Roland’s TR-1000 Rhythm Creator is the final word drum machine

It took means too lengthy, however Roland lastly caved and gave the folks what they want: a correct analog successor to the enduring TR-808 drum machine. The 808’s sound, especially the kick drum, is embedded so deeply within the DNA of modern music that it would be a gross disservice to try and boil its influence down to a single sentence or a list of artists. (Observe: Not the entire songs linked essentially use an precise 808, however they at the least function samples or approximations of its sounds.)

However, in typical Roland vogue, the corporate didn’t simply re-create some iconic analog circuits. No, the TR-1000 additionally has digital emulations of different traditional Roland drum machines. It has FM synthesis, PCM samples, and a built-in sampler with looping and chopping talents. To not point out dozens of results, the power to layer sounds, and a contemporary sequencer with chance, automation, and microtiming. In brief, if there’s a function you would like a drum machine had, the TR-1000 most likely has you coated. However that additionally means the TR-1000 is an intimidating piece of drugs with an equally intimidating $2,699.99 price ticket.

Simply it may be a bit daunting. Roland has at instances trended towards garish or toylike designs, which it’s rightly been criticized for. Now the corporate might have overcorrected. The latest Gaia 2 and SH-4d synthesizers are utilitarian, virtually boring-looking. The TR-1000 continues that pattern, but it surely carries a gravitas that these two devices don’t. Roland’s flagship drum machine means enterprise and appears the half.

The stark gray-and-black scheme provides it an industrial, virtually brutalist vibe. There are 16 satisfyingly clacky keys throughout the underside for the step sequencer, agency sliders for every of its 10 audio channels, plus buttons and knobs galore. Roland heard you wished extra hands-on controls and determined to offer you all the hands-on controls.

The result’s that you are able to do loads on the TR-1000 with minimal menu diving. For those who’ve ever used a step sequencer earlier than, it’s best to have the ability to bang out a easy beat instantly. There are devoted knobs for tuning and decay so you may simply get that ultra-deep, trendy 808 kick drone. Whereas the labeling on the opposite knobs is generic (CTRL 1, CTRL 2, CTRL 3), the display screen on the highest proper reveals what they management.

Now, that doesn’t imply there’s no menu diving right here — it is a Roland machine, in any case. However the firm has made strides with its UI lately. The difficulty is that Roland nonetheless hasn’t gotten a deal with on its compulsion to cram each doable function into each system. Is it good to have pattern chopping and resampling talents on the TR-1000? Positive. However utilizing them isn’t at all times intuitive, and the format isn’t perfect for exploring chops to recontextualize a loop. For sampling one-shots and drum hits, the TR-1000 is nice. However a number of the extra superior options really feel tacked on, buried behind convoluted button combos and cumbersome menus. The result’s that I not often used the looping or chopping options, and as an alternative handled the TR-1000 as a extra conventional drum machine.

From that perspective, the TR-1000 is an plain, if extremely costly, success. The headline function is, in fact, the 16 analog drum circuits that re-create iconic sounds from the TR-808 and TR-909. These are the explanations to splurge on the TR-1000. For those who don’t care about having an genuine analog re-creation of the 808 snare, then spend your cash elsewhere. There are numerous digital facsimiles, together with inexpensive choices just like the T-8 from Roland, and extra free sample packs than I can count. However for many who crave the true deal, that is what you’ve been ready for.

For those who’re into making old-school hip-hop, home, or traditional techno, that is the palette you wish to be portray from. However I wouldn’t name the 808 or 909 sounds retro. They’re timeless. And the TR-1000 helps show that time by inserting them within the context of a contemporary sequencer, alongside extra aggressively digital sounds.

The analog filter and drive assist glue all these disparate sounds collectively whereas additionally highlighting the grit of the analog drum circuits. Flip up the decay on an 808 kick and crank the drive to about 75 p.c — that is the sound of the gods. It’s the purpose the place the bass simply begins to cross over fuzz territory and hits laborious sufficient to rattle your chest. I discovered myself returning to this particular sound over and over once I felt like jamming.

Roland may have simply replicated the OG 808 and 909 sounds and referred to as it a day. However along with the traditional timbres, there are prolonged controls that provide you with way more sound sculpting choices than had been accessible on the unique machines. This consists of tuning the 808 kick so you may play it as a bassline, which is obviously popular in modern music however normally requires a sampler or synthesizer.

The TR-1000 additionally seems to be an awesome commercial for the corporate’s digital emulations. For those who put the analog circuit conduct (ACB) emulation of an 808 kick subsequent to the true analog one on the TR-1000, you’d be hard-pressed to inform the distinction — it’s very refined. I wish to suppose that I’ve a comparatively discerning ear on the subject of these things, however once I tried to guess which was which in a blind style check, I used to be barely higher than pure likelihood.

The ACB fashions are additionally the place you’ll discover my private favourite Roland sounds. Whereas I get the attraction of the 808 and the 909, I’ve at all times been drawn to the extra lo-fi sounds of the TR-606 and the CR-78. Now, if Roland needs to offer me an actual analog reissue of these sounds, I’ll gladly throw all my cash at them.

Regardless of all the extra sounds and superior options the TR-1000 presents, I normally discovered myself beginning with some slight variation of the identical sound palette: an analog 808 kick, snare, hi-hat, and clap, analog 909 snare, and a digital 808 kick layered with the analog one. Then I’d replenish the opposite 5 tracks with numerous digital percussion sounds that struck my fancy at that individual second in time.

Due to the quirks of the TR’s sequencer, I additionally usually discovered myself working with shorter, less complicated patterns. Quite than have one lengthy 64- or 128-step sequence, the TR-100 primarily has a 16-step sequencer, with eight variations which you can then change, plus 4 “fill-in” variations of every variation. So quite than pondering of issues as one lengthy eight-bar loop, I might work in two- and even one-bar loops, however then construct a bunch of slight variations to swap between.

This workflow truly led to me creating extra diversified drum tracks, and the piles of hands-on controls truly had me treating a drum machine as a efficiency instrument for as soon as, quite than a set-it-and-forget-it backdrop for noodling.

My favourite efficiency software is definitely the Morph slider, which is certainly impressed by the crossfader on Elektron’s Octatrack. It permits you to set two completely different units of parameters for all of your sounds after which seamlessly mix between them. Typically, I might use it to modify between a fundamental model of a sample and one with the drive cranked, the decay on the kick turned up, and the snares tuned to hit tougher.

One other performance-focused function that I stored coming again to was the Step Loop. Some drum machines let you repeat a sure a part of a sample — say, the primary half a bar or a single step — to create on-the-fly fills and buildups. However Roland is the one firm I do know that permits you to repeat whichever steps you need in no matter mixture you need. Need to repeat steps one, 5, and 9 to create a looping fill that avoids any snares? Simply maintain these steps down for so long as you need. It turns taking part in fills into an energetic course of, quite than simply one thing you program in and set off sometimes. It’s the uncommon Roland function I want different corporations would blatantly steal.

I’ve totally loved my time with the TR-1000. It’s extra enjoyable than I’ve had with a drum machine in a very long time. However I additionally really feel like I’ve barely scratched the floor over the past couple of months. The looping, time-stretching, and chopping are all issues I not often trouble with; the identical goes for the digital analog synth engine — largely as a result of programming melodic passages is a gigantic PITA. There are particular person outs for every monitor, which might be big in a extra skilled setting, however in my attic workplace / studio, I solely ever bothered with the grasp out. I additionally by no means touched Track Mode. (To be truthful, I by no means contact music mode on any of my gear.)

There’s simply a lot occurring on the TR-1000 that it’s overwhelming. Roland actually did construct the final word drum machine, however it will probably really feel like an excessive amount of at instances, and I most well-liked to stay to the fundamentals. There’s nothing inherently fallacious with that; it’s best to use an instrument in the best way that feels pure to you. However for those who’re not going to make use of the TR-1000 to its full potential, the $2,699.99 price ticket might be a deal-breaker.

Images by Terrence O’Brien / The Verge