The first Dr. Rhythm device, the DR-55, was used by post-punk artists and the likes of Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, and Thomas Dolby. And now its sounds are in a free plug-in.
The DR-55 was a big deal for its time, an early example of programmable drum machines when such things were still a novelty. Here’s the iconic Leonard de Leonard demoing the actual hardware:
I expect this will not be coming to Roland Cloud any time soon. The 1979 DR-55 had just four sounds – kick, snare, rimshot, and hi-hat, but you could program simple 12-step (triple!) or 16-step patterns on it. (I know this because I checked a section in the bible of Roland gear, Bjooks’ tome Inspire the Music – 50 Years of Roland History. I think I actually wrote this copy.)
It is a very distinctive sound, though, for those artists, and SampleScience have done a bang-up job of recreating it with samples and settings, plus some additional features:
- 6 effects: distortion, delay, reverb, sub, tape, vinyl.
- Multi-LFO.
- Highpass/Lowpass filter.
- Amplitude range controls.
And the price is hard to argue with: it’s free. That’s perfect if your post-punk involves a lot of punk and a heaping slice of post-money. (I feel you.)
They’re not Roland, so this is the VR-55. Hey, look, if I’m wrong and Roland does want to stick this into the Roland Cloud offering or some very weird add-on for TR-8S, go for it.
https://www.samplescience.info/2024/11/vr-55-drumcomputer.html
If you do have money, SampleScience also has their full library of 60 plugins for $199 (discounted from $1,543 if you bought those separately).
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go make some post-punk. Or something.