Roland CR-78

[CrystalWizard]

No to the sub model, sell me something i actually own.

"Debuting in 1978 as Roland’s first programmable rhythm machine, the CR-78 was quickly adopted by musicians and producers of the era seeking new rhythm textures. Its fat analog sound and distinctive pulse are integral to countless hits across many genres, from new wave and early electronic music to mainstream pop and rock."

Seems to me to be a serious retconning of electronic music equipment history. Who, exactly, made these countless hits from new wave to early electronic music* to mainstream rock and pop?

"Its fat analog sound and distinctive pulse"-- Oh take my money! It's phat!

* -they seem to be confusing "early electronic music" with EDM.

i, as well as some friends, had one. Cool gadget, but, not exactly a huge thing for us. Then again, i wasn't particularly impressed with the TR808, so what do i know? I'm not saying these weren't fun, just not quite like having a great jazz trap kit player getting a Simmonds kit** to add to their setup.

** a few years after the CR-78

Just an old man yelling at clouds

[husker37]

I'd buy this in a hearbeat (pun intended) if Roland would ditch this cloud crap.

Is it that bad (perpetual license, not sub)?

I don't think so. I don't have a sub, but I have several of permanent licenses

You still have to have the Roland Cloud Manager and log in to use them, no? Did they change that? Maybe you're always logged in and don't notice it doing its checks.

Yes, but he was asking me if it was "bad." I don't think Roland Cloud is bad at all. I just won't do a sub.

[Mr Arkadin]

Yes, but he was asking me if it was "bad." I don't think Roland Cloud is bad at all. I just won't do a sub.

Ah, I thought you were saying you had a perpetual licence and didn't need to log on. You see, to me, that's still a subscription model, you just don't pay monthly for the privilege of being checked on every month.

I understand that some people won't care, but unless you log on your plug-ins will be deactivated, which in my mind is not the definition of a perpetual licence. If the server is ever closed or unavailable or you run a non-internet music computer, you don't have access to your purchases.

[Aloysius]

A lot of people care and would prefer iLok.

[Mr Arkadin]

No to the sub model, sell me something i actually own.

"Debuting in 1978 as Roland’s first programmable rhythm machine, the CR-78 was quickly adopted by musicians and producers of the era seeking new rhythm textures. Its fat analog sound and distinctive pulse are integral to countless hits across many genres, from new wave and early electronic music to mainstream pop and rock."

Seems to me to be a serious retconning of electronic music equipment history. Who, exactly, made these countless hits from new wave to early electronic music* to mainstream rock and pop?

OK, 'phat' no, but you really don't know who used it? Blondie, Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, Roxy Music, Genesis/Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Thom Yorke, Hall & Oates, OMD, Mike Oldfield, Tears for Fears and loads more I don't remember right now.

[CrystalWizard]

Thanks for that, i knew a few (Phil Collins, Ultavox, OMD) but my brain skipped a beat. Not sure how (as a big fan) i didn't remember Roxy and Peter Gabriel used it. I think Eno used it on Another Green World. I'm going to relisten to a bunch of that.
Definitely New Wave/Pop but it would take a time machine for it to have been used in early electronic music.

[electro]

If the server is ever closed or unavailable or you run a non-internet music computer, you don't have access to your purchases.

And rest assured that day will come. Completely unacceptable.

[Mr Arkadin]

Thanks for that, i knew a few (Phil Collins, Ultavox, OMD) but my brain skipped a beat. Not sure how (as a big fan) i didn't remember Roxy and Peter Gabriel used it. I think Eno used it on Another Green World. I'm going to relisten to a bunch of that.
Definitely New Wave/Pop but it would take a time machine for it to have been used in early electronic music.

Another Green World is great. Haven't listened in a while.

Roxy = Jealous Guy, Same Old Scene, Lover.

I think Gabriel's Games Without Frontiers is 78.

[IvyBirds]

Yes, but he was asking me if it was "bad." I don't think Roland Cloud is bad at all. I just won't do a sub.

All Roland Cloud products even the ones you supposedly own outright without a sub have a serious flaw that makes all of them bad

Namely Roland still thinks their laying customers are thieves and feels to need to phone home at regular intervals to make sure the plugin you own and paid for wasn't stolen

The issue with that is it can and will stop working if their process has any hiccups and you have no control over when they assume you are a thief and need to prove your innocence with a phone home check

I had this happen to me minutes before I was scheduled to play at a paid gig. (Outdoor wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains) Only problem was I had no WiFI and no cell service, so my paid Roland Cloud product, that I own said nope, F.U. and gave me the middle finger and refused to load

Keep in mind three hours earlier I had it up and running in my home studio, on the same laptop with a fiber Internet connection with no issues

Fortunately I had other options and was able to play the gig without looking like a moron, but the fact remains Roland Cloud products are bad

[josb]

"1984" by Anthony Phillips and released in 1981, prominently features the CR-78.

[vanerio]

Yes, but he was asking me if it was "bad." I don't think Roland Cloud is bad at all. I just won't do a sub.

All Roland Cloud products even the ones you supposedly own outright without a sub have a serious flaw that makes all of them bad

Namely Roland still thinks their laying customers are thieves and feels to need to phone home at regular intervals to make sure the plugin you own and paid for wasn't stolen

The issue with that is it can and will stop working if their process has any hiccups and you have no control over when they assume you are a thief and need to prove your innocence with a phone home check

I had this happen to me minutes before I was scheduled to play at a paid gig. (Outdoor wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains) Only problem was I had no WiFI and no cell service, so my paid Roland Cloud product, that I own said nope, F.U. and gave me the middle finger and refused to load

Keep in mind three hours earlier I had it up and running in my home studio, on the same laptop with a fiber Internet connection with no issues

Fortunately I had other options and was able to play the gig without looking like a moron, but the fact remains Roland Cloud products are bad

This sounds terrible and unfair. I won't support these companies...

[mumpcake]

I can't go for that.

[CrystalWizard]

Yes, but he was asking me if it was "bad." I don't think Roland Cloud is bad at all. I just won't do a sub.

All Roland Cloud products even the ones you supposedly own outright without a sub have a serious flaw that makes all of them bad

Namely Roland still thinks their paying (fixed) customers are thieves and feels to need to phone home at regular intervals to make sure the plugin you own and paid for wasn't stolen

The issue with that is it can and will stop working if their process has any hiccups and you have no control over when they assume you are a thief and need to prove your innocence with a phone home check

I had this happen to me minutes before I was scheduled to play at a paid gig. (Outdoor wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains) Only problem was I had no WiFI and no cell service, so my paid Roland Cloud product, that I own said nope, F.U. and gave me the middle finger and refused to load

Keep in mind three hours earlier I had it up and running in my home studio, on the same laptop with a fiber Internet connection with no issues

Fortunately I had other options and was able to play the gig without looking like a moron, but the fact remains Roland Cloud products are bad

That is horrific.
When it comes down to subs and "phone home" plugs, i just say no. I am often in situations with either really crap, or no, interwebs. Fairs, festivals, outdoor parties in rural areas. Aside from that, i don't want my machines doing anything online without my consent.

[CrystalWizard]

Thanks for that, i knew a few (Phil Collins, Ultavox, OMD) but my brain skipped a beat. Not sure how (as a big fan) i didn't remember Roxy and Peter Gabriel used it. I think Eno used it on Another Green World. I'm going to relisten to a bunch of that.
Definitely New Wave/Pop but it would take a time machine for it to have been used in early electronic music.

Another Green World is great. Haven't listened in a while.

One of my favorites.

Roxy = Jealous Guy, Same Old Scene, Lover.

I think Gabriel's Games Without Frontiers is 78.

Ouch, i'm embarassed, I'm quite familiar with those, although, it has been decades. Huge fan of Gabriel III back when it came out. We wore out the cassette (in a car stereo).

"1984" by Anthony Phillips and released in 1981, prominently features the CR-78.

Ah, i've heard it but only a few times, again, decades ago, great album. Thanks.
I need to trawl through old HDs and maybe even set up one of my cassette decks.
I might even have that CR-78 buried in my storage unit, probably heavily modified.

[Ah_Dziz]

I've still never heard anything from the Roland cloud plugins that remotely convinces me that they have anything special happening in their DSP that would make me use their silly DRM. They sound fine and they have a nice GUI based on the original hardware, but these sounds are stupendously easy to make with any decent filters and oscillators. The cr 78 is (in my experience) the very easiest drum synthesis topology to recreate. While exploring the rudiments of using subtractive synths to make drum sounds, the "first draft" sounds always sound remarkably similar to the cr78 and the other myriad "organ drum machines" of that era. Along with the easily available circuit schematics of the cr78, this makes creating these sounds both simple and fun with pretty much any tools, this making going to Roland and their crappy business model a non-starter for me.