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Roland CR-78

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The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine released by Roland Corporation in 1978. It was adopted by new wave musicians and by acts including Phil Collins, Hall & Oates, OMD, Tears for Fears, Blondie and Radiohead. Roland also released the smaller CR-68, which could not be programmed.

Development

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In the 1960s, drum machines were most often used to accompany home organs. They did not allow users to program rhythms,[1] but instead offered preset patterns such as bossa nova.[2][3] By the late 1970s, microprocessors were appearing in instruments such as the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer.[4] The Roland founder, Ikutaro Kakehashi, realized they could be used to program drum machines.[5]

Features

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CR-78 Presets - upper row
CR-78 Presets - lower row
CR-78 Variation fill ins

The CR-78 was the first drum machine to use a microprocessor, and the first drum machine with which users could write, save and replay their own patterns.[4][5] It has 17 preset patterns, including bossa nova, samba, mambo, beguine, rhumba and waltz, each with two variations.[4][6] Pressing two buttons simultaneously plays a combination of the two patterns.[6] Fills and breaks can also be added.[6]

The CR-78 offers 14 sounds, with four-note polyphony (meaning it can produce up to four sounds at the same time).[4] The sounds are generated with analog synthesis, meaning they do not use samples (prerecorded sounds). They include a kick, snare, rimshot, hi-hat, cymbal, and high and low congas and bongos.[6] Roland also released a smaller unit, the CR-68, which could not be programmed.[4]

Demonstration of the Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm
The preset "rhumba" pattern with metallic effect
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Legacy

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The CR-78 was released in 1978 and initially received little attention.[4] According to Gordon Reid of Sound on Sound, it seemed similar to other drum machines and its presets resembled those built into home organs.[4]

The CR-78 has been used in songs including "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins,[7] "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates,[8] "Enola Gay" by OMD,[9] "Mad World" by Tears for Fears,[10] "Heart of Glass" by Blondie,[11] and in live performances by Radiohead.[12] It became popular with new wave musicians in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[6] MusicRadar wrote in 2021 that while the CR-78 did not offer the "floor-shaking rumble" of Roland's later machine, the TR-808, it "pumps and percolates, ticks and snaps in its own special way. The raw analogue drum tones are bursting with character and it can add instant atmosphere to a mix."[6]

References

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  1. ↑ Wolbe, Trent (30 January 2013). "How the 808 drum machine got its cymbal, and other tales from music's geeky underbelly". The Verge. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  2. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (6 March 2014). "The Roland TR-808: the drum machine that revolutionised music". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Jason (27 November 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm". CBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reid, Gordon (November 2004). "The history of Roland: part 1". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  5. 1 2 Kirn, Peter (2011). Keyboard Presents the Evolution of Electronic Dance Music. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-446-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Vintage music tech icons: Roland CompuRhythm CR-78". Music Radar. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  7. ↑ Phil Collins (2016). Not Dead Yet. London: Century Books. pp. 168–173. ISBN 978-1780-89513-0.
  8. ↑ Simpson, Dave (2018-04-02). "Hall and Oates: how we made I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  9. ↑ Jones, Andy (15 April 2026). "'I was always uneasy about the fact that it was a bright, perky pop song about a nuclear holocaust, but it was insanely catchy': How OMD recorded one of the best anti-war songs ever made". MusicRadar. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Simpson, Dave (10 December 2013). "Tears For Fears: how we made Mad World". The Guardian.
  11. ↑ Simpson, Dave (2013-04-29). "How we made: Heart of Glass". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  12. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (15 September 2016). "Radiohead share new 'Present Tense' video, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
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