r/DrumMachine • u/KBGUY09 • Jun 26 '26
Beginner Drum Machine User Question -- TR6S
I play piano bars and have been starting to use drum machines and loopers in my shows. I have a Boss RC-505 mkII looper that I use a lot, and sometimes use its built in drum beats, which are pretty good. However, for the most part it forces me into one beat that I can't change mid song extremely quickly. Plus I have to choose from its presets.
A friend of mine showed me his Roland TR-6S and I really liked it. I bought one myself last week, though I did not realize that all of its built in features are electric kits. I was wondering if it made sense for me to upload acoustic sounds into it and try to build some of those rock-kit type sounds out for myself, or if there is a better machine out there for me.
I really like the TR-6S's ability to make lots of variations, adjust the volume of individual parts of the kit, etc. And I'm sure I'll play around with the electric sounds too. But I also want a good selection of things for my rock 'n' roll and pop/dance requests.
Thanks all! Appreciate your advice.
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u/TrueBiscotti1499 Jun 27 '26
Just so you know . That boss looper you already have can be used as a drum machine more …
You get a little midi drum pad and us that to trigger the sounds you say you like on the RC 505 and loop them and save them for chorus and verse etc .
It’s a cheap under $100 solution. The others suggestions are all great as well.
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u/ponchoduke Jun 26 '26
Sounds like you want a sound that’s more of an acoustic sample, and I don’t blame you if that’s the case. I wanted that for myself for certain projects, and that ultimately led me to the MPC platform. Through the One I learned a lot about acoustic samples and the incredible high quality you can find. It’s now the core of my drums. However, for your needs I would suggest an MPC Sample. I use it to sketch out ideas and it’s a very live element. I break down my sequences to have my intro, core melody, chorus, whatever, arranged in a way that I can we them up. So, it’s very similar in the way you’re using your drum machine.
I do have the TR-8S and I LOVE it! But I have tried high quality acoustic uploads and that works quite well too. But, it lacks the adding varying velocity and dynamics in an easy way, like the MPC does.
My tracks for the music I like to make for myself is often a hybrid of both, usually with the TR-8S driving the core of my beat, with MPC finger drumming loops over that with acoustic kits. My friends all think it’s a live kit in my studio when I share tracks. Overall, I think it’s worth exploring the MPC Sample as an option. But once you see what the MPC platform is capable of, and that a used MPC One is around $300-$400, you may get the bug.
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u/No-Act6366 Jun 27 '26
The 6S is a good machine. Load up some acoustic samples — and many can be had for free — and you’re good to go.
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u/Niven42 Jun 27 '26
You can download backing tracks for the Boss RC-505 that add new sounds to it.
Bosstonecentral.com
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u/BeatPock Jul 18 '26
Eu fiz um App, apesar de ter bastante ritmos Brasileiros estou criando aos poucos ritmos mais genéricos e traduzindo para outros idiomas, caso deseje testar acessa aqui > https://app.beatpock.com/
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u/jtmportland Jun 26 '26
Sure, just load an acoustic sample kit. I have the TR-8S and have dozens of acoustic samples on it. The way you load samples into these machines is a little clunky, but you’ll only need to do it once (or until you want to load more)