Roland TR-909
Encyclopedia
The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a partially analog, partially sample-based
drum machine
built by the Japanese Roland Corporation
in 1983. The brainchild of Tadao Kikumoto
, the engineer
behind the Roland TB-303
, it features a 16-step step sequencer and a drum kit
that aimed for realism and cost-effectiveness. It is fully programmable, and like its predecessor, the TR-808, it can store entire songs with multiple sections, as opposed to simply storing patterns. Only around 10,000 units were produced.
. More expensive, sample-based drum computers were better at faithfully reproducing real drum sounds, while the TR-909 sounded synthetic.
All drums except for the hi-hat
s and cymbal
s are synthetically generated; there is an oscillator circuit with a dedicated filter and envelope curve. The hi-hats and cymbals are 6-bit samples, compressed and combined with a volume envelope curve (and tuning) to allow slight modification. Thanks to the analog circuitry, various aspects of the drum sound can be modified (pitch
, attack, decay).
There is also a feature called "accent"—a primitive means of humanizing the drumbeat. In a simplified model of a drummer and a kit, the loudness of the sound created would basically depend on the velocity at which the drummer hits a given part of the kit. A human drummer can emphasize certain notes by playing them louder, and the accent parameter provides a means to boost a particular step. A more complex model would also include timbral change, but reproducing this effect using the TR-909's analog electronics wasn't feasible. It took the industry a while to even offer this effect in sample based drum machines, due to the price of sample memory and the number of samples one would have to take to faithfully reproduce it.
Part of the charm of the TR-909 comes from its 16-step sequencer
— today it might look primitive, not allowing subtle grooves and being limited in variety with only 16 steps, while a more lively, complicated drum pattern might need much more than that. On the other hand, acid techno music is usually simple compared to the styles that might require more than 16 steps to a bar. For example, punching the buttons 1, 5, 9 and 13 on the bass drum
part would create a simple "four to the floor
" beat.
While the sequencer is running, a light runs from step 1 to step 16.
This machine and its unique sequencer (both Roland and other manufacturers used either a grid-based sequencer, showing the dots on an LCD, or another method that did not display the pattern at all) were the basis for so-called grooveboxes — self-contained compact synthesizer
workstations with rudimentary keyboards and pattern-based sequencers, aimed at creators of electronic music
, using sample-based sound generation and a number of realtime controls.
Additionally, a clone of the TR-909's synthesizer parts is available in partial-kit form. This kit includes the main board and audio out PCBs, sample ROMs, and PIC Microcontroller (for handling MIDI) but requires a builder to order their own components and design their own enclosure.
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
built by the Japanese Roland Corporation
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
in 1983. The brainchild of Tadao Kikumoto
Tadao Kikumoto
Tadao Kikumoto is Roland's senior managing director and head of their R&D center. He designed the TB-303 and TR-909....
, the engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
behind the Roland TB-303
Roland TB-303
The Roland TB-303 Bass Line is a bass synthesizer with built-in sequencer manufactured by the Roland corporation from late 1981 to 1984 that had a defining role in the development of contemporary electronic music.-History:...
, it features a 16-step step sequencer and a drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
that aimed for realism and cost-effectiveness. It is fully programmable, and like its predecessor, the TR-808, it can store entire songs with multiple sections, as opposed to simply storing patterns. Only around 10,000 units were produced.
History
As with the TB-303, the realism of the TR-909 was severely limited by technical constraints, and this showed when the machines were released at relatively low prices before its rise in popularity, coinciding with the beginnings of techno and acidAcid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
. More expensive, sample-based drum computers were better at faithfully reproducing real drum sounds, while the TR-909 sounded synthetic.
Sounds
The drum kit contains the following sounds:- Bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
- Snare drumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
- Low tomTom-tom drumA tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snare.Although "tom-tom" is the British term for a child's toy drum, the name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala; the tom-tom itself comes from Asian or Native American cultures...
- Mid tom
- High tom
- Rim shot
- HandclapClappingA clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...
- Hi-hatHi-hatA hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
(open or closed, but not at the same time) - CymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
(rideRide cymbalThe ride cymbal is a standard cymbal in most drum kits. It maintains a steady rhythmic pattern, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than the accent of a crash...
or crashCrash cymbalA crash cymbal is a type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents, as opposed to in ostinato. The term "crash" may have been first used by Zildjian in 1928....
)
All drums except for the hi-hat
Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
s and cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s are synthetically generated; there is an oscillator circuit with a dedicated filter and envelope curve. The hi-hats and cymbals are 6-bit samples, compressed and combined with a volume envelope curve (and tuning) to allow slight modification. Thanks to the analog circuitry, various aspects of the drum sound can be modified (pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
, attack, decay).
There is also a feature called "accent"—a primitive means of humanizing the drumbeat. In a simplified model of a drummer and a kit, the loudness of the sound created would basically depend on the velocity at which the drummer hits a given part of the kit. A human drummer can emphasize certain notes by playing them louder, and the accent parameter provides a means to boost a particular step. A more complex model would also include timbral change, but reproducing this effect using the TR-909's analog electronics wasn't feasible. It took the industry a while to even offer this effect in sample based drum machines, due to the price of sample memory and the number of samples one would have to take to faithfully reproduce it.
Part of the charm of the TR-909 comes from its 16-step sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
— today it might look primitive, not allowing subtle grooves and being limited in variety with only 16 steps, while a more lively, complicated drum pattern might need much more than that. On the other hand, acid techno music is usually simple compared to the styles that might require more than 16 steps to a bar. For example, punching the buttons 1, 5, 9 and 13 on the bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
part would create a simple "four to the floor
Four to the floor
Four-on-the-floor is a rhythm pattern used in disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in 4/4 time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat in common time...
" beat.
While the sequencer is running, a light runs from step 1 to step 16.
Editing
The TR-909 has several editing modes: pattern editing where one focuses solely on the 16 steps, and track editing, which allows for chaining various patterns in a row. Because it has MIDI, it's also possible to control other instruments with the sequencer.This machine and its unique sequencer (both Roland and other manufacturers used either a grid-based sequencer, showing the dots on an LCD, or another method that did not display the pattern at all) were the basis for so-called grooveboxes — self-contained compact synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
workstations with rudimentary keyboards and pattern-based sequencers, aimed at creators of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, using sample-based sound generation and a number of realtime controls.
Notable users and songs
- CovenantCovenant (band)Covenant is a band from Sweden whose music comprises a mixture between electropop and electronic dance music. The band is composed of Eskil Simonsson, Daniel Myer and Joakim Montelius...
- Boys NoizeBoys NoizeBoys Noize is the stage name of Alexander Ridha, a German electronic music producer and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he established in 2005...
- Oliver LiebOliver LiebOliver Lieb is a German electronic music producer and DJ. Lieb is known to have more than a dozen aliases with over 200 productions and remixes in various electronic genres such as, trance, house, and techno. He has also produced tracks for other artists...
- Atari Teenage RiotAtari Teenage Riot'Atari Teenage Riot' is a German digital hardcore group formed in Berlin in 1992. The name was taken from a Portuguese Joe song 'Teenage Riot' from the 'Teen-age Riot' album, with the word 'Atari' added as an Atari ST computer was used to create compositions...
- Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
- SussudioSussudio"Sussudio" is a song by Phil Collins, released as a single in February 1985. The song is also the first track on Collins' third album, No Jacket Required, released in January of the same year. The song entered frequent rotation on MTV in May, and by 6 July, both the single and the album reached... - Taco - Puttin' On The RitzPuttin' on the Ritz"Puttin' on the Ritz" is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin' on the Ritz . The title derives from the slang expression "putting on the Ritz," meaning to dress very fashionably. The expression was inspired by the...
- Jeff MillsJeff MillsJeff Mills is an American techno DJ and producer.-Career:Starting in the early 1980s, Mills, using the name "The Wizard", was a recurring guest DJ on "The Electrifying Mojo" radio show on WJLB...
- Inner City
- Daft PunkDaft PunkDaft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
- 808 State808 State808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
- MobyMobyRichard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
- Fatboy SlimFatboy SlimNorman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
- OrbitalOrbital (band)Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...
- UnderworldUnderworldThe Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
- GorillazGorillazGorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
- Plastic BeachPlastic BeachPlastic Beach is the third studio album by British virtual band and alternative hip hop supergroup Gorillaz, released 3 March 2010 on Parlophone and Virgin Records. Conceived from an unfinished Gorillaz project called Carousel, the album was recorded during June 2008 to November 2009 and produced... - The ProdigyThe ProdigyThe Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
- ATBATBATB may refer to:*The US Reorder tone is often referred to as an ATB, for All Trunks Busy*Active Time Battle system is a feature of role-playing games*Mountain bike is an off-road bicycle...
- Chemical Brothers
- Benny BenassiBenny BenassiMarco Benassi , better known as Benny Benassi, is a Grammy Award winning Italian disc jockey and record producer of electro house music. He is best known for his 2002 summer club hit "Satisfaction"...
- Bobby OrlandoBobby OrlandoRobert Philip Orlando , also known as Bobby Orlando, is an American record producer, dance music artist, musician and songwriter.- Early life :...
& Divine - The BerzerkerThe BerzerkerThe Berzerker was an extreme metal band from Melbourne, Australia and was formed in 1995. The band's music, heavily influenced by older death metal and grindcore, can be characterized as a fusion of these with speedcore, and gabber...
- RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
- RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
- LCD SoundsystemLCD SoundsystemLCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
- Skinny PuppySkinny PuppySkinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
- Gus Gus
Hardware
(Grooveboxes are not included in this list as they contain more than just drums, though they may have copied the principle of the 16-step sequencer.)- Novation DrumstationNovation DrumStationThe Novation DrumStation is a rackmounted drum machine by Novation Digital Music Systems. It emulates the sound of the Roland TR-808 and Roland TR-909, although it lacks the step sequencer of the originals....
- JoMoX Xbase 09
- JoMoXJoMoXJoMoX Elektronische Musikinstrumente GmbH is German electronic musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1997 in Berlin. Jürgen Michaelis is the CEO and product developer. JoMoX supplies the true-analog synthesizer market niche...
is a German company in Berlin. Its first Drum Machine was called the "Xbase 09"; - they also made a rack version of it called the "Airbase 09". It was discontinued in the late 1990's. Jomox currently makes a newer model called the Xbase 999.
Additionally, a clone of the TR-909's synthesizer parts is available in partial-kit form. This kit includes the main board and audio out PCBs, sample ROMs, and PIC Microcontroller (for handling MIDI) but requires a builder to order their own components and design their own enclosure.
Software
- ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338 is a software synthesizer for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS 8-9 and iOS for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It was developed by Propellerhead Software, and its first alpha version was publicly released in December 1996. Propellerhead Software ceased developing the original program in...
- software synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
that emulates the TB-303, TR-808, and TR-909. Available for WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and MacMac OSMac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
(OS 9Mac OS 9Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
or older), IPhone and iPad.
External links
- D16 Group Drumazon VSTi (TR-909 emulator)
- TR-909 samples
- Vintage Synth Explorer: Roland TR-909
- Roland 909 emulator with source code
- DGenR8 Virtual Analog Drum Synthesizer - A TR-909 inspired drum synthesizer using analog modeling
- Hobnox Audiotool - Flash music applet featuring simulations of the TR-808, TR-909, TB-303, and various stomp effects
- TR-909 samples in .wav format
- Rebirth Museum - Online museum and download page for the ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338 is a software synthesizer for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS 8-9 and iOS for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It was developed by Propellerhead Software, and its first alpha version was publicly released in December 1996. Propellerhead Software ceased developing the original program in...
- DIY 909 clone