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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 2:50 pm Post subject: Roland TR-808 "Re-issue" |
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Well it looks like they are going to "re-issue" the TR-808 as the TR-08:
Rumours seem to suggest it is a digital re-modelling of the 808 and will also include the 909 sounds. Seems to be part of a new Roland AIRA range.
Some pictures of an AIRA VT-3 Voice Transformer (re-issue of the VT-1?) also seem to have leaked:
Wonder what else is in the pipeline? Space Echo? Juno? TB-303? _________________
Fran wrote: |
I love how this place is basic as fuck. |
ekwatts wrote: |
I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway. |
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Concretebadger .


Joined: 14 Apr 2012 Posts: 2111 Location: Leeds Leeds LEEDS
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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The cynic in me would say: if you asked Roland about reissuing the Space Echo they'd reply that the RE-20 is as close as we're going to get. Don't get me wrong; the RE-20 is a great piece of kit and I'd still like to see the RE-201 or RE-150 on sale again...except I don't think it would happen in a million years. I don't know whether the components - or near-enough equivalents - are available any more, and they're probably so maintenance-intensive that I don't know how it would fit into the current market occupied by digital products.
I'd love to be proved wrong on that though. If companies can still sell dozens of types of mass-produced tube amplifiers, why not a tape echo machine? |
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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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Pretty sure that any reissued Space Echo would be digital rather than tape based. Roland don't seem interested in analogue stuff any more. _________________
Fran wrote: |
I love how this place is basic as fuck. |
ekwatts wrote: |
I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway. |
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Bacchus Whatever's handiest

Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Posts: 19287 Location: wandering
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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TO-808X? _________________
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Mages súper crujiente

Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 7439 Location: MD
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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the thing with drum machines is that they can be very easily reproduced digitally. it makes basically no difference if you are playing a sample of the drum sound or producing it by analog electronics. it's not a synthesizer where you are able to control a wide range of sound generation capabilities, the sounds are preset. the thing that makes the TR-808 so cool is the interface. super easy to whip out a beat, you have direct control over some limited sound variables for every individual drum sound, and you have individual outputs for every drum sound giving you even more control with how each sound can be processed.
actually the MC-303 already does most of this. the only thing it doesn't have is individual outs. but it has enough onboard processing to do without them in most cases. actually the MC-303 is criminally under-rated. just because it's not analog people think it's crap. |
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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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Interesting. Always wondered about that. I've got a Boss drum machine that has the 808/909/303 sounds in it. Didn't know what there was to be gained from having the real thing, other than a considerably lighter bank balance. _________________
Fran wrote: |
I love how this place is basic as fuck. |
ekwatts wrote: |
I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway. |
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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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Wait. Nerds disagree
Quote: |
The big question if it’s modeled digitally: will it breathe like a real TR-808?
1. You see, the capacitors for the VCAs don’t always fully discharge before the instrument is next triggered which creates a kind of pumping effect. Also, the original clap circuit was poorly designed and you usually can’t hear the clap reverb on the first couple hits. Will they mimic this?
2. Some of the oscillators are free-running, meaning that the beginning of the waveform can differ each time the hats, cymbals and cowbell are triggered. Also, the kick drum uses a bridged T-resonator circuit – a fundamentally unstable analog arrangement where the trigger pings/excites the circuit which bursts into resonance then slowly fades. It’s a beautiful, natural & organic-sounding sound. Will this be emulated?
3. There are also many audible variations between drum hits due to the trigger circuits. Not only that, seeing as most of the original components have 5-20% tolerances, temperature changes create variations in the sound |
LANK _________________
Fran wrote: |
I love how this place is basic as fuck. |
ekwatts wrote: |
I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway. |
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stewart Cunning Linguist

Joined: 14 Jul 2008 Posts: 17625 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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the mc-303 got some stick because of functionality more than the fact it's digital, and there were other, better grooveboxes released around the same time. the mc-505 was really good, if I remember.
have Roland ever released a straight tb-303 reissue? they'd make a fortune. _________________
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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:31 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think Roland have ever reissued anything. _________________
Fran wrote: |
I love how this place is basic as fuck. |
ekwatts wrote: |
I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway. |
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Mages súper crujiente

Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 7439 Location: MD
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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stewart wrote: |
the mc-303 got some stick because of functionality more than the fact it's digital, and there were other, better grooveboxes released around the same time. the mc-505 was really good, if I remember. |
yeah mc-505 is good. besides the lack of individual outs mc-303, doesn't have much hampering functionality if you just want to use it as a drum machine. for using it as 808/303 style MIDI sequencer, contrary to popular belief, it is really quite good as long as you don't have overblown expectations due to an ignorance of the limits of the technology. for using it as a synthesizer, well for that it is fairly weak. it's just a "dance" focused rompler in that respect. however, even then if you are a creative person there's still tons and tons of things you can do with just the preset sounds.
mc-505
-versatile synth abilities
-rather large
-not cheap
mc-303
-does what most will need
-compact
-cheap |
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Mages súper crujiente

Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 7439 Location: MD
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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BearBoy wrote: |
Wait. Nerds disagree
Quote: |
The big question if it’s modeled digitally: will it breathe like a real TR-808?
1. You see, the capacitors for the VCAs don’t always fully discharge before the instrument is next triggered which creates a kind of pumping effect. Also, the original clap circuit was poorly designed and you usually can’t hear the clap reverb on the first couple hits. Will they mimic this?
2. Some of the oscillators are free-running, meaning that the beginning of the waveform can differ each time the hats, cymbals and cowbell are triggered. Also, the kick drum uses a bridged T-resonator circuit – a fundamentally unstable analog arrangement where the trigger pings/excites the circuit which bursts into resonance then slowly fades. It’s a beautiful, natural & organic-sounding sound. Will this be emulated?
3. There are also many audible variations between drum hits due to the trigger circuits. Not only that, seeing as most of the original components have 5-20% tolerances, temperature changes create variations in the sound |
LANK |
yeah... the actual article didn't seem like much of a damning criticism however. like he says, the roland supernatural tech is quite in-depth. so basically, yes, they could model all of the above if they wish. and it won't just be a PCM sample of an 808 kick. only the basic waveform is a PCM sample, the envelope is modeled (actually, like all roland digital synthesizers since the JD-800. although this is way higher fidelity and more accurate modeling. check out all the different filter models they have on the Jupiter-80, they are really very cool.)
this actually makes it sound much much cooler than what I had been thinking initially. the quoted points above are just really really irrelevant as far as actual practical use in a music making situation goes. there's so many ways you can make something sound more "organic". it's just not even worth the trouble to so accurately recreate an 808. the 808 is such a played out sound it would be way more worth the effort for them to spend the time building functionality for you to be able to expand the sound well beyond what an 808 can do. like I said before, the cool thing about an 808 is the interface, which it seems they are capturing quite well. as far as the sound, especially with the knowledge that they'll be using the supernatural tech, I think this has the potential to be even more interesting sounding than an 808. |
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aen Turdscreamer

Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 7576 Location: ELECTRIC WARRIOR
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:12 am Post subject: |
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BearBoy wrote: |
Wait. Nerds disagree
Quote: |
The big question if it’s modeled digitally: will it breathe like a real TR-808?
1. You see, the capacitors for the VCAs don’t always fully discharge before the instrument is next triggered which creates a kind of pumping effect. Also, the original clap circuit was poorly designed and you usually can’t hear the clap reverb on the first couple hits. Will they mimic this?
2. Some of the oscillators are free-running, meaning that the beginning of the waveform can differ each time the hats, cymbals and cowbell are triggered. Also, the kick drum uses a bridged T-resonator circuit – a fundamentally unstable analog arrangement where the trigger pings/excites the circuit which bursts into resonance then slowly fades. It’s a beautiful, natural & organic-sounding sound. Will this be emulated?
3. There are also many audible variations between drum hits due to the trigger circuits. Not only that, seeing as most of the original components have 5-20% tolerances, temperature changes create variations in the sound |
LANK |
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS NEW DRUM MACHINE MALFNCTIONS LIKE THE OLD ONE WHICH I ALREADY HAVE JECAUSE I AM GNIUS. _________________ High quality, low popularity Ecstatic Fury
https://theronaldraygun.bandcamp.com/album/surrender-dorothy |
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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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ekwatts A series of tubes

Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 22379 Location: Bongchester
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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Slightly off-topic; I wonder what it would sound like to put these things through an EHX Analogizer? _________________
Brandon W wrote: |
you elites. |
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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:53 pm Post subject: |
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Might go and suggest that on the 150+ page love/hate (mainly hate) thread on Gearslutz about these. Internets will probably melt from NERDRAGE. _________________
Fran wrote: |
I love how this place is basic as fuck. |
ekwatts wrote: |
I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway. |
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Mages súper crujiente

Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 7439 Location: MD
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:15 am Post subject: |
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yeah... gearslutz are pretty much the pinnacle of cork sniffing twats getting upset about inconsequential minutia. _________________ cogito ergo sum...thing or other...
Last edited by Mages on Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Noirie. YOUTH

Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 4658
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:19 am Post subject: |
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BearBoy wrote: |
I don't think Roland have ever reissued anything. |
And they never will. I read something about it a while ago about it's a japanese thing and I'm really drunk right now so you're just gonna have to take my word for it. _________________
George wrote: |
Abominable cunt. |
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plaidbeer .


Joined: 21 Aug 2010 Posts: 1257 Location: Houston, Texas
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:04 am Post subject: |
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Noirie. wrote: |
BearBoy wrote: |
I don't think Roland have ever reissued anything. |
And they never will. I read something about it a while ago about it's a japanese thing and I'm really drunk right now so you're just gonna have to take my word for it. |
I don't think it's necessarily a Japanese thing. Korg is a Japanese company and they're putting out analog stuff. From what I've read about Roland on synth forums, they see using analog again as a step backwards and they are not interested in that no matter how much people on forums long for the analog stuff. |
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Concretebadger .


Joined: 14 Apr 2012 Posts: 2111 Location: Leeds Leeds LEEDS
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 11:16 am Post subject: |
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I think it's just a Boss/Roland thing - there's a book out there somewhere that lists the history of the brand and includes some interviews with the designers/engineers of the old classics like the DD-3 and Metal Zone. I'm sure one of the quotes was to the effect of "we're a forward-looking company so we never reissue anything." Maybe that's the one that Noirie read? |
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BearBoy .


Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Posts: 5372 Location: Location: Location
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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Roland have released all the details for these now.
UK prices seem to be:
TR-8 - £399
TB-3 - £245
SH-1 - £485
VT-1 - £159
Synth sounds like an interesting concept. It originally comes as a sort of emulation of the SH-101 but it sounds like more may be on the way (Jupiter 8, Juno 60 etc?):
Roland blurb wrote: |
The SYSTEM-1 can control and even host software recreations of classic Roland synthesizers. That’s right. The SYSTEM-1 can control plug-in versions of now legendary Roland synths, and those same plugins can be hosted in the SYSTEM-1 itself – with no computer required. You can even switch between the SYSTEM-1’s internal sounds and those of the hosted plug-in. We call this wizardry “PLUG-OUT” – and we’re pretty excited about it.
And we think you’ll be excited too once you experience the supreme authenticity of the upcoming SH-101 softsynth, with the SYSTEM-1 providing an intuitive and fully automatic one-to-one control interface that just works. Let’s be honest - who could make a better plug-in version of a classic Roland synth than Roland?
And the SH-101 is just the beginning. |
Shame it's only got a 2 octave keyboard. Maybe they'll release bigger versions at a later date. _________________
Fran wrote: |
I love how this place is basic as fuck. |
ekwatts wrote: |
I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway. |
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