Classic birds: Roland CR78 and Korg Mini Pops 7 MIDI flyover

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Since these days I have on hand 2 classic - shall I write cult ? - drum machines that I retrofitted with MIDI interface it was very tempting to compare them in real time, playing the same thing. So I did !

The Korg MiniPops features the Tubbutec Unipulse interface (https://tubbutec.de/unipulse/) and the Roland CR-78 was upgraded with Tauntek MCU replacement (http://tauntek.com/CR78.htm). Bless these guys for everything they give to the synth community.
In this video I don't go deep into the MIDI functionality, i simply wanted to compare the raw sound of these 2 units. It would not be fair to compare them features wise. 10 years or more separate them and in many aspects the technology gap seems abysmal.
BUT they are more alike one can think at first.
What makes them very close is the nature, number and choice of drum sounds. The MP7 has 15 of them and the CR78 14. They have those sounds in common: Bass, Snare, Rimshot, High-Hat, Cymbal, Cowbell, Conga, Large Bongo, Small Bongo, Claves, Guiro, Tambourin.
The MP7 adds a second Snare sound (longer decay) whereas the CR78 has a second Tambourine sound (longer decay). The "maracas" on th CR78 can be interpreted as Cymbal 2 on the MP7.
Actually soundwise the big difference is the "Quijada" sound that's on the MP7 and is nowhere else to be found. Quite a jaw dropping sound it is !
So anyway i MIDI mapped the MP7s sounds to their respective CR78 ones as best possible so I now have 2 analog expanders rack :-)"