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TR-66 At a Glance
Picture needed	Released: mid-1970s \| Specifications Read reviews Roland News(826) Streaming Video (134)

Pat McNeil writes:

This box is simplicity in itself. All you do is dial up the rhythm you want (there are 27 or so on board - various latin, cha-cha, foxtrot, rock etc), dial your tempo and hit start. There are two variations on each beat, and you can select them manually, or have the TR66 do it for you via the "auto" function. A balance control is provided which mixes between the kick/snare and the hi-hat/misc percussion elements.

There's a high and low impedance out, and the unit is very quiet. There's also a footswitch in for start/stop. There are no sync facilities at all on this box, but perhaps a mod can be found internally.

I've modded my unit, changing one of the preset rhythms that I thought I'd never have a use for to a simple Kraftwerk-ish electro beat, and added some switches to cut certain drums at will. So, you *can* change the presets, but you gotta be handy with a soldering iron! :-) I'll post samples of the individual drums on www.patmcneil.org when I update in October. I'll also let you know if I find a way to control the clock externally.

In all, this is a box of limited use because of its lack of sync-ability. Still, it is a source of interesting sounds (again - if you're in to that sort of retro-lounge feel) that you can load into your sampler/DAW for further experimentation. I wouldn't pay a fortune for it - not more than $50CAN (about $27 US)

Comments About the Sounds:
The TR-66 sounds like an organ beat-box. The kick is really quite appealing, somewhat different from the later TR units - it's very tight sounding. The snare drum is typically early analog - very simple. I find the hats a bit harsh. The latin stuff (clave, etc) is really very good in a retro-loungey kind of way. Remember, these are all synthesized and not even fainly realistic.

(Thanks to Pat McNeil for this info.)

Links for the Roland TR-66

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