'How To' Articles, Product Guides

The Ultimate Guide to the TR-8S Rhythm Performer – Colour Code Your Instruments

The 11 Faders, and first 11 Pads on the Roland TR-8S light up in colour when the Instrument is turned on. This can be great on a gig, for easy identification of various Instrument Types at a glance. You may want to set the colours strictly for aesthetic effect, or you may want to come up with a Colour Coding System that makes sense for you, to indicate the various Instrument Types you commonly use in a song.

Contributed by Alexander Marlowe for Roland Corporation Australia

The available Colours are:

Red, Orange, Yellow, Lime, Green, SkyBlue, LightBlue, Blue, Purple, Magenta, Pink and White.

For example, you might do something like:

Bass Drums = Purple
Snare Drums = Blue
Toms = Green
Rim Shots = Lime
Hand Claps = Pink
Closed High Hats = LightBlue
Open High Hats = LightBlue
Crash Cymbals = SkyBlue
Ride Cymbals = SkyBlue
Music Loops = Orange
Vocals = Red
SFX = Yellow

To set the Instrument Track Colours:

Press the Instrument Select Button of the Instrument you want to Edit.
Hold Shift and press the Kit Button to view the Kit Edit screen.
Hold Shift and turn the Value Knob to select Kit:Color and press Enter.
Turn the Value Knob to adjust the Color.
Repeat steps 1 and 4 for all Instruments you wish to edit.

Article written by Alex Marlowe

Alex Marlowe is a Composer/Producer, Musician and Consultant based in Melbourne, Australia. Alex has placed music in numerous movies and TV shows, and toured worldwide as a keyboardist with major artists. As a Teacher and Consultant, Alex has worked with platinum songwriters, music editors, producers and composers, and conducted courses in Music Production and Music Software, including at the Songwriting School of Los Angeles. You can find more info, and contact Alex at: www.logicproanswers.com