The most recent rotation of The Crow Hill Company’s ever-changing Vaults series introduces a recreation of Roland’s CompuRhythm CR-78 drum machine. Vaults Rhythm Machine is said to capture the character of the original hardware, while expanding on the original design with the addition of some built-in effects.
Launched in 1978, the CR-78 was Roland’s first programmable drum machine. Rather than limiting users to a selection of presets, the instrument allowed them to create custom patterns using the external WS-1 programmer before saving them to its onboard memory. The latest arrival to the Vaults line-up faithfully recreates the 14 analogue drum voices, offering a selection of kick, snare, hi-hats, rimshot, tambourine and clave sounds that promise to replicate the warm, punchy character of the original hardware.
This new plug-in version also brings some new features to the table. a large Smash control delivers some British-style bus compression, while a Width dial allows users to manipulate the instrument’s stereo image. The lower section of the GUI then offers Pitch and Dirt controls, which as you might expect, offer some built in pitch-shifting and overdrive, along with Echo and Splosh, a pair of processors that deliver a multi-tap tape delay and chamber-based algorithmic reverb.
Compatibility
Rhythm Machine is supported on PCs running Windows 10 and above, and Macs running macOS 11 or higher. VST, VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available.
Availability
Rhythm Machine is available now as a free download.
