#Roland is releasing a new drum machine called the TR-8S.
The new product builds on the company's #TR-8, which kicked off Roland's renewed interest in one of its most influential creations, the TR-808 drum machine. While it contains circuit-modelled sounds from the 808, 909, 707, 727 and 606 drum machines, the TR-8S also allows you to load samples via an SD card, with controls for modulating the pitch, decay, start and end point and playback direction.
The 16-step sequencer now features parameter locking, which lets you record and loop changes to the sound in real time. Eight individual outputs let you process each sound individually while a trigger output is on-board for sequencing external hardware. The TR-8S can store 128 patterns with eight variations and three fills each—it also functions as a multi-channel soundcard and MIDI interface. The effects have been tuned to suit percussion sounds and can be applied to individual channels or globally.
