound, which can't be said for some other drum machine held in high esteem!
No, I don't agree. The TR8 is far more outdated than anything that electron has been doing for years.
You consider direct, intuitive interaction with parameters (TR8) to be more outdated than a system that requires menus for its operation (like the Elektron gear you mentioned) ? This is upside down.
No, not necessarily, but if direct parameters aren't interesting, then yes. It' not JUST about direct access. I have several synths with direct access that are completely blown away by some that have menu driven interfaces.
Last edited by ghettosynth on Mon Apr 21, 2014 4:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post

dup...

Post

ghettosynth wrote:
Yes, I'm quite sure that a lot of people will buy it because it is a "digital" clone and not because it's an innovative product that pushes dance music forward. That's exactly what I said though, it's nostalgia.
The sounds of the 808 and 909 continue to be used in contemporary music right now...from techno to bass to trap to hip-hop. The love of these sounds has little to do with "nostalgia" for these producers. Apparently the emulation of these in the TR 8 is so good that this could be reason to get into it alone, not to mention the hardware control.

The possibility that the 707 could be added, adds value to the product. This opens the possibilty for further expansions. If the quality of these emulations remains constant then it can only sweeten the deal for me.

Just because you don't see the validity in the hardware implimentation doesn't make it un-viable for a great many producers today. Truth is it may be a bit too early to see what artists will come up with from this product. Different possibilities may open up with new thinking about how the hardware is used.

Have you had a hands on with the thing? If not, then how can you have any idea of the limtiations of the music which it is capable of?

Post

@Ghettosynth

I think you are missing the point, it's £399 for an 808/909 box in the TR-8(compared to £4,000 for the originals), The 909 is close enough for me to be happy with it, before I had Drumazon and Wave Alchemy Transistor Revolution, I was never totally convinced by Drumazon(or Nepheton) and Transistor Revolution sometimes used to glitch on me, I see it for £198.50 that I now have a 909 good enough(and an extra £198.50 gives me the 808), It pulls no CPU/Ram from the PC, I don't have to mouse around on the PC or use clunky Kontakt 5 to get the kit up and I also am not stuck with static feeling samples. I trigger the sounds from my MPD32 for recording into my DAW, I also have a Yocto 808 clone which I prefer over the TR-8's 808 soundwise as it's a 1:1 clone of the circuit, but I am right into 1980's Electro Funk sounds so to me that matters, but I also think the TR-8 is close enough for someone not so worried about an exact replica for it to be totally usable. So for me these drum machines are tweakable sound modules for 'hobbyist' useage, and also the sounds are not only tied to ravers trying to recreate the past, the TR-8 can be used for many different genres, old school and modern.

My friend who is not a musician at all, just a music fan actually prefered the sound of the TR-8 over my Yocto 808. So it is subjective too. I also think the TR-8 sounds good in it's own right when not being compared to the original.

Just giving you my opinion...

Locked

Return to “Hardware (Instruments and Effects)”