Fig. 1: On its own, the Roland A-01 module provides a wealth of MIDI connectivity along with an integrated step sequencer and 8-bit synthesizer. (Image credit: Roland) The back panel includes 5-pin ...

Aside from a few interesting outliers, most hardware drum machines come equipped with a step sequencer that will be loosely rooted in the design used by Roland’s classic 808 and 909. However ...

Roland has upgraded its SP-404 MK2 sampler to version 2.0, equipping it with a classic TR step sequencer in the process. This is a new recording mode that sits alongside the much-loved realtime ...

The Roland TB-303 Bass Line has lit up dance music – defined it even – for four decades, but on its release in 1981, it bombed. However, as with other Roland products of the time, that ...

Roland just released an (almost) pocket-sized sampler with a built-in mic. The Aira P-6 also includes a sequencer, granular synthesis and plenty of effects.

Sequencers, synthesizers, samplers, MIDI-controllable mixers, MIDI channel routers and MIDI event processors all were available as useful boxes, lending greater flexibility to your studio setup.

MIDI sequencers are surprisingly expensive, making them an excellent target for [RH Electronics] who has created a sixteen-step device. It supports up to eight playable parts per step, which can be… ...

A contemporary MIDI studio still might include a keyboard synth or two, but the computer itself now was able to host software synthesizers and effects processors. At the same time, the computer ...

You might be familiar with Roland’s iconic TR-808 drum machine—this has an equally excellent drum sequencer on board.

In the remaining space, I programmed a step sequencer, and the finished result was the 8-Bit CPU Synth." Watch introduction videos for SYSTEM-500 and A-01 below.