Roland today officially introduced the TR-1000 Rhythm Creator, a new drum machine that they say is the most advanced drum machine that they’ve ever made.
The Roland TR-1000 builds on the legacy of the TR-808 and TR-909 machines. The TR-1000 is the first Roland drum machine in over 40 years with true analog voices, and it goes far beyond the 808 and 909 with digital sound and sampling technologies:
- The TR-1000’s analog engine features 16 of the most coveted circuits from the TR-808 and TR-909, faithfully recreated from the original designs with detailed engineering and carefully selected modern components.
- In addition to the analog voices, the TR-1000 features 21 circuit-bent TR-808 and TR-909 models built with Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) technology, FM percussion, virtual analog tones, and a deep PCM library.
- Comprehensive sample tools are also fully integrated into the TR-1000 workflow, including stereo sampling and resampling, BPM sync, seamless time-stretching, and non-destructive slice editing. The onboard 64 GB memory comes with a curated collection of 2000 samples, with 46 GB free for user captures, edits, and sample imports.
Effects include a new analog state-variable filter (SVF), a dedicated analog drive, and a wide array of digital processing.
Each track combines a model-specific sound generator, compressor, multimode filter/four-band EQ, and amp/envelope control. Four of the available tracks allow for two sound generators to be stacked or programmed separately with per-track FX, internal sidechaining, output routing, and a three-target LFO.
The TR-1000’s advanced sequencer expands on the familiar TR workflow, with a focus on feel and flexibility. Users can program sounds fast, perform with intent, and shape rhythms in real time using extensive pattern tools, expressive controls, and new off-grid options to fine-tune the pocket.
The new Morph slider allows for radical transformations with simple movements, while the snapshot feature creates playable step buttons that instantly recall any knob position for an instrument.
Around the back, the TR-1000 offers extensive I/O and routing flexibility. The companion TR-1000 App enables hardware control from a computer, providing a large graphical interface for real-time parameter editing, a librarian for organizing sounds, and more.
Here’s an example of the TR-1000 in action with Egyptian Lover:
Pricing and Availability:
The Roland TR-1000 is available now for $2,699.99 USD.
This product is geared towards the rich and elitist musicians. Good luck Roland..
“This product is geared towards the rich and elitist musicians. ”
That’s really a pretty elitist statement. Are you trying to be the gear police or something?
Most serious musicians I know have gear they are willing to save up for. I can see a lot of musicians wanting a single drum machine machine that’s an 808, 909, digital drum synth and sampler. The TR-1000 looks like one of the most powerful drum machines ever made.
People who don’t know what they’re talking about are going to complain that this is expensive and that you can get both the Behringer 808 & 909 knockoffs for less than half the cost of this.
The TR-1000 isn’t competing with Behringer for the low end. It’s going head-to-head against flagship gear like the Elektron Analog Rytm, which is similarly priced.
‘ve got an Analog Rytm mk 1 (they’re bargains now!) so I’ve got my flagship drum machine covered. But I can see the appeal of the TR-1000 – it’s twice as big, a lot more hands-on, and has more analog and digital synthesis options.
$2700 is not that crazy unless you live in an unfortunate part of the world. There are many routes including artist grants or saving up over time to get one if you are dedicated to getting one. If it’s gear for life, the process of getting it can take time and that’s ok.
lol
it is priced at somewhat less than the average monthly take home wage. I can see it for 9 months interest free. This is not unobtainable. It isnt cheap but certainly not just for rich musicians. For about a quarter of the price is the TR8S.
Sweetwater has the 0% financing deal where you can pay $450 for 6 months and barely even notice it. It’s only about 3 weeks worth of take home pay for the average person. It’s not really a huge financial deal. Maybe for some struggling teens or young people just getting started. For for a normal adult, this shouldn’t be a huge financial impact.
lol, $450 a month is A LOT for some people, and for half a year?! I think I would “notice” that. I’d probably get a new car first!
But hey, not everybody can afford every instrument and Roland can make and charge whatever they want. Imagine how much Teenage Engineering would charge for something like this
Oh god! If this was a TE product it would cost $6k easy! Even that SP-1200 box is $4k! This is the first bit of Roland gear I’ve purchased in 25 years. I haven’t been happy with anything they have put out since then. Soon as I saw this though, it was like everything I’ve ever wanted them to make. ???
Only thing that would have made it perfect was a JV synth engine like my MC-505. Then one could have done it all with this box. Lol
Rare time I will take Roland’s side. This is the first product they have made that has exceeded my expectations in my lifetime (I am 30). The Alpha Juno exceeded my expectations, but that is from before my time.
If I could afford this I would get it, definitely a do it all drum machine for 95% of drum machine needs for an electronic musician.
I will get one if I ever become successful. For now my 808 and 909 clones, along with Korg Volca Drum and Volca Sample will do the job.
I recently took advantage of the Roland Cloud offerings on their 808 and 909 plugins for my Mac….$100 lifetime total for the two of them. Roland has something for everyone if you shop around.
Looks really nice, but I needed a drum machine that had an attached kitchen sink, which this does not. Epic fail Roland!!
No 4K HDMI output? Pass
Had heard the USB audio utility was going to be called Overpriced
Its a flagship percussion workstation. You can pay less in the keyboard world and still get a great synth, but $2000-2500 is where more serious gear kicks in. I prefer doing it in software, but I also know that several someones saw this and said “Finally!” Its a workflow choice.
Besides, add up what you’ve spent on your rig. If you’re more than a minor dabbler, you’ve dropped several thousand on it. There are ways to get there. I dropped $1500 on a used Triton in a resin case and it paid off 200%.
I’m not a fan of the constant whining some people have about the cost of pro gear.
I’ve got several ‘flagship’ type instruments – including a modular, the Elektron ‘Dark Trinity’, and a Minimoog Voyager XL. I’ve got cheap gear too, including some Behringer knockoffs. The flagship gear feels so much nicer, though, has modern capabilities, and is just a lot more fun to play.
I had to save up for the Voyager XL., but got a good deal on it used. The modular I built over a long period of time. And the Dark Trinity boxes I bought as the mkII versions were introduced and the mki prices got attractive.
Which company shall superseded this device now?
easy: a maschine plus (standalone) paired with an ipad or analog thing as you wish. The morph thing has been there for years: except you have virtually unlimited amount of morphs, not only A->B. also the sequencing is way more flexible.
—ow but i guess i \m now talking about the doing it al in one box thing.
for a drummer this device seems boss. I owned the electron analog rhythm, which Roland have certainly looked at here, twice (mk1, mk2). it has nice filters. the gui sucks. although it was cool to be able to switch kits and make that part of the composition. (like this tr1000 can). the pads are unplayable. and i hope Roland did not copy the hematic filesystem. the experience was so annoying that i dislike the optical style of the tr1000 for reminding me of it. maybe i’ll have a (used) one one day… I am interested in how the effects work and sound and if they can replace a mixer with send/return setup
The price doesn’t seem too out of line with comparable products: DR-2, Pulsar 23, Perkons, and RYTM. If you’re a pro musician and you would be making money using it, the purchase wouldn’t be a big deal. If you’re a hobbyist (like myself [I have no interest in buying]) it just depends how badly you want one. The back panel looks well appointed.