Try Roland’s VST/AU versions of the 808/909 in your DAW for free

If you wanted to try out Roland’s virtual recreations of the iconic 808 and 909 without subscribing to Roland Cloud you can now try each of them out in your DAW for free…

Roland tells us that anyone can take advantage of this offer, which allows users a 30-day free trial to play with the VST/AU versions. Best of all, there’s no credit card required. Here’s Roland with all the reasons why you should give it a go:

The TR-808 Software Rhythm Composer

Few instruments have influenced modern music like the TR-808. Renowned for its big, booming bass drum, the ‘808 is a force of nature that can be felt and heard. Add a robotic clap, brash cowbell and crisp cymbals and you’ve got the raw materials for musical mayhem – maybe it’s no coincidence that ‘808’ is the penal code used by the US police for ‘disturbing the peace’. Ever present, always relevant – the TR-808 is undeniably, indisputably, the biggest sound on the planet.

Introducing the TR-909 Software Rhythm Composer

While the TR-808 is all about warmth and width, the ‘909 is all about precision and power, with clattering, metallic hi-hats, pummelling tom drums and a rib-cracking kick drum that became the beating heart of house and techno. The ‘909 is a cornerstone of electronic music, an integral part of the dancefloor’s DNA. To some, it’s just a drum machine – for others, it’s the pulse of youth culture; the only sound you hear when the lights go down.

New TR-8S integration

The TR-808 and TR-909 plugins also work with the new AIRA TR-8S Rhythm Performer. It’s now possible to send patterns, variations and names from the TR-8S hardware directly to the 808/909 plug in. Or, you can create patterns on your computer and send them back to the TR-8S for performance or further production. You can even control the parameters of the 808/909 plugins, including volume, tune and decay, via the hands-on controls of the TR-8S.

Check out the Roland Cloud page for further information.