Cherry Audio CR-78 – I Can Go For That
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Cherry Audio CR-78 Main Panel · Source: Cherry Audio
Cherry Audio CR-78 Programming Panel · Source: Cherry Audio
Cherry Audio CR-78 Edit Panel · Source: Cherry Audio
Cherry Audio CR-78 FX Panel · Source: Cherry Audio
The Cherry Audio CR-78 is its very first drum machine plugin with a recreation of a true classic, the first programmable, microprocessor-controlled, analog CR-78!
Cherry Audio CR-78 And A Short History
Before the 808 and 909, Roland had a long and rich history in the world of rhythm boxes. They’ve been building such devices since 1964. However, 1978’s CompuRhythm CR-78 was their, and the world’s, first programmable unit.
It seems inconceivable these days to have a drum machine that you can’t program, so the CR-78 was a huge hit! And it was a huge hit that ended up on numerous huge hits! The list of songs and artists is a veritable who’s who of pop. OMD, Hall & Oates, Genesis, Phill Collins, Ultravox, Blondie, Roxy Music, The Cars, and Tears For Fears, to name just a few.
The CR-78 is still gaining new friends to this day and remains incredibly popular. So it is an utter delight to see Cherry Audio beat Roland Cloud to the punch (again) with their new CR-78 plugin. Everything we love about the original – lovingly modelled, not sampled – with all the improvements that a 21st-century rhythm nut craves!
Cherry On Top
How does it improve on the original? First up, the rather clunky original method of programming a CR-78 has been replaced with the later X0X style of step sequencing found on later Roland units. The original CR-78 required an optional programming unit. Bizarrely, Roland only ever made 2000 of these, one-quarter of the total number of CR-78s that they made!
Cherry Audio’s CR-78 goes way beyond just improving the programming. All the original preset rhythms and variations/fills are there but now every voice can be edited. There’s an FX section (Overdrive, Delay, Flanger & Reverb), a mixer with independent level, pan, and solo/mute per voice, and a global EQ and compressor. Once you’ve programmed your beat masterpiece, you can drag it OUT of the CR-78 as either a MIDI track in your DAW or, if using the standalone version, a Standard MIDI File (SMF).
Cherry Audio CR-78 – Like The Original, Only WAY Better
You’ve got velocity sensitivity, external MIDI triggering, a Song Mode with 99 patterns, and 99 steps per song. The plugin comes with a ‘separate outs’ version so you can process each instrument individually in your DAW.
And, as one has come to expect, Cherry Audio has packed this full of amazing presets. There are subtly named recreations of many classic patterns as well as a huge number of original presets that also take advantage of all the new features.
More Information
Cherry Audio’s CR-78 is available here at the Thomann shop (affiliate) for just $49 USD. A free 30-day demo is also available from the Cherry Audio website.
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