Before the 808, before drum machines became staples of hip-hop, pop, and electronic music, there was the Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 Drum Machine. Released in 1978, the CR-78 was Roland’s first programmable drum machine. Before the CR-78, most rhythm machines were preset-only. You’d pick ‘bossa nova’, ‘waltz’, or ‘rock 2’. The CR-78 offered something new, it let users program their own patterns and store them in memory using the external Roland WS-1 programmer. You’ve got 14 drum voices: hits like kick, snare, hi-hats, rimshot, tambourine, claves – all generated using analog circuits, which gives it a distinctly warm, punchy character. On the other hand, being fully analog, the tempo control isn’t exactly surgical. But this quirk adds to the CR-78’s charm, and in the hands of artists like Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, and Blondie, it became something iconic. For this Vault, we have in equal parts preserved the much-loved character of the CR-78 AND expanded its sonic potential by adding some tasteful effects.
DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF RHYTHM MACHINE FOR FREE FROM THE MAIN VAULTS PAGE HERE