Roland TR-8S

yes, I am well aware of this. the ethos of elektron devices seems to be ”fvck uncontrollable tone and mojo, we give you precision to do stuff way beyond”, which is cool and gives a vast scope, but also everything requires programming to prevent things sounding static. Its not only about speed, IMO I operate my rytm fluently enough, but its about being able to dial in a certain type of dynamism… If you’ve ever used 606 hihats with the accents, not samples, you know that there are aspects of microdynamics at play that are holistic somehow, its not easy to simulate it. Or a 909 snarerush with flams and accents… that stuff is elusive to simulate.

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Sample import. PITA

Well… It’s also about speed… E.g. Rytm has all it’s shortcuts and buttons at completley different positions than Analog Four. Only Digitone and Digitakt share the same layout, but they are also different than A4 and Rytm. So I always have to switch muscle memory and mind for all these devices (to e.g. to access effects or global settings). This works for some people, but not for me. I can’t even remember all the buttons and shortcuts on my computer, so having three different layouts on Elektron devices… gets complicated.

These microdynamics you are talking about with other devices are mostly about interfaces that let you change the sound/pattern much more quickly than Elektron devices. Adding accents, changing the decay, etc. is much faster on other devices. They are more reduced, but also more hands on.

I used the rytm exclusively for 2-3 years before getting other elektrons. My muscle mem is pretty comprehensive.

The best way to develop muscle mem to the boxes is to use only one at a time for a year or two. Sticks nicely after that.

nope, not talking about that. The rytm has accents too. Its just that the Roland ”machines” have much more tone generator slop and parameter interaction than the elektrons, all without the operator doing anything to cause such interactions.

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You could add an LFO to some parameters on your rytm to get microdynamics/parameter interactions. Or scenes. But here we are again More programming :smiley:

I think there needs to be more LFO destinations than one to make the same magic happen tbh. I have tried some of the more obvious modulations and they alone dont seem to be enough. Probably would require aftertouch and velocity modmatrix trickery combined with plocking in the controller data by hand… compared to just setting a few trigs and a twist of the accent knob on a Roland, its a hell of an undertaking.

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I’m just gonna share my perspective because that’s what I do, it’s different from other people’s and that’s OK, I like that we have different perspectives…

For me I’m kind of glad AR is/was my first and only drum machine. I’ve never gotten used to certain sounds from anything so I’ve not tried to recreate them on the Rytm. I just tweak things until I like it…

I think I’m like that with most sounds and even musical ideas, I’m much more productive if I just explore tweaking things and go with it when it sounds groovy, I rarely ever try to make the machines do what I hear in my head…

Also just a general comment, while this machine might be a pretty awesome drum machine, I’m so content with my AR that I haven’t bothered to look much into this. It’s not an Elektron thing, it’s just my personality. If I had another companies drum machine and I was super into it, it would be the same. If I’m happy with what I have, I don’t even go looking elsewhere…

Just throwing this out there because we’re on the Elektron forum and the AR has come up, really I don’t have heads or tales to say about this new unit, it could be the shiz for all I know, my point was more about how some of us just are comfortable with what we got, and sometimes we can be happier with sounds we find if we’re not looking for specific ones…

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I totally understand that. You have to realize that I’m a perv when it comes to certain classic Roland drum synthesis sounds. I believe my obsession with them will not change until I have 1:1 analog replicas of the circuits on my table in one form or another.

My perversion has nothing to do with the rytm. The rytm is still the best overall drum machine in my collection. But after some years go by with it, you start obsessing over the details of what it doesn’t do… Still doesn’t change the things it excels in. I’ve a bunch of killer pattns in my rytm which no Roland x0x will ever come close to recreating. Guess my point is that if I could nail those elusive Roland drum synthesis sounds too, I wouldn’t have any need/desire for the Roland stuff as samples suffice for the other stuff they do in my world.

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I embrace everybody’s differences…

I like that someone’s out there recreating Roland sounds on an AR, it’s just not my thing…
Better that someone else does it, might as well be you… :smile:

Probably the least hassle way to get the kind of hihat interactions would be sound locks, probably looking at 4 variations of each open and closed hats at least though. In particular on the 606 the sound you get when open and closed are on same step is not possible on Rytm due to the way the choking works, so you need a third sound which is more akin to a open hat struck harder then closed, and use it via a soundlock.

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There is one feature of the TR-8S which I would like Elektron to add to their sequencers, too:

… edit a pattern which is not the active one …

Editing an active playing pattern is always some kind of race against the machine :wink:

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I’ve been slowly preaching this on the forum, and here I go again… :rofl:
(sorry sort of of topic but applies to all topics)

On forums like this and gear discussions, folks often seek agreement in opinions which is perfectly natural, however I see a lot of specialness in our differences…

It’s kind of like if we absolutely fundamentally agreed on all gear opinions, we would all end up using the same gear. If we went further seeking agreement like what note sounds best in this groove after the last one, eventually if we agreed on everything we’d all play the same song… :smiley:

So this is why I think having 8 billion or so of us is incredible. There’s practically infinite preference choices and differences in musical ideas, to explore life and in our case sound, in just about every possible way conceivable…

In this light I always embrace different opinions, as they lead to more diverse outcomes when taking a step back and looking at the collective situation…

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It’s wild when you put it that way, like Steffi’s tune sounds so much more mellow than the others. We need more subgenres!

Steffi’s set was probably my fave, but did anyone else notice the weird video cuts/edits? Also wondering if she is triggering the Pearl Syncussion from the TR-8?

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Looks like there are some extra cables plugged into the 8S, could be midi or trigger outs…

It kinda reminds me of Daniel Avery’s stuff, which I’m a huge fan of, mellow but intense

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i heard also the cyclone, the acidlab, the tr8 (not the 8s). i am pretty convinced you need to reach for a 606 to get those wonderful hats (and a 606 i still cheaper than a tr8)
… and this 606 snare…

GAS for a 606, that’s a new feeling. Thanks friends

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I have a long way to go with this thing. I have no idea what this sounds like but I wanted to post something before I left for the rest of the weekend

https://m.soundcloud.com/djadonis206/2018-march10

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Try this: iPad running AUM, plug in Bram Bos’s Rosetta suite of midi plugins. Route the LFOs out to AR to control aftertouch. Nice, easy way to get tons of movement. Just be careful not to overdo the midi traffic… Rytm can’t swallow it all.

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