Roland AIRA - TR8 - 808/909 Drum Machine Review

[@gabrielchance373]

Had this TR8 for more than a year now and I still love it. I was so impressed I picked up the MX-1 to go with the TB3/ TR8 combo, helped break me out of the DAW box. These three units have done more to accelerate my music making than any of the DAWS and plug-ins that I relied on previously. Favorite studio and live jamming integration is with my Korg ESX-1 piped into the TR8, which is piped into the MX-1 VIA USB. ENDLESS hours of creativity, I create music into thin air because I love the process now, occasionally I record my favorite stuff and turn it into a final song. I use to spend hours trying to create one song. Now I spend hours making music, obsessing over a single arrangement seems ridiculous. This is very freeing.

[@roasty80]

Man you said exactly what i feel. Ive used fl studio for years. Only finished a handful of tracks.made many projects. Feel like i need to get away from daws as i too find the work flow long winded. I just want to switch machines on and jam. Looking at this tr8 and the bass station 2

[@MIDERA]

Just don't dislike his review if you don't like the product ;)

[@mistertestsubject]

there's a dislike button for a reason and I'll use it if I please, thanks.

[@Honking_Goose]

@@mistertestsubject Well yeah you've got the right to be a complete twat if you want

[@mistertestsubject]

@@Honking_Goose I made this comment 4 entire years ago. Conversation is over dude.

[@Steven_Random_Suffix]

@* AnimalHeadSpirit * You really should have replied "there's a reply button for a reason and I'll use it if I please, thanks. "

[@johnhinnighan6462]

Haha wankers

[@SPAZZOID100]

I own both a real 808 and the new tr-8. Sonically identical.

[@oscargoldman85]

Not quite sonically. If it is owned by an anolog purist, There is the constant sound of said owner constantly pleasuring himself in the background.

[@tixomoments4046]

except for when his mom walks downstairs@@oscargoldman85

[@allthegoods7697]

I enjoy your reviews , they are honest and you don't show off. Thank you stay true to the music!

[@mostillusions]

i like the look of Nick getting into jam-mode @15:10; he starts to kinda dance and look into the camera a bit expectingly :)

[@skvan]

you know he's a badman

[@dcashley303]

Gonna be honest, I don't think this is even half as bad as people are making out. I imagine this would be great to use in a live context.

[@EarmonkeyMusic]

I got up early on Friday morning just to watch this after I saw the last Sonic Talk and Nick said he would be putting these up. Thanks Nick for all your work. Your approach to these reviews is always appreciated. Non-biased yet excited at the same time.

[@djgalactic]

Let's see what it is about... After many listening to this device, I'm not impressed by the sound but by the fact that it is hardware and you can have fun to tweak this machine live and for production purpose. Sounds enough interesting to me to give it a try.

[@Desmaad]

I know a bunch of people here are going to whinge about the fact that it's not truly analogue, but I don't care. I think they've done a good job, and for that price, it's tough to beat.

[@ChrisSmout]

Thanks for the review Nick! I wasn't sure about the Aria once I had heard it was all VA, but it definitely sounds more compelling than I first thought.

[@SphericEl]

Great seeing you Nick - as acid head 🙂 Plus I did learn stuff in this review even 8 years after, with hoards of other 'Tubers to choose from, thanks.

[@Alex79642]

C'mon guys, Tr-8 sounds good! Of course it's impossible that sounds 100% the same! If you want TR-808 sound, you need a TR-808, it's so obvious...But it's very close, and you have USB for computer connection, faders, no maintenance, also 909 sounds...for a total of 500 bucks! Great product!

[@transmat]

If you're looking for an analog drum machine, you may not know about the MFB-Tanzbär, in which case you should KZbin it.

[@TheTobiasVaughn]

I'm a massively budget conscious bedroom producer. Over the years I've had several 808 style patterns and ideas floating around. I tried to do some of them on VSTs years ago, and they sounded a bit thin, flat and lacking. I tried to coax my Volca Beats to do some of it and worked my guts out to try to get it somewhat okay -- even though the snare drum on the Beats is definitely not up to scratch for the task, and I had to adapt to make the best of it I could. Got the TR-8 yesterday. And I had my ideas playing through the speakers in less than 3 minutes. In less than 3 minutes from opening the box, I had the first usable drum groove. One that I have tried to create on other machines several times. I know there are other drum machines, with other drum sounds, that are more flexible, more controllable -- but if you want an 808 sound, and you want to quickly get to those ideas -- the TR-8 is the way to go.

[@dustinmccrindle343]

Good to know the TR08 is more useable. There's at TR08 on sale at the moment in my area... I had a few Volcas and battled with them, nice to play around with, but also battled with pattern programming.

[@me000]

Clearly Roland has put lots of time and research into accurate recreations of their circuit, and it shows, this sound great. I don't know why people think it's a let down, I guess people will just always cling to analog.

[@marike1100]

Agree. For some, apparently the circuitry is more important than the sound. And the huge number of improvements, nearly identical sound and MUCH lower price point don't matter to the analogue enthusiasts as much as the retro cool factor of a hypothetical $3000 Roland analog drum machine they'd likely never buy.

[@mixmastermonte]

I just got a tr8. it's awesome. I never had a real 808 or 909 and at about $3000-$4000 each probably never will. I'll take this for $500. The hands on element beats plug in's.

[@iphatbass]

Great product!!! Please do review for all AIRA products!

[@mynameisracer]

I love my TR-8. it's a drum machine that doesn't try to be anything else, which is more lovely than you might think. super easy to use and sounds perfectly like a drum machine. little things make me happy like those sliders for every voice (gives it a fluid organic feel), and the way it auto-saves, so you always pick up where you left off. sure you could ask for more, like loading samples, or longer patterns. IMHO that's what your computer is for. if you want to make your own drum sounds, use a synthesizer or a microphone and your DAW. if you just want a shut-up-and-start-bumping-NOW drum machine, get the tr-8 :)

[@AmericanIsraeliJew]

Another outstanding Review. Thanks!

[@Ejstar89]

Cool! I'm glad to finally see this. Great demo and review.

[@pcuimac]

You are the only one to use an oszi on his show. Applause for that! Very useful tool, because that's exactly what our ear does hear.

[@sonicstate]

whats an oszi?

[@gorillachilla]

sonicstate its a Oscilloscope in german

[@MrSPCLITHEROE]

sonicstate spectrum analyser?

[@Synthematix]

Nick whweres the VT3 review? looking forward to it

[@stephanedx]

best demo has always thank you!

[@fnonaka]

I like your reviews - you explain things that others don't, very nice!

[@gpkdnb]

Hyped about these! Great Job Roland!

[@GEOSynths]

Really like this, apart from the plastic step buttons, with no velocity, but maybe responds to it over MIDI? Have Maschine though, so can't justify it really, plus have no room.

[@Funky1ism]

I really really like it, all those probably never touched a real 909 so al they do is talk about hear / say... I like it, instant fun...and for the price of one analog rythm you can get the whole aira range...

[@cerumen]

What's funny is that the TR-808 was considered a useless, expensive POC by its intended market when it was released. Techno producers found them in yard sales and dumpsters, discarded by guitar players. Perhaps the same thing will happen with the TR-8, the analogue gear snobs will eschew it and become musically irrelevant while kids make better music from bargain digital gear. Probably not, but would make me chuckle.

[@devinthierault]

Nope, it will probably be the analog gear they are making today that will be in the bargain bin probably.

[@micro7075]

3 years later this has pretty much already happened. It's now so cheap secondhand that you might as well just get one.

[@grazstarr]

1 year after your comment and 4 years later I just bought one second hand and it cost me $400 AUD.

[@kaitsu9608]

Im going to grab one today for 200€ With 7x7 I mean... if that isnt bang for buck...

[@SphericEl]

@@kaitsu9608 nice price. Same here, no 7x7 - but for 150£ it's banging and I love it's simplicity.

[@DIGITALSCREAMS]

For me this is the most interesting drum machine that has come out in years. I like the 808 and 909 but I will never be able to afford one. I like the fact the TR8 has these sounds + I've heard you can also get 707 and 606 sounds? That's really awesome actually. I like the 707...

[@dinogoldie9716]

Where's the Sonic Lab TR8S review?

[@souldjir7456]

Seeing Nick doing acid is just priceless.

[@stellan0r]

yes I can hear that @ 3:55 and it's resonating my room ;)

[@marike1100]

Would like to see a blindfold test with this TR8 and a TR 808 just to see how many of the "analogue or die" crowd could pick out the "real" 808. A huge percentage of the recording industry are using VSTs in Logic and dedicated hardware makers still get slammed. All over YT people are upset because Roland didn't make a $2000 analogue drum machine like the DSI Tempest or Elektron Rytm that they never would have bought anyway.

[@erikdellblad7165]

A bit confused by the radioactive green. Is it meant to appeal to people who listen to hardstyle?

[@kommissar.murphy]

808 clones are ten a penny, but the killer feature of the tr8 is the mixer on the front. Perfect for dropping the kick drum in!

[@kvmoore1]

I watched this video many times with good headphones and I can hear that the bass in the 808 kick on the tr8 is really deep and powerful at around 3:40. Is this the actual raw sound of the tr8 (minus the youtube compression of course)? Or was the audio in this video processed with eq boosting the make the bass appear the hit harder? If this is actually the raw sound of the tr8 unprocessed, I might have to consider grabbing one of these!!!

[@sonicstate]

No processing.

[@kvmoore1]

Thanks. That's good to know. I'm strongly considering the TR8. That kick reminds me of the Drumstation I once owned. That 808 kick was deep and low too but it didn't have the long decay the TR8 has. I might get the TR8 and compare it to the original, then sample it.

[@bigbang4906]

blast from the past ! hardware manufacturers rebooting the thunder from the past !

[@awkwardsquadproject]

Roland has just announced that the sounds of the TR-707 will also be added to the tr8. :)

[@twzstudio139]

It's surprisingly large. The sound is not bad, the USB outs seem like a great idea, but overall it seems a bit limited for such a large footprint. Roland should get back into the analog game. Great preview / review.

[@fuzzupuzzu]

Looks like fun to play with, specially the way nick is tweaking it at the end hehehehe, although i would definately not spend money on this with so many other killer products out there,

[@MrMaxadax]

I like it. So what if it isn't analog? It still sounds good. And analog doesn't automatically mean good.

[@brandonbanks1408]

analog doesn't automatically mean good?.....seriously?

[@MrMaxadax]

MFB. You are deluded, analog is just a way of doing something, not the end product. In 20 years people will want that 'vintage digital' sound from poly synths from the 90s. Analog synths are great but digital synths can also be great too, and people need to be open about it and not buy something just because it's analog, or hate something just because it isn't.

[@MrMaxadax]

Brandon Banks I can't believe that 4 people upvoted your comment.

[@palo569]

MrMaxadax analog is just a way of doing something????drink a chamomile tea and go to sleep man

[@palo569]

MrMaxadax waw man chill out, release the frustration, go jogging take some yoga lesson,breath some fresh air , take it easy dude you have nothing to prove, i would also suggest a self confidence therapy

[@MrZebth]

A youtube channel called honeysmack has the full set, dunno why or how, but in his description he mentions roland are gonna add more modeled voices to the tr-8, has anyone heard anything about this? Also at first I hated the look of this but the more i watch the more I am convinced that roland made the best choice with the va system. Cant wait to get one.

[@thomaskolb8785]

10 years later I bought it once again and love it. I actually like it more than the TR-8S.

[@GullySyde28]

what do you like better than the 8s? Im sure its a dream to use though (the feel) and no menu diving at all 👌

[@thomaskolb8785]

It is much more direct than the TR-8S - what you see is what you hear. No menus or anything convoluted. For sample based functions, I'd much rather use software, like Battery or Falcon.

[@GullySyde28]

@@thomaskolb8785 Awesome man i suspected that would be the case. I own a Arturia DrumBrute Impact, and it would have to be the most fun drum machine to use for these same reasons 👌

[@proudfoot.proudfoot]

Looks great.

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

Love mine, bought the upgrade. Need to keep a cheat sheet, for the shortcuts used for changing some settings, and no informative LCD screen, are only shortcomings.

[@rolandvollenweider5303]

Well I was one of those who wished it would be analog. I got a massive love for analog stuff, got tons of synthesizers and some analog drummachines. But this is definitely sounding great. I can't hear much difference to a original one. And thats maybe the first time I'm saying this - I did a lot of those closed eyes tests. And I'm thinking it's sounding more like a actual 808 than the miami one for example. And don't forget: the actual 909 had some serious 8bit digital sounds in too.

[@metalzone2000]

I'd buy it! I am a huge 808 fan and like hell I am paying over 3k for damn drum machine. Novelty Shmovelty, all in all it has some cool aspects although that ghetto glitch thingy is kinda weak.

[@djjas764]

Hallo brother.. thanks for the video. Little question kindly reply. Which one I shall buy, Electron analog rytm or Roland tr8. Need your input. thanks.

[@bencarter8324]

This is a great review. Good job!

[@marctronixx]

Those are some nice patch cables. can you share the brand name and length used in this video?

[@FortecProductionz]

Can the tr8 do 3/4 time based patterns

[@soupforare]

Any way to shut off the naff backlighting on the sliders and knobs?

[@markchristopher2signal2]

I want the 707 expansion with new 909 kick

[@Saucebosss100]

i assume you guys are at muskmesse where are your vids as your vids are very informative im looking forward to see what the akai mx16 can do

[@PadsBanger]

Any info, when it is out for sale ?

[@FilippoCarrux]

Hi! i've a problem... my aira doesn't play Closed hi hat over Open Hi hat and viceversa if i put them in the same position in the TR Rec mode... Why?? can someone help me? thank you so much...

[@michaeldouglas1042]

+Filippo Carrux It's called choke, and it's part of the classic design. It's meant to be more realistic

[@pjmuck]

I've been a long time fan of Roland gear, but there's almost always an art to "mastering" their manuals (or in the case of the AIRA, lack of documentation thereof, LOL). This unit seems like it might have a bit of a learning curve, IMO.

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

Listening on studio monitors, and this sounds very good. The kick is amazing.

[@RH-cz4vw]

hey does anybody know what the instrument is which he uses for the offbeat Hihat at 10:50? it doesnt sound like any open or closed hihat which comes in the 909/808, and i've got my TR-8 right here in front of me, and I don't know what sound that is... The maracas seems to come close but not really like this... anybody? cheers

[@LousyFacelift]

Great video! I can't believe I'm saying this: The TR-08 AND the TB-03 sound A LOT BETTER than I thought! The TR-08 will have to compete against the Yocto 808 project though, which is an analog clone similar to the x0xb0x vs. TB-303 and I'm curious to see how that goes. Roland made a smart move by putting an 808 and a 909 in one box. What I can't understand is why they kept so many limitations when they had already left the analog path but all in all I find this quite impressive. Roland: I wish you lots of luck with this!

[@esjoeproductions]

When can I buy or preorder these?

[@terrytees]

Does the TR8 have the ability to spread pitch of indvidual sounds over a external keyboard or sequencer?

[@SoundDesignerslabel]

One question, can i have clean hit-hats on the same steps? Im talking about the close hit hat and the open hit hat. Thx,

[@lotek1514]

Hi, at last an intelligent demo! Thanks for explaining the A/B 32 steps function :-)

[@lacherlichcateaster4538]

Me again...Nick, can you help? What does the MIDI out on the TB3 actually do? I can't seem to program something on the TB3 and then transfer it via MIDI to another keyboard.....or does that not actually work?

[@stanfordmitchell5142]

Poor old Roland. I remember when using the TR606 in the mid 1980s that it and the TB303 seemed like plastic rubbish with twee electronic sounds like some kinda Casio vl tone. They did have the beefier TR909 but by then everyone had moved onto less dull sounding or more natural sounding drum machines. Although early acid and house was goin on Roland seemed to just give up...there was a pause...and then bam! we all realised how to use these things and the 1990s kicked off with full blown techno rave... Actually AIRA ...IS... the same as the earlier stuff...scatter and touch screens seem like second rate plastic gimmics...but, like 303's and 909's, they make amateurs sound like dexterous improvisational virtuosos. Back in the day no one thought a little TB303 was gonna fill every space in a track like a Prophet 5 could, or that those little sliders on SH101s would ever be cranked like the fat knobs of mighty Minimoogs, or that clumsy thudding TR909s would never be beaten by the sophisticated Linn9000...but in the end the wonderful and awesome Prophets, Moogs and Linn were so much more expensive and never quite as fun as the dated plastic Rolands.

[@dinogoldie9716]

The TR8 wont allow recording of automation/"motion?" Surely that's kinda the point of going digital no? Did the firmware updates unlock automation recording?

[@deathyensid]

It`s worth the money just for that kick..the sub just trashed my room..that's never happened before.so glad to see this at 96khz.10/10

[@SPAZZOID100]

Not for me. I am not into modular stuff. I love the design of the TR-8 and looks fantastic too. 😃😄😀

[@Sklang32]

The end is BAD ASS love seeing peepz git down!!!

[@ootheca]

im most interested in these new plugins that they mention around the little keyboard. this does actually sound pretty great, and u-he has proved that software can sound fantastic, so i would be very interested to hear these new plugins. a propper vst for the jupiter series? yes!

[@Gigaloader]

Does the tr-8 and tr-3 it have programmable pattern call?

[@dalecharlesphoto]

Looks and sounds great BUT.. no Rimshot trigger out for my SH-101s and others?! Big miss Roland.. great vid as always Nick thanks very much for your incredible efforts! (Also look for the original Roland TR-909 engineer showing off his actual (!) hi-hat cymbal and crash sampled for the 909 in the company Roland TR-8 vid =)

[@Gummo22]

having a 101/909/303 myself... i dont see myself getting any of these boxes. guess my money will be going to elektron. ANALOG RYTM HERE I COME!

[@H4NDCRAFTED]

One of things I wanted was individual outs over USB and they totally got that right. This is kept simple and everything I wanted it to be, and it sounds close enough, still prefer D16s vst. Scatter function is BS roland though, first its the D beam now this, when will you learn lol. Also the O.S seems to cripple another product by Roland, come on guys no copy between A-B, you ever even used drum patterns ??? No recording of note repeat ? what the hell is that Roland. Every other company manages to implement this , it is basic in 2014.

[@Driftless91]

Nick, Can the reverb and delay be applied to the external audio input? Great Review -Cheers

[@BrendanSpengler]

Price?

[@lolmayonnaise]

Slightly unrelated question: What leads were you using on the TB-3 output?

[@deanod9]

Hello all, looking into buying a sythn, really impressed with all the Aira equipment but can't afford it all, would I be able to combine the TR-8 with say a Novation Bass Station? And would this require a dedicated Audio Interface or could I feed it into my laptop? Thanks!

[@rigomortisfxstudios]

***** you dont need a laptop to use it thats only if you want to edit the drums i dont think many will want too

[@mCKENIC]

Thanks Nick! Been waiting for this... and it seems like I'll wait a little longer to pick up a used one :) Sounds GREAT IMHO but the pricing is a teeny bit off. I wont be getting rid of my 606 or MachineDrum but this could be nice to add to them! Thanks SonicState!

[@Mr_ToR]

Dear Nick, please throw all that AIRA stuff to the garbage...

[@SPAZZOID100]

I have the TR-8 and it's great

[@TheHologr4m]

I will be dumpster diving.

[@tekis0]

James Reeno I'm getting one in January and can't wait! Who cares if it's not analog? It sounds like an 808/909 and it's much more versatile.

[@IIHOGZBREATHII]

TheHologr4m lololololololololololol

[@Mr_ToR]

Yea, they are the worlds most expensive plugin. 808 + 909 has total of 21 voices for $500 meaning $23 for a 30 year old drum sound? Thats crazy. You know that there are almost infinite amount of samples of these drums on the internet for free? Get a volca sample from korg for $160 and load the 808/909/606/cr78/cr8000 etc sounds.

[@YawpMusic]

We do not live in an A/B world. Put the TR8 in a track with no frame of reference it would sound like a 808/909. What more do you want?

[@inf0tr8r]

best point on the page! and you'll have just as much fun using it with all these hands on controls, if not more!

[@agitator1]

Hi, how can i sync this with my Arturia MicroBrute ?

[@agitator1]

Can i sync it with 5 pin midi out from TR8 > midi in of AMBrute ?

[@ogasi1798]

Yes Tr8 sends clock info

[@mosai6950]

No vt-3?

[@benredman5825]

Whats better, the drumbrute or roland tr8? (someone please tell me idk which one to buy)

[@danadams8649]

i also would like an answer to this, its drumbrute atm

[@djRoyalTee]

@ 9:05 very reminiscent of Beastie Boys - "Slow and Low" Which I still have on Vinyl btw ;)

[@devmiles]

i know you get a tabletop box with knobs, some fx and scatter fx things but i'm very curious how this compares with a novation drumstation.. (which i think is a very good 808/909 clone) i owned a tr909 but now gone modular with the tk-09 ridrum module.

[@Psychlist1972]

I wasn't keen on the looks until you started using it. Then I saw the lights actually serve a decent purpose. Good review. The drum machine sounds pretty good, as does the TB-3. Just saw the Roland site and looked at the System-1. I was really looking forward to that, but 25 keys and no velocity (or aftertouch ). Blegh. Guess that frees me up to look at other stuff again :)

[@global-law]

Can you create intros or Fills on this machine?

[@fingy5_124]

Hey, does anyone know where the toilets are? I've got a little bit lost and I'm bursting for a Jimmy.

[@H4NDCRAFTED]

+Brandon Banks I agree with this guy, there has always been good and bad analogue just has there has always good and bad anything.

[@H4NDCRAFTED]

Fap away its not my butt, mines hairy and spotty and smells of troll blood.

[@vforvillain77]

H4NDCRAFTED bahahah

[@RabiBenLavi]

The System 1 synth seems ok. Still, the attention to detail on the whole thing is not so ok. If it's all digital, wouldn't 2 SPDIF ins on the TR8 and then SPDIF outs on the TB3 and System 1 be better than having to plug them in mono analog? The SPDIF is also handy to add one piece to sound cards.

[@MurDoGGdotINC]

Hey guys. Do anybody know, why i should first turn on the sound system and then the TR 8? In the instruction sheet says that it could end in damage, if you turn on the TR 8 first?!

[@2PLIST]

Hi mate, i got the tr8, and it's driving me crazy because i want to record just the FX signal... i installed the driver, and now i can see 14 inputs on my preferences in Ableton... the kit starts from the input #3 (for the kick, and so on) and the inputs 1+2 it's for the all machine output, it means that i am getting in that channel the FX + the sounds, which is annoying because in this case i have duplicated signal... can somebody give me some light on this? thank you!!

[@MrKlondikeGuy]

Still can't help feeling as though Roland doesn't know what people want. It feels like price was the compromise to analog, but it seems as though they still missed the mark. Hope the System 1 impresses.

[@neonwind]

It looks & sounds sweet, but I think many of use were expecting an Analogue basis, especially after all the wonderful things that Korg have been doing.

[@filipwieczorek3777]

Can sequencer trigger a sounds from VSTs or DAW? (Transmit Midi)

[@tomdownstate2980]

this was always gonna get bashed on. Its not a real 808 sure but for the price i think it sounds pretty decent and usable. The kick is nice for sure. We dont really need a remade 808 as nice as that would've been, it would be super expensive and most of the people moaning probably wouldnt afford a remade 808 anyway. I know i wouldnt be able to. You cant argue that this is pretty affordable. I wouldnt compare it to a Volca beats myself, a Volca beat even though analogue is very limited. Im not knocking a Volca though because for the price its really really impressive.If you want an 808 so bad you can just buy an original one, if like me as much as you would love a real one but cant afford it suck it up and look at this. A good middle ground would be acidlabs miami. Im hoping i can test this and the miami side by side in the store when its out.

[@MrEvanTea]

I want to know if i can have different reverb and delay "level/time/gate" on different instruments...? I know how to trigger the reverb and delay for 2 or more instruments at the same time but they will share the same "level/time/gate" Can I change the "level/time/gate" depths for each instrument...?

[@DenverVideoProduction]

I won’t be throwing my mc 505 in the garbage just yet. Sounds identical. with many of the same features.