 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Roland TR-505 Drum Destruction Patchbay Mods: £60
The Roland TR-505, a classic piece of kit! This Drum Machine is an essential feature of many studios throughout the whole world. Wherever there is a studio door that needs to be wedged open the 505 finds its true purpose as a door stop and does the job with a simple elegance which we can all admire. Never has a piece of music kit been so vastly overrated.
But wait, no longer will the 505 be viewed as the runt of the Roland TR range! Our Drum Destruction patchbay mod turns this otherwise average piece of kit into an industrial grade percussion monster.
The modification consists of:
24 way 3.5mm jack patchbay: Connections made between the sockets on the patchbay cause all kinds of distortion, ring modulation, sound swapping, modulation and general alien effects to be applied to the sounds. multiple connections can be made at any one time offering thousands of different percussion grinding options. MIDI functions are not affected in any way.
2x 3 Way patchbay multiples: These are 2 sets of 3 sockets that allow you to connect more than one plug to the same source. This further multiplies your creative possibilities.
Envelope Follower LED: This LED flashes along with the output of the machine.
Click on the buttons below for mp3 demos of these mods. The first demo is the same breakbeat running via MIDI and processed using the patchbay. The other two are just random beats and effects using the mods.
None of the demos have been processed externally in any way.
 |
|
|
Roland TR-505 Individual Outputs Mod: £15
The standard TR505 only has a stereo left and right output with fixed stereo panning for each sound (as far as we are aware). This means that is is impossible to EQ or use effects on individual percussion sounds. This mod adds 8 individual minijack outputs (theres not a lot of space in there) for the kick, snare, clap/stick, crash/ride, hats, cowbells, congas and timbale/toms. Where sounds are separated by a / it means they share the same output.
TR-505 MODIFICATION DEAL: If you want both the patchbay and the individual output mods installed on your TR-505 it costs £70. A saving of £5 on the the normal price.
Roland TR-707 / 727 Drum Destruction Patchbay Mods: £75
The Roland TR-707 and 727 are another pair of classic drum machines that are, in our opinion somewhat overrated but the fairly average original sounds are more than made up for by the classic Roland user interface.
As with the TR-505 mods the TR-707 Drum Destruction mods add some serious modular patching action to turn it into something that wouldn't sound out of place at a panel beating convention.
The modifications consist of:
18 way 3.5mm jack patchbay: As with the 505 mods connections made between the sockets on the patchbay cause all kinds of distortion, ring modulation, sound swapping, modulation and general alien effects to be applied to the sounds. Multiple connections can be made at any one time offering thousands of different percussion grinding options.
2x 3 Way patchbay multiples: These are 2 sets of 3 sockets that allow you to connect more than one plug to the same source. This further multiplies your creative possibilities.
2x 3 way distortion switches. These switches offer four types of distortion from all out electro grinding to mild overdriven crunch. Each switch also has an effect off setting.
2x Patchable switches. These are two switches that can be patched in line with any of the patchbay connections. Essentially this allows you to find two effects you like on the patchbay and then turn them on and off at the flick of a switch instead of having to repatch the cables.
Click on the demo buttons below to hear some mp3's of what these mods can do.
|
|
|
|
The Roland TR-727 can also be fitted with the same patchbay mods for the same price as the 707. If anything, a bent 727 sounds even more alien and surreal than the 707 does. If you were buying a TR machine for modification purposes with a view to creating more bizarre layers of percussive loops rather than solid lead percussion we'd definitely recommend getting hold of a TR727 rather than a TR707.
 |
|
Roland TR-707 / 727 Hi Hat decay knobs & audio input: £30
This mod adds two knobs to control the decay of the open and closed Hi-Hat sounds along with an external audio input socket.
 |
 |
On the TR-707 the open and closed hats sounds use the same sample with different envelopes. This mods adds individual knobs to control the decay of each sound but in order to do this the open hat decay knob has to act as a kind of overall 'master' decay for both sounds and the closed hat decay knob sets the decay of the closed hat within the maximum setting of the open hat knob. Essentially this means that when the open hat decay is set to full, then the closed hat can be set anywhere from a tiny click to the full open hat sound, but when the open hat is set only half open then the closed hat can only sweep from the tiny click sound at minimum to roughly the normal closed hat and full. This is virtually impossible to explain so we hope you get the idea.
Audio input - This is a jack socket placed on the right end on the machine that allows you to run an external signal through the Hi-Hats bus. Plugging a jack into this socket removes the Hi-Hats from the mix and replaces them with any external signal. The external signal is chopped and gated according to the Hi-Hat envelopes and programmed Hi-Hat pattern. The level of the external signal is controlled with the normal Hi-Hats mixer slider.
This mod can also be applied to the TR-727 but on the 727 the knobs control to the short and long whistle rather than Hi-Hats. Its therefore not stunningly useful but the external audio input still works just as well as on the 707.
Roland TR-707 / 727 Cold Cathode lamps: £35
This is a totally gratuitous and yet ultimately a 'must have' mod for any TR-707 / 727 owner. We like to tell ourselves that its designed so you can see the TR screen on a dark stage and certainly not just so you can own the coolest looking drum machine you've ever seen. That's our story and we're sticking to it!
 |
 |
This mod simply installs two 4" cold cathode lamps above and below the LCD screen. The lamps can be turned on and off using a push button on the back of the machine, the only drawback being that the inverter to power the lamps has to be mounted on the left hand side of the machine in order to avoid any audio interference that may occur from mounting it internally.
In order to actually run the cathode tubes you will need a power supply capable of delivering a minimum of 700ma at 12 volts. This means that the PSU that you are currently using will probably need to be replaced. The TR will still run on a lower rated supply with the lamps turned off.
 |
 |
You can choose the colour of the tubes from any that we are able to get hold of. Probably green, red, pink, blue, white or purple, just ask and we'll see what we can do. We are willing to use UV tubes but bear in mind that you will be looking at the screen a lot and staring at a UV tube for any length of time can be more than a little unpleasant.
TR-707 / 727 MODIFICATION DEAL: If you want all three mods installed on your TR it only costs £130. A saving of £10 on the normal price
Roland TR-626 Drum Destruction Patchbay mods: £65
 |
 |
The Roland TR-626 Drum Destruction patchbay mods are exactly the same as the TR-505 patchbay mods and can create more or less exactly the same sounds and effects. See the 505 mp3 demos to hear what it can do.
They cost £5 more due to the extra amount of work involved. If you've ever tried to open up a TR-626 to get at the inside of the front panel you'll know what we mean.
We can also supply good quality patch cables for use with these modifications. Click HERE for more details. |
 |
We're working on a new contact system, in the meantime if you want your machine modded click the button on the left and fill in the form on the page that opens. |
 |
Alternatively sign up at the circuitbenders.co.uk forum for the latest information and circuitbending related nonsense. |