Very nicely done. One of my faves.

I had 'In No Sense, Nonsense' and 'Who's Afraid of TAON' and more on cassette tapes once.

Thank you glad you like it, i always try ans stay true to the original and add subtle changes at the same time.

Joined the RD-8 (mk1) owners club recently. Love it.
Sounds like a monster compared to samples and plugins.

The only thing I'm missing so far is the ability to do micro-shifts of individual beats.

Sequence it from something else? :D

Indeed. I love sequencing my RD8D2 with the M+

Yeah, if I want complexity I can use Ableton / Max, but the point of hardware for me is to play away from the computer to focus on generating ideas that are different to what I'd come up with using the screen.

I'm guessing that off-grid is never going to be possible with the RD-8 so I'll just live with it.

I guess it could be added via a firmware update. There might be enough buttons and dials to achieve it (hold a step, turn the encoder?). You could probably also sequence on the RD-8, then record the MIDI output to your DAW, and then add tweaks to timing there? I agree that the fun with these kinds of hardware units is jamming live.

Nothing preventing you from jamming live with the ext sequencer of your choice as well. I could imagine using something like an octatrack to sequence an RD would result in a most jammable combo, you could make all your instruments follow a different track on the OT and then use "plays free" to go totally nuts, with each instrument thereon having it's own sequencer. Sounds very jammable to me!

You don't have to use a computer to sequence the RD-8 externally. Sequencing the RD-8 from something else "hardware" can be fun. I absolutely enjoy Sequencing my RD-8 from my hardware MPC.

Hey hey, I've had my RD-8 since November of 2019 and still love it. The sequencer is fantastic and has changed my music a lot, especially with the polymetric patterns and probabilities. This I just finished with multitracked single RD-8 tracks and Behringer Neutron with only conservative processing:
https://youtu.be/EIOLr1RJuUo
And yes: better than any sample! With multitracking, to use the Wave Designer even the rimshot volume does not matter.
Best wishes, jeanette

In order to play offgrid, an external sequencer is the most linear solution. Other option using internal RD8 sequencer only is build your pattern at double the tempo so to have 32th per step, join this with polyrhythm on parts and you'll have a lot of offgrid crazyness

Hi folks,
I have been searching here for an answer to my update problem which apparently I wasn´t the only one to experience.
My RD-8 got stuck (bricked) in red light district mode after attempting to update from 2.0.6 (I think) to 2.1.2 via Synthtribe v2.5.7. on a Win10 device.
Message by Synthtribe was something like "device in dfu mode. please perform update" right after the update failed.
I then tried to perform a dfu based downgrade to 1.3.5 via the updater, but to no avail. I received the "guru 0x300" message.
I eventually hooked up the RD to a Win7 PC via a USB Hub and the RD was immediately recognized by Synthtribe 2.5.2 out of red light state.
Synthtribe again told me RD-8 is in dfu mode. I confirmed the dialog and then clicked the "Update" button on the update page. After ~3 seconds the update process startet and finished in a matter of seconds. RD-8 rebooted back successfully and is now on v2.1.2.

Thx for the tip! I haven't updated mine yet, because of the bricking tales. I will try W7 when I do though

Dont do that, bricking has gone significally worse now that these older models are out of production. There is rather small chance your unit will survive, betatesters have warned this whole year.

used win7 about 500 x throughout the dev process the last few years - not one issue and trust me i was guinea pigging my machines a lot , up and down, up and down, new and old, v1 to v2 and so on

the important step is from v1 to 2, since then it was minimal - there is now a recovery that is very easy to follow

several documents in the software and documentation area of the site for anyone worried

https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DG5

we tried about 2 years ago - the thing with the rd8 is memory and microstepping will use a fair bit - we tried, we ditched it

best to use ext midi if people need that

Thanks for the info! I’m very glad it’s so easy to externally sequence.

If the RS-9 gets the feature, they’d make a good pair. :D

wtf is with the tuning? I can tune low tom from f#3 to B3. And then mid tom from C3 to E3? Doesn't make any sense? Low tom is higher than mid tom? And bass drum is always on E2 or F2? High tom goes from f3# to A#3.

So baiscally low tom and high tom are around identical pitches? wtf.. What a shit machine. Why da **** I can't tune the BD?. It's mk1

It's very hard to make music with this kinda tuning... Can't even tune Kick and Snare..

And swing is global? This machine have some serious quirks and is going to continue its journey to the next victim

Sounds like something is awry with yours. Are you updated to the latest firmware?

The kick on the original 808 is around G#1 (50ish hz). The RD-8 goes both above and below that via the tune knob (located 1 channel to the left)

I am not in front of my RD-8, but it seems plausible that the low and mid Tom have some overlapping range - but the way you have described it may have a typo or is just confusing.

Snare is also tunable.

As for Swing, the original 808 had no swing. The RD-8 has global swing.

I would double check your firmware and the tuning ranges you describe - yours mag be defective. The swing is what it is - this is primitive tech with a few upgrades, hate to say it but expectation management for both the technology and budget seems like the issue here.

I will check the firmware.
Accent is tunable, BD says "Tone"

No the "Tuning" knob in accent section belongs to the kick - they've tried to show with the gap in the dividing lines and the horizontal line connecting it to the Kick "Tone". It does seem odd in the layout initially.

It would make no sense to tune an accent, since it doesn't make any sound of its own.

I understand the confusion.

It's bad product design on B's part.
"Tuning" in the accent channel is the the tuning of the bass drum. There's a little line there that's supposed to make it make sense, but it's basically a band aid. (see picture or your unit)

FYI
accent level controls how loud accented notes are
and bass drum "tone" is how snappy the attack of the bass drum is

yeah stupid me lol. ok thanks. just upgrading fw now

Yeah much thanks. But still the snare drum is alwyays on F# or Tone adds F# one octave up? Why can't we have tunable snare lol
Low tom: F2 to B2
Mid tom: C3 to E3
High: F#3 to A#3
Ok so now it makes more sense. But still.. the snare drum? argh, well maybe I can live with that. Otherwise it's a ok box.

Are you talking about the RD-8 specifically? Or the RD-8 and TR-808?

wouldn't worry about it too much, he'd hate a real 808.

Yeah tuneable snare would be nice too, but overall you get more control over the sounds than the OG, which also doesn't have tuning for the snare - the tuneable kick is a big bonus compared with OG.

Probably! I was just curious if they understood the broader context of the RD-8 and TR-808. I get that seeing them alongside other modern drum machines they may seem weird or basic.

(And obviously for anyone who actually wants an authentic analogue 808, the RD-8 is a dream come true.)

if you really need a tuned snare there are two options

1: sample it and trigger whatever is holding the sample via the midi out of the snare voice - easy peasy

2: go see maffez page and see if he made a snare tune mod

been sending mine into the behringer fourplay and the lyra8 lately - turns it into a raging animal