Lemus has released “ro-drums-808” and “ro-drums-909”, two drum machine instruments that emulate the Roland TR-808 and TR-909, and both are currently available for free!
In this article, we cover the download information and an overview of ro-drums-808 and ro-drums-909.
1. What Are Lemus “ro-drums-808” and “ro-drums-909”?
ro-drums-808 and ro-drums-909 are drum machine instruments that run the original sequencer program on an emulated CPU, with the voice circuits modeled component by component from the schematics in the service notes. The source code is published on GitHub under the GNU AGPLv3 license, and both are currently in beta.
Note that neither plugin includes ROM images, and some features are unavailable without a ROM. Even without a ROM, you can use “Voice Mode” to play the voices via MIDI from your DAW.
Features unavailable without a ROM
- ro-drums-808: Built-in sequencer, panel keys and LEDs, SYNC (all sounds from the bass drum to the cymbal still play)
- ro-drums-909: Built-in sequencer and display, panel keys and LEDs, SYNC and MIDI output, hi-hat, crash and ride sounds
*Partly because they are beta versions, ro-drums-808 has a relatively high CPU load, and ro-drums-909 is even higher. On a less powerful computer, we recommend bouncing your pattern to audio once it is finalized.
ro-drums-808
ro-drums-808 is a drum machine instrument that emulates the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer (1980). It runs the original program on the CPU (uPD650C) and computes every voice sample by sample as a netlist derived from the schematics in the service notes. The current version, 0.1.1, is a beta.
Without a ROM, the built-in sequencer, panel keys and LEDs, and SYNC are unavailable. However, in Voice Mode you can still play every voice from the bass drum to the cymbal.
Features available without a ROM
- All voices (the sound is identical to the ROM version)
- Playing each voice via MIDI notes (velocity 100 or higher triggers accent)
- Knobs, voice switches, controllers and automation
Key Features
- Every voice is modeled component by component from the service-note schematics and compared against ngspice simulations of the same circuits
- Component values calibrated to recordings of a real TR-808 made by Michael Fischer
- Compared with the same hardware recordings, it came closer to the real unit than Roland’s TR-808 software in 95 of the 99 recordings both could reproduce
- Add a ROM later to switch to a fully functional TR-808 while keeping your knob settings and memory
- SERVICE view displays the board and components, lets you inspect any pin with a scope, and adjust the six trimmers
- Select the circuit for each production period (board revision) by serial number
- Outputs: Master HI and 11 MULTI OUTs
- Compatibility: macOS 11 or later, Universal (AU / VST3 / Standalone); Windows 10 or later (VST3 / Standalone)
ro-drums-909
ro-drums-909 is a drum machine instrument that emulates the Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer (1984). It runs the original sequencer program on the CPU (uPD7811) and models the voicing board component by component from the service notes. The current version, 0.2.2, is a beta.
Without a ROM, the built-in sequencer and display, panel keys and LEDs, and SYNC and MIDI output are unavailable, and the hi-hat, crash and ride do not sound.
Features available without a ROM
- All voices except hi-hat, crash and ride (the sound is identical to the ROM version)
- Playing each voice via MIDI notes
- Knobs, controllers and automation
Key Features
- The voicing board is modeled component by component from the service notes and compared against ngspice simulations of the same circuit
- Component values calibrated to recordings of a real TR-909 made by AudioRealism
- Add a ROM later to switch to a fully functional TR-909 while keeping your knob settings and pattern memory
- SERVICE view displays the board components and lets you inspect any pin with a scope
- Select the hardware board revision by serial number
- Outputs: Master L/R and 10 MULTI OUTs
- Compatibility: macOS 11 or later, Universal (AU / VST3 / Standalone); Windows 10 or later (VST3 / Standalone)
2. How to Download and Install ro-drums-808 and ro-drums-909
You can easily download and install each plugin from the “DOWNLOAD FOR MACOS” or “DOWNLOAD FOR WINDOWS” button on its product page. When you launch it for the first time without a ROM, a screen appears asking how you want to continue. If you don’t have a ROM, select “Use voice mode” to start in Voice Mode and play it via MIDI.
- [Free] Lemus “ro-drums-808” – TR-808 emulation drum machine with component-level circuit modeling
- [Free] Lemus “ro-drums-909” – TR-909 emulation drum machine with component-level circuit modeling
Summary
That wraps up the free release of Lemus ro-drums-808 and ro-drums-909. If you want circuit-accurate TR-808 and TR-909 sounds in your DAW, grab them while they are free.