Roland TR-8S Rhythm Performer

Born of the most famous and influential drum machines ever made, the TR-8S combines the best of its Roland heritage with modern production techniques and comprehensive sound design. The result? The most complete drum machine to date—a forward-thinking, performance-tuned instrument unlike any other. Build your dream kit from the most iconic drum sounds of all time, otherworldly FM sounds, and the finest selection of samples from our vast library—or go even further by importing your own custom samples. Tap, tune, and tweak with hands-on controls and production tools that make your patterns move and groove. And why keep this kind of percussive power confined to the studio?

Design Kits with Authentic TR and CR Drums, FM Sounds, and Samples

The TR-8S comes loaded with the largest, most authentic collection of iconic Roland drum machines available. The powerful processor gives our next-generation ACB models a whole new level of detail and nuance with that classic boom, snap, and sizzle. Enrich the core drums with a spectrum of futuristic and editable FM sounds, plus preset and custom samples for unique hybrid and layered kits. Then enhance them all with specialized effects to inject professional sound design into the TR formula.

Transistor Rhythms

The TR-8S includes faithful recreations of the TR-808, TR-606, TR-909, TR-707, and TR-727, along with several modified versions. You also get the CR-78 CompuRhythm, a direct predecessor of the TR-808 that’s left its own indelible footprint on pop classics from the 1980s and beyond. These are not sound-alike sample packs or mere recordings—each is a complete machine built with detailed, down-to-the-circuit models that sound and behave exactly like the original hardware. All these sounds are yours, at your fingertips, and ready to use in your own productions and performances.

Stellar FM Sounds

The FM sounds in the TR-8S are unlike anything this side of Mars, conjuring silvery drum hits and twisting tails to augment your tracks. Tap into the Morph parameter for a single, ultra-expressive macro control to sweep through an array of sonic variations, wildly manipulating FM depth, ratio, and feedback with simple knob movements. Or manually design six fully editable FM drum models, each with a unique parameter set for creating sounds sure to push sonic boundaries.

ACB Meets Samples

Today’s rhythm tracks need a diverse set of sounds and production techniques, and it’s harder than ever to sound unique. While authentic TR and CR sounds are vital, layering your own mono or stereo samples, or pulling from the extensive onboard collection, opens a world of modern styles and the potential to craft your own signature sound. Like the ACB and FM sounds, you can deeply manipulate samples with hands-on control of tuning, decay, start points, speed, and direction. Create a kit entirely from samples. Or mix and match FM textures with classic Roland sounds for genre-defying drum tracks that demand attention.

Drumatic Effects

The right effects make a drum part stand out by creating depth and space. Whether it’s delay on a rimshot, overdrive on a kick, filters on toms and cymbals, or just the right amount of reverb on select instruments, the TR-8S has an array of percussion-tuned effects that sound great. In addition to the Master FX knob, each channel has a customizable CTRL knob, placing all this sound-shaping power within easy reach. The attack of the kick, snap of the snare, phaser depth, distortion amount—whatever parameter you need direct access to—can be assigned to the knobs and saved with the kit. Both Instrument and Master Effects, along with their precise settings, are also saved with each kit, so your productions are always performance ready.