Roland TR-6S

The TR-8S gets a pint-sized little sibling but, as Si Truss discovers, there’s more to this compact beatmaker than first meets the eye…

Even at the best of times, Roland’s expansive range of groove boxes can get a little confusing. Case in point – Roland’s recent ‘606’ themed drop, which launched the TR-6S and TR-06 drum machines and TR-606 plugin. While the latter two of these – which we’ll review next issue – both emulate 1981’s TR-606 drum machine, the TR-6S actually has little to do with the original 606 or either of its new recreations. Infact, the TR-6S is a close sibling to Roland’s TR-8S, the sample equipped evolution of the company’s TR-8 digital drum machine. All clear?

Setting naming conventions aside, the important thing to note is that the TR-8S is undoubtedly the high point of Roland’s current army of beatmakers and, although this diminutive new instrument might not look like much, the TR-6S inherits much of what makes the TR-8S great. As with its bigger sibling, the sound engine here combines a mixture of digital ‘Analog Circuit Behavior’ emulations of Roland’s classic hardware, sampled sounds and an FM synthesis engine, which was added to the TR-8S in a recent update and comes pre-installed here.

The main difference between the two machines is their size – whereas the TR-8S is a fairly standard-sized 12-track drum machine, the TR-6S is considerably more portable, with a footprint around a quarter of the size of its sibling and a track count reduced down to six. The TR-6S also ditches the power adapter of its larger counterpart too, instead drawing power from either four AA batteries or its USB connection.