Roland TR 808 analogue drum machine connections. Please help!!

Solebeatrunner

New member
Hi there everyone

Could anyone give me any information as to the correct connections from a roland tr 808 drum machine to a mixer. I've hooked it up to my amplifier but as the manual notes the sound only comes out of one speaker. I've tried to hook it up via a mono jack to jack lead to a single mono input to my mixer but there is no sound coming through at all. The TR's sequence buttons are running through the rhythm so i know it's working. Maybe the mixer is broke as it's at least 12 years old and i'm thinking of changing to an audio interface. Can anyone recommend a good solid audio interface. The only equipment i have to rig up is the 808 and a roland boutique synth.

Many thanks for taking the time out to read this, any help would be most helpful - Simon.
 
Hmm, that's quite a broad question. Several broad questions, in fact.

What model is the mixer? Have you tried plugging the 808 into a different channel? Are you sure you've plugged it into the line input on the mixer and not the insert or direct-out socket?
Do you have another sound source to plug into the mixer to test it with? If all is well and set up correctly the mixer should have some kind of output meter, be it mechanical or an LED bar graph. Is it showing anything? Make sure that the channel isn't muted, that the volume is turned up reasonably far on the channel, and that the SOLO button hasn't been pressed.

As for the audio interface, some clues would be helpful. What kind of a thing is it supposed to be interfacing to? Linux? Windows? OSX? OS9? For that matter, what kind of I/O does the computer have? PCI? PCIe? USB2? Firewire? Thunderbolt?
I heard quite good things about the M-audio 1010, but since it's a PCI device it's not going to work on anything laptop-like.
 
Hmm, that's quite a broad question. Several broad questions, in fact.

What model is the mixer? Have you tried plugging the 808 into a different channel? Are you sure you've plugged it into the line input on the mixer and not the insert or direct-out socket?
Do you have another sound source to plug into the mixer to test it with? If all is well and set up correctly the mixer should have some kind of output meter, be it mechanical or an LED bar graph. Is it showing anything? Make sure that the channel isn't muted, that the volume is turned up reasonably far on the channel, and that the SOLO button hasn't been pressed.

As for the audio interface, some clues would be helpful. What kind of a thing is it supposed to be interfacing to? Linux? Windows? OSX? OS9? For that matter, what kind of I/O does the computer have? PCI? PCIe? USB2? Firewire? Thunderbolt?
I heard quite good things about the M-audio 1010, but since it's a PCI device it's not going to work on anything laptop-like.

Many thanks for replying, much appreciated.

The mixer i have is a "Soundcraft spirit folio notepad" to give it it's full title.
I have tried a 1/4 jack to 2 RCA plugs from the 808 Master hi output to stereo input on the mixer. Also a single mono 1/4 jack from 808 Master hi output to a single instrument line of a mono channel on the mixer. At one point i could see a AVG LED glowing so i knew something was connecting but no sound. I'll have another go with the mixer at the weekend.

As for the audio interface my OS is Windows 7 64bit. My old soundcard was a Brilliant M Audio audiophile 24/96 PCI card which had rca connections which i had no trouble with, but it would'nt fit into my new computer hardrive when i upgraded my system a couple of years ago. Hence getting a quick fix with the Behringer ufo usb interface.
I was thinking of a Focusrite or Presonus or M Audio usb interface. But just wanted to solve the mixer thing first then decide.

Hope this helps a bit, if you need any more info please ask. Thanks for taking the time out to help, cheers - Simon.
 
Right. With the Spirit, try the following steps:
1. Plug something into channel 1 and try to make sure it's producing some kind of audio.
2. Make sure PFL is not pressed on any of the channels. There's a red light just below the meter - if it's lit that means it's soloing on one of the channels and the others won't sound.
3. Set the gain (top knob) about halfway on channel 1.
4. Set the fader (bottom) to about halfway on channel 1.
5. Set the main output faders (right hand side, red) about halfway.
6. Turn 'monitor and phones' about halfway.

You should by now have something showing on the meter, and hopefully some kind of output via headphones or the main output jacks. Obviously if you start to get audio earlier on, stop at that point because you've proved it's working.
If you get to step 6 and there is still nothing, plug the sound source into channel 2 and repeat the first 4 steps for that channel.
I'm not sure whether you need to press or depress the MIX button on the right on this particular mixer, that might be another variation to try.

What might also be worth doing, just to check is to plug headphones into the 808 or whatever you're using as the sound source, just to check that works. Then use a jack-to-jack cable and plug the headphones out into channel 1 of the mixer. Just in case there's something weird happening on the 808 and the headphone socket works but the main output doesn't....

As for audio interfaces that might be best for someone else to reply there, now we've established it's a Windows 7 64-bit system. If you only need a couple of inputs for those two pieces of equipment, you can probably get away with a 4-input USB soundcard. If it were me, I might look into the TASCAM US4x4, but there are probably cheaper options. Personally I mainly use standalone recorders now - getting soundcards to work reliably without dropouts under Linux and especially under windows was just too much hassle. Easier for my workflow just to pop an SD card into the computer and work from that.
 
Well, the boutique should work and it's also got audio(stereo) in. if the mixer is dead, you can still test output of the 808
 
Right. With the Spirit, try the following steps:
1. Plug something into channel 1 and try to make sure it's producing some kind of audio.
2. Make sure PFL is not pressed on any of the channels. There's a red light just below the meter - if it's lit that means it's soloing on one of the channels and the others won't sound.
3. Set the gain (top knob) about halfway on channel 1.
4. Set the fader (bottom) to about halfway on channel 1.
5. Set the main output faders (right hand side, red) about halfway.
6. Turn 'monitor and phones' about halfway.

You should by now have something showing on the meter, and hopefully some kind of output via headphones or the main output jacks. Obviously if you start to get audio earlier on, stop at that point because you've proved it's working.
If you get to step 6 and there is still nothing, plug the sound source into channel 2 and repeat the first 4 steps for that channel.
I'm not sure whether you need to press or depress the MIX button on the right on this particular mixer, that might be another variation to try.

What might also be worth doing, just to check is to plug headphones into the 808 or whatever you're using as the sound source, just to check that works. Then use a jack-to-jack cable and plug the headphones out into channel 1 of the mixer. Just in case there's something weird happening on the 808 and the headphone socket works but the main output doesn't....

As for audio interfaces that might be best for someone else to reply there, now we've established it's a Windows 7 64-bit system. If you only need a couple of inputs for those two pieces of equipment, you can probably get away with a 4-input USB soundcard. If it were me, I might look into the TASCAM US4x4, but there are probably cheaper options. Personally I mainly use standalone recorders now - getting soundcards to work reliably without dropouts under Linux and especially under windows was just too much hassle. Easier for my workflow just to pop an SD card into the computer and work from that.

Wow big thanks, that's plenty of information to be getting on with. I'll have a mess t'moro and get back to you. Thanks again.
 
Success ****

Right. With the Spirit, try the following steps:
1. Plug something into channel 1 and try to make sure it's producing some kind of audio.
2. Make sure PFL is not pressed on any of the channels. There's a red light just below the meter - if it's lit that means it's soloing on one of the channels and the others won't sound.
3. Set the gain (top knob) about halfway on channel 1.
4. Set the fader (bottom) to about halfway on channel 1.
5. Set the main output faders (right hand side, red) about halfway.
6. Turn 'monitor and phones' about halfway.

You should by now have something showing on the meter, and hopefully some kind of output via headphones or the main output jacks. Obviously if you start to get audio earlier on, stop at that point because you've proved it's working.
If you get to step 6 and there is still nothing, plug the sound source into channel 2 and repeat the first 4 steps for that channel.
I'm not sure whether you need to press or depress the MIX button on the right on this particular mixer, that might be another variation to try.

What might also be worth doing, just to check is to plug headphones into the 808 or whatever you're using as the sound source, just to check that works. Then use a jack-to-jack cable and plug the headphones out into channel 1 of the mixer. Just in case there's something weird happening on the 808 and the headphone socket works but the main output doesn't....

As for audio interfaces that might be best for someone else to reply there, now we've established it's a Windows 7 64-bit system. If you only need a couple of inputs for those two pieces of equipment, you can probably get away with a 4-input USB soundcard. If it were me, I might look into the TASCAM US4x4, but there are probably cheaper options. Personally I mainly use standalone recorders now - getting soundcards to work reliably without dropouts under Linux and especially under windows was just too much hassle. Easier for my workflow just to pop an SD card into the computer and work from that.


Hi there, success guys i think i must of had a dodgy jack lead. I have 2 mono jack to jack leads so i thought i'd try a LYNX mono jack to jack which is new which i bought at least 10+ years ago. I set my parameters like you said on channel one and with tweaking each button, pre amps and pan signals i have the TR -808 cracking out some great sounds out of both the speakers. Mixer is responding nice and bright as ever.
But my next query is the HUM and BUZZ i'm getting when i'm recording the 808 into my editing software (sony sound forge pro 11).
The 808 sounds good when i'm playing it, fairly clear with minimum amount of background hiss. But as soon as i turn on the record button in sound forge you can hear a distinct rise in background hiss. When i play back the drum loop it's got loads of top buzz on it. Also as well it's worth mentioning when i'm recording the 808 into the computer i have to have my amp turned up very high in order to hear the 808 so i know what i'm playing as i have to have my mixing levels very low as to avoid clipping and noise distortion. Is there any way i can sort this out too?
Just a final point i am recording everything into sony sound forge editing software. I don't have a DAW at the moment, but i'm getting one very soon. Can you recommend a good entry level DAW ? Been looking at Studio one (Artist 3), Reaper & Ableton be grateful if you could give us a few tips on these. But as far as connecting the 808 we have lift off , does sound great just need to get rid of the hiss/noise.
Once again thanks guys for getting me this far. Speak soon - Simon.
 
Old Gear can have plumbing issues as with humans. Clean jacks and pots, or at least swipe them in a cleaning manner.
 
Not sure what would cause the noise increase during record, unless windows is recording from multiple sources at once, which can happen depending on the soundcard setup. Buzzing is usually related to grounding problems, though I'm not sure what to suggest in terms of fixing it. A ground-loop isolator is one possibility, it did wonders stopping the bus noise from the computer getting into my power amp.

I don't use a DAW so someone else would have to answer that - if I did, it'd probably be Reaper since that runs on multiple platforms. I did try Ardour at one point but the learning curve was really steep.
 
Solved

Not sure what would cause the noise increase during record, unless windows is recording from multiple sources at once, which can happen depending on the soundcard setup. Buzzing is usually related to grounding problems, though I'm not sure what to suggest in terms of fixing it. A ground-loop isolator is one possibility, it did wonders stopping the bus noise from the computer getting into my power amp.

I don't use a DAW so someone else would have to answer that - if I did, it'd probably be Reaper since that runs on multiple platforms. I did try Ardour at one point but the learning curve was really steep.

I think the noise was coming fron my interface, but i've sorted it out and it's fine now, so thanks for all your input JP. Yeah Reaper looks a good option, that could be the one for me.
Cheers - Simon.
 
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