Is it possible to put NEW HI HAT SAMPLES into a 909 ? .. We think so
What Would happen if we add new Hi Hat samples to a Roland TR 909 ? - We're currently reverse engineering the EPROMS on the 909 to replace the Roland samples with our own -
The 909 uses 6 bit samples that were heavily processed in the analogue domain. This is because a six-foot system with a decaying sound will have a signal-to-noise ratio that is practically unusable the 909 uses massively compressed and limited high hat samples and recreates the natural decay of the high hat using analog circuitry
we've got Harry Axton (HKA design ) on the case with us to try and reverse engineer this process and add brand-new hi hat samples via EEPROM into the voicing circuitry. Will let you know how it goes. We've made some investigations in software and the results are very interesting to our knowledge. Nobody is done this before and we're not quite sure why because let's face it the 909 contains probably the most infamous collection of Cymbal samples ever recorded.
Watch this space