That's a really groovin' beat! For something this old, it has some modern sounds programmed into it. These beats make you want to dance, or head, nod. I like this guy, a real musician and music enthusiast.
It is Disco-2! To get the exact pattern you'll have to mute the snare and the bass drum. You can program another kick pattern using the "programmer". I made a video to show the exact "In The Air Tonight" drum pattern on the Roland CR-78: th-cam.com/video/AlrQJFRmMVg/w-d-xo.html
@@marguskiis7711 I think it depends on how you use them. With the right effects it rocks as you can hear in the following video (read the comment below there)and is cooler than a 808 th-cam.com/video/EqtDa9hGv54/w-d-xo.html
Woooooo from yer abroads, where u need more secuGuards than in N.Y. i personally hav always sent u respect and amiration: keep on the good music maaaaan
I'm a LinnDrum lover, but this box has an appeal all its own. It's so basic, but somehow that's what makes it unique. It can sit in a mix and just support the song. And then it does stuff like this 3:47.
haha, they used this drum machine a few times where maintaining tempo is necessary, otherwise phil was always there in concert and matter of fact they brought another drummer and matter of fact to play some king of the limbs songs, even jonny also plays drums so there are 3 different drummers in the band and I've never seen such thing anywhere, it's crazy af.
i had one and accidently discovered the programmable section and even though it only had 4 available locations it taught me how to program-skills i later used with the yamaha RX-11 and the roland R-5 and the alesis SR-18, i may not be the greatest but for decades my work has routinely been mistaken for human drummers- all because i began to -think in terms of beats,instruments and song structures from these humble beginnings. you need a trigger, which was a tiny circular pad that looked a little like a kind of front desk-bell shaped thing where the trigger was the button you hit to ring that bell!? i know it sounds weird but if you saw one of these things you would never guess what it was.i did run it through bass amps for live tone but you hadto crank the low end to make it sound but a few times i played live drums along with it and it sounded loud- this was actually before MIDI, so the was no way to sync instruments together except i guess with smpte? i never knew anyone who was that technically advanced
Years later I'm still haven't figured out how Phil Collins programmed and played the CR-78 live on Duchess (1980-1981). You can only choose 1 instrument to play live and it isn't quantized. In The Air Tonight uses Disco 2 A.
Yes I would love someone to demonstrate how the drum beat to the opening of Duchess was done on this drum machine. If you look up Genesis Live at the Lyceum you can see Phil using this drum machine throughout Duchess adding in little bits of percussion. I guess somewhere there must have been another one of these drum machines just playing the basic drum riff but I have never spotted it on the stage, maybe it was with the mixing desk or something?? Very interesting point you have raised though!!
My guess from watching a video of him doing it is that he programmed a couple different rhythms with those programs having a lot of stuff going on all at once (constant 16th notes and such), and he manipulated the sliders and cancel buttons on the fly. th-cam.com/video/ad6OVYBPM58/w-d-xo.html
Also used on: Lover - Roxy Music, I Am A Camera - Buggles, Godley And Creme - Golden Boy (plus others), Maze - Joy And Pain, Elkie Brooks - Fool If You Think It's Over.... and loads more!
The reason they call it "Balance" is because it controls the balance between cymbals (including High-hat) and drums. It was pretty common on the drum machines in 1980s organs. It is possible that your CR-78 needs some adjusting. I have the CR-68 which is basically a CR-78 without programmability, guiro, and tambourine and on my CR-68 the high-hat sounds best if the balance control is in the middle position. So it seems wrong that your balance control has to be put in a far low position to sound right.
aquasloth It certainly seems to be an overlooked piece of gear. Everyone goes for 909s or 808s from Roland but personally speaking I enjoy more artists and composers who used the CR-78. I think the issue is a lot of people would simply take the sounds of the CR78 but not the programming, preset beats nor the “box” look of it. It would just be another 909 or 808 type format..personally I love the big wooden box look of it...but I fear I might be in the minority.
My family had an old Lowrey organ with this colorful button rhythm section built right in -or a pretty food facsimile. You could adjust tempo, snare and tone, IIRC, and the white square button had a choice of 2 fills. HA this takes me back!
I'd like to see him/you try to recreate famous beats used by these machines. We almost got "Heart of Glass" and maybe a little bit of "Duke's Travels."
Roland and Akai - the unsung heroes of the music scene - more important in fact than so many spoofer musicians who'd be nothing without the engineers who made these gadgets.
It wouldn't have been right if Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel and Blondie weren't the first three artists/groups mentioned. After 40 years and all the innovations in drum synthesis, sampling and sequencing that have taken place, there's still something about the CR-78 that's unique and ahead of its time.
And to be honest, Phil Collins used it but the first time with Brand X in 1979 and then in Genesis. They received 3 from Roland( 1 for Mike Rutherford, 1 for Tony Banks and 1 for Phil Collins) during the And Then There Were Three Tour in Japan in 1978
Probably every German kid from the mid70ies to mid80ties knowns this drummachine; for it was extensively used by Carsten Bohn in his music/OST for the popular "Drei Fragezeichen" audio-books. Check out tracks like "Alone at last", "Hotrod Standby" & the "Hidden Bonus Track"... :)
A friend writes: "Randy also worked with Roland and created the Roland CR-78 Compurhythm - the world’s first programmable rhythm box. The Roland CR-78 can be heard on such pop songs as ‘Heart of Glass’ by Blondie, ‘In the Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins, ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’ by Culture Club, and ‘Check My Machine’ by Paul McCartney. I saw it in his storage building - the serial no was 001"
Yeah, Foxx ran his CR78 through the MXR 150 during the recording of Metamatic. I own a CR78 and just for fun I had a go at it: soundcloud.com/cr78/metamoronik
🔥🔥👍🏽Nice demo, I can hear one of those Latin Rhythm settings on that machine is the very one they must have used on the beginning of the Blondie song “Heart of Glass”
The CR-78 was used on four tracks of Gary Numan's "Telekon" album. Gary listed all the synths/keyboards by model that he used for each song on the album sleeve. Strangely, he lists the CR-78 only as "COMPURHYTHM". The Blondie "Heart of Glass" intro is very similar to the intro on Numan's "Remind me to Smile". I don't know if Mr. Numan was aware of Blondie's intro when he was making his song. But, whenever I listen to "Remind me to Smile" the intro still makes me think of Blondie. :)
All over Todd Terje's work. Amazing sound. Had an opportunity to buy a pristine serviced unit a couple of years ago. Sadly I passed it up as thought it was too expensive. Similar unit twice the price now....
To me, many of the sounds on this sound almost identical to the TR-808. almost to where I can't tell the difference between the two when hearing them on a recording. I love them both. Especially the "heartbeat" kick drum
At 5:58 take out the hi hat you have the rhythm intro on Gary Numan's Remind me to smile off of 1980's Telekon album.The CR-78 is used on most of the album plus features a lot on his 1981 album titled Dance..... As i can't justify the second prices of this unit these day's i use the funk box app on my ipad which does give the emulations i need of this cracking little rhythm unit...
I’m so faded rn and this video is probably the most fun I’ve ever had
Roland CR-78 is my favorite drum kit on my Roland MC-707. I loved this sound since I was a kid.
That's a really groovin' beat! For something this old, it has some modern sounds programmed into it. These beats make you want to dance, or head, nod. I like this guy, a real musician and music enthusiast.
2:57 In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
3:17 Heart of Glass - Blondie
I wasn't alive during the 80s but I sure recognize these iconic patterns!
Ronnie Augeri I started singing Heart of Glass immediately!
It is Disco-2! To get the exact pattern you'll have to mute the snare and the bass drum. You can program another kick pattern using the "programmer". I made a video to show the exact "In The Air Tonight" drum pattern on the Roland CR-78: th-cam.com/video/AlrQJFRmMVg/w-d-xo.html
I was born the year Phil Collins recorded Face Value ("In the Air Tonight"), and I can gladly say that you know what you're talking about.
Re: In the Air Tonight, it's similar but nope not the same pattern. But yeah it's the same unit though.
Brendan Black sure it is, like koen said you have to mute the snare and kick and add a new part but it is certainly that same preset.
Sound-wise, it's my favourite drum machine of all time. It just sounds so badass and timeless. It works in every genre
Sounds like some toy
@@marguskiis7711 I think it depends on how you use them. With the right effects it rocks as you can hear in the following video (read the comment below there)and is cooler than a 808
th-cam.com/video/EqtDa9hGv54/w-d-xo.html
@TheElectrodefender it is either 808 or CR8000. CR78 had no rimshot nor clap sound
Agree - something about it... works perfect in ambient, sounds badass in electro!
@@Electrodefenderthats an 808
I listened " The Pleasure Principle" Gary Numan album today with bonus tracks, and i said myself: "This is CR 78 Drum Machine !!!". Great machine !!!
"behaves unpredictable"
you tried to cancel out the snare in a beat without a snare lol
Yeah. Dr Rhythm lives in his world only.
@@27461Andy ?
Radiohead
Luccalbu Exactly.
Luccalbu waaaaay after the fact.
Rip phil selway
Mac demarco
Tv nose
Good drum machine. A real classic machine. Love old tech. Just sounds so great.
*Amazing !!!A lot of covers on my channel: sound demo, covers, example **th-cam.com/video/88k4MMeXxQw/w-d-xo.html*
Doctor Mix has some dope moves to those beats. Like a pro.
Woooooo from yer abroads, where u need more secuGuards than in N.Y.
i personally hav always sent u respect and amiration: keep on the good music maaaaan
Nonah Yobusiness Lol
indeed... he is adorable.
Just because Phil, Peter, Tony and Mike used it in '79 doesn't make it good. How cheesy" I can't believe a pro would use this piece of crap.
Nice patoise
Yay - Gary Numan got a deserving mention for once.
I agree. Telekon, Dance and some of I'Assassin would have been very different without it.
Gary will not be forgotten.
Didn’t fucking mention omd. Classic.
Off to see him in Bournemouth and Brum can't wait.
One of my favourite machines from back in the day along with the 808.
I first heard this rhythm machine when I was 14 years old. I didn't like it at the time, but now I think it sounds great.
I'm a LinnDrum lover, but this box has an appeal all its own. It's so basic, but somehow that's what makes it unique. It can sit in a mix and just support the song. And then it does stuff like this 3:47.
Yeah, I have a Roland D2 and my fave drum machine sounds are the clippety cloppeties from the Cr78.
Rip Radiohead's drummer
Radioheads's drummer is alive and well. It was his drum tech who died after the stage roof collapsed on him.
@@jaggass I think it was just a joke because Radiohead started using this drum machine instead of their actual drummer in some songs
@@gabrielnavarro749 th-cam.com/video/Ti6qhk3tX2s/w-d-xo.html
@@jaggass Jokes aside, I did not know that. I have a lot of stage hand friends and that is their worst nightmare.
haha, they used this drum machine a few times where maintaining tempo is necessary, otherwise phil was always there in concert and matter of fact they brought another drummer and matter of fact to play some king of the limbs songs, even jonny also plays drums so there are 3 different drummers in the band and I've never seen such thing anywhere, it's crazy af.
The tempo knob it's not the original one and whoever chose that particular model as a replacement is a monster
That's a Vernier dial. It allows very fine control with a gear reduction between the dial and the pot.
There was an entire DRUM PROGRAMMING section that you ignored!!!!
i had one and accidently discovered the programmable section and even though it only had 4 available locations it taught me how to program-skills i later used with the yamaha RX-11 and the roland R-5 and the alesis SR-18, i may not be the greatest but for decades my work has routinely been mistaken for human drummers- all because i began to -think in terms of beats,instruments and song structures from these humble beginnings. you need a trigger, which was a tiny circular pad that looked a little like a kind of front desk-bell shaped thing where the trigger was the button you hit to ring that bell!? i know it sounds weird but if you saw one of these things you would never guess what it was.i did run it through bass amps for live tone but you hadto crank the low end to make it sound but a few times i played live drums along with it and it sounded loud- this was actually before MIDI, so the was no way to sync instruments together except i guess with smpte? i never knew anyone who was that technically advanced
@@paulsass4343Before MIDI there was DIN sync by Roland and of course pure analog step sync. Not sure if CR-78 had any.
A real classic vintage instrument. I sure recognise these sounds used by many artists you mentioned.
This: exists
Phil Selway: *sweats profusely*
2:21 So cute... I couldn't agree more xD
❤️❤️❤️
😂😂
His reaction there made me laugh 😄
This is one of my favourite sounding drum machines
I've owned one for years and it really does follow its own patterns. Thanks Dr M for another great vid.
This is such A Fascinating Machine. It's Vintage, Yet Beautiful And Refined.
In the song "Magic" (1984), the Roland CR-78 was heard.
Remind me to smile- Gary Numan :) one of my favorite songs/artists
"Fade to Grey" at 1:47 from Visage, but they use a higher bpm and "In the air tonight" at 3:00 by Phil Collins.
3:35-3:40, MAZE featuring FRANKIE BEVERLY song "JOY AND PAIN "from '1978 '.
Years later I'm still haven't figured out how Phil Collins programmed and played the CR-78 live on Duchess (1980-1981). You can only choose 1 instrument to play live and it isn't quantized. In The Air Tonight uses Disco 2 A.
Yes I would love someone to demonstrate how the drum beat to the opening of Duchess was done on this drum machine. If you look up Genesis Live at the Lyceum you can see Phil using this drum machine throughout Duchess adding in little bits of percussion. I guess somewhere there must have been another one of these drum machines just playing the basic drum riff but I have never spotted it on the stage, maybe it was with the mixing desk or something?? Very interesting point you have raised though!!
@@michaeldupree5801 It's possible his was modified to be more programmable. They had a pretty amazing collection of gear, especially synthesizers.
My guess from watching a video of him doing it is that he programmed a couple different rhythms with those programs having a lot of stuff going on all at once (constant 16th notes and such), and he manipulated the sliders and cancel buttons on the fly. th-cam.com/video/ad6OVYBPM58/w-d-xo.html
Just bought one and can’t wait to get groovy with this magic little box
I just got one too. How much did you pay?
I am a sucker for the look of this thing that 70's style Wood Panneling with all of the different colored push buttons & so-on! etc.
Also used in John Foxx's debut solo album Metamatic in 1980.
Great album.
Every one of us viewers was rocking back and forth to the beat in our chairs when watching this.
Hall and Oates "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" started (and maybe finished) with the Rock 1 setting on this thing
The intro to Kiss on My List also sounds as it was produced on
be the Roland CR-78
5:54 I think you found Heart of Glass intro my friend
Latin Rythm... As soon as he hit it... I heard it too.
I found this in some of my old music stuff that I had stored. So interesting that it was used in popular hits from the past
A nice toy for today, an advanced tool for it's time. Love the "Mix function" for the rhythms, so cool :)
Also used on: Lover - Roxy Music, I Am A Camera - Buggles, Godley And Creme - Golden Boy (plus others), Maze - Joy And Pain, Elkie Brooks - Fool If You Think It's Over.... and loads more!
That's amazing!! Is there a fuller list somewhere so i can perhaps make a Spotify playlist?
I own one CR-78 the first drum machine programmable in history, you can do your own patterns
Used by John Foxx on almost all of he's first Album. In 1979.
On Metamatic in 1980. Underpaaaasssss!
@Kreuhn Kohrman it was recorded in 79 though
Metamatic is still unmatched.
You forgot one very important artist who used it way before the ones you listed - Jean-Michel Jarre. :)
he use the korg mini pops for oxygene
CR-78 used on Equinoxe 4 Place de la Concorde video 1979 (/Equinoxe 4 'version inedite' ).
@Ski Burn420 You mean in this Cr-78 listing here, or Jean Michel Jarre as a whole (which would be totally nonsense, anyhow)...?
The reason they call it "Balance" is because it controls the balance between cymbals (including High-hat) and drums. It was pretty common on the drum machines in 1980s organs. It is possible that your CR-78 needs some adjusting. I have the CR-68 which is basically a CR-78 without programmability, guiro, and tambourine and on my CR-68 the high-hat sounds best if the balance control is in the middle position. So it seems wrong that your balance control has to be put in a far low position to sound right.
It would be cool if Roland did a Boutique reissue of this!
aquasloth It certainly seems to be an overlooked piece of gear. Everyone goes for 909s or 808s from Roland but personally speaking I enjoy more artists and composers who used the CR-78. I think the issue is a lot of people would simply take the sounds of the CR78 but not the programming, preset beats nor the “box” look of it. It would just be another 909 or 808 type format..personally I love the big wooden box look of it...but I fear I might be in the minority.
Was just thinking that
Nostalgia! I had one of these in the 80s.
Hall and Oates used the CR-78 on the Voices and Private Eyes album, with two songs hitting #1 (Kiss on my List and No Can Do)
The Residents used it on "Not Available" which was allegedly produced in 74 but but in reality in 78.
@ 3:34, the beat to Maze ft. Frankie Beverley's Joy & Pain. Pretty cool. Thx Dr. Mix
My family had an old Lowrey organ with this colorful button rhythm section built right in -or a pretty food facsimile. You could adjust tempo, snare and tone, IIRC, and the white square button had a choice of 2 fills. HA this takes me back!
i love vintage electronics so cool the beats it makes sounds familiar to me i ve been synthesised computer ized its in my veins
Love your videos and the passion for vintage hardware , keep it up . Respek
I'd like to see him/you try to recreate famous beats used by these machines. We almost got "Heart of Glass" and maybe a little bit of "Duke's Travels."
You can clearly hear that this is the machine used on Soft Cells 'Tainted Love' . It's a classic.
Great video. You explain it really well in a very logical way. I wish more peeps with TH-cam channels would explain hardware like you do.
Wow, i have had this amazing machine in early 80s. I love it💗💗
😍😍😍 I love how this thing sounds
So the tr8 scatter function actually has some deep history to it 😊 kind of stunned by the beefy vintage sound it carries. Nice vid!
It was also used in Chris Rea’s song “ Fool if You think it’s over “ in 1978
Heart of glass, rock your baby, atomic, Enola Gay, In The Air Tonight.
Superb video
Love the snappy sizzle the cr-78
What a beautiful cockpit. Just like old Sony stuff.
this guys having a lot of fun
I had an opportunity to fix a CR-78 last year. I played with it for about a week before calling the customer to pickup!
That’s a really cool piece of gear, but that guys dancing was the highlight of the video haha
He looks so happy!
Love your demos of the old gear.
I owned Roland juno1
Roland d20
Yamaha rx5
Don't have any of them any more.
Mostly miss the juno
This is by far my favorite dr mix vid and I don’t know why
Immediately makes me think of and 'feel' LUXURY bij NEW MUSIK...so amazingly warm CR-78...
Waw!!Amazing machine!
I genuinely love the cr78
Roland and Akai - the unsung heroes of the music scene - more important in fact than so many spoofer musicians who'd be nothing without the engineers who made these gadgets.
sounds so incredible
Freaking hell, because of this video I’ve had Heart of Glass stuck in my head all day
It wouldn't have been right if Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel and Blondie weren't the first three artists/groups mentioned.
After 40 years and all the innovations in drum synthesis, sampling and sequencing that have taken place, there's still something about the CR-78 that's unique and ahead of its time.
And to be honest, Phil Collins used it but the first time with Brand X in 1979 and then in Genesis. They received 3 from Roland( 1 for Mike Rutherford, 1 for Tony Banks and 1 for Phil Collins) during the And Then There Were Three Tour in Japan in 1978
Always wanted this machine! Definitely reminds me of Blondies Heart of Glass
2:57 can you feel it coming in the air tonight?
3'18: Blondie "Heart of glass" intro & Roxy Music "Same old scene" intro.
and Numan, Remind Me To Smile
@@CONSIDERABLYMORE1 Exactly !!! i just listened to the intro. Happy new year to you !!!
CR-78 is my favorite drum machine
Latin rhythm immediately heard the opening to heart of glass
Probably every German kid from the mid70ies to mid80ties knowns this drummachine; for it was extensively used by Carsten Bohn in his music/OST for the popular "Drei Fragezeichen" audio-books. Check out tracks like "Alone at last", "Hotrod Standby" & the "Hidden Bonus Track"... :)
A friend writes: "Randy also worked with Roland and created the Roland CR-78 Compurhythm - the world’s first programmable rhythm box. The Roland CR-78 can be heard on such pop songs as ‘Heart of Glass’ by Blondie, ‘In the Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins, ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’ by Culture Club, and ‘Check My Machine’ by Paul McCartney. I saw it in his storage building - the serial no was 001"
Yup, those are some pretty cool moves and sounds
Damn I didn’t even know I needed one until now!
Great demo. You have various masters of drum machines .. John Robie /Arthur baker tr808 Richie Hawtin on the 909 and john Foxx don of the CR78
Yeah, Foxx ran his CR78 through the MXR 150 during the recording of Metamatic. I own a CR78 and just for fun I had a go at it: soundcloud.com/cr78/metamoronik
Kkidzz that's instant mr foxx !
🔥🔥👍🏽Nice demo, I can hear one of those Latin Rhythm settings on that machine is the very one they must have used on the beginning of the Blondie song “Heart of Glass”
That knob they used for tempo was normally found on precision laboratory equipment. Think X-ray spectroscopy etc.
This epic tambourine sound its like the cowbell for the 808... you hear it you know the machine
Gary used this bit of kit quite a lot, fans will recognise the patterns used on 'Bombers/ Broadway' on his live album.
Numan?
I think I hear its sounds on "Lover" and "Same Old Scene" by Roxy Music and "Hey Little Girl" by Icehouse.
Used for Ultravox in "Vienna" and "The Thin Wall" 💜
Pfff, really groovy!! Love it!
The CR-78 was used on four tracks of Gary Numan's "Telekon" album. Gary listed all the synths/keyboards by model that he used for each song on the album sleeve. Strangely, he lists the CR-78 only as "COMPURHYTHM".
The Blondie "Heart of Glass" intro is very similar to the intro on Numan's "Remind me to Smile". I don't know if Mr. Numan was aware of Blondie's intro when he was making his song. But, whenever I listen to "Remind me to Smile" the intro still makes me think of Blondie. :)
Someone needs to gif 06:01
there you go giphy.com/gifs/dr-mix-3oFzlZsUTUuWwnq8Mw
Hahahahhaha! That's so funny!!!
Bernd Schuller -how do i put music to it and upload
AWSOMUS PRIME youre going a bit overboard now, its funnier without your shit music
Can that GIF be accessed via Facebook?
So colorful and pretty 😁😁 I want one, so does my son 😊
Sade's War of the hearts i always thought was an 808
This was obviously used extensively by Phil Collins and Genesis because I recognise all of these sounds!
Yep! And then after 1981 he moved onto the the TR-808! :)
If it didn't make a sound it looks so cool I wouldn't care !
More dancing... definitely more dancing! 👍👍👍
All over Todd Terje's work. Amazing sound. Had an opportunity to buy a pristine serviced unit a couple of years ago. Sadly I passed it up as thought it was too expensive. Similar unit twice the price now....
To me, many of the sounds on this sound almost identical to the TR-808. almost to where I can't tell the difference between the two when hearing them on a recording. I love them both. Especially the "heartbeat" kick drum
It predates the 808 so I’m not surprised
They sound very different. Both Great but very different.
@@volt7cooltangs701 that’s your opinion. I don’t share it. :)
They sound pretty different man
cool machine!
The Latin rhythms were used in japan's Gentlemen Take Polaroids albums as if at 3:16
At 5:58 take out the hi hat you have the rhythm intro on Gary Numan's Remind me to smile off of 1980's Telekon album.The CR-78 is used on most of the album plus features a lot on his 1981 album titled Dance..... As i can't justify the second prices of this unit these day's i use the funk box app on my ipad which does give the emulations i need of this cracking little rhythm unit...
wayne martin "We'll take a taxi to the show, we could report by phone, we could remind ourselves that we must laugh..."