Unless you’ve been hiding under a sizeable rock for the last few years, you’ll know that Behringer has been working their way through a catalogue of iconic synths and drum machines and cloning them.
Their latest pays tribute to a slightly left-of-centre Roland drum machine. The TR-606 ‘Drumatix’ doesn’t garner the headlines of the 808 or 909, but it has accrued a cult status of its own. Behringer revealed their version — RD-6 — at NAMM, and they’re now prepared for shipping.
Behringer has announced the RD-6 is ready to ship, and in a wide variety of colours. The 606 clone sets to breathe new life into the classic drum machine.
Originally created to be used in conjunction with the TB-303, the 606 has formed a rusted-on fanbase of its own and has been used by artists like Aphex Twin, Big Black, and Massive Attack.
Behringer’s drum machine includes 8 analog drum sounds and a 64 step sequencer, which can instantly switch between 32 patterns. Patterns on the sequencer can be chained into full songs with up to 256 bars available, and the drum sounds include mix parameters with global accent capability.
Behringer has modelled the distortion circuit after the Boss DS-1, which can provide a bucketload of gain. Also included are USB, MIDI, Clock and Internal sync options, for connectivity to other instruments or sequencers.
There are a bunch of colours available, from an acid yellow, through to a very bright crimson. Apparently Behringer based these colours on the ’90s iMac colours, just because.
You can read more about the RD-6 at the Behringer website.