Get the most out of the Roland TR-8S - Producer's Guide

Roland's 11-part drum machine and sampler has the makings of a modern classic. In this Producer's Guide video we run through everything you need to know about using it, from the basics to advanced features.
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[@workingunit2369]

1.) 0:00 Overview/ pattern select 2.) 0:56 Bank /Pattern Select 3.) 01:17 Kit select 4.) 02:13 Sequencing 5.) 02:56 Tapping in instruments 6.) 04:09 Tempo and Shuffle 7.) 04:38 Accents 8.) 05:06 Swapping Sounds 9.) 06:03 sub divisions 10.) 06:45 Flams 11.) 06:59 Quieter steps 12.) 07:40 Step lenght 13.) 08:20 Variations 14.) 08:37 Copying Patterns/ sections 15.) 10:00 Live sequencing 16.) 10:53 Auto Fill ins 17.) 12:39 Motion Sweeps/ per Step Parameter Changes 18.) 13:42 Motion Trick/ Tuning melodic Samples 19.) 14:03 Instrument Editing and Effects 20.) 16:15 Different Effects per instruments 21.) 17:16 Master fx

[@maxwellhowell]

This is one of my favorite Roland releases in a long time. The addition of importing my own samples. Really made me pay attention. This is the drum machine they should've put out 10 years ago. . . .

[@CaidicusProductions]

Ten years ago they released the MC-808, which is in and of itself an excellent device.

[@cultofours2648]

i thought that was 1998. 20 years ago!!!!!!!

[@claudiogallardo6383]

I have this drum machine and I tell you it is my cornerstone. A part of producing and recording, It is one play-button away to have the perfect companion for hours of relaxing and inspiring keyboard jamming. The only issue (and not a problem at all) with this instrument is the presets, I remember when I first heard the A-01 pattern.... it was like ewwwww!

[@djESPx]

Oh sweet Jesus. I'm 3/4 the way through and am overwhelmed. No wonder this beast is still at the top

[@JonMurray]

Brilliant video mate. From beginning to end. And finalised my decision to get one haha! I'll be revisiting this video many times when I do get my hands on one as well!

[@UpToLevel6]

Great tutorial! Please write more for 8S! Thanks.

[@jimiphillipsmediaphillips6178]

My xmas present. Can't wait to add this to my studio . Thanks man The best instructonal video.

[@timetimetimey]

Probably the best instructional video ever. Thank you.

[@joshsater4044]

I'm getting mine in 2 days. Thank you so much for this!

[@CaidicusProductions]

What an excellent and easy to understand video. I'm planning on doing a review of the TR-8S on my channel, and very likely doing a side by side comparison to the MC-808. I just got my TR-8S today, and I'm actually surprised at the similarities (and differences) it has with the MC-808. If you also have an MC-808, I'd love to know your thoughts on the comparison of the two. This video taught me so much about my new drum machine, much of which I suspected but which you cemented in my brain. Thank you for this.

[@michaelthompson6520]

One of the best tutorial yet. looking for more

[@CinematicLaboratory]

What a great walkthrough!

[@Imbackoutside]

The most helpful tr-8s tutorial out

[@ashorii]

Thank you for this video. I just picked up a TR-8s as (my first drum machine) and this has been by far one of the best videos to learn the devices tips and tricks.

[@drgigglesvinyldjsets-kruto1080]

Awesome tutorial! The best one I have seen.

[@goshavino9831]

Finally a Great video about the tr8S, thanks

[@stevenharris7862]

What a fantastic video and very useful many thanks for sharing :) The best i have seen so far !!!!

[@seantaylor5736]

Excellent tutorial, many thanks

[@Droidmaster1]

One of the best (show me how videos I’ve seen) Excellent. Make others..... KUDOS

[@VincentPresley]

Quickly turning into my all time favorite drum machine. If only it had a song mode. It's also the only good Roland product in at least ten years.

[@SsgtHolland]

Song Mode is just a chain of patterns. So..chain your patterns.

[@VincentPresley]

@@SsgtHolland can you do that? Take like 01 c and link it to 89 b 4 times, etc? I don’t think so. That’s the point.

[@Vons.]

Agree. I started on Korg Electribe 2, it doesn’t have Song mode, but you can make tracks by chaining patterns together. Would be great to have same on Tr8s.

[@SsgtHolland]

@@VincentPresley If you want to do it stand alone, you can chain 16 patterns, you just have to put them in order, which is the most logical way to work. If you use it within a DAW, just send program change messages.

[@VincentPresley]

@@SsgtHolland yeah I know there are workarounds but in this day and age I shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to do something basic that’s been a feature for decades. I currently use 29 synths and 5 drum machines in a completely dawless studio. Everything works perfect except for when modern companies leave out basic ass features

[@jasonfnorth]

Excellent tutorial! Thank you coach!

[@Thugmarlon]

Thanks brother, useful beginners guide

[@wolfganglahmann1933]

Great video, many thanks!

[@ProfessorSaibertin]

Thank you for the tutorial, very helpful.

[@naturalbornchiller158]

Clear and concise. I was reviews were more like this. Well done.

[@synthax6767]

Awesome tutorial THANKS

[@marc.lepage]

Just got one, thanks, this is really helpful.

[@ven11235]

Excellent content, thank you!

[@DASRUDELT]

thanks a lot, great tutorial foe newcomers on that machine 🎶

[@AlejandroGuerrero]

Great tips even for 2021

[@mobilegames718]

Best Guide ever. Thanks

[@ryanpalma5947]

Thank you!

[@paulfedrau183]

Best product overview!

[@Ldnlenzadventures]

Really helpful thanks for this ☺️

[@planetmusicsamos]

gonna buy this

[@breako]

Super job well done

[@kytrame]

Great tutorial!

[@vyd6498]

Just great !! Thanks 💯🔥

[@musiclover-lh2hb]

This is the TR8 s tutorial you have been looking for.....

[@owen29]

Learned something thx

[@jeremystorm3902]

Just got mine early this summer. 100 times better than TR8. Effects sound really good and the variations feature make it a joy to jam with. Now if I could just figure how how to sync it with Studio One 4.

[@monkeytheo]

MIDI is the answer

[@maze8432]

Thank you

[@DarraghRedmond]

Very good 👌🏽👾🎵

[@Flashback_Jack]

Best TR-8S tutorial on KZbin, hands down.

[@pennyhemens478]

thats not saying much

[@Flashback_Jack]

@@pennyhemens478 Neither is that. Disagree, but show us a better one.

[@fortroadmassive4095]

@@pennyhemens478 Do you have one?

[@Flashback_Jack]

Are automations saved seperately to each pattern bank? Would be great to be able to recall them if so.

[@Amatteus]

Ne of the best reviews.

[@djESPx]

Just bought mine a week ago. Let's dig in

[@pennyhemens478]

"with an empty pattern loaded" -outta nowhere? how do i do this? Am I to instictively know how to do this? This is the precise thing I'm going thru these tutorials to find out about and he glosses over it.

[@TheVisnesuyuu]

Great tutorial. Clear explanations and understandable easily. ! Not a loads of shit like others and defo for beginners. All other "beginner" tutorials are still advance as fuck.

[@LuisTorres-qz5kr]

Thanks for these very informative videos on the TR-8S. Is there a way to go above the 1/16 note length? (1/8 & 1/4 lengths for example)

[@SsgtHolland]

Just program less notes and make them longer.

[@jackjackdaw5065]

You didn't mention the LFO. That's what I really wanted to see.

[@Flashback_Jack]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKWwoZ9raJWEe8U

[@GolabKitsForTR-8s]

Great Maschine, nice.

[@jopieachternaam2922]

Nice Masterclass :) Thank you for sharing. So I have a noob-Q for you live-performers (from TR-8s-point-of-view): how the hell you progress your live-set (when previewing/tweaking sounds) without audiance hear it?

[@alchemistrpm82]

10:04 Doesn’t fully solve your problem, I know. It might be requirement to have your sounds tweaked and what not prior to a performance.

[@Dougie-]

There's like a gazillion videos showing its features. Can't find any videos on how they use it in studio. The workflow for building songs. Tracking together with other instruments etc.

[@willcasket_goycdyg]

feel that

[@michaelharvey7938]

There is no song mode. But you can make multiple "patterns" where each chains up to 8 variations of a 16 step sequence. You can set up a DAW or other hardware sequencer to send midi clock for tempo as well as midi program change messages that recall specific patterns slightly before the downbeat of the bar when they need to change.

[@PHOENIX-fb1cf]

I would like to have your opinion on a techno / trance set. I was planning to buy an Analog Rythm MK2 and an Analog Four MK2, as well as a Roland MC 707 and TR 8S and for the bass line a mam mb33, this way I will have a varied sound palette. What do you think ? Thank you in advance for your response and advice.

[@franciscojosesanchezmancer8654]

Gracias thank you

[@tompetroff]

Also is there a way to play a sequence a certain amt of time before it goes to the next step? i.e. play seq A for 6 passes, move to b for 4, c For 4 and back to A for another 6?

[@ILTSC43]

That would be a type of song mode...i have yet to discover it...i dont believe the machine can do it

[@junaidfaruq761]

The Beatstep Pro can do this FYI

[@bukowski21]

I think with combination of patterns no problem (box has patternA-H*16*8banks)

[@romaniuk_kacper]

Is it possible to change different instrument effects via external midi controller? I tried to look up MIDI CC guide for Roland TR8s, but all I found was that only "Control" knob has got its own CC adress. This makes no sense, as I have acces to it on TR8s front plate anyway.

[@samthompson5138]

does anyone know if you can change from one drum kit to another without stopping the beat for mixing between tracks in live performances?

[@MrHuararei]

That's exactly what's happening at around 2:00 min. Beat is running, data wheel is being turned with "kit"-button lit up - instant kit change while sequencer is running...

[@tonychevris3866]

do you have any control on sound shapes ? i'm talking about enveloppe generator for example, i can see there's a decay knob but no attack/sustain/release ? And if you use the per instrument effect to set a filter for example, then you cannot apply any effect any more because of filter "effect" using the slot? Or you can switch effect type and the filter stay active and you can add a new effect on top of it ? I'm a korg electribe user and am interested by this beast because of its multitrack design, but i try to figure what's different because for now i feel you have far less options to tweak each instruments. On the electribe for example you can ajust instruments one by one only and that's a shame - but for each of them you have knobs for filter type and amount, modulation type and amount, EG/enveloppe knobs with pan, attack, decay and release and finally an individual effect knob.

[@michaelolaleye5215]

But do you know how to FEED BACK THE TR8S MIX OUT (when used as an audio interface), back into Macbook Pro computer, so I can record my jam on the Mac using the installed Soundflower/Audacity/Ishow U Audio Capture. I need to know the settings/cabling connectivity to achieve this, please.

[@SHUJINCELL]

You mean loopback? All you need is a USB cable.

[@atozee1500]

Great HOW to. There is a lot of menu diving holding shift do this hold shift do that.

[@twiglet2214]

Nice.Got mine today - great piece of kit ! How do you load an empty programme please ?

[@mycerdia]

There are no empty programs you can choose a kit and clear out the instruments by holding clear and the specified instrument and you can also clear the pattern variations from bank's A-H the same way holding clear and desired bank hope that helps

[@mycerdia]

Np glad I could be of some help 😃

[@edmontontech2008]

I've always wanted to know, but never asked, what are the lines above the keys for. I'm sure it has something to do with a visual landmark for your beats, but I don't know what they mean.

[@steenkoudahlfrederiksen6417]

That's what it can be used for - og was also on some of the now classic drummachines this was modelled on

[@MarkApplewhite2.0]

How can I load an empty pattern and kit??

[@snorpechumgalimp8943]

Can someone explain what the Midi Settings, Pattern and Kit channel are for and how do I use them? I do not use a DAW, I have a keyboard controller hooked to a Squarp Pyramid and out to a midi thru box to a couple other synths and the TR-8S. The manual for this TR-8S does not explain all the settings at all and its frustrating that they conveintly leave these out. I have a general idea of what they do but I have tried to set the kit channel to channel 16 and it does not respond on any channel but 10. Also what is pattern select: Kit mean? Does it mean that if you choose a pattern through a program change message that this will select the kit assigned to this pattern?

[@DanCThorpe]

Interesting, does it have samples of older drum machines like the CR-78 CompuRhythm?

[@stevenatl6516]

It does now in version 3.00

[@iantaylor5730]

Despite scouring the Manual, Roland's Help facilities, your video, and other online Tutorials, I'm unable to find out how to load a blank pattern or a blank kit. I want to be able to create my own Patterns and Kits from scratch. I'm extremely surprised and frustrated to encounter this problem relating to such a basic function!

[@designsinorbit]

If you create a killer "fill", can it be saved and inserted into a later creation?

[@luvlilginger2514]

I've been trying to find a beat machine that's close to or similar to the "E-MU SP-1200 Beat machine" Would you say that the "Roland TR-8S Rhythm Performer is that machine? Thanks!

[@ryanhughes2885]

Think the new Isla Instrument 2400 drum machine is based on the Emu but could be wrong.

[@edwardc7462]

Every time I see a tutorial on this machine all the demonstrations are for house music, Can this machine be used for any other musical genres

[@MichalSada]

yes, why not

[@howardstroud1769]

How do I save volume choices for each instrument?

[@davlippo7]

As old as this is should I buy one or wait for the next gen?

[@robertocaba5915]

I bought the Tr6s which is the smaller version but with most of the features of the tr8s and it does not get better than this if you are looking for the classic Roland TRs + tones of other stuff. The only better option I can think of would be Elektron’s Syntakt imo.

[@francescoirosa3466]

hello I need help in my tr8s I check the light blue bars in 1 5 9 13 and then each fader plays without bars help I don't know what to do or reset but no thanks

[@ericwells7209]

Can you export the tracks for mix down

[@Lectrosoul]

Sampler? can you record directly in to it?

[@jaderington]

how do you find an empty init pattern slot ? Newbee need this info

[@tomp1585]

you can't chain patterns to create a song? Like programming to repeat A three times, then B two times, go back to A, then C two times, etc, then hit the play button to have it played, like in the Stepper Acid? If so none of the tutorials I've watched or the manual says how.

[@Blakespires]

good question, havent seen this feature yet in the many vids I have came across as well. would love to know.

[@PIANOPICTURES]

@@Blakespires It can't play the whole song full auto. Although you can create the whole structure, you still need to push a button to seamlessly go to the next set of variations inside a pattern. So, almost. You can't exactly repeat C three times, then play A once, then play H 5 times, instead you have to use 8 variations inside a pattern, then next pattern, etc. Copying variations/patterns is the only option. In other words, it is not really a limitation.

[@Blakespires]

@Murada that does seem like an oversight, a real missed opportunity. In all the Roland Berlin demo sessions i've seen, I thought I saw this happening but i guess not.

[@GamingAuthorityVideo]

Is this the BEST drum machine for the price?

[@RababaInc]

is it?

[@felixbr26]

Have it a metronome or click?

[@jabeat22]

Hi, just got a tr8s (ver 1.04) and I found a bug on pattern 1-06. The bug consists on snare drum sounds not being triggered everytime it should (only happening on that pattern 1-06 and on the snare drum track). I tried deleting the pattern, motions, fill ins, effects and It still happens. I also selected just one subpattern (eg.: A) The sequencer skips playing the snare drum notes 2 measures during 2 measures. Can anyone test this? It would be hugely appreciated! Thanks!

[@fortroadmassive4095]

New firmware upgrade that you might be aware of.

[@tompetroff]

How do you delete fills? Thx

[@AntonioBrandao]

read the manual lol

[@tonyborie788]

Should I get this one or the Arturia Drumbute?

[@Stakkeroid]

I’ve had the DB Impact since its release. It is more versatile than the OG DB (a bigger range of sounds), and I actually love it. But, I just ordered the TR-8S, because the DB Impact just doesn’t have the sounds for every type of track I want to make. Also, while analog style knob per function is fun to use, I really like recall, because I’m an endless tweaker. So, it depends on your music and production style. (In any case, I would choose the Impact over the OG DB.)

[@rabelsound]

I do not understand why you have to start from a kit or an existing pattern to create a personal one, you can not start from scratch by choosing the instrument?

[@ILTSC43]

Start from scratch by going to an empty pattern with an empty kit dude... dosent get much more from scratch then that unless you plan on building the machine first

[@grazstarr]

But how do you get an empty pattern??

[@SpizmaN3]

Good video, I'm not liking the lack of bass punch on the TR8S though, sounds way too weak!

[@AntonioBrandao]

Does it also make fat sounds? These sound rather thin.

[@guitarmatt29]

All the sounds on this machine sound like they have been used in the latest Lany album.

[@O.R.I.A.K]

pleasea, next time make sure we're able to see the screen and the lighted up step buttons

[@beutelratte888vdbk5]

now i understand,the A to H buttons are not the banks 🙈🙈🙈🙈

[@dbeene36]

Tr8 partnered with a fantom.... illegal

[@markhall3323]

I think for a similar price the MC-707 makes this redundant now

[@MurdaBeats]

Can you send me theses drums

[@EckertAndras]

Logic Pro X's Drum Machine Designer includes all of kits from TR8S.

[@SHUJINCELL]

nope.

[@EckertAndras]

@@SHUJINCELL yes it does

[@coskunone]

nope @@EckertAndras

[@EckertAndras]

@@coskunone Ok but I have got it! Thank you!

[@janosgrausza8790]

@@coskunone You can find it on Ultrabeat Drum plugin. (Boutique 808 kit, Vintage 08 kit and Techno 808 kit)

[@DOOMJESUS]

DO YOU EVER WASH YOUR HANDS?

[@edmontontech2008]

WHY ARE YOUR HANDS SO WET?

[@socialcameleon6956]

Helpful tutorial for an amazing piece of gear, but this example beat with the hand claps is like the worst jam I've heard in a long time 🤣

[@SLACKPLAN9]

The TR-8S does NOT sample. It is NOT a sampler. It PLAYS samples, it does not create then. I own one so I can attest to this.

[@Berus7777]

THIS IS A DEMO. IT IS NOT A GUIDE.

[@brianwolle2509]

sounds fantastic except that stupid handclap nonsense. NO ONE ever calling themselves a drummer would ever stoop to use such a pedestrian piece of percussion. it actually sucks.

[@SPAZZOID100]

I am a drummer and use these sounds every day, including the claps. (Ditto for every other electronic music producer on the planet) Not sure what your statement is trying to convey.