Snare Drum and CYmbal Tuning functions missing. TR-08

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iixorb
Posts: 138
Joined: 15:57, 1 December 2015

Snare Drum and CYmbal Tuning functions missing. TR-08

Post by iixorb »

I think the TR-08 is amazing, and I do get a bit annoyed with these A/B comparison videos where the TR-08 is set against a TR-808 but little effort has been made to match the pitch and decay of every sound across both units (giving 808 purists more reason to attack the TR-08).

That said, I have just noticed an omission from the TR-08 which hopefully can be fixed in a firmware update.
For (most) drum sounds that don't have a dedicated Decay or Tuning pot, there is the option to change the decay / Tuning in the menu....

However, it seems there is no way to adjust the Tuning of the Snare Drum or the CYmbal in the menu, which means their pitches are fixed. Has anyone else noticed this or have I missed something??!!

I hope Roland realise this and will fix it as it seems odd to leave this out just for these two sounds...
marctronixx
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Location: Los Angeles

Re: Snare Drum and CYmbal Tuning functions missing. TR-08

Post by marctronixx »

that's how the original is setup, no?

even the manual doesn't list the snare or CY as sounds to tune, so seems like it was intended.
iixorb
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Joined: 15:57, 1 December 2015

Re: Snare Drum and CYmbal Tuning functions missing. TR-08

Post by iixorb »

marctronixx wrote:that's how the original is setup, no?

even the manual doesn't list the snare or CY as sounds to tune, so seems like it was intended.

True, but you could not adjust the pitch of the Clap, the Bass Drum, the CowBell, the hats etc on the original 808; on the TR-08 you can adjust their pitch in the Menu. This is a useful feature for either additional creativity that an unmodified TR-808 doesn't have, or to help to match the pitch exactly against a TR-808.

Seems Roland left this off for the Snare and the Cymbal which means the TR-08 may sound out of tune for these two sounds against a real 808 ( the latter of which is likely to have wandered slightly over the years but is nevertheless the benchmark people judge the TR-08 against).
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cloudburst
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Re: Snare Drum and CYmbal Tuning functions missing. TR-08

Post by cloudburst »

iixorb wrote:
marctronixx wrote: Seems Roland left this off for the Snare and the Cymbal which means the TR-08 may sound out of tune for these two sounds against a real 808 ( the latter of which is likely to have wandered slightly over the years but is nevertheless the benchmark people judge the TR-08 against).
Ha! So since the TR-808 has the problem of wandering, perhaps the TR-08 should be the benchmark that TR-808s are judged against! LOL

CB
marctronixx
Posts: 187
Joined: 01:39, 16 September 2007
Location: Los Angeles

its designed that way

Post by marctronixx »

the tr-08 has new features just like the tr 09 does over the original 909.

and yes its possible the 08 will be "out of tune" as you say when compared with an original, but:

the originals were all analog using faulty transistors so BY NATURE any two would not be in tune.

and

why compare it with an original 808 which was made over 30 years ago using ANALOG technology? of course they won't sound the same...

roland didn't design the tr-08 to be used with a tr-808.

its possible roland COULD introduce the tuning to these in a future update. perhaps reach out to them and express your desire to add it. :)
iixorb
Posts: 138
Joined: 15:57, 1 December 2015

Re: Snare Drum and CYmbal Tuning functions missing. TR-08

Post by iixorb »

^ Exactly and I agree with you completely.

I think Roland have done a brilliant job at capturing the spirit and the essence of the original.

I could be wrong, but I think Roland implemented additional tuning and decay features that were not on the original to a) help users to shape each sound in a way that matches whatever 'a/b' comparisons they want to make, and b) to provide some variation to the standard original sounds - in the way that sample packs and other clones do ( I am not saying the TR-08 uses samples - it does of course generate every sound synthetically ).

In reality, 99.9% of us are never going to sit with an original 808 and an 08 side by side, and I strongly urge anyone who is put off by those comparison videos where a 'bad job' has been made by the video producers in matching the sounds, to go and try a TR-08 by itself; I am convinced it will put a smile on your face and a tap in your toe :-)

But the point of my post at the start of this thread, is that in allowing all but two of the sounds to have this level of additional adjustment, it does seem odd to leave this out for the snare and the Cymbal.

Regarding contacting Roland - I know one of their product demonstrators and will see what he thinks...
marctronixx
Posts: 187
Joined: 01:39, 16 September 2007
Location: Los Angeles

this machine is still young!

Post by marctronixx »

i also have direct contact with a roland product demo guy (maybe we know the same person!). I will reach out to him and share this suggestion!

now I agree with you that ALL the instruments should be tunable! perhaps roland is rolling out little things like this (like they rolled out the mute/solo feature on the tr-09!) incrementally...
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