Paul McCabe | ROLAND

Drop The Boom: The Story Of The Roland TR-1000 What do you get when you combine 808 and 909 analog drum synthesis, SP-404MKII-style sampling, and input from Detroit legends like Underground Resistance? The TR-1000, a modern drum machine that is mo...

It's uniquely energizing when you experience a "hit". We are humbled by the response to the Roland TR-1000, and I am privileged to have the members of the development and marketing teams as my friends. This is a great BTS look published by Attack Magazine:

www.attackmagazine.com/features/lon...

I will be speaking at the Music Tectonics conference in Santa Monica (in all my 8-bit glory) on November 5th- hope to see you there!

musictectonics.com/conference

Know the past to Design The Future (part 1) "Beyond reality" with the Roland RD-1000

My latest substack story talks about the importance of knowing the past in order to understand the present and predict the future. If you enjoy it, please subscribe!

twentysixtyone.substack.com/p/know-the-p...

It’s a good point. I think what we may yet see is blockchain and NFT become enabling infrastructure in one or more future provenance/attribution systems.

152 years of music tech innovation. And I've been around for more than half of this!

A timeline of music tech innovation spanning 150 years. What thoughts does this trigger for you?

open.substack.com/pub/twentysi...

coatshek on Apple Music Listen to music by coatshek on Apple Music.

Ironically (because of the name), from my POV Bluesky is becoming a stream of whining and overall negativity. Stopping in here less and less because of this.

Now always focusing on being part of the solution, here is a great new music artist to check out!

music.apple.com/ca/artist/co...

AI For Music (part 2) A deep-dive into the Principles for Music Creation with AI.

Continuing to tell the journey to AI For Music from my personal viewpoint...

open.substack.com/pub/twentysi...

Gen-Z is wired differently. I walked into the living room to have a conversation with my son and he was playing piano, watching a YouTube gaming video, and fully ready to talk without stopping anything. Me, I forgot what I wanted to talk with him about. #gen_z

AI For Music (part 1) The journey to a music industry-wide responsible AI initiative.

Read about my personal journey on the road to AI For Music.

open.substack.com/pub/twentysi...

Deep Listening A fundamental trait of true genius.

My latest story after working in Japan last week and spending time with my super-mentor Tadao Kikumoto-san...

twentysixtyone.substack.com/p/deep-liste...

Thanks for choosing Roland Cloud! I think you will have much fun exploring the past and present, and you can look forward to the future!

And in the foreground you are seeing the read of a Roland System-100m 5 module rack.

I can help with that. The synth is a Rare Roland SH-7. Beside the 808 are the Roland CSQ-100 and CSQ-600 pre-MIDI sequencers. In the rack is a Roland SRE-555 Chorus Echo.

HAPPY 808 Day
One of the last shots of Industrial Records London studio in 1981, featuring Chris Carter’s newly acquired Roland TR-808…
it was kept in regular use for a further 20 years by ‘Chris &Cosey’.

#808day @RolandGlobal

NK6 Tired of messy desks and ugly hubs? So were we. NK6 combines desktop-grade performance with aviation-inspired design — featuring 8 fully powered ports, aircraft-style toggle switches, real-time monito...

I don't need this. I DON'T need this. I don't NEED this. I NEED this.

atomicvoyage.com/products/nk6

GRIPE: Why does Bluesky ask me to reauthenticate in my desktop browser SO OFTEN? Bad UX.

Thoughts from orbit... | Paul McCabe | Substack Musician, music technology creator and fan, wannabe Imagineer, family man. Click to read "Thoughts from orbit...", by Paul McCabe, a Substack publication. Launched 6 days ago.

If you enjoy (or even just tolerate) what I have to say here, I would appreciate it if you would consider subscribing to my new substack, where I will be discussing an expanded range of subjects following a slightly different "substack-y" style.

Thank you!

twentysixtyone.substack.com

Can AI generate music with emotion? Part 1 of 2 (or more)...

A question many creatives are thinking about right now, but is it the right question?

twentysixtyone.substack.com/p/can-ai-gen...

I need to see Superman again. HINT: Because of John Williams...

SPOILER ALERT: I have written a story after seeing the new Superman movie. I don't give away plot details, but if you want to go in clean, perhaps wait to read what follows...

twentysixtyone.substack.com/p/i-need-to-...

Return of the hardware MIDI Sequencer. Could a 40 year-old creative tool find new life today?

My love for hardware MIDI sequencers continues into the 21st century!

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Should I stay or should I go? Creating opportunities in the place you're at.

I'm on substack- please consider subscribing!

twentysixtyone.substack.com/p/should-i-s...

✘ All music is media - on value capture And: Budapest Pride Ban; Hunting down AI songs; TikTok launches Fan Clubs; Algorithms killed discovery; Anthropic's use of copyrighted books ruled fair use

I am really starting to love the Music x Substack. Here is a great read on the significance and evolving nature of capturing fan value in music.

musicx.substack.com/p/all-music-...

Roland - Mood Pan | Electronic Hand Percussion (MN-10) Mood Pan: Electronic Hand Percussion (MN-10) - Pure Sound. Deep Calm.

One reason I became a fan of Roland over 40 years ago was the brand's willingness to take risks and try ideas with music tech that were outside of the mainstream- but then became the mainstream. Here's something new:

www.roland.com/global/produ...

Adding. Thank you!

Hi Bluesky Friends! In addition to my Music Tech list, I have also created one for more general Music News. Feel free to follow, and I am always open to suggested additions!

bsky.app/profile/did:...

Looking Back at Two Classics: ILM Deploys the Fleet in ‘Star Trek: First Contact’ and ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Guided by visual effects supervisor John Knoll, ILM embraced continually evolving methodologies to craft breathtaking visual effects for the iconic space battles in First Contact and Rogue One.

I don't ever remember reading a compare and contrast between the VFX work for specific movies within the Star Wars and Star Trek universes. This is really interesting!

www.ilm.com/star-trek-fi...

And the closing comment...

Rabbit launched their new AI Agent "intern" today, so like a good soldier, I decided to have a conversation with it about how it was trained. Read on...

2024 Full Year by Paul McCabe on Apple Music Playlist · 300 Songs

Better late than never, here is my 2024 full year playlist of interesting new releases and discovered treasures. Enjoy!

music.apple.com/ca/playlist/...

While my stay at @microsoft.com Build 2025 was brief, attending the keynote was compelling. The vision for an Open Agentic Web is powerful, and that infrastructure (MCP) is already largely in place is significant. It's interesting to consider the potential applications for music creation.