Roland TR-8S

Just looking at the midi spec chart, sysex is a no, both sending and receiving.

Can you choose how they override?

Like, do nothing until you reach the “saved” position then pickup from ther?

Yes, there’s a setting called “KnobMode”, you can choose to have it either in “catch” (where it doesn’t change until you pass through the current value) or “direct” (where it immediately jumps to the value when you move the control).

You can also choose not to have all the settings recalled with the kit, and to use the front panel instead (like the TR-8 does). Or you can have all the settings recalled but with the volumes according to how the sliders are set. Or to recall everything as it was saved.

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Thanks.

Good options there to suit anyone .

Thanks for all the info !

Yes, I think with the TR-8S they have done things quite differently, in that it has many more options that professionals would want (I reckon they did a lot of research). There are fewer arbitrary restrictions compared to the original Aira line. If there is a good reason to have an option, they seem to have included it. And actually specified it, in a decent manual. (Apart from how the program change works, hah.)

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I just got my TR-8s 2 days ago now and I already feel like I know my way around it. It’s so hands on and immediate, with enough depth to be interesting without getting bogged down. Pair it with a monosynth and you are gonna have a good time.

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16 posts were split to a new topic: SysEx implementation on Roland gear

Interestingly, I always find it bizarre that for the company that provided one of (maybe the first?)
sysex implementations, with pattern upload/download on the TR-909 (yes, check the manual - this is possible!), that a) the TR8 didn’t have the same functionality, b) the TR-8S still doesn’t seem to, and c) Roland seem to pretty much ignore sysex access to their machines (unless high end).

I remember having an odd conversation (via a 3rd party) with Roland devs a few years back where they seemed to be very confused about the whole thing - when they released the TB3 there were some criticisms about the extra functionality only being available via sysex rather than via CC/NRPN - this guy took this to mean that people “don’t want sysex” rather than the fact that “people want CC/NRPN for realtime control, not sysex” and not really understanding that sysex is for bulk control, not realtime control. Interestingly enough, the TB3 was the last “lower end machine” to feature sysex (well, documented anyway). Their TB3 sysex implementation was also inconsistent in its implementation with respect to access to the state of the machine.

All in all, for a MIDI pioneer, their path seems to have been generally downward…

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ok this is sort of answering what I’ve been trying to work out…
I want to make an arrangement in the octatrack and each time the OT changes pattern the TR-8s changes too, I only really use one bank worth of patterns in a song on the OT so I guess I set it up so that patterns 1-16 in both machines always play together, ie if the OT plays an arrangement that is say pattern 1 for 3 repeats then pattern 2 then pattern 3 for 3 repeats etc the TR-8s will basically play the same string of patterns?
and as you mentioned Roland answered to your question the OT can’t tell it which of the 8 variations to play but if the TR-8s has variations 1-4 chained together they will play like that???
(if that all makes sense and apologies if you don’t know, your posts are the closest thing I can find to answering this!!!)

I don’t have an Octatrack, but it should be doable. Set the TR8S to receive Program Change messages, the OT to send PC messages as well. It should link patterns on both machines.

That said, does anyone knows what PC message is expected to change KITS on the TR8S ? The MIDI chart is a JOKE.

I’m quite super disappointed with the TR8S so far.
The workflow is so slow. Editing a kit takes hours.
Sample start is not MIDI controllable. This is a major disappointment since I wanted to load sample chains. FXs are cheesy.
MIDI implementation sucks.
The screen is so small and ugly.
The trigger pad is unresponsive.
Sample edition is sample-specific, so you can’t have different start/end points for the same sample in different kits.
That might be my last try ever with hardware drum machines. Really looks like a toy to me.

EDIT : just figured out the PC messages. They are channel specific (by default, ch 1 for kits and ch 10 for patterns). So basically, with Ableton Live, you just cannot send a PC to change both the Kit and the Pattern within a single MIDI track. Super clever…

Seems that nothing beats the MD after all these years.
But I’m so afraid to use it live since I send my previous units to repair 3 times. And now it’s discontinued.

Wow. Whenever I switch it off while connected to the computer with USB and used as a soundcard, my computer freezes and looses connection with the bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Bye-bye TR-8S, it’s by far the worst instrument I ever bought.

you’re mostly right about everything you’ve said. but for me I don’t really need all that and it ticks the most boxes of what I want of anything I’ve tried so far… have you tried the digitakt? I had it and the drum brute and ended up selling them both, each was very cool in some ways but just didn’t really do what I needed

Sold my digitakt as well. Missed the synthesis aspect and the multiple outputs.
Didn’t like the Rytm neither. And it was buggy since the first boot. Sent it back as well.
The MD is still the best option despite a few annoyances in the workflow.

lol, then I want your gear list. Must be top gear porn.

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My opinion of course. But I really mean it.

Interesting. TR8-S is by far the best drum machine I have ever owned and a rock solid piece of gear. I love it.

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Sure, but since it is a rather strong opinion I’ll take it with a grain of salt.

Anyone pissed that Roland teased a Tr8 update at the Tr8s release (possibly solving these ridiculously simple Tr8 issues) yet we’re still waiting???

Of course. My criterias are rather personal and strict I admit.