Roland TR-08
Lesson 5: Tap write, editing and clearing
Goal: tap parts in by hand like a drummer, then tidy the result.
Roland calls real-time recording tap write. You tap the TAP button in time and the TR-08 writes the selected instrument on the nearest step (it is quantised), so small timing slips get corrected. It’s quicker for fills and feels more natural once you can keep time.
Tap write
The manual’s method uses one instrument as a click track, which is a good habit.
- Clear a pattern (Lesson 4), turn the mode switch to PATTERN WRITE 1st PART and press START/STOP.
- Make a click: select RS and press steps 1, 5, 9 and 13. You now hear a rim shot on every beat.
- Turn the select switch to the instrument you want to play in, say BD.
- Press TAP in time with the loop. The step lights show where each tap landed. Each pass adds to what’s there; nothing is erased.
- Move the select switch to the next instrument and tap again.
- When you’re done, select RS again and turn its steps off, so the click is gone.
- Press START/STOP to stop.
Tip: tap one instrument per pass. Lay the kick first, then the snare or clap, then hats. You can also tap in the accent: select AC and tap on the hits you want louder.
The TR-08 keeps playing while you change modes, so you can listen in MANUAL PLAY, flip to PATTERN WRITE, add something, and flip back without a gap.
Fix mistakes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| One stray hit | In PATTERN WRITE, select that instrument and press the lit step to turn it off |
| One instrument is a mess | Select it and turn its lit steps off one by one. Roland’s manual says CLEAR can also clear a single instrument, but doesn’t give the button combination |
| Whole pattern (A or B) is a mess | Mode switch to PATTERN CLEAR, choose A or B on the variation switch, press CLEAR |
| Want to hear one instrument alone | Solo it: hold BANK + TRIGGER OUT, press TAP for SOLO, then the instrument’s step (2 to 12) |
One caution. In PATTERN WRITE, pressing CLEAR on its own applies the PRE-SCALE setting (Lesson 7). Get into the habit of using CLEAR on its own only in PATTERN CLEAR mode, or straight after clearing.
Muting while you work
Hold BANK, press TRIGGER OUT, and keep holding both. Press steps 2 to 12 to mute or unmute instruments (2 is BD through to 12 for CH, in select switch order). Let go of BANK and TRIGGER OUT when you’re done.
Stuck for ideas: random patterns
While writing or playing, hold MENU/SUB STEP and press TAP. The TR-08 makes up a pattern. It isn’t kept unless you hold MENU/SUB STEP and hold TAP down for a moment, which writes it into the current pattern. In MANUAL PLAY this makes an intro/fill-in instead. Keep pressing until something sparks an idea, then edit it by hand.
Exercise 5
Start from your Lesson 4 house beat. Tap the hi tom and low tom over the last four steps (13 to 16) as a fill. Use PATTERN WRITE to remove any hits that landed in the wrong place.
A tom fill rolling down from hi tom to low tom is the idea behind one of the most famous drum moments of the 80s, the fill in Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight” (1981). The rest of that song’s beat came from a Roland CR-78, the drum machine Roland made just before the 808, so it’s a good one to listen to for how a simple machine beat and a live fill work together.