Roland TR-909
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template other
The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 909, is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to synchronize with other devices. Though the 909 was a commercial failure, it influenced the development of electronic dance music genres such as techno, house and acid house.
Development
The TR-909 was designed by Tadao Kikumoto, who had also led development on Roland's previous drum machine, the TR-808,[1][2][3] and designed the Roland TB-303 synthesizer.[4] Makoto Muroi was also a chief engineer, the software was developed by Atsushi Hoshiai, and the voice circuits were developed by Yoshiro Oue.[5][6]
The 909 was the first Roland drum machine to use samples, for its crash, ride and hi-hat sounds.[7] Hoshiai sampled his own drum kit for the cymbals, using a pair of Paiste and Zildjian hi-hat cymbals for the hi-hat and a Paiste crash for the crash and ride sounds.[8] They recorded the cymbals in the Roland office after the employees had left for its natural reverberation.[8] Hoshiai sampled them in 6-bit and edited the waveform on a computer with a CP/M-80 operating system.[6] No equalization or compression was applied.[8]
Other sounds are generated with analog synthesis.[7] According to a Roland representative, the engineers felt that samples had some disadvantages and so opted for a combination of sampled and analog sounds.[9]
Sounds and features
Whereas the 808 is known for its "boomy" bass, the 909 sounds aggressive and "punchy".[10][11] It has 11 percussion voices and offers sounds for bass drum, snare, toms, rimshot, clap, crash cymbal, ride cymbal and hi-hat (open and closed).[12] It omits the clave, cowbell, maracas, and conga sounds from the 808.[12] The bass has controls for attack and decay.[12] The snare has controls for tone and "snappy", which adjusts the amount of the snare wire sound.[12] As the clap and snare are generated via the same noise source, they produce a phasing effect when played together.[13]
The 909 features a sequencer that can chain up to 96 patterns into songs of up to 896 measures, and offers controls including shuffle and flam.[7] Users can add accents to beats.[5] The 909 was the first Roland drum machine to use MIDI,[5] allowing it to synchronize with other MIDI devices,[7] or to allow sounds to be triggered by an external MIDI controller for wider dynamic range.[5] Older Roland machines can be synchronized via its DIN sync port.[5]
Release
The 909 was released in 1983[7] and retailed for $1,195 USD, Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "["..[7] It attracted interest in the industry as the first Roland instrument to use sampled sounds.[9]
In its review, Electronics & Music Maker found the 909 easier to use than the 808 and felt it offered the best analog drum sounds on the market. It concluded that it offered a good combination of analog and sampled sounds and that the addition of MIDI brought the 909 "as up to date as it needs to be".[12] One Two Testing found the 909 "gloriously easy to use", but felt it was overpriced and "still sounds like a drum machine, instead of a machine playing drums ... It lacks the authenticity of real sounds for studio work."[9]
The 909 was a commercial failure, as users preferred the more realistic sampled sounds of competing products such as the LinnDrum.[5] Roland ceased production after one year,[5] having built 10,000 units.[14] Roland changed elements of the 909 in later revisions, correcting problems and adjusting sounds. Some users modify their machines to match sounds from earlier revisions.[13]
Legacy
Whereas the TR-808 was important in the development of hip hop, the TR-909, alongside the TB-303 synthesizer, influenced dance music such as techno, house and acid.[11][15] According to Gordon Reid of Sound on Sound, "Like the TR-808 before it, nobody could have predicted the reverence in which the TR-909 would eventually come to be held."[7]
In 1984, the 909 was used in records including the city pop album Sailing Blaster by Hiroshi Sato,[16] the electronic album S-F-X by Haruomi Hosono,[17] and the EP Remission by the industrial band Skinny Puppy.[18] Another early 909 user was Kurtis Mantronik, who used it on records by his hip-hop group Mantronix and records he produced such as Back to the Old School (1986) by Just-Ice.[18]
In the late 1980s, the 909 was popularized by Chicago house and Detroit techno producers such as Derrick May, Frankie Knuckles and Jeff Mills, who bought second-hand units.[10] DJ Sneak said that "every Chicago producer was using the 909".[18] Mixmag described Mills as the "master" of the 909.[19] Mills said its design made it possible to "play" the 909 rather than just program it, using the tuning controls to imitate the feel of a live drummer.[19]
The 909 was used on hip-hop records by acts including Boogie Down Productions, Ultramagnetic MCs, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and Public Enemy.[18] In the early 1990s, the Japanese composer Yuzo Koshiro incorporated samples of the 909 in his soundtracks for the Streets of Rage games.[20] That decade, the 909 was adopted by pop musicians such as Madonna and Pet Shop Boys,[18] and by rock and alternative musicians. Mark Bell used it to create "militaristic" percussion for Björk's 1997 song "Hunter",[21][22] and Radiohead used it on "Videotape" from their 2007 album In Rainbows.[23] Electronic artists such as Kirk Degiorgio and Cristian Vogel created sample libraries by recording their friends' machines.[19]
The 909 was succeeded in 1984 by the TR-707, which uses samples for all its sounds.[5] In 2017, Roland released the TR-09, a smaller version of the 909 with additional features.[13] Hoshiai said he was proud that the TR-909 had created new musical forms, which he had not expected.[8] As of 2024, he still used the cymbals he sampled for the 909 in his jazz band.[8]
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e f g Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Butler, Mark Jonathan. "Unlocking the Groove: Rhythm, Meter, and Musical Design in Electronic Dance Music". Indiana University Press, 2006. Template:ISBN. p. 64
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Further reading
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".