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Average rating:
3.8 out of 5
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More thoughts.... I think some of the glory of this box is beginning to show. I had heard that Mr. James had used a 505, but wasn't sure, so I didn't want to name-drop. I know he used a 626 and a 707, but then again, those beats do seem a bit reminiscent of the 505. I think he is an excellent example of MUSICIANSHIP not technology. Take what you have, and push that to the limits. You cannot buy yourself good music production. Only braincells can do that for you.
I believe the 626 does sound the same, w/indie outs. I was thinking about hacking my 505 into a 626, opening it up and wiring up some separate outs...thoughts on it, anybody? email me.
And the Mazda 626 is a fantastic car, too.
It's use to drive something else is perhaps the best. Use it as a vocoder input, for something a bit different. And if it's plain PCM sound has got you down, FX it to Valhalla and back again. (kudos to you on the use of ZOOM FX, Cleatus, love the AutoWah!)
Another great use for it I just found: input it to an Electribe ER1 and then ring modulate w/it. Great bleepy-boop noises. Get creative.
And remember, IT'S CHEAP. It always was, and it still is. Probably always will be. So were 808's until people realized what they could do with them....
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I belive the reason people think this machine is so dry, is the tone of the high hats, which are very low sounding compared with the 909 and 808. wich makes it hard to get the exsact house sound. (wich i dont like). I find no problem with the bass or the snare or rim. if you turn down the volume of the open hight hat, it will sound way better. worth the money. good if your already experinced with percusion. if your not, youl think its hard to program what you want. I love mine. I dont understand why its worth so little. I love the ride as a snare beat.
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All you slags need to re-check your info, and yourselves, because Richard D. James used the 505 to create the beats on the Rubber Johnny EP he put out through Warp Records in 1997. A friend of mine asked him about the 505 at a DJ gig and Richard confessed that, although the sounds may seem limited, some proper processing pushes the 505 "through the stratosphere."
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I use mine for it's way simple midi interface, rock solid timing, easy programming interface etc. I think I've actually only heard those awful 505 pcm samples once or twice -- majority of the time it's being used to drive a novation drumstation and other kit's on my synths.
And for this purpose alone it justifies it's existance, just don't buy one as a drum machine proper as it sounds well awful, makes my 707 seem heavenly in comparison. Why would roland issue the three best tr's first and then dilute the lineup with pap like the 505/626 etc. Who knows... probably just wanted to make something rock people would want to use, rather than the thundering dancefloor boom of the 808/909.
-nubey
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Boy, this box sure is one of those tough love/hate things... Mine came from my skool's music dept. (I "liberated" it) and i use it more than i thought I would. Yet, i still regard it with some sort of disdain, perhaps because it feels to me like the 707, -minus about 202 or so :) And I hate the bitch, i want to kill it by beating it with a blunt object over the LCD and then burn its remains and bury them in a shallow grave in a ditch somewhere---sometimes.
The 505 is cheap, for sure. It had better be for what you get out of it. Short, harsh samples. It's not hard to program by any means, but it isn't exactly fun either. The sounds are flat, tinny, cheezy, whatever you consider. The MIDI capability is basic. Basically limiting. It's not pretty (unless you paint it...) The manuals seem to be quite hard to find. It only has one LED. It doesn't make you sound like Norm Cook the minute you turn it on. But you can become RDJ if you use your mind with it...
Because the TR-505 is a TR, and there is that TR magic to it. Something about it brings back great feelings of Run DMC or even further back to Kraftwerk, in it's odd, quirky, rhythms. And i think it is yet another case of not what you can do with a piece of kit (or shit, if that's what you think), but how far an accomplished musician can creatively push it's sonic boundaries. You can do so much with something so simple: try vocoding it with itself or a simple pad. Heavy distortion, delays, all sorts of effects can really make it into a cool (and more creative than the shake-and-bake-and-groove boxes) sort of box. Why did drum machines gain popularity years after they were first released? Because they were cheap. I swear, the nights i spent late, sitting in bed programming this bitch while other, more sophisticated (and $$$$$$!!!) machines lay dormant are amazing to me. Sometimes i feel like I'm wasting my time, others, i praise it for that one break that fits in the middle. Somedays, it's a budget 909, others, a glorified metronome. Yet whenever I think about getting rid of it, something stops me.
Because, I love it too.
I don't think I would trade a 707 for it, though. I will trade it for a 707, however, and those of you who are willing to give one (or a 909) for it can get in touch asap...
I guess this is one that to really love, you have to get cheap, because otherwise you expect too much from it. If you don't expect to hear anything wonderfull out of it, then it might suprise you. Give it a listen first, and make sure you get a manual!
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