Apparently a TR-08 might drop as well.
No battery compartment mentioned, that’s a good sign for knob ergonomics a la SE-02
I’m kind of interested in the TR-08 as a sound module to sequence with the Digitakt.
2 Likes
Cheap 808 clone without the awful green?
My last two albums were electro so I kinda have to be interested.
2 Likes
This is going to be very popular with the Hip Hop scene as well. I’m curious how the gain and compression sounds. I might prefer it to the real thing if it sounds punchier and/or more crisp. Would have been really nice if there was reverb too.
I imagine the compression will be similar to the Aira TR-8
1 Like
Boring. We’ve seen enough clones already
6 Likes
No. They’re not.
It’s nice to have the option out there for those who are into these clones but they really aren’t offering much more than what the originals offered besides the availability to own one of those classics.
I get it from the business point of view to gain customers from all of those who ever dreamed of having one of the originals at a much cheaper manufacturer cost.
But if you have been wanting those classic sounds, you can just download them.
And throw the analog vs acb cry out as well. Too much time has been wasted on that. We need both, analog and digital. Not just with these Roland boutiques either.
Roland is either on its last leg and out of ideas, or this is where they really believe their customer base is asking them to go rather than exploring new ideas with the modern technology we have to push them ahead of what their competitors are doing.
On A positive note it’s nice that we can go pick up a tb, tr, se, jp, sh etc. remake now. More dependable sequencer and sounds. Small, maybe too small form factor for great portability. All of the familiar sounds we’ve all grown to appreciate.
Don’t get me wrong, I am interested in a few of these Roland boutiques but I honestly feel they have missed a big opportunity to really capitalize on all of them. They could have made each of them much more capable and kept up with or exceeded their competition by adding just a few modern additions rather than trying to keep true to their original form and only have to raise msrp a little bit more than what they are now. Simple features like more memory to save patterns. Ram is easy to come by these days, why does everyone limit this area?
Nothing new here. Moving on.
2 Likes
I can’t see the scatter knob 
3 Likes
I literally laughed out loud! ^^^
I think this is awesome news, the TR-808 is much more than just its legendary sounds and it looks like Roland have recreated all the essential features with regards to the interface, aside from separate outputs, which frankly I can live without anyway. Having been a long term TR-808 user and having used multiple examples of the original machine I will definitely be getting one of these, and I will know right away how close it gets soundwise to the original, but even that is secondary to the user interface, so I doubt I will be disappointed, and especially given the price. It will be interesting to see if vintage prices are affected, I suspect there might be a small shrinkage but probably not in the long term.
It is interesting to note Egyptian Lover said he prefers the sound of it to his actual TR-808, sure it could be BS but in general enthusiasm for the boutiques amongst actual legendary producers seems very high, many of them are using these machines in their set ups, not that it matters to influence my purchasing decisions but it at least goes to show that Roland are doing something right. One could argue that these producers are given them for free by Roland, but I am not so sure this is the case, who knows?
8 Likes
Dunno man… I mean, growing up in the 90s, who wouldn’t wanna be a poster boy/girl for Roland?
Yeah I always love hearing famous people’s opinions on new pieces of gear when they are released. It must be good 
It’s sad I get so excited when Roland/Korg include the ability to save more than 16 patterns or the ability to actually chain them, but that’s the current state of things. This is good news.
3 Likes
Yeah it’s an odd one that - as if famous/successful musicians have a better idea of what gear sounds better. They may have had more success deploying that gear, but that’s a totally different thing.
2 Likes