TR-626 as Sequencer
Since I built my 808/909 clone without a built-in sequencer,
I needed to find a drum machine which transmitted sequences to an external device,
preferably with the Roland x0x style editing method, to trigger my sounds.
I found the Roland TR-626 was likely to be the best bet for this,
so when I saw one advertised cheaply, I bought it.
My TR-626 was in mint condition, with the original box, manual, pattern card and even the plastic bag the original Roland batteries came in.
A bargain at 80 ukp. Just forget about those internal sounds...
Although not quite as easy to use as the 606, 808 or 909, it is pretty close.
One potential problem is the complex process for configuring each internal sound to send an external midi message.
Without a manual, this could prove very difficult to work out, so for the benefit of those without a manual, here's how it's done.
(I've assumed at least a basic knowledge of the operation of the 626)
- Enter track play mode.
- Hold Shift and keep it held !
- Press key 15 - SYNC/MIDI. The display should show 'Snc' then your current sync mode
- While still holding shift, press the ENTER button 3 times.
- The display should now be showing 'nbr' for note number
- Still holding shift, press each of the instrument keys, and the display will show the midi note number assigned to that key.
- Use the value up and down buttons to adjust the note number for each key.
- If you want to change the note numbers for the second instrument on each key, you need to release the shift key,
change the pad to it's second sound using INST CHANGE, then go back to the 'nbr' option.
While you're pressing SHIFT+ENTER after SHIFT+SYNC/MIDI you'll notice some other settings.
- 'om' ON/OFF turns midi OMNI mode on or off
- 'rch' sets the global midi receive channel for the 626
- 'tch' sets a separate midi TRANSMIT channel for each instrument - this works the same way as note number selection,
and allows you to send triggers to different midi channels from the same pattern.
- 'Ex' is for transmission or reception of sys-ex dumps. Use up and down to switch between transmit and receive, and press START/STOP to start the dump
Last update: 29th October 2000
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