Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is one amazingly fun machine!
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2018
*I had some more time with it, and just started using it as a midi controller for both Reason 10, and Ableton Live 9, and it worked great. It's an audio/midi interface, and transfers both over the USB which is awesome. Sequencing my DAW rhythm tracks is so much more fun on the TR-8S, you can program your drums just the same as if you were sequencing the on-board sounds, it works the exact same way. Or, if you prefer using the onboard sounds you can just send it in as audio. For ever application I have used the TR-8S it has exceeded my expectations big time! I have made quite a few purchases this year, the GAS is real, and this, plus the Novation Circuit, are the ones that blew me away. It's also aesthetically pleasing IMO.*
Just got this recently, and still have a lot of features to learn, and master, and there are A LOT of features! I also have the TB-3 which works very well with this, and they sound great together. Hooking all my gear up, and getting it all synced was pretty easy.
The sound quality on this is really amazing, and all the ways you have to tweak your patterns makes this a real treat to play live.
My absolute favorite part of this device is all the variations you can add to each pattern, and the either auto/manual fill you can set anywhere between 2 and 32 steps. That plus shuffle can make these really come alive, and not sound repetitive or stale.
The built in models of all the classic roland machines sound really incredible. I'm not the person to side by side compare them to the originals and say they're 100%, and I'm not looking for that anyways. I just love how amazing they sound. The presets are pretty awesome, and really help give a feel for what this can do, as well as, help you get started with your own patterns.
This device is easy to use, very easy to tweak live, easy to get tons of variations either automated or done live, and it sounds really phenomenal! It's easy to get up, and going out of the box, but there's definitely enough features here to keep me learning for a while! It even has the ability to add flams, and you can control the gap between the flam hits! As an actual drummer that to me is a really cool feature, among many others.
Don't know if this helps anyone trying to decide. But I at least wanted to let everyone know I wasn't disappointed with what I got, and actually received a bit more than I expected from it, and and I am more than happy. If that ever changes as I learn, and master the machine I will update this.
