Volt7
a hobbyist user
from London, England
writes:
Roland did a pretty good job in 1980 with the Dr.Rhythm. It was cheap, easy to program and sounded great. In short it was a lot of fun.
If you had one of these & a couple of mono synths and a delay pedal back in 1981, you and your mate could pretend you were Caberet Voltaire, the Human League, Volt7 or even Soft Cell.
I love all the sounds on the little black pressed steel DR-55, especially the Rim. Use the accent well and you can get quite a feel going. I know its only a 16 step machine but there is something about the timing and the sounds that just sounds so rhymic & hard.
I own the Roland CR78,CR-8000 & TR-77, Korg KPR-77 & KR-55 and a Boss DR-110, all lovely old analogs but I love the DR-55 the most. If only I could get the bugger to sync in. DJT
Rating: 4 out of 5
posted Monday-Nov-15-044 at 20:04
Mad Scientist
a professional user
writes:
Actually the DR-55 was not "Roland's first ever drum machine". The 55 was released in 1979. Rolnad/Boss has been making drum machines since 1972. Such as the TR-33, TR-55, TR-77, TR-77V RHYTHM 77, TR-700, TR-330, CR-78 and the CR-68. Perhaps you're thinking of the Tr-55. It was one of the first, from '72.
Rating: 0 out of 5
posted Sunday-Feb-29-044 at 13:09
Rob Amboule
a hobbyist user
from England
writes:
I found a Dr.55 the other day and its a wicked little beatbox. With a built in step sequencer. Its a bit limited as it was Roland's first ever drum machine (Boss are a division of Roland) but its all analogue and sounds a bit like a 606. The only down side is that the hi-hats are either on every 8th or every 16th, but otherwise its great for all types of music except maybe drum and bass.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Thursday-Jan-16-033 at 10:45
Nath
from Sydney Australia
writes:
It's quite easy to sync this drum machine, give sep audio outs and 4 trigger outs. All voices can be hevily modded and audio ins can be give on all voices too. This thing is not a toy. Don't underestimate it. Get a service manual and a soldering iron. Nath
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Wednesday-Aug-29-011 at 20:57
ladyjase
a part-time user
from england
writes:
Used to own one of these about 10 years ago, but it broke, and I must have foolishly chucked it away. However, I have just bought a Soundmaster SR88 which is a DR 55 clone, very similar programming, only 4 sounds. I too have downloaded the wav files off the net, and when I plugged in my SR88, the real sounds blow them away. www.ladyfriend.co.uk
Rating: 4 out of 5
posted Friday-May-11-011 at 07:07
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