Editing and Effects

Roland’s new groovebox is packed with sound-shaping controls and under-the-hood processors. Let’s break down how to use them…

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Each of the 11 Instruments features a level fader to adjust volume, plus three vertically-stacked rotary controls. The top two Tune and Decay knobs are fixed – use these to transpose and lengthen or to shorten each Instrument.

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Each Instrument’s Ctrl knob can be assigned to an effect parameter of your choice. You can apply one of five effects globally: toggle the Ctrl Select button; spin the Value rotary to choose either Pan, Reverb Send, Delay Send, LFO Depth, InstFX or User; then crank up an Instrument’s Ctrl knob to apply that effect.

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Alternatively, it’s possible to assign different effects per instrument. Hold the Ctrl Select button down as you turn an Instrument’s Ctrl pot to change to InstFX. Then hold Shift while you press Inst, and use the Value dial and Enter button to switch effect Type. Once selected, sweep the Ctrl knob to change settings.

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Aside from the five previously mentioned, options such as filter type/cutoff/resonance, filter envelope, attack and bitcrushing are available. All effects stay active under the hood, so you can dial in one effect, select/ tweak another one, and then continue shaping the signal ad infinitum.

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Just like on the original TR-8, the TR-8S features a global Reverb Send and Delay Send, which are editable via the top parameters. To send your Instruments’ signals to these effects returns, you’ll need to assign their Ctrl knobs to the Reverb Send or Delay Send value.