Roland TR-707 and TR-727 - Quick Manual

quickmanual | sync

There are 64 Patterns in Pattern Groups A to D, numbered 1 to 16.
There are 4 Tracks (=songs), numbered I to IV.

Mode \ State during STOP state during PLAY state
Track Mode Play drum pads
Change Track: [SHIFT] + [I..IV]
Play selected Track I..IV
Pattern Mode Edit Pattern Loop Pattern A1..D16

Play the drum pads 'live' (Track - STOP)

Press the pads, you can use Flam [SHUFFLE/FLAM] and [ACCENT], these work as "shift"-buttons.
- FLAM only works on the CONGA and TIMBALE pads [3..7].

Edit a Pattern (Pattern - STOP)

Press [SHIFT] + [PATTERN] 1x or 2x and choose:
"STEP WRITE"
in step write, you select the instrument
and press the pad step to place it into the Pattern
-or- "TAP WRITE"
in tap write, you press the desired instrument pad
in time with the Metronome (#8: HI AGOGO)
Same preparations for both modes during [STOP] state.

Select a Pattern:
- select PATTERN GROUP [A..D]
- select Pattern Number pad [1..16]

Erase the Pattern:
- hold [CLEAR] and press desired Pattern Number [1..16]

Copy from another Pattern:
- keep holding [SHIFT] and press [COPY] + source location [A..D] [1..16] + [ENTER]
- you cannot copy chained Patterns, only single ones

Chain Patterns as one Pattern:
- hold 2 pads [1..16] and press [ENTER]
- both Patterns and the Patterns in between are chained
- unchain: hold pad number + [ENTER] for every Pattern in the chain
Press [START]
- the LED starts looping, the pad row [1..16] now represents the Pattern steps

Things you can do, both during STOP and during START:
- change from "TAP WRITE" to "STEP WRITE" and back
- press [SCALE] to change to 3/4 - half & full Bar, or 4/4 - half & full Bar (see "Scales" below)
- hold [LAST STEP] and press [1..16] to change the Pattern length
STEP WRITE
Choose the instrument to edit:
- hold [INSTRUMENT] and press pad [1..16] or [ACCENT]

Press the Pad step to toggle the sound on/off
  TAP WRITE
Toggle the Metronome:
- press [INSTRUMENT]

Tap the desired pad in time with the Metronome
Hold [CLEAR] + pad to erase the sound
Flam an instrument:
- press [INSTRUMENT] + the desired pad [3..7] two times
- press the pad steps you want to Flam

Alternate HI CONGA Flam to MUTE (#3) or OPEN (#4):
- press [SHIFT] + [INSTRUMENT]

Set Flam type: hold SHUFFLE/FLAM and press pad [9..13]
Set Shuffle: hold SHUFFLE/FLAM and press pad [1..5]
Shuffle and Flam type are stored per Pattern

Take care - when changing the SHUFFLE time during play,
the TR-707 can lose sync with the master.
  Flam an instrument:
- hold [FLAM] and press pad [3..7]

You cannot change the Flam type or Shuffle in TAP WRITE

Scales

Row: Time: Length of the Bar: Set last step to: Syncs to other x0x gear on:
4th 3/4 time 1/2 Bar (double the notes, double fast) (4 x 3 Steps) 12 Steps Step 1 and 7
3rd 1 Bar (4 x 3 Steps) 12 Steps Step 1, 4, 7 and 10
2nd 4/4 time 1/2 Bar (double the notes, double fast) (4 x 4 Steps) 16 Steps Step 1 and 9
1st 1 Bar (4 x 4 Steps) 16 Steps Step 1, 5, 9 and 13

Note that 3 Steps (notes) in 3/4 have exactly the same duration as 4 Steps in 4/4.
This way you can combine 3/4 and 4/4 beats, and stay in sync, as long as you keep the number of Steps (notes) correct for the chosen beat timing.

Example:
- set the first Pattern to 3/4 time, 1 Bar. Set the last step to 3 (which is one quarter of a 3/4 Pattern).
- set the Pattern next to it to 4/4, 1 Bar. Set the last step to 12 (which is three quarters of a 4/4 Pattern).
- Chain both Patterns
- enjoy the result

Sync steps

The different Roland x0x drum-based gear, like the TB-303 (yes, the programming of the 303 is drum-based), TR-606, TR-707/727, TR-808, TR-909 etc can be synchronized to each other with a DIN-cable. In that case, you also have to make sure you are going to program Patterns that are able to synchronize. You can choose to program 3/4 Patterns and 4/4 Patterns, and even mix these two different Patterns in one Track. The important thing is, that both Patterns synchronize with each other on fixed steps:
- a 4/4 time Pattern has a beat on the 1st, 5th, 9th and 13th step (1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8, 9-10-11-12, 13-14-15-16).
- a 3/4 time Pattern has a beat on the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th and 13th step (1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9, 10-11-12, 13-14-15).
- the last 13-14-15-beat on the 3/4 time scale is theoretical, because most 3/4 Patterns have 12 or even 9 steps.

Both Patterns synchronize on the beat steps, so set the LAST STEP to the step just before the beat step.
- example: an 8-step 4/4 beat will sync to a 9-step 3/4 beat.
- a 3/4 Pattern that has 11 steps (last step = 11), you will have a sync problem with any 4/4 Pattern.

See the table below for the steps where both Patterns sync.

4/4 beat steps  1  2-3-4  5  6-7-8  9  10-11-12 13 14-15-16    
3/4 beat steps  1  2 - 3  4  5 - 6  7  8 - 9 10 11 - 12 13 14 - 15
--sync step-- x   x   x   x   x  

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