Modified Roland TR 606 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine

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Published on May 15, 2016 Phyllis Dealer

via this auction

"This is a modified Roland TR 606 Programmable Drum Machine.
This machine has served me for years. Not just as drum machine but also as a drum sequencer since it has 7 trigger outs. This is a bit of an unusual mod so please make sure to read carefully so you know exactly what to expect:

Here’s a video that I took of this actual machine - VIDEO [above]
Here’s another video that might be helpful - I used the 606 trigger outs to trigger an external drum synth (that's also for sale) - VIDEO [posted here]

I’ll start with the flaws - There’s a bit of a hum sound when you touch the metal plate but nothing crazy(sounds like a ground issue) Sometimes, and mostly if the machine is set to ‘write’, you will hear the sequencer playing a very light tick sound 16th notes. Again, it ’s quite weak, listen to it in the actual video.
I believe that I got the best results when using the individual outputs while making sure that all the individual sounds volume knobs are all the way down.

Whoever modded this machine used the battery door to pass wires so you cannot run it on batteries but only with the adapter. Since there’s no access to the batteries, the patterns technically can’t be saved. However, I did notice it will save your patterns for a few hours.

In some positions, the mods will be very effective but in other positions, the changes will be very subtle. For instance, you can change the kick’s pitch but below a certain point, you hardly hear any difference. Still, these mods are pretty awesome, you just need to get familiar with its range.

The mods include:

5 individual outputs - kick, snare, toms, h.h, cymbal. You can still use the mono main out as well and control the volume from the individual volume knobs.

5 additional trigger outs - Each voice also has a trigger out so you can use this as a sequencer for multi channel drum modules etc. If counting the original Hi/lo tom trigger outs, you have a total of 7 trigger outs!

There are 8 different mods for the different sounds. I’m not 100% sure what are exact description of these mods but here’s my guess (See the actual mods in action in the video) -
Bass drum pitch, Snare pitch, Snare snap?, Tom hi pass filter, Tom...maybe resonance? Cymbal hi pass filter, H.H high pass filter, and the last one, the one on the bottom right is another sort of a filter on the cymbal.

Cosmetically, the machine has some wear - scratches, marks, small stains, etc.
Please refer to photos for condition.

I'm including an after market 9V power supply."