By Keith Walsh
In 1972, Roland introduced their first product, the TR-77 drum machine, a useful device for lounge acts and solo performers who needed basic rhythms, using dials and buttons to access preset beats. The TR-77 was followed by the TR-330 and the TR-66, two other early drum machine models with limited flexibility. It wasn’t until the CR-78 Compu Rhythm was released in 1978 that a machine was available that featured at least some programmability making custom rhythms possible.
Starting around 1980, this programmability became widely available in drum machines that were accepted as serious instruments, and this was reflected in changes of the sound of popular music on the radio. Not only were machines like the Roland TR-808, The Linn Drum, and The Oberheim DMX and the EMU Drumulator programmable and sturdily built, they had multiple outputs, instead of just a stereo output, that made them very useful in the studio.
In 1982 Roland released the TR-606 Drumatix, an affordable analog drum machine to go along with the TB-303 Bassline. (My story on the TB-303 is here). The TR-606 had the same programming approach as the TR-808, but in a small silver box that matched the TB-303 and could be connected and synced with DIN connection. It also had two trigger outs, using 1/8″ cables to drive other sequencers and synths. The TR-606 was priced at around $299, if I remember correctly, a much more accessible price point than those previously mentioned, which averaged around $3000. In 1983 I borrowed a TR-606 from the music store I worked at and recorded a couple songs with it at home.
The sounds were analog, similar to the 808, but to my ears they were less punchy, particularly the snare. The 606 also lacked individual outputs for the separate drum voices, making it more for mid level musicians rather than for use in the studio by label artists, who presumably could afford the more expensive machines. This of course is not including the more daring type of gearhead who might simply use only one drum voice from the TR-606, for example the brightly sounding hi-hat, alter the sound in any way they wish with external effects, and use the trigger voltage to provide tempo information to another device.
For my purposes, the TR-606 served the song I put together that night, using my TEAC 3440 four track reel to reel and my Roland Jupiter 8, the one that I took out a substantial loan to acquire, and which caused me ongoing back problems due to its weight in an anvil case. I still remember the song, but the title is perhaps too weird, and certainly too embarrassing, to be repeated.
Never one to miss an opportunity to cash in on a marketable idea, Roland has released various mutations of the TR-606 over the years, including a cloud version and a new hardware boutique version, the TR-06. Predictably, Behringer has joined in with their knockoffs, which are actually made quite well, following the trend of Behringer releasing higher quality products starting about 10 years ago, including great sounding copies of popular Moog, Korg, and Arp synths that infuriate some purists.
Roland 606 Software Rhythm Machine
Roland TR-06 Drumatix
303 Day At Synthbeat
Happy 808 Day: A Synthbeat Sonic Celebration
Roland’s CR-78: The Whole Story
(Roland TR-606 Drumatix in feature image created by GMArtworks at Renderhub.com and edited by Synthbeat.)
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