| Synth Name: | Roland R-8 |
| Synth Manufacturer: | Roland |
| Synthesis Type: | ROM |
| Polyphony: | 12 voices [1] |
| Instruments: | 68 |
| Ext Control: | Start / Stop Jack, Value Jack, Tape Sync In Jack, Tape Sync Out Jack |
| Memory: | 32 Preset Patterns, 100 User – Patterns, Maximum number of bars : 99, Memorized Data : Velocity / Pitch / Decay / Nuance / Pan / Micro Timing |
| Dates: | 1989 - 1996 |
| Price: | UK£665 |
| Midi: | In, Out, Thru |
The R-8 Human Rhythm Composer is an electronic drum machine introduced in 1989 by Roland Corporation, using PCM voices. The R-8 features velocity- and pressure-sensitive trigger pads, and the ability to create loops of beats. The device has eight individual outputs, 12-voice polyphony, and four-part multitimbral MIDI.
The R-8 has one RAM memory card slot for saving user-created patterns and songs, and one slot for PCM ROM cards to augment the internal sound banks.
The R-8M is a rackmount version of the R-8, lacking the trigger pads and the sequencer capability, but with three front-facing ROM card slots. These sound libraries may be accessed simultaneously. This device was available from 1989 through 1994. The rack version has fewer individual outputs: 6 instead of 8.[2]
In 1992, Roland released a second version of the R-8 drum machine, the R-8 MKII. This version offers greatly expanded memory. User pattern memory was doubled from 100 to 200, arranged in two banks of 100, A and B. The ROM went from 67 to 199 samples.[3] It brought onboard content from the PCM cards SN-R8-01, SN-R8-02, SN-R8-09, SN-R8-10 and most of the 808 samples from SN-R8-04, while losing 22 of the MK1 samples. Another 16 samples from the MK1 returned in a slightly modified version with another name. A minor omission on the MKII is the absence of the Space Invaders boot screen. This device was discontinued in 1996.
Roland also released a trimmed-down version of the R8 in the form of the Roland R-5, which had fewer sounds and features than the R-8[4]
Known Roland ROM cards, each containing 26 samples:[5]