Roland TR-06 Drumatix Drum Machine

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With the TR-06, Roland injects a little adrenalin into what was once the TR-606. Neatly packed inside that familiar silver-metallic housing, the original is still much-loved by many - a fact that has not gone unnoticed. As such, the TR-606 has seen a number of clones come and go, and while some got pretty close, there's nothing like the real deal. So - meet the Roland TR-06 Drumatix: packed with a bunch of fresh functions while holding true to that old-school 606-based, '80s flavoured tech.

The Roland TR-06 Drum Machine

Aesthetically speaking, the Roland TR-06 is an incredibly sensitive and detailed replica of the original TR-606, but under the hood, a lot of welcome and sometimes necessary upgrades and tweaks can be found. Despite all of the immediately recognisable sounds, a lot of which are found littering more underground soundtracks, the TR-606 was well-known for its limited tweakability. The TR-06 transforms this by providing control over details like the tuning, decay, and panning per instrument, and coming with a gain that can actually be pushed for a more aggressive distortion or warm overdrive.

The TR-06: Advanced Sequencing

Now we come to the main event of this machine: the sequencer. Somewhat polished up, it offers a few more advanced options including the ability to add a number of sub-steps to spit ratcheted-parts, where a step in the sequence is triggered multiple times for a contemporary trap or '90s electronica feel, so you can do stuff like make the third and fifth step stutter. A 'Step Loop' has also been introduced to the functionality, which can cut directly through a pattern or beat. The 'Per-Step Probability' function is something else too: a kind of all-things-are-possible button that ensures beats that are constantly varied and surprising, keeping things endlessly interesting.

'80s Ideas, Modern Tech

The TR-06 comes backed up by the modern tech that just wasn't available at the time the TR-606 was first released. So, you get standard issue MIDI in, MIDI out/thru, and MIDI over USB ports so that this beat-machine can be integrated with any set up or studio with the ease you'd expect. It's also modular friendly! If you're not too bothered about MIDI and just want to record the output, you don't even need to add an audio interface since one comes built-in. Simply connect the USB or AA battery-powered TR-06 directly to your computer or laptop, and you're done.