A Hefty Update For Roland's Flagship Hardware Instrument
Roland have released the updated Aira TR-8S, an expansion on their immensely popular 2014 drum machine, packed with new features including intuitive sampling and a host of synth-worthy effects.
Packed full with classic sounds from the likes of the 808, 909 and 727, Roland’s TR-8S vastly improves on the storage space of the original unit, now offering users the potential to store 128 patterns, each with eight variations and three fills. The 16-step sequencer from the original TR-8 has also received a more streamlined look in the updated model, allowing you to create and edit drum beats with absolute ease.
As a company, Roland have always been at the forefront of bringing the art of sampling from the studio to the bedroom, and the TR-8S looks set to follow this trend with its built-in sampling functionality. Offering SD card compatibility, the interface lets you adjust start and end points, playback direction, pitch, and decay, with effects and velocity being determined individually for each step.
In addition, the TR-8S also includes a new onboard effects section, featuring the likes of delay, reverb, compression, tape echo and LFO. While it doesn’t yet have a release date, the Roland TR-8S is expected to hit our shores some time this month – in the meantime, check out its insane capabilities in the video above.
For more details, head to Roland Australia.
