R-8 For 808?

[STARSKI]

Anybody use the Roland R-8 for 808 drums? I seem to remember reading that it has some of the best 808's around but now when i try to search it don't find much info. I got an opportunity to get one with the 808 and 909 cards. I have a novation drum station but honestly have some better samples in my akai. Can anyone shed any light on how the R-8 sounds for 808's?

[demonfuzz]

Yes.
The R8's '808 kit' is definitely saucey.
I borrowed a buddies R-8 w/ cards & sampled the shit out of it for my 3000 a couple yrs back.
I still use some of those drums. The snares are murrrrrder.

The best (non-sampled) 808 kits I've used so far, that are not from a real TR-808, would be the R-8 & MachineDrum (both have there own unique sound though, they aren't identical to 808).
I hear the JoMox & Novation supposed to be right up there though, but never tried them.

Also check out Drumatic VE from e-phonic.com.
http://www.e-phonic.com/plugins/drumatic_ve.php
I haven't used it yet but its supposed to be good + free.

[STARSKI]

ok so i did a lil more digging and found out about the jomox mbase-01 which looks perfect but is discontinued. so the next thing would be to step it up and get a jomox xbase 999 which isn't out yet but has the the same kick set up as the mbase plus hella more. looks like its around 1800 which is a lot but i will get a slammin 808 if it kills my pockets! the machine drum looks cool but from what i gather is not as phat as the jomox being that it is digital synthesis. the vermona drm-1 looks cool and is cheap but i don't think you can put the 808 over a range of notes to play a bass line with it which i definitely need to do. anybody have any experience with any of these?

[demonfuzz]

So if 1800 is your budget, why not buy a real 808, then sample it & tweak to your taste?

I see what you want to do with the basslines.
I used to do this back in the day on my old W-30, there was a wicked ass electronic kit that had a monster bass with infinite sustain.
I used to hook up car show dudes with 808 bass tapes to play at shows.
Imagine an 808 that booms for like, ummm, 20+ seconds.
Straight up monsterous HUMMMMM....

Have you tried just sampling a really good 808 over a couple octaves, then looping it just right so it sustains as long as you want & is seamless?

That Jomox seems like overkill just for an 808 kick, I think you mention you already got a 60.
I would just a get real 808.
Some good outboard processing & EQ should beef up your 808 to suit any application.
Try experimenting with looping at just the right points.
If you want an actual box that does this, non sampled, then I guess you're back to the Mox or similair boxes.

[Ace'Lo]

Yea I have used the R8 with the 808 card, and I own the original 808. I must say, the 808 in the R8 is damn near identical to the original. But if your anal about it(like me), get the original. I purchased one in mint condition off Ebay for a grand!

[STARSKI]

yeah to me i like the idea of having a real 808 but i'm not trying to deal with the hassle of having to sample it everytime, and then it defeats the purpose of having the analog thing. i see what your saying about looping for a longer sustain so that each note would be the same. i'm gonna either wait and see if i can find a jomox mbase01 used since they are discontinued or if i can't find one get a xbase999 later on with more dough. i think i would end up using all the sounds in it anyways. i found an r-8 with all 12 cards for 500 bucks but i think i wanna go real analog this time.

[dlmorley]

I use the R8 and 808.
To be honest, it is very good. Not quite an 808 (what is!), but for a sampled drumbox, it's excellent.
The R8 is still fabulous though. You can do totally mad things...too little memory for patches though...
The cards worth having are the Electronic and Dance cards. 808 on one, 909 on the other.

[soundsubs]

ive been on a similar quest for 808/909 kind of kicks. i also found the jomox, but i dont think its flexible enough. heres a couple solutions:

1.) nord modular. or you can get a nord micro modular (ebay ~$500). i have one and that thing is *cking amazing for 909/808. the kicks ive gotten out of it are enormous and solid. tons of bass and tone. knobs for control too, and yes, you can play a tune on them if you want... right now, its the one to beat for me. want samples?

2.) roland juno-106 or sh-101. set the resonance all the way up and adjust the env amount and the envelope and you have an analog sub bass 808/909 kick. its really punchy (and with the 106 you get midi too)

[demonfuzz]

Daaamn man. I think $500 for an R-8 is a little steep.
I've seen them on average $100-$150.
There is also a rack version ( R8-M? or something) that will take the cards.
I know the cards add significant value, but all you need is the 808/Dance cards.

Definitely try the loop/sustain thing.
Thats how I had it on my old W-30 workstation.
The original sound was basically a low-frequency blip, kraftwerk style electronic sound.
But they looped it & pitched it down, turning it into a steady "THummmmmmmmmm".
Tune the attack/start point to tweak the amount thump/kick you want, so for a bassline, you'd probably turn the attack/start up so you get just the "ummmmmmm".

[dtheone]

Rebirth! Rebirth! Rebirth! This software is equal in sound and actually surpasses the ability of the original TB 303 808 and 909 with all the extra features.

http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/

There's also a free reason refill of it for registered owners of reason!

I still have mine (original rebirth 1.5 and 2.01 software) and don't dare part with it!

Here's what Roland had to say about it:

The Roland Seal of Approval (1997)


Of the thousands of people who downloaded the alpha versions of ReBirth from the Propellerhead's website, access logs revealed that many originated in Japan, specifically from internet addresses at Roland. There were undisputable copyright concerns with the development of software that capitalized on the phenomenon established by Roland. Sample library companies had taken liberties with their own recordings of 303, 808, and 909 sounds, but Propellerhead was the first to push the envelope and add visual references of the TB and TR devices.

Representatives from the Roland Corporation initiated fax correspondence with the Propellerhead office, and ultimately, Roland stipulated that the following phrase be added (in fine print) to the packaging and application splash screen:

"Rebirth RB-338 was inspired by the TR-808 and TB-303 originally created by Roland Corporation. Their unique sounds and visual images have been re-born through digital simulation by propellerhead software"


Propellerhead Software regarded this as a blessing from Roland, as it was considered an "unofficial thumbs-up" and their acknowledgment provided strong marketing leverage. In a sense, Roland's stamp of approval legitimized ReBirth as something that met the standards of Roland quality. Since their initial correspondence, Propellerhead Software has cultivated a strong relationship with Roland and Mr. Kakehashi.