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…

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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.