Roland have done it again. Those musical instrument innovators have delivered one of the hottest pieces of hybrid hardware of 2025, and I am excited!
If you are into any type of electronic music, then you need to know about the BRAND NEW Roland TR-1000. It’s that simple.
Contents
What is the Roland TR-1000?
The Roland TR-1000 is a brand new, state of the art rhythm machine, and a whole lot more besides! It incorporates classic drum machine tech alongside some very powerful editing and effects technology to kick your beats into the stratosphere. This is cutting edge tech, in an artistically accessible package, with all of the ins & outs you’ll ever reasonably need.
Who is the Roland TR-1000 For?
The Roland TR-1000 is for all producers, musicians, DJs and artists who work in the electronic realm. Fans of vintage drum machines will love it, ‘in-the-box’ producers will appreciate the autonomy and integration offered, and creative musicians who love new possibilities will take to it like a duck to water.
Techno, House, Electro and Trance musicians will be heavily into this, but so will cutting edge producers, composers and sound designers from all walks of music.
The Roland TR-1000 is for everyone who loves beats.
Hybrid Greatness
This is a new hardware drum machine, with proper hands-on hardware workflow. Inside, the TR-1000 has BOTH Analog and Digital technology working in tandem, combining the best from each discipline to bring a highly expressive box of wonders that will shake up all of your rhythm endeavours.
Analog: proper recreations of the TR808 & 909 drum machines, all with expanded range and functionality.
Digital: Circuit bent kits, virtual analog waveforms and FM synth textures included.
The debate about digital or analog being better is now thoroughly over. The best is, clearly, both, and the TR-1000 takes full advantage of that truth to push editing and processing beyond what was possible before.
The TR-1000 continues the legendary line of Roland's historic, iconic drum machines. In this pic, you can see a vintage TR-909 (signed by Juan Atkins, no less!) and a TB-303.
Sequencer, FX & App
Framing your rhythm work is a powerful sequencer. ThHis will be familiar to you if you’ve spent time with Roland hardware, but the TR-1000’s sequencer goes far deeper than ever before.
- Create loops in real time from audio generated from the TR-1000
- Add automation from the TR-1000’s control knobs
- Quantisation and fine-tuning of values is possible and easy to work
- A special Morph Fader (like a DJ crossfader) can perform a myriad of functions, assignable and with a great musical feel
As for effects, there’s a huge box of tricks available to apply to the beats and the loops. We’re talking crusher, scatter, flanger, phaser, drive and a special filter section taken from the classic Jupiter 6. You get so much power and control directly from the unit, without having to go near your DAW!
The TR-1000 can be fully integrated into your DAW though, plus there’s a special TR-1000 app available too, for editing kits and instrument parameters. However you want it, that’s how you’ll get it!
Serious Outputs for Pro Use
I expect to see this in a lot of studios and live setups. The potential for noise-making is just too great! For this, Roland have been smart about their build, and including that following into the hardware of the TR-1000:
- MIDI
- USB
- Pedal Control
- External device In
- CV in and out
- Analog FX outs x4
- Individual outs/trigger outs x 10
Yes, you can absolutely use this as the brain of a digital kit if you feel like it! You can route third party devices through it, and it through third party devices.
It feels like the fun is just beginning, so make sure you check out the exceptional Roland TR-1000, because the rhythm game has just changed.
