Roland TR-8 Tips + Tricks: Dim the Lights, Change Color Scheme +

In celebration of the Roland TR-808 and the Aira TR-8 giveaway, we’ve rounded up some tips and tricks that will allow you to get the most out of your Roland TR-8 Rhythm Performer! Make sure to stop by Dubspot NY and Dubspot LA this weekend to celebrate 8/08 day with live demos, performances, and gear on hand for you to play with. 

Roland TR-8 Tips + Tricks

The Roland Aira TR-8 is tasteful re-creation of Roland’s classic TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines that has exceeded expectations and became an instant classic last year. It has been showing up in live performances and studios around the world due to it’s classic sound quality and ease of use. We’ve recently learned about a few more tricks that this rhythm box has hidden away, so we’ve started this list of Roland Aira TR-8 shortcuts that allow you to do things like pan sounds, apply effects to individual sounds, and you can even get that awful light show to stop. Thanks to Miles at Sonic Sense for a nice video (below) that taught us a few of these things. 

Clearing Notes

If you are in TR-REC mode, you can clear the notes that are programmed in the TR-8 by holding CLEAR while the TR-8 plays back to delete specific notes in an instrument’s sequence. In INST PLAY/REC mode you can delete entire note patterns by holding the CLEAR button and pressing one of the instrument buttons. (you can also hold the instrument button and push CLEAR). In PTN SELECT mode, you can delete entire patterns by holding a pattern button and pressing CLEAR.

Pan Individual Sounds

If you are in Drum Select INST mode, you can hold a drum sound (button) and turn the TEMPO knob left or right to pan each drum sound in the kit.

Assign Effects to Specific Sounds

If you are in Kit Select mode, hold down the “Step” button in either the delay or reverb section. While you hold down that button you can now see which instruments are being effected as they are lit up. Press the button corresponding to the instrument that you want to turn on/off and you can choose exactly which sounds will be effected.

Check Out the Different Reverb and Delay Options

If you are in Instrument Select mode, select Reverb Step or Delay Step mode. The step sequence buttons will light to show you different options for effects. Press the different steps to hear the different types of delay and reverb.

Assign Sounds to Individual Outputs

To start this process, hold “PTN SELECT” and turn on the power. This boots the TR-8 into “under the hood” mode. When you first boot into this mode, the TR-8 is displaying the instruments assigned to the master output, usually with individual instrument lights all lit up. If you press bank A or B button, this will show you each of the assignable outputs. To assign an instrument to one of these outputs you need to hold down button A or B while pressing each instrument that you want to send to the individual outputs. When you let go of button A or B, you will see that the instruments that are assigned to those outputs will now be dark (they are no longer sent to the master output).

Dim the Lights

To dim the (very bright) lights on the TR-8, hold “PTN SELECT” and turn on the power. This boots the TR-8 into “under the hood” mode. Next Hold “DEPTH (scatter)” and turn the “Scatter Wheel” to choose between 6 different color sets. Number 2 is a dimmed version of the original color set. To confirm your change press “START/STOP” to save.

Control the Screensaver

To turn off the screensaver function (this is the flashing lights that run back and forth across the TR-8): Turn off the TR-8. Hold the PTN SELECT button while you turn on the device (Under The Hood Mode). Next hold the TAP button. The led display above the knob will probably say 5 (meaning 5 minutes). You can turn this knob to the right to increase the wait time before the lights flash, or you can turn the knob all the way left until the screen says “OFF.” Hit the START / STOP button to save this setting. The TR-8 should now return back to normal with the screen saver turned off.

Click here to view the embedded video.

TR-8 As Aggregate Audio Device

One of the groundbreaking features of the TR-8 is the ability to record audio (TR-8 sounds AND inputs) over USB with 14 channels of sound. With a Mac computer you can create an “Aggregate Device” in your Audio MIDI Setup application which will allow you to use the TR-8 inputs AND your audio interface at the same time. The one shortcoming of this setup is that both audio interfaces must run at the same (exact) sample rate. Frustratingly, the TR-8 only runs at 96kHz, which means you must use an interface that supports this sample rate. My apogee One, for example, only runs at 44.1 or 48, so I had to use the standard 1/8th inch output on the Macbook Air (which does support 96kHz sample rate). If you want to try this method for recording, Roland offers a very nicely created how-to for setting up the TR-8 as an aggregate device on their website.

Install System Update 1.1.2 to the TR-8

There is a new operating system for the TR-8. If you bought your device in the past few months you are probably running the 1.0 version of the software. You can download the new software at Roland’s website. To install, you must unplug the TR-8 USB from your computer and turn off the TR-8. Next hold down pad 1 on the TR-8 and turn on the instrument. Next plug the USB into your computer and the TR-8 should show up as a drive on your machine. Drag or copy the TR8_xxx.bin file to the TR-8 drive. Allow the file to copy. When it is done, eject the drive, unplug the USB cable, and press pad 2 on the TR-8. The machine will go through an update, you can watch progress on the Scatter knob lights. When the update is complete all lights (instrument and steps) will blink. Turn off the TR-8 and restart. 

TR-8 Update 1.1 New Features

Click here to view the embedded video.

The updated TR-8 operating system offers new functionality for the drum machine. These features include: Backup and restore via USB (requires computer), instrument gain settings (they can get twice as loud!), edit pattern with sequencer playing, improved drumroll function, more features for the Scatter effect, and updates to MIDI functionality. You can find instructions on how to access these features at Roland’s Knowledge Base and you can download the TR-8 firmware update here. Here’s a complete list of changes with this firmware version:

Backup and Restore

• Manage your kit and pattern library with easy backup and restore over USB.

Improved Playability

• Instrument Levels — Customize kits by adjusting the gain of each instrument to suit your individual style.
• Better Rolls — Rolls are now easier to engage, offer more control, and sound better overall.
• Scatter Latch On/Off — Alternate unlatched trigger mode engages only while “On” button is held down.
• Scatter Cycle — Scatter will enable for one cycle and then automatically disengage.
• Sync Reset — Get back in the groove by instantly starting a pattern from the top.

Improved Editing

• Pattern Lock — Lock the contents of a pattern so you can experiment without losing your original groove.
• Nonstop A/B Pattern Editing — Now you can edit both A and B parts of a pattern without stopping the sequencer.

Improved MIDI

• Modes — Local On/Off and MIDI Controller modes determine how MIDI data is sent and received.
• Accent Velocity — MIDI velocity is variable by the accent setting.
• Kit Select — Select kits using MIDI control change messages.
• Scatter — Scatter On/Off, Type and Depth can be controlled via MIDI control change.
• External Record — Record patterns in real-time from external MIDI devices.
• MIDI Off — Disable sending of all MIDI messages.
• Ignore Play/Stop — Toggle whether or not TR-8 responds to PLAY/STOP messages.
• Effect Control — Control effects using MIDI control change messages.

Sources: Sonic Sense, Create Digital Music

/files/2014/10/TR-8_Thumb_3.jpg

The post Roland TR-8 Tips + Tricks: Dim the Lights, Change Color Scheme + appeared first on Dubspot Blog.