The TR-808 is the Fender Stratocaster of electronic music. The programmable
drum machine was heavily used by pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa, the Beastie
Boys, LL Cool J, and Derrick May, and its plonks, taps, and thuds can be heard
on hundreds of classic rap, techno, and dance tracks. But unlike the Strat, which
has been in non-stop production since 1954, Roland’s massively influential drum
machine was only available during a 4 year window in the early ’80s. Its endearingly
cheesy analog drum sounds were considered passe by pros, so it didn’t sell well,
and it was promptly discontinued. These orphaned devices were quickly scooped up
on the used market by indie producers who put them to work crafting the hottest new
underground sounds in hip-hop, techno, and dance music. These days, a TR-808
(or its replacement, the TR-909) will cost you anywhere from $3,000 to $35,000 on
eBay — a huge chunk of change for a drum machine that initially no one wanted.
Well, Roland just fixed that. The classic sounds of the 808 and 909 have now been
digitized and crammed into a new drum machine, the TR-8. While the form factor
remains the same, the new instrument adds light-up buttons and even more audio-
tweaking knobs. And the digital resurrections don’t end there. Roland has also updated
its not-quite-as-famous TB-303 Bass Line sequencer (now the TB-3), the System 100,
100M, and 700 synthesizers (now consolidated into the System 100), and has even added
a new tool to the electronic musician’s kit: the VT-3 Voice Transformer. The company hopes
this new ARIA line of machines will give a new generation of musicians access to the tools
that helped create some of most memorable songs of the past 30 years.
It’s a gesture that stands in opposition to Roland’s very narrow plans for the original
808 and 909. When the musicians the company hoped would use the drum machines
didn’t, they promptly pulled them from the market. But that didn’t stop House and
Techno artists as well as a growing underground hip-hop culture from adopting the
inexpensive drum machines.
The key to all this was DSP, or digital signal processing. Roland was able to recreate
the sounds found in the original analog devices by carefully analyzing the circuitry of
those instruments and creating a digital facsimile. First, the circuit diagrams were studied
and a corresponding digital program was written. Then the sound waves between the analog
original and the new digital version were compared and the program was fine tuned to
recreate those precise analog characteristics. Finally, each instrument was tuned by ear.
The process wasn’t easy. Because the original drum machines were analog, no two machines
ever sounded exactly alike. Indeed, that’s part of the magic of analog. But it also means there’s
a decay to the machines as they are used and abused over the years. To recreate the sounds
used in the TR-8, Roland used new, in-box 808s and 909s from its museum of products. It did
the same thing with the TB-3 and the TB-303.
The resulting sounds are impressive — and more importantly, worthy successors of the
original instruments. Using the new ARIA line reminded me why the original versions of
these devices resonated so well with bedroom musicians back in the early 1980s. You
can quickly jump into creating music without even cracking the manual. After a few hours,
if you want more than just a flat-four beat and pre-recorded bass line, you crack open the
manual and start fiddling with the controls. As always, twisting knobs, adjusting sliders, and
hitting buttons, gives you a wonderful sense of interaction and control over your music. And
while the ARIA line can be attached to your computer via USB, for me, they worked best as
standalone music-creation tools.
Each device is capable of on-the-fly edits to instruments (sounds), tempo, and patterns. After
noodling around with the TR-8 and TB-3, I started looking for songs to cover. I programmed
Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” into the TR-8 followed by Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” in the TB-3.
Like all musicians, I stole bits and pieces of those compositions for my own use and then
expanded on them. The process was so much fun, hours passed without me noticing or caring.
Analog purists will surely scoff at the fact that the entire ARIA line is only a digital representation
of analog instruments. But the fact is there are a finite amount of the original devices on the market,
and many are far beyond the price range of most musicians. If you already own a TR-909,TR-808,
or TB-303, good for you. For the rest of us with limited budgets, this ARIA line is a great way to
create music with powerful tools that won’t have you performing in the street to make rent.
Source: Wired
drum machine was heavily used by pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa, the Beastie
Boys, LL Cool J, and Derrick May, and its plonks, taps, and thuds can be heard
on hundreds of classic rap, techno, and dance tracks. But unlike the Strat, which
has been in non-stop production since 1954, Roland’s massively influential drum
machine was only available during a 4 year window in the early ’80s. Its endearingly
cheesy analog drum sounds were considered passe by pros, so it didn’t sell well,
and it was promptly discontinued. These orphaned devices were quickly scooped up
on the used market by indie producers who put them to work crafting the hottest new
underground sounds in hip-hop, techno, and dance music. These days, a TR-808
(or its replacement, the TR-909) will cost you anywhere from $3,000 to $35,000 on
eBay — a huge chunk of change for a drum machine that initially no one wanted.
Well, Roland just fixed that. The classic sounds of the 808 and 909 have now been
digitized and crammed into a new drum machine, the TR-8. While the form factor
remains the same, the new instrument adds light-up buttons and even more audio-
tweaking knobs. And the digital resurrections don’t end there. Roland has also updated
its not-quite-as-famous TB-303 Bass Line sequencer (now the TB-3), the System 100,
100M, and 700 synthesizers (now consolidated into the System 100), and has even added
a new tool to the electronic musician’s kit: the VT-3 Voice Transformer. The company hopes
this new ARIA line of machines will give a new generation of musicians access to the tools
that helped create some of most memorable songs of the past 30 years.
It’s a gesture that stands in opposition to Roland’s very narrow plans for the original
808 and 909. When the musicians the company hoped would use the drum machines
didn’t, they promptly pulled them from the market. But that didn’t stop House and
Techno artists as well as a growing underground hip-hop culture from adopting the
inexpensive drum machines.
The key to all this was DSP, or digital signal processing. Roland was able to recreate
the sounds found in the original analog devices by carefully analyzing the circuitry of
those instruments and creating a digital facsimile. First, the circuit diagrams were studied
and a corresponding digital program was written. Then the sound waves between the analog
original and the new digital version were compared and the program was fine tuned to
recreate those precise analog characteristics. Finally, each instrument was tuned by ear.
The process wasn’t easy. Because the original drum machines were analog, no two machines
ever sounded exactly alike. Indeed, that’s part of the magic of analog. But it also means there’s
a decay to the machines as they are used and abused over the years. To recreate the sounds
used in the TR-8, Roland used new, in-box 808s and 909s from its museum of products. It did
the same thing with the TB-3 and the TB-303.
The resulting sounds are impressive — and more importantly, worthy successors of the
original instruments. Using the new ARIA line reminded me why the original versions of
these devices resonated so well with bedroom musicians back in the early 1980s. You
can quickly jump into creating music without even cracking the manual. After a few hours,
if you want more than just a flat-four beat and pre-recorded bass line, you crack open the
manual and start fiddling with the controls. As always, twisting knobs, adjusting sliders, and
hitting buttons, gives you a wonderful sense of interaction and control over your music. And
while the ARIA line can be attached to your computer via USB, for me, they worked best as
standalone music-creation tools.
Each device is capable of on-the-fly edits to instruments (sounds), tempo, and patterns. After
noodling around with the TR-8 and TB-3, I started looking for songs to cover. I programmed
Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” into the TR-8 followed by Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” in the TB-3.
Like all musicians, I stole bits and pieces of those compositions for my own use and then
expanded on them. The process was so much fun, hours passed without me noticing or caring.
Analog purists will surely scoff at the fact that the entire ARIA line is only a digital representation
of analog instruments. But the fact is there are a finite amount of the original devices on the market,
and many are far beyond the price range of most musicians. If you already own a TR-909,TR-808,
or TB-303, good for you. For the rest of us with limited budgets, this ARIA line is a great way to
create music with powerful tools that won’t have you performing in the street to make rent.
Source: Wired