Roland TR-727 Rhythm Composer

On the Syro album packaging, there is a list that shows us WHAT gear was used, WHERE it was used and in WHICH song of the album it was used. On the left side of this list, one can see written upside-down "TR727", which refers to the Roland TR-727 Rhythm Composer, a close brother to the 707 (almost a clone) but with different sounds and colors.

In this image from his [My Studio feature for Attack Magazine](http://www.attackmagazine.com/features/my-studio/mathew-jonson/), Mathew Jonson's 727 is visible.

"I may add a bit of the 707 or 727"

in this photo we can see his tr-727..

The live Erasure set-up - excluding the human beings - runs to an Oberheim Xpander module, a Yamaha TX rack with three modules (equivalent to DX9s in a small box, reckons Vince), a Sequential Pro-One synth, plus two Casios, the CZ1000 and CZ101, all driven by a BBC computer using the almost universally praised UMI-2B MIDI sequencer. A Yamaha RX11 and Roland TR727 (latin) supply the drums.

In this Slices Tech Talk, Electronic Beats TV looks to delve into the heart of Ian Pooley's Berlin studio

He says, "Gerald: I’m totally using analogue. 303, 101, 202, 727, 909… Analogue’s kind of what the kids enjoy these days anyway. "

It's beside his mixer!

Forget about the 909. The Roland TR707 and 727 are the ultimate Chicago House drum machines. 64 patterns, 998 bars, step edit whilst you play the sequence, a nice big display that shows you the entire pattern in one single view (note: it is a shame it has no backlight), trigger output, din-sync in/out, midi (-sync) in and out, shuffle and flam... All in all, more than enough to satisfy your drum-sequencing needs. The 707’s 15 drum sounds are too cool to ignore. Nice and punchy bassdrums and snaredrums and a set of gritty hi-hats, funky rides and ear crushing crash cymbals… The samples in this budget machine rock beyond believe. Add the 727 to your 707 and you’ll be jacking it latino style like Mario ‘Smoking’ Diaz or playing it as smooth as Mr. Fingers with 15 more percussion sounds. Better get a big mixer if you are one of those control freaks; almost every sound has it’s own individual output… But then again… why bother? The volume sliders for each sound give you enough control, so you might as well use the stereo output. But hey, atleast you have a choice!

Used in the Cocteau Twins EPs Tiny Dynamine and Echoes In A Shallow Bay.

"It's really easy to create pattern with this gear."

Proof on Instagram.

"We have a Yamaha RX11 drum machine but I'm a bit disappointed with that. For a start the memory is a bit limited, and because a drum machine is used like a sketchpad, it's very frustrating if you can't get enough bars into it. We use a LinnDrum with standard chips - our producer has some alternative sound chips too - and a Roland TR707 and 727 which are really good. They're amazing for the money, and we've just got an Octapad (Roland's MIDI drum pad set) which allows you to record drum patterns through MIDI onto the QX1."

Shawn uses a tr 727

Mastelotto isn't shy with electronics. He used "a fair amount of samples" for composite snare sounds, including three alone for "King for a Day," played on a Roland Octopad, and the overtone of "a very ringy Ludwig similar to a tube-lug snare" sampled on an Akai S900. The drummer and his tech Paul Mitchell bent the samples with a warp function "to a note that sounded good" for each track. Tabourine-shaker, congas, tablas and other oriental percussion came from Casio FZ-1 samplers. A Yamaha RX5 drum machine crops up on the fade of "Hold Me My Daddy"; elsewhere Mastelotto used an MX8 MIDI patch bay to increase the velocity of a LinnDrum fed into a Yamaha QX2 program. An old Simmons SD55's kicks and snares are on "Chalkhills and Children" and "Poor Skeleton Steps Out." There's a Pearl SC-40 on "Cynical Days" -- "similar to a tambourine but more of a bongo" -- and "Garden of Earthly Delights," "for a low kick that bends up like a tabla." "Garden" also employs a Roland TR727 drum loop. And Mastelotto still uses sticks: Pro-Mark 5Bs or 909s, "butt-end."

They take turns behind the desk, Aitken laying a guide keyboard line down from a Roland D50, and Stock building a rhythm pattern with a Linn 9000 and a Roland TR727.