The CR-78 was originally introduced in 1978, and was in incremental but significant development in the evolution of Roland's classic line of drum machine. Roland's earliest drum machines appeared in the early 70s under the "Acetone" banner, and like other drum machines of the era, these were intended to sit atop the home organs that were all the rage. The CR-78 and its close cousin, the CR-68, upped the ante with superior analog drum sounds. More significantly, its onboard microprocessor allowed users to program and store four custom beats. Though the method for inputting user patterns was crude and limited, it was a breakthrough for its day, and was embraced by a laundry list of pro musicians including Ultravox, Phil Collins, Hall and Oates, Blondie, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and more.
Cherry Audio's CR-78 accurately recreates the original unit's punchy analog drum sounds and includes exact replications of its 34 onboard preset rhythms. The original CR-78's unique "Cancel Voice" and "Add Voice" controls allowed a surprising degree of flexibility when using the onboard rhythm patterns - we've included the "Cancel Voice" buttons, and greatly extended the "Add Voice" capabilities with a full onboard mixer. We've also done away with the finicky user beat programming and replaced it a familiar x0x-style button-per-step interface, as well as an easy-to-use song mode for pattern chaining. The fun "variations" drum fill section has also been reproduced exactly.
Unlike other sample-based emulations, Cherry's CR-78 uses modeled synthesis to recreate the classic tones of the original, and makes a quantum leap forward with fully editable sound parameters, enabling all manner of subtle-to-unrecognizable sound tweaking. Finally, four onboard effects are provided, with a uniquely fast and fun "send button" UI for each individual sound in the mixer section.
Terminology in this manual, so we're all on the same page:
A pattern refers to one of the built-in (Play Mode set to Preset) or user-created rhythm patterns (Play Mode set to User). A beat refers to a step number within a rhythm - for example, "beat 1" would be the first step in a pattern. For clarity, we'll avoid using "beat" to refer an entire rhythm pattern. (Hopefully Janet Jackson doesn't read this, because "GIMME A RHYTHM PATTERN!" doesn't roll off the tongue very well.)
Also, italicized text generally refers to a specific control on the front panel, such as the Measure or Instruments Selector controls.
Pre-Purchase Demo Mode
If you haven't purchased the full version of CR-78, it will run in demo mode. All functions will work, but inharmonic tones will occasionally sound (the LED next to Demo in the top toolbar will illuminate when the ugly tones are sounding). We've also added a handy button to make purchasing easy, so you've got no excuse! As you might expect, all the demo stuff disappears once CR-78 is purchased.
Technical Assistance
Cherry Audio's unique online store and automatic updating should make operation a smooth experience, but if you run into any issues or have questions, you can discuss issues online at the Cherry Audio forums.
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