User Manual RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 Classic Analog Drum Machine with 16 Drum Sounds, 64 Step Sequencer, Wave Designer and Dual-Mode Filter
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Table of Contents Thank you........................................................................ 2 Important Safety Instructions....................................... 3 Legal Disclaimer.............................................................. 3 Limited warranty............................................................. 3 1. Introduction................................................................ 4 2. Features................................................
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Important Safety Instructions Terminals marked with this symbol carry electrical current of sufficient magnitude to constitute risk of electric shock. Use only high-quality professional speaker cables with ¼" TS or twist-locking plugs pre-installed. All other installation or modification should be performed only by qualified personnel.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual About the RD-8 • Authentic recreation of the influential and highly sought after legendary analog drum machine • 16 original drum sounds with additional parameters and global Accent capability • Modern and versatile workflow provides enhanced playability, enabling you to create captivating live performances • Powerful 64-step drum sequencer supports poly-meter, step-repeat, note-repeat, Real-Time Triggering, track-mute and track-solo • Integrated FX bus features
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 2. Features A Past Masterpiece Rejuvenated Great care has been taken in designing the RD-8 to achieve new possibilities in beat creation by reviving a timeless analog design from one of the best classic drum machines of yesteryear. By creating a fresh modern take on a characteristic drum machine, the RD-8 gives you the power to harness the phenomenal sound of the original.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 3.1.3 Wave Designer 3.1.7 Playback Controls (23) (7) (8) (24) (28) (30) (31) (32) (33) (9) (10) (29) (7) ATTACK – Controls the attack portion of the Wave Designer circuit. Turn counter clockwise (CCW) to reduce the attack portion of the signal and clockwise (CW) to enhance the attack portion of the selected signal. (8) SIG – Shows that signal is present in the Wave Designer circuit. (9) SEND – Activates the Wave Designer assignment menu.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 3.1.9 Step & Note Repeat Section (46) 3.1.10 Track Control and Settings (45) (39) (40) (41) (42) (43) (44) (39) 1 – Step or Note repeat of a value of 1. (40) 2 – Step or Note repeat of a value of 2. (41) 4 – Step or Note repeat of a value of 4. (47) (48) (50) (51) (47) MUTE – Activates mute menu. (48) SOLO – Activates solo menu. (43) STEP REPEAT – Repeats the step by the selected value.
66) 8 RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 3.2 Rear Panel connections (60) (67) (61) (62) (63) (64) (84) (65) (66) (68) (69) (70) (71) (72) (73) (74) (75) (76) (77) (78) (79) (80) (81) (67) (68) (69) (70) (71) (72) (73) (74) (75) (76) (77) (78) (79) (80) (81) (82) (83) (60) POWER – Connect the supplied PSU here and engage power switch to turn on. (81) TRIGGER OUT 3 – +5 v 1ms pulse to trigger external devices. ¼ (6.35 mm) unbalanced output. Fixed to Accent.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 4.4 Voice Section In this section the sounds and controls are described to help you achieve the most from the RD-8 which has 16 sounds, plus Accent. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (1) ACCENT – This function is used to give emphasis to any voice programmed on the same step. The LEVEL control determines the amount of emphasis given to the selected voices. Turn Counter Clockwise (CCW) to reduce the amount of global Accent.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Auto Save The Auto Save function allows certain functions to be automatically stored as listed. All the below pattern changes will now be auto saved with STEP RECORD on: 1. Step on/off by pressing STEP button 2. Press TRIGGER to set step on when playing 3. Note repeat live record 4. Set step on/off in RAND setting menu 5. Press STEP in pattern length setting 6. Sweep erase by Hold + VOICE button 7. Erasing all steps of selected voice by ERASE + VOICE button 8.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 Pattern Length Quick Double Push LENGTH, then hold TAP/HOLD and push >> (right double arrow beside LENGTH) to immediately duplicate the contents of the current length, this is very useful when you are working with for 3/4 pattern with 12 steps. 6.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Note: When you erase a pattern from the chain it doesn’t remove/update the number of repeats in that place, so if Pattern 3 repeated 6 times and that pattern is deleted from the chain, Pattern 4 would move to that position and will be repeated 6 times. Live Data Vs Stored Data. In Song mode there are two forms of data stored: Live Data: Any changes to songs or patterns that have been made and not stored are held in live memory Stored Data: When a song has been stored.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Filter section to be processed. The SIG LED shows that a signal is present in the Analog Filter/Wave Designer bus. The SEND button activates the Wave Designer circuit. How to assign voices to the FX bus: 1. Press SEND in the FX sections (flashes orange). 2. Use SELECT to assign which voices go to the bus (solid pink LED indicates voice sent to the FX bus). 3. Press SEND in the FX section to exit. SEND button will be solid white to show voices are assigned to the FX bus.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 11. Settings The Settings functions are listed below. All features are accessed by pressing the SETTINGS button and selecting the associated step key. 11.1 MIDI Swing Preference Options: To enter the MIDI settings page press SETTINGS, select MIDI (STEP BUTTON 1) and use the TAP/HOLD key to access the various pages described below: 1. Global, where all patterns Swing settings, even if a different Swing setting is stored within a pattern or song. 1.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 11.4 MAP Auto Advance Preference The map function allows you to change the MIDI notes that trigger the RD-8 voices either via the USB or MIDI ports. Set the Auto Advance Globally or by Song. The default numbers are listed in the table below. Voice Bass Drum Snare Drum Low Tom/Low Conga Mid Tom/Mid Conga Hi Tom/Hi Conga Rim Shot/Claves Clap/Maracas Cowbell Cymbal Open Hat Closed Hat MIDI Note No.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Please note that individual voices can have Poly lengths that are longer than the nominal pattern length, for extra rhythmic variation. 4. Use the step keys (1-64 via length navigation arrows) to enable flam on the steps you require. POLY mode defaults to be stored per pattern. 5. Adjust the flam range with the DATA control to taste (0 = No Flam. 24 = Longest flam length). 11.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 12. Software Updates 11.13 SYNC The RD-8 updater can be downloaded by going to www.musictribe.com. Please follow the steps on the website and updater to update your RD-8. Pressing the SYNC button multiple times scrolls through the 4 Sync option available. 1. INT (internal) – The sync is set by the unit’s internal clock. 2. MIDI – The sync is taken from the MIDI IN port. A MIDI start message is required in order for playback to start.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 13. Parameters Preferences There are three different types of data files used by the RD-8. The contents of these file types are described herein. Global Settings File All of the RD-8’s Settings and Preferences are stored in the Global Settings file. This file is loaded from Storage Memory when the unit is powered on.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Global Parameters Song Arrangement The RD-8 has many parameters that can be tweaked to make your rhythm’s more interesting. The Global Settings file contains the following list of parameters. When these parameters are in use (i.e. the corresponding Preference is set to Global), they remain fixed, even when new Songs and Patterns are loaded into the sequencer.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Parameter Name Pattern Data Files Each of the 16 patterns associated with a song has its own Pattern Data file. When a song is loaded from Storage Memory, these 16 Pattern Data files are loaded in addition to the Song Data file. These 16 patterns are called the Live Patterns. Changes made to the Live Pattern Data files do not persist. The files must be saved back to the Storage Memory before another song and its associated patterns are loaded.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Parameter Name Random Steps (1 – 64) Description The sequencer events triggered on the 64 steps of the Random Steps track: Events include Step On/Off, Step Prob on/off, step flam on/off, Step Repeat on/off and Step repeat size. Values *See description below * Information useful for power users wishing to implement their own editors.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 14. New Features Overview New features are detailed here for a quick view of added functions. New features in V2.0.2 1. SYNTHTRIBE support. (right click on a step cell in the sequencer page for more step options). 2. Pattern length, step on/off will be saved automatically when programmed in RECORD mode. 3. Trigger/play sound by pressing corresponding voice button. With TAP/HOLD button held the voice will be triggered with accent on. 4.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual
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RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Studio Monitors Audio Input Audio Output Audio Input Mixer Mono Output Power Adaptor To Return Input Individual Voice Output
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RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual 17. Glossary RD-8 GLOSSARY Harmonics: A series of integer-related sine waves at varying levels creating different timbres. Waveforms (other than a pure sinusoidal) generate various harmonics which help define the character of the sound. This glossary provides an explanation of useful symbols, terms and abbreviations. Hertz (Hz): A unit of frequency equal to one cycle of a wave per second.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual Output: The signal sent out by a device or process. Also used to describe the physical socket where a signal leaves a device. Parameter: A setting whose value can be changed. The result is a sweeping effect similar to a flanger but smoother and often more natural sounding.
RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 User Manual FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION COMPLIANCE INFORMATION RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 Responsible Party Name: Music Tribe Commercial NV Inc. Address: 5270 Procyon Street, Las Vegas NV 89118, United States Phone Number: +1 702 800 8290 RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-8 This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.
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