Modern sequencing on vintage drum machines: Roland R-8 meets the Squarp Hapax

I've wanted to do something with the idea of sequencing and automating the sounds on the R8 for a while, so now here we are..! Using an external sequencer makes the R8 a lot more suited to live use, though it isn't without some quirks (thanks Roland)
Apologies to anyone who likes music and synths, these jams are quite jammy and I didn't even squeeze in a Nick Batt gurn...
I've got the MIDI outs on the Hapax going to a (A) Moog Sub37 off screen, (B) a split between a bunch of rack gear (for this video only the JV1080 that provides the Rhodes part in Jam 2 is used) and the R8, and (C) the MIDI clocked sequencers of the RYTM and Roland S1. There's also a (sadly discontinued) iConnectivity mio10 that handles merging and splitting MIDI duties - one day I'll do a walkaround of the studio 🤓
Full disclosure, the Hapax was very generously sent for review by Squarp, though I'm hoping to hang on to it for as long as I can since its opened up so much of the studio and I've now got a million ideas on what to try next...
Thanks so much for watching!!

[@hannesbengsch5515]

No matter what topics you pick. Somehow your sound choice is always on point to my niche musical taste. Just drop the next one please.

[@bleepsandboops]

Thank you so much! Away for a bit but have ideas on the next thing... 😀

[@rebeccaschade3987]

The R-8 is from an era where it was common to daisy-chain midi devices and use separate channels for different synths. Midi I/O could often be at a premium and it was pretty much industry standard for channel 10 to be for drums. Most DAW sequencers today will change their piano-roll to reflect this if you create a midi-out track and set it to channel 10. The idea of having separate tracks for each drum pad is a modern design philosophy. And I guess you know this, but just wanted to point it out.

[@bleepsandboops]

I could never work out why drums were always by default channel 10... why not put all the instruments on 1-15, and have 16 for drums?! Otherwise you'd have most of your instruments on 1-9, 10 for drums, then the rest of the instruments on 11-16.... 🤣🤣

[@Digiphex]

The Hapax looks like fun.

[@bleepsandboops]

Incredibly so! Haven't really scratched the surface here - the pattern play modes are really inspiring!

[@barnacles1637]

Could you do a 1hr version of jam 3?

[@bleepsandboops]

😂😂 need to get myself on Morr Music first...

[@klinkske]

have a few of the Roland R's - i should do this. Maybe in the winter :D

[@bleepsandboops]

👍👍👍

[@sebastianschmidt8629]

Are there intern sounds on the r8 wothout a card in it?

[@bleepsandboops]

Yes the MK1 has many drum sounds - my Autechre video uses lots of them and showcases the internal sounds. I think the MK2 has the 808 and 909 cards built in? Not 100% sure though!

[@milanvandoren7689]

Hi Bleeps and Bloops! First of all awesome video. I have a question: I own an R8 and absolute love the sounds, a friend of mine loves them too, she wrote sequences on a boss DR-202 but wants the R8 sounds , now we're trying to externally sequence r8 from the dr-202. I can get the R8 to receive external midi clock (start & stop) no problem and I can trigger the sounds of the R8 when I hit the drumpads of the dr-202 no problem. Yet the R8 does not play the pattern sequence in the dr-202. How did you achieve this? Should the R8 be in a certain mode? Best, Milan

[@bleepsandboops]

Hey Milan! Thanks for watching! I think it should be a case of making sure your Rx Channel number in the R8 matches the Tx channel in the Dr-202. It sounds like you've done that though, if the drumpads on the Dr-202 are triggering the R8? There wasn't any special mode - I set the midi Rx to be the channel that the Hapax was sending, made sure that my Hapax drum pads were playing the right notes for the R8, and then as long as I've got a pattern playing on the Hapax, that should be enough?? You could try hooking the Dr-202 up to a computer and recording the midi output - just to check what's actually being sent and on what channels - and then compare that to what the R8 is being set up to receive. Might help diagnose your problem! Let me know how you get on!

[@milanvandoren7689]

Hey Thank you for your answer, I'm definitely going to try that. Yet I also tried sequencing it from the otatrack, with the same result. Hitting a pad on the octatrack plays back the corresponding r-8 sample but it doesn't play sequences programmed in the octatrack. That's why I thought the issue must be with the R8. Anyway I think we'll just reprogram the songs in the R8 if it doesn't work out otherwise.@@bleepsandboops

[@sebastianschmidt8629]

And does the hapax stay at your studio?

[@bleepsandboops]

Yes, I've used it on lots of these videos, it's a fantastic sequencer and genuinely deserves a place as the studio 'brain' 🧠👍

[@sebastianschmidt8629]

Yes, squarp give it to you? For free?

[@sebastianschmidt8629]

Does the r8 sounds in it without a card inSIDE?

[@bleepsandboops]

@@sebastianschmidt8629 yes, the R8 has internal sounds

[@bleepsandboops]

@@sebastianschmidt8629 it has been on loan to me

[@anonymous_friend]

J Diller 😂

[@bleepsandboops]

Yeah, I was stretching a bit there...

[@visitingstatue69]

i beep i bloop i blaap

[@bleepsandboops]

😁👍

[@anonymous_friend]

Love my hapax. Hope you show more of it off and what it can do. It has completely changed my workflow.

[@bleepsandboops]

Really hope to. It's an amazing bit of kit, and has made everything in the studio so much easier to just, 'get hold of' if that makes sense?

[@Garnassium]

Makes me realize how big the r8 is By the way what do you think about r8's own sequencer? I've seen people lauding it.

[@bleepsandboops]

It's huge... when I bought the (wooden) desk years ago, it was a case of making sure the central space could hold my MC50 and Analog Rytm. Then I got an R8 and everything had to be on the diagonal, and now it makes even the Hapax look small...!! R8's sequencer is great, albeit not without shortcomings. Real-time playing and quantising is as you'd expect, and whilst you can play in rolls and flams though you have change the quantise settings otherwise your roll gets (destructively) quantised to the nearest whatever'th note. Step mode is better, but there's lots of things you can't do whilst it's playing - eg switching instrument in step mode you have to stop play-back, change instrument, press play, then input the beats you the instrument to go on, which ruins the flow.. And editing in microscope mode is a unique process 😁 Really does make you realise how far we've come in UI/UX design If you're interested, the Autechre video I did has a reasonable summary of step sequencing - kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2OumGyoqbiZgZo

[@Garnassium]

Thanks for such a detailed answer! I feel stupid because I watched your autechre video but didn't connect that it was also by you 😅 So its a powerful but pretty tedious sequencer, hapax must be a breeze in comparison.

[@bleepsandboops]

😁😁 That pretty much sums it up!!

[@atarirob]

Oh man, he got a Hapax! As good as it looks?? Had my eye on it for a while now, would love to know some quick thoughts/pros and cons :D

[@bleepsandboops]

Yeah 😁😁... borrowing it at the moment... lot of pros - integrated into the studio really, really easily, and I've got everything mapped out so you can just grab a synth and go with it. The generative, Euclidean, alternate play modes (ping pong, anyone??), randomisation etc are really inspiring to play with! Very few gripes from what I've seen - few things around copying pasting, moving notes around, non-destructive quantising, quantise only goes up to 1/16 so it can't fix my sloppy 1/8th notes... they're actively working on things all the time though!

[@illiqual]

09:28 😎

[@bleepsandboops]

Need to do more of that... 😁😁

[@illiqual]

Yes you should 👌 tss leave us hanging here with that mini me base piecey , shame on you 😉

[@shortattentionspa.....]

Love this! thanks for sharing! Out of interest what are you using for your video effects? Very nice:)

[@bleepsandboops]

Thanks! Video editing is all Premiere Pro, stock effects but with way too much parameter automation...!!

[@DirDanielNeeson]

Sounds great! Are they native R8 sounds or have you got a ROM card installed?

[@bleepsandboops]

Thanks! Bit of both, I've got the 808 card in there which gives the drums in the first jam and the cowbell in the third. The rest is all factory!

[@LlewynDaviesTheThird]

Damn.. now I want to upgrade my pyramid

[@bleepsandboops]

😁😁😁

[@jacobst.ongecasavant9327]

Really enjoyed this video! I've been exploring the r-8 lately and loving the sound and even the workflow. But I've been thinking about using the pyramid to sequence it and in particular was wondering about the midi cc possibilities. Seems like it was pretty straightforward to modulate the pitch of t cowbell with hapax! I'm wondering if it's possible to simultaneously send midi cc to each r-8 voice though? Since the whole box is on one midi channel I'm not sure if it would be possible to, for example, modulate the pitch of kick, snare, hats, crash while modulating the decay of the mid tom, etc etc?

[@bleepsandboops]

Thanks! Yeah the Pyramid would work great with it too - so, from what I've tried, there are only 8 CCs plus the mod-wheel that you can use to control the instruments on the R8. I *think* it's a 1:1 relationship, so each modulation source can only be assigned once. That still leaves you with 8 cc sources though (plus the mod wheel) so you could in theory control one parameter on 8 different instruments, 8 parameters on one instrument or any combination in-between, if that makes sense??

[@jacobst.ongecasavant9327]

@@bleepsandboops yes that totally makes sense! Excellent, I can't wait to set this up. I was having a wicked fun jam using pitch modulation in realtime edit but being limited to one voice at a time was tough. 8 cc's plus the mod wheel will be a huge step up! I appreciate the response :)

[@The_real_childstar]

Dude, that song at the end was lit 🔥

[@bleepsandboops]

Thanks!