Roland TR-707 drum machine "A brand new digital drum machine" brochure, 1985

Roland TR-707 drum machine's "A brand new digital drum machine from Roland "four page colour brochure from March 1985. 

Hey there! Happy 707 Day. My fifth happiest day after 303 Day, 808 Day, 909 Day and 606 Day. Oh wait... 202 Day. And 101 Day. Wait. 272 Day. Okay, my eighth happiest day of the year. 

But its still a great day! It beat our 358 or so other days. Not too shabby. 

All that aside... let's keep this short and sweet. Just like the 16 beat patterns found on this thing. 

Based on the classic "We Design The Future" brochure style of the period for Roland, this thing is gorgeous. It hits all the right notes. Large images. lots of breathing room. Cool red laser effect when you flip open the brochure. A marble. Yeah... even the marble. 

Like many of the other brochures in this series, the cover has a theme - in this case, some kind of metal thingy behind the 707. It's actually a little freaky on the eyes, ain't it? But that don't matter, because as soon as you open the brochure, you get that large image of the TR-707 and lots of info including the specs. 

But even better than the marble and lazer found on those inside pages is the back page. Because here we have the lovely older brothers of the the 707 - the TR-909 and TR-606. I love that even as MIDI started overtaking previous sync standards, Roland kept that fire burning under the TR-606. I can't fault them for that (606 Day beats 707 Day by three other days!!!

Like I said. Short and sweet. because I have a job now. A real one. And its fun too. 

Have a safe 707 Day! Enjoy!

Roland "Roland Rhythm Machines & Sequencers Vol. 1" catalog, 1985

 

 

 

Roland "Roland Rhythm Machines & Sequencers Vol. 1" eight page full colour catalog from March 1985.

Happy 303 day! The most happiest of happiest days! 

I'm gonna try and get a little 303 video ditty created before March 3 (I did - and posted!), but figured I'd scan something a little bigger than the normal one page advert or four page brochure and yap a little bit less about it. 

So here we have Volume 1 of the "Roland Rhythm Machines & Sequencers" catalog, containing not just the lovely TB-303, but also the TR-707, TR-909, TR-606, CR-8000 & CR-5000, SBX-80, MSQ-100 & MSQ-700, and JSQ-60. Say all that in one breath. 

One of the most interesting things about this brochure is the date - 1985. Roland was well on their way pushing the new MIDI standard, but they still had a few of their DCB and DIN devices on display.

But even more interesting is the inclusion of the TB-303. Most online resources would tell you that 303 production stopped, and the rest of the stock was sold off cheaply in 1984... so to see it pop up in a 1985 brochure makes me more than a little happy. Someone in a 1985 boardroom was saying "This MIDI thing is really taking off... but... just... in... case... we still have a few more of those 303s kicking around out there, let's put it in a catalog one more time. 

Enough yapping. Back to 303'ing. :)

Roland Juno-60 "We design the future" brochure, 1982

Roland Juno-60 "We design the future" four page colour brochure from September 1982.

I saw an interesting graph the other day. Not sure where I first saw it, but it spread quickly on social media. Luckily it didn't take me long to track it down.

The graph was part of a great Reverb.com article titled "Why Do Vintage Roland Junos Continue to Go Up in Price" by Dan Orkin and tracked the site's historical used prices for the Juno-106, Juno-6 and Juno-60 from 2014-2019. Not surprisingly, all three show a positive price trend. Also not surprisingly - while the Juno-106 and Juno-6 have been climbing at a similar pace, the Juno-60 has been slowly gaining even more ground in comparison.

Ignoring the obvious bad choice of capitalization in the title of the Reverb article, and not ignoring the obvious good choice in linking to my Juno-60 advertising scan, Dan does great job of summarizing why these three synths deserve all the recognition they get. Lots of great references and links all around the Web too.  Top notch - worth the read.

Without giving too much away, a big part of what the Juno's rawk are their great sound and an easy-to-use interface. Most importantly, as Dan writes, "many devotees claim that the -60 delivers the most aggressive or distinctive sound, which may contribute to it claiming the highest prices."

For me, that's exactly why.  :)

You can find these Juno devotees on lots of sites giving high praise to the Junos, including Vintage Synth Explorer.

While VSE gives the 106 five stars, users rate it 4.1 stars.

In comparison, the Juno-60 gets four stars from the site - but users rate it slightly higher than the 106 with 4.2 stars.

And for comparison, the Juno-6 only gets three stars (!) from the site but the user rating beats the Juno-106 by a hair at 4.11 stars.

The users have spoken!

Now, before I start getting off-topic and start ranting about those who rant about the ever-increasing prices of vintage synths and drum machines, the reason I brought up the graph was that it was a reminder to dig up this Juno-60 brochure for the blog. I knew I had it around somewhere.

The cover of the brochure follows Roland's standard "WE DESIGN THE FUTURE" format - Roland logo in top left with a big bold red title and lots of negative space in the top half, while south of the equator is usually a studio shot of the gear, maybe with a buddy or two included, and some kind of background or texture.

In this case that buddy is the MC-4 sequencer (a lovely choice) and the background texture is some kind of corrugated metal or plastic (another lovely choice).

Open up the brochure and BAM! A lovely centrefold screaming to be made into a poster. And specs. Lots of specs. Including the Arpeggio section. And one of my favourite modulator controls on any synth - the LFO trig button.

Back page is nothing to sneeze at either. A large photo of the rear panel including that pre-midi curiosity of a DCB connector. And further down... oh boy - small little promos for the lovely TB-303 and TR-606.

So far I've posted six other Roland brochures in the "We design the future" series including the SH-101, Jupiter 6, TR-808/606/303 Rhythm Machines, TR-909, MSQ-700 and MSQ-100.

And to make it easy for you, I've created a "We design the future" label. One stop shopping!

Gonna leave it at that for now. But don't think I've forgotten about that rant. I'm saving it for later.

Roland TR-606 Drumatix drum machine and TS-404 Multitrax sequencer ad, Keyboard 1983

Roland TR-606 Drumatix drum machine and TS-404 Multitrax sequencer full colour advertisement from page 49 in the August 1983 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

I've already posted a scan and blogged about Roland's popular first ProForm advertisement that launched the TB-303 and TR-606, so I thought I'd focus more on the TS-404 in this 606/404 ad.

Within a year after launching the first two pieces of music gear that made up their "ProForm Series" - the TB-303 and TR-606 - Roland realized the hits they had on their hands. In particular, positive response in regards to the simplicity of the TB-303 sequencer led Roland to deliver on their promise to bring more ProForm gear to market by announcing a multi-track TB-style sequencer to go along with the bass synthesizer and drum machine.

Roland is known for re-purposing their cases to help keep costs down, and they've definitely kept that philosophy with all three ProForm products. As can be seen in the ad photo, the TS-404 kept the simple and clean TB-style sequencer on the lower half of the case, but replaced the main synth controls at the top of the case with multi-track sequencer functionality in the form of "Track" buttons and corresponding LED lights. CV and Gate labels indicate that each Track has its own set of CV/Gate outputs situated on the back. Slick!

The result - an awesome four track sequencer that looks absolutely smashing next to its older TR-606 sibling.

And it doesn't just look gorgeous. Its just about as dreamy to program. A Roland representative at the time remarked "If programming and editing one TB-303 sequence was easy, then programming four TS-404 sequences is four times as easy."

I found the TS-404 programming instructions in an article that appeared in the September 1983 issue of CV/Gate-Love Magazine called "The TS-404: Release yourself from your cumbersome Fairlight sequencer software". The guide matter-of-factly states that when using their simple 37-step programming and editing guide, "even someone with only a Doctorate in Astrophysics will be up to speed making Yazoo-style tracks in no time".

An amazing machine, but unfortunately, MIDI had just launched and was gaining steam quickly,  eventually stopping the sales of the TB-303, TR-606 and TS-404 in their tracks (pun intended). Many ended up sold in store blow-out sales and later dumped in pawn shops around the world. And while the TB-303 and TR-606 ended up becoming famous soon afterwards in the hands of acid house producers around the world, the TS-404 became generally recognized within a lesser well-known genre of techno called Banjo-Tech.

This fad of integrating banjos with TS-404s began in Belgium around 1992 and quickly spread to a small city in Canada called Regina. Owners would send their four-string banjo and TS-404 to a guy in Keflavik, Iceland. Known as the GodFerret mod, the integration with the banjo effectively destroyed the TS-404 in the process but resulted in an instrument that had one very unique sound when the four strings were played directly through the four tracks of the sequencer.

But unlike acid house which spawned many sub-genres and is still going strong today, the unique sound and genre of BanjoTech faded soon after, and the few rare TS-404s that never were GodFerreted are coveted by the few lucky owners that have them.

Shame I'll probably never be able to get my banjo GodFerreted.  :(

Roland TB-303 and TR-606, Keyboard 1982

Roland Bassline TB-303 and Drumatix TR-606 from inside front cover of Keyboard magazine April 1982.

I know, I know... been there, seen that. I posted this scan a while back, and the ad has been scanned by many others and has appeared on numerous sites including MATRIXSYNTH.

But I never blogged about the ad, and it seemed like a good time since I had just posted the Roland Rhythm Machine brochure that came out later that same year. It made me start hunting around old Keyboard magazines to see what new and exciting 303/606 information, if any, I could dig up in order to contribute to the Internet's ever-expanding knowledge about these two units.

And there is already a considerable amount of information out there - especially as far as the TB-303 is concerned. Wikipedia, Vintage Synth Explorer, and synthmuseum.com all have some great reference info, to name but a few sites. And then there are all the acid house Web sites out there. I'll never even try and 'go there' in a blog post.

The TR-606 has its fair share of fans to. Again, you have Wikipedia, as well as many other sites including, but definitely not limited to, Hyperreal and Vintage Synth Explorer.

But, one thing I haven't seen online is Keyboard's TB-303/TR-606 Spec Sheet promo info transcribed or posted anywhere.

And it turns out that their Spec Sheet promo is a goody. Remember that Jupiter-8 Spec Sheet promo that I had transcribed for a recent double-page JP8 ad post? This 303/606 promo is just as long, and just as informative from a historical perspective. It appeared in the same issue as when this advertisement started to appear - April 1982, and is jam-packed full of good reference info.

I've separated out the content into paragraphs to make reading more enjoyable :o)

"Two new products from Roland are the TR-606 Drumatix and the TB-303 Bassline.

The TR-606 Drumatix is a portable, fully programmable rhythm device that is useful for live performance, songwriting, and recording. The unit allows the user to program any rhythm desired, and program as many as 32 separate patterns containing seven different drum sounds each, with accents.

The 32 rhythm patterns are broken into two groups of 16, each called up by its own switch with one additional button for pattern group selection. Programming is done either in real time by utilizing the unit's tap switch or out of real time by means of a step programming method.

Written and stored in computer memory, rhythm patterns can be used to form entire percussion compositions via the unit's track write function. A total of eight tracks, seven of 64 bars each and one of 256 bars. A chaining feature has also been built into the instrument which allows adjacent rhythm patterns to be linked together for more complex arrangements.

A programmable D.S. function allows for repetition of verse and chorus sections as many times as required; a D.C. Bar programs the repetition of the entire track upon completion; and two separate trigger outputs and a DIN sync connector by which the TR-606 can be connected to a variety of digital sequencers and synthesizers are included.

The unit is battery-operated and includes a self-contained headphone amp for on-the-spot composing and monitoring at any location. A soft case for protection is provided. Price is $395.00.

The TB-303 Bassline is another of the ProForm (programmable performance) line of instruments from Roland. It is a fully self-contained bass synthesizer with a 3-octave range. Features include two waveforms and controls for VCF cutoff, resonance, envelope modulation, decay, accent, and overall tuning.

The TB-303 lets you program bass lines the same way that the TR-606 lets you program drum parts, that is by breaking them down into one-measure segments that are called bass patterns. The unit contains sufficient memory to hold up to 64 different bass patterns and also as a key bias function that can raise the key of a programmed bass pattern. This feature is useful in many rock and blues song formats that have repeated bass patterns following a I-IV-V type of progression.

Patterns are programmed for pitch by using the selector switches as you would a piano keyboard. After the pitch values are programmed, timing values can be added to each note either in real time (by tapping the rhythm out on the tap switch) or out of real time through a step programming method. Programmed notes can be accented for slap-style sounds, they can slide from one note to another, or they can be tied over two or more steps to obtain longer note values.

Like the TR-606, the Bassline features track writing and playing, with each track being up to 64 bars in length. Programmed tracks can be synced with the TR-606 through a DIN sync input jack for coordinated programmed bass and drum tracks. The unit also has the D. S. and D.C. features found on the TR-606 that serve to enhance flexibility and conserve track memory. The TB-303 is battery-operated and includes a self-contained headphone amp. A mix input allows other instrument like the TR-606 to be daisy-chained to facilitate remote use without the necessity of the mixer. The unit also comes with a soft carrying case. Price is $395.00. Roland, 2401 Saybrook Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90040."

The Roland Rhythm Machine brochure I blogged about last week had a small paragraph dedicated to the TB-303, and it gave some indications (such as that 'instead of strings' comment) that the company really, really, really, actually expected the TB-303 to replace a live bass player.

If there was any doubt, comments from the Spec Sheet text above such as "this feature is useful in many rock and blues song formats" and "programmed notes can be accented for slap-style sounds" has gotta confirm this. Anyone who has actually heard the TB-303 will tell you:

Definitely great for electronic bass, blips, and drones.

Definitely not a substitute for a real bass player.

End of story.

So, back to the ad itself.

Roland had pretty much owned the front inside cover of Keyboard magazine for quite some time with gear such as the JP-4, Saturn-09, RS-09, TR-808, and finally with that awesome 'Understanding Technology' double-page Jupiter-8 ad that ran for most of the second half of 1981 and into January 1982. A Roland VK-9 ad that had been running concurrently with that Jupiter-8 ad elsewhere in the magazine, took over this coveted front-inside cover ad-space for a couple of months, until it was finally given to this TB-303/TR-606 ad in April '82, running for the next three months or so.

The advertisement itself is a bit different than previous Understanding Technology ads - probably since they wanted to differentiate these two products as part of Roland's ProForm Series of gear.

But 'ProForm' as an identifier didn't seem to really go anywhere. I would suspect that maybe the SH-101 and MC-202 might have been contenders at some point in some Roland Marketing Department's 'big picture' flow chart, but it looks like Roland dropped the term and decided to go in a different direction. The Roland Rhythm Machines brochure came out only seven months later, and the ProForm identifier doesn't seem to be mentioned at all.

I'll keep looking for other references to the ProForm series, but I'm doubting I'll find much. I think it was all just swept under the rug. If you know of any, let me know.

Roland Rhythm Machines TR-808, TR-606, TB-303, CR-8000, and CR-5000 brochure, 1982

Roland Rhythm Machines brochure featuring the TR-808, TR-606, TB-303, CR-8000 and CR-5000, as well as a few special guests including the Jupiter-8, Jun0-60, Juno-6 and SH-101.

Whoa!

This is one of my favorite brochures of all time! I've wanted to share it for a while - but was waiting for a larger scanner. And this piece of art deserved the wait.

But, while this brochure is definitely awesome in all its awesome geariness (I just made up that word), it is also kinda awkward. It's like watching a re-run of Meerkat Manor, knowing that the cute little happy, cuddly, family is about to be taken down by a big predator.

And by that, I mean MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).

All the information provided in this brochure pre-dates the launch of MIDI technology by less than a year. According to Wikipedia's MIDI page, by the time this brochure came out, talks between the manufacturers were well underway, and the protocol must have been pretty much hammered down. Additionally, Wikipedia's MIDI 1.0 specs page tells us that when the specs launched in August 1983, they included MIDI clock as part of the protocol.

And MIDI clock = the future of sync

But it's like Roland didn't want to let the clueless 303, 606 and 808 know that they were about to be drop-kicked into closets for the next half-decade or so, so the brochure cheerfully and colourfully pushes Roland's own soon-to-be-outdated DIN-sync technology for syncing not only the 606 with the 303, but also with Roland's older cv/gate sequencers such as the MC-4 Microcomposer (launched around 1978) and CSQ-600 Digital Sequencer (launched around 1980).

And it's in Roland's best interest to keep up this promotion - they already had a lot of DIN-sync technology out in the wild, and had to keep pushing it right to the bitter end.

Of course, the change-over to MIDI didn't happen *that* quickly. And, as we all know, in the end the 303, 606, 808, and a multitude of other pre-MIDI gear got the last laugh. Most are now prized by musicians, DJs, and producers around the world, commanding ever-increasing prices, and spawning imitations by many other companies, including Roland.

So, it ain't all bad for this little family.

This brochure was just one of many in Roland's "We Design the Future" set of brochures that ran during the first half of the 80's. Luckily for us, Roland dated all their brochures during this time period and so we know *exactly* when these came off the printing press to see the light of day. You just need to check out the back page - bottom right corner - to know that this one was printed in Japan in November 1982.

The brochure, in a word, is simply gorgeous (okay, two words), and includes everything I've always wished for in a brochure:

• Full-colour
• Great photography highlighting the front panels
• Line drawings of the back panels showing all the in's and out's of each machine
• Technical/reference information for each piece of featured equipment
• Funky ad-copy

As mentioned above, the TB-303 kinda took on a life of it's own later in life (see it's Wikipedia page if you live under a rock), but it's great to be able to look back and see just how Roland was trying to originally position the 303 in the marketplace:

"Roland introduces the world's first computerized bass machine, the great new Bass Line TB-303. This remarkable little unit covers three full octaves. Instead of strings, you use keys to program bass patterns. Up to 64 patterns can be created for use anytime. And, like a bass synthesizer, you have full control over resonance, envelope modulation and other important factors influencing sound quality. When used with Roland's TR-606, you can play bass and drum patterns at the same time. Completely portable, the TB-303 runs on either battery or AC line voltage and comes completely equipped with its own carrying case. A headphones jack is also provided as standard."

"Instead of strings"!!! I love that!

It really gives you a good idea of where the industry, and Japan especially, was trying to go at the time. Smaller. More portable.

Interestingly, Roland's advertisements in Keyboard magazine didn't really match up with their "We Design the Future" brochures from around this time period. Roland was just winding down their "Understanding Technology" campaign that had been running in Keyboard for quite a while - like this two-page Jupiter-8 advertisement. They were also running this "Special Product Report" advertisement. And during the first six months of 1983, Roland switched over to an ad featuring their Juno-60.

Anyways, I'll touch a bit more on Roland's transition to MIDI in future blog posts. I doubt anyone is still reading anyways - not with such a yummy brochure to drool over...

Roland TB-303 and TR-606, Keyboard 1982

Roland Bassline TB-303 and Drumatix TR-606 from inside front cover of Keyboard magazine April 1982.