Lets start with "This is my first drum machine". I watched some videos and figured this would make some great beats to play along with during practice and jam sessions. This little guy has more features than I was ready for. The instructions are well laid out and written for someone who knows what they are talking about. I am sure in time it will all make sense to me. It is a very impress piece of equipment that Roland put a lot of though into. It can operate off of batteries or power from a USB cable (not included). You can record straight to the memory card as well (not included).For the price, you get a lot, and it just looks cool when in use!

This is a great Drum machine, I wavered about getting the TR-8S as it meant less menu diving but the TR-6S is super easy to use and a lot more portable. The Drum Tones/samples are great and I don't really require the individual outs. The only thing that is lacking is a sync/clock in/out for modular gear. I wish Roland would add this as MIDI should not be the only option on Pro gear.

Amazing machine

A main selling point for me was the battery power. I live off grid and sometimes power can be an issue. I purchased this as a songwriting and performance tool. This box works extremely well and it seems Roland didn't leave anything out. It does so much. I would recommend reading the manual and highlighting the parts that are important to you. It does a lot for such a small box and there are some sub menus. It sounds incredible and it's nice to have all the classic drum machines as well as backing tracks. Great job Roland.

Baddass drum machine

I love the features and functions of this compact and highly programmable drum machine. More than just drums, comes with synth,bass, and other sounds which can be sequenced and adjusted for pitch to create melodic parts. Fx and motion sequences to polish patterns and create grooves. As a keyboardist, this was exactly the piece of gear I desired to work along side my other synths to give immediate access and control to drums and rhythm parts, while performing keyboard parts live. Its compact footprint fits neatly in my setup, and many functions can be performed one handed. This machine is great for the TR record features, and the ability to program sub steps. This a first for any drum machine Ive owned and is SUPER AWESOME because its now so easy to program flams, ... MoreI love the features and functions of this compact and highly programmable drum machine. More than just drums, comes with synth,bass, and other sounds which can be sequenced and adjusted for pitch to create melodic parts. Fx and motion sequences to polish patterns and create grooves. As a keyboardist, this was exactly the piece of gear I desired to work along side my other synths to give immediate access and control to drums and rhythm parts, while performing keyboard parts live. Its compact footprint fits neatly in my setup, and many functions can be performed one handed. This machine is great for the TR record features, and the ability to program sub steps. This a first for any drum machine Ive owned and is SUPER AWESOME because its now so easy to program flams, triplets, ratcheting ect. and create awesome more complex/natural beats rather than rigid mechanical ones. Absolutely key feature. Im a long time fan of Roland gear, and this machine is near perfect to me, for my needs. the sounds are top notch with the ACB tones and FM synth sounds, in addition the rom and samples. Thanks Roland for a great piece of gear. The main con I could have with this unit is the lack of ability to chain variations in a complex way, other than playing each variation once and in a linear order of those chosen. A song mode/recorder, pattern chain feature could be nice. I get that this is a performance instrument, and your required to play it and perform, rather than just pushing play on a (fully formed) back up track. I do dig that and again, it fits great into my live performance set up for that reason. Definitely a lot more room for improvisation, and jamming, extending, shortening a song. The TR-8s has more parts, more outputs and a larger footprint, and a higher price tag. This TR-6s is great because it is smaller, can run on batteries, fit in a backpack, and is less pricey. I love the size and control of the functions using shortcuts, just fits so great along side my other Keyboards and allows immediate control and ability to change patters, mute parts, throw in fills (shout out to Scatter effect-which can be used as fills!), and keep the drums lively, varied and interesting. Not just repetitive, 4 on the floor, boringness. Last thing: The colors!! The different colors in all the different modes really help to quickly visually digest what is going on. Plus the fact that you can Choose your own colors for each drum part, just makes this machine really pleasant to look at and create with, as well as it helps me to organize my drum kits visually to remember which parts do what in any given pattern. LOVE THIS.

Drums in a box

This rhythm composer box was very helpful back in the 80's when I started my band. we didn't had percussion but we needed to play so, I got one and it did wonders for us. If discovered how simple is to program songs in it and I also used it with a peavey large amplifier and the sound was just incredible. for almost four years we played in night clubs and private parties with it without a problem. It also has Latin percussion. After the four years, I was able to hire live percussion but, returned to it when those guys started coming late or being absent to activities. I really cherished this box. It replaced more than one musician, was never late or absent, kept the beat and never required repairs. Guillermo2359

Great little drum machine with lots of possibility

While the unit does have a learning curve (I had to read through the manual twice before I could start creating patterns and kits,) it is really neat to play! There are 64 preset patterns in a wide variety of styles, built on an even larger library of kits. I found playing around with the presets helped me get a sense of the stylistic and technical possibilities. I have been playing with it for a few weeks and I can program patterns and variations with ease. I still have a lot to learn with the little box, and that's part of the staying power.The only downside I find is that directly recording (let alone multitrack recording) to my DAW via USB is not easy, at least on Windows, but that might also come with time and messing around.Overall I feel this is well worth ... MoreWhile the unit does have a learning curve (I had to read through the manual twice before I could start creating patterns and kits,) it is really neat to play! There are 64 preset patterns in a wide variety of styles, built on an even larger library of kits. I found playing around with the presets helped me get a sense of the stylistic and technical possibilities. I have been playing with it for a few weeks and I can program patterns and variations with ease. I still have a lot to learn with the little box, and that's part of the staying power.The only downside I find is that directly recording (let alone multitrack recording) to my DAW via USB is not easy, at least on Windows, but that might also come with time and messing around.Overall I feel this is well worth its $ MSRP, and I highly recommended it to get into working with drum machines.

Love it!

It's a great sounding drum machine for this price point. Initially I was second guessing if 6 instrument slots would be enough vs buying the more expensive TR-8s with 11 instrument slots but it hasn't been an issue since you can sub the slots out for other instruments. Stock patterns are good starting points. Effects are excellent. Don't forget there's software for it if needing to program much more elaborate patterns. Good feel on the buttons and faders. Slight learning curve but there's a free online course when you register the device with Roland. Overall very happy with this little thing.

Magic Box

Amazing beat machine. Basically just about everything I've ever wanted in a portable format. And more. Roland ACB kits plus FM synth plus all the samples in the world. This little beast has awesome effects and is incredibly fun and versatile on the performance level. The Roland TR-6S is also a very inspiring musical instrument. Everyone has different needs, but it's been a game-changer for me.

Tiny powerhouse

I love this little rhythm machine. I take it on the train - the batteries seem to last well. The classic TR emulations are fantastic - FM and sample playback are a bonus. Simple to use and powerful - no song arrangements but this is tailored more to performance. If you need songs, drive it as a MIDI device from your DAW. More channels would be nice, but then it would be too big and wouldn’t run on batteries and would be called a TR-8s…

fantastic

I also own the TR-8s, but was looking for something smaller to fit on my performance rig. Sounds as good as the 8, and seems to have most all the same capabilities, just with 6 tracks.I'm not a big fan of "Grooveboxes" I like the idea of them but just never clicked with any I tried ( probably over a dozen). The TR 8/6S are really a different animal a true musicians instrument.