Hey Matt from Roland here to talk to you about an exciting new feature for DJs called TR-SYNC.
If you're familiar with Roland's DJ controllers, you know
that each one has a built-in TR drum machine and sequencer which contain many
of the most classic Roland drum sounds, fully syncable with your Serato set
Roland and Serato have now teamed up to develop a method for adding our
standalone TR drum machines to any Serato DJ Pro setup. This means if you
already own a third-party Serato controller, or play on a Serato DVS
vinyl setup, you too can now sync up our legendary TR drum sounds seamlessly with
your set for re-drumming, remixing flipping genres, transitions or other new
school performance possibilities.
One of the most simple and effective uses of
the TR is to simply add drums on top of your track. You can do this by playing
the drums live by hand or by using the TR-SYNC and playing a pattern on top.
In this demo we're gonna add our own TR drums to a song as well as using others
Serato DJ Pro features like 'Pitch Play'.
Next up, let's do some dance tracks and show how we can use our TR-SYNC setup to
create build ups and unique transitions between songs.
In this example, we'll take a live unquantized track and add our own drums to the mix to give it a modern feel.
Remember: If you want to use unquantized songs with TR-SYNC, you'll need
to set your beatgrid beforehand using beat warp markers at the beginning of every bar.
With a MIDI In/Out port on the back of the TR drum machines, you can expand your
set up even further by syncing additional MIDI instruments like synths
and samplers that have their own sequencers. This type of setup is perfect
for the producer or artist who wants to perform their own music live while still
getting the benefits of having a DJ setup as the foundation.
Here's a quick overview of how to play preset beats and how you can quickly
create your own beats using TR's built-in step sequencer. Heads up all of our TR
drum machines work in a similar fashion but for this example we're gonna use the TR-8S.
All TR's come loaded with preset beats that you can sync to your DJ set
known as patterns.
To access these patterns on a TR-8S,
press and hold 'Pattern Select' and choose the bank using step buttons one to eight
at the bottom of the TR-8S. Then release the 'Pattern Select' button and you can
then choose from sixteen available patterns on these same step buttons.
Now to create your own beat, select any empty pattern which on the TR-8S can be found
in Bank 7 or 8.
Select your drum kit by pressing 'Kit' and turning the value wheel.
Then enter 'TR-Record' mode to use the step sequencer and build your beat.
Start by selecting one of the eleven instruments and then press
step buttons 1 to 16 to input the steps, pressing a second time to delete.
Let's quickly make two different styles of beats to show you the process.
First, we'll start with a simple house beat using the TR-909 drum kit set at 120bpm.
Each pattern is 1 bar long so to program a four-to-the-floor bass drum pattern,
we will press steps 1, 5, 9 and 13.
Next. we'll add a clap on the second and fourth beat
of the measure which would be steps 5 and 13 and let's follow with some
closed and open hi-hats.
Now that we have the basic foundation we can
embellish the beat with other drum sounds placed however we like.
Now let's quickly make a trap beat using the same process, this time using the TR-808 kit.
We will first slow down the tempo to 80 BPM and then input the steps one
instrument at a time.
Some of our TRs allow for inputting of sub steps to
create double time rhythms as you can hear on the closed hi-hats in this example.
Incorporating a TR to your DJ set will take some prep work in
consideration of workflow. Now TR-SYNC is supported on four Roland drum machines;
the TR-08, TR-09, TR-8 and TR-8S.
When deciding which TR to use in your set you
want to think about what features are important to you, the size of the unit
and the price point,.
If you're not comfortable creating beats on-the-fly at
the gig, it's a good idea to have your pattern set up and accessible before you
head out to play.
You can either use the preset beats or the ones you've
programmed yourself but knowing which patterns you want to use beforehand and
which patterns are appropriate for the style of music you're gonna play will
produce the best results.
Another tip: You'll eventually want to
create some dynamic and movement in your drum programming.
A one-bar loop maybe knocking for a while but it might get played out over time.
Consider chaining multiple patterns together, even ones that have subtle changes like hi-hat
variations to keep your rhythms moving.
You can also use fills to create
turnarounds for some unpredictability or to cue the listener for a change of the music.
Depending on which TR unit you own, using the 'Mute' feature is a great way to
pop drum parts in and out.
If you own the TR-8S, you'll definitely want to make use
of the 'Step Loop' feature—a quick and easy way to change up the flow of the
beat while keeping it in time.
Effects are another great tool for adding
excitement to your mix. For instance, use delays to dub out sections of the beats
or for transitions. Using a dotted eighth note pattern is a simple and effective
way to create some counterpoint to the rhythm of your track.
Filters, flangers and phasers work well for shaping or layering your sound particularly
effective when accompanying a change of music.
So now you have some ideas on how to use your TR-SYNC system.
Thanks for watching.