Roland CMU-800R

via this auction
"The following is from a Roland data sheet from 1983: **** The CMU-800R is a new dimension computer peripheral which allows free composing and arranging, as well as automatic performance. This unit features a host of functions, real musical instrument sound from its build-in sound source, and a wide variety of musical nuances such as slur, staccato, accent, and legato, plus an added function to control eight external synthesisers. Its is not an extention of a simple hobby computer as represented by conventional games. The CMU-800R is the very first unit to proclaim the arrival of a real computer age in the musical genre. Each computer is provided with a software package for easier programming and advanced editing functions. Now, music fans with no particular knowledge of computers or computer operators who cannot play a musical instrument can both compose and arrange at their option as well as enjoy automatic playback. **** The CMU-800R delivers its maximum performance with its separately available software package. With this software package, anybody will be able to handle the CMU-800R efficiently. The software package includes the CMU-800R control function and edit function for music data preparation. The edit function allows you to do difficult types of screen editing on the CRT monitor connected to the computer. So, sequence editing and modification can be done in amazingly short time. **** Complete built-in sound source for a real music sound **** In addition to melody, bass and chord (4 notes), the CMU-800R has seven percussion instruments sounds, i.e. bass drum, snare drum, low tam, high tam, cymbal and open/closed hi-hats for rhythm patterns. All other sounds have decay and sustain (melody only) effects. In addition, each part can be level-mixed with a slider volume control, and playback tempo can be varied as you desire. The CMU-800R is a product of Roland DG, an electronic musical instrument manufacturer, and built to give a new dimension in sound creation. **** Expandibility, a more sophisticated music system **** The CMU-800R needs an amp and speaker to produce sound. In combination with an effect unit, mixer, tape deck or the like, a more complete sound is created. The CMU-800R is able to operate up to eight external synthesiers simultaneously with its CV & gate outputs. Clock In/Out permit synchronous performance with external rhythm machines and percusion synthesisers. The more-you-play-the more-fun-you-have CMU-800R is superbly expandible into a more sophisticated computer music systems."

See previous posts here

Working Roland CMU-800R w/ Apple II Up for Auction

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction


This is the system featured in this recent video.

"Unbelievable piece of Roland history in museum condition. Here is the Fully Working Roland CMU-800R setup together with Apple II computer. This is not just working CMU-800 in pristine condition. It comes together with Apple II interface card impossible to find and Apple II software. It's fully running and working. CMU-800 is also modified to introduce drum sounds tuning. This is the professional upgrade performed in my workshop. No corners cut. Apple II is retrobrighted, comes with a monitor and keyboard and also includes FLOPPY Emulator. It also comes with the original floppy drive, if you prefer to keep authentic. This is one of set up, that you'll enjoy.
That is CMU-800R? It's essentially computer based synth/interface designed early 80s. It combines 6 synth parts - Melody, Bass, Chord (4 voices) and TR-606 style analog drums. It also has 8 CV/Gate interfaces, Roland composer software to operate it. NO MIDI :)

Check out the video I recorded of this exact system: [posted here]

You'll receive:

1. Roland CMU-800R
2. CMU800 Apple II interface card
3. Apple II computer
4. Floppy emulator with SD Card and all necessary files
5. Floppy Drive
6. Original CMU-800 Manuals
7. Original 5.25" floppy discs
8. Apple Color Monitor
9. Apple Keyboard
10. Power cables."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland CMU-800R for Sale

Remember the Roland CMU-800R demoed by James Gallant at this year's Pacific Northwest Synth Meeting? Well, at the meeting James mentioned he purchased one brand new from a school that was going to auction off another one. Well here it is. Note these are extremely hard to find with interface card and software. This one is brand new. If you ever wanted one of these, here is your chance. Note that the proceeds will go to the school, so this is also for a good cause. No title link as there are just these two shots.
Here's a link to the auction.

Details:
"This is the second of two extremely rare units from the same source (described below). There is a very cool blog [Matrixsynth! :)] devoted to synthesizers. You can see videos of the first unit we listed in operation and being demonstrated by the successful bidder at the following link.

Up for auction is an all original (and very very rare) Roland CMU 800R in ABSOUTELY NEW condition. This unit is in original Roland packaging, and has never even been unbagged until now (we opened the shipping bag to take a picture of the back of the unit.) It includes the original box, original manual, Apple interface card, interface cable, power cord, and a copy of the original Apple format 5.25” floppy disc with Apple software. The disk copy was made by the gentleman in the above mentioned video, and is an exact copy of the original software (The disk in the picture is the original disk, not included in this auction.) Several Roland brochures are included as well. The Apple interface card has the original metal foil around it used for ESD protection (we will add a modern ESD bag for the card – but we will leave the metal foil intact.) It appears this is exactly what Roland shipped – Box, manual, cable, interface card, power cord, and the unit itself. The original Styrofoam inserts for the box are missing – we will use bubble wrap to pad the unit.

Special Feature: The winning bidder of the first unit spent a fair amount of time figuring out how to get it to work. He has written a wonderful 1 page document to help guide you through that first power-up. This invaluable “Setup Tips” document is included with this sale! It includes a color photo of how to orient pin 1 on the interface cable – a very valuable piece of information.

The winner of the first auction has suggested I include a couple additional interesting facts about these units:

First, they require an Apple II e with at least one floppy disk drive to operate. These are available on Ebay for reasonable prices.

Second, all the eight channels of control voltage and gate outputs on the back of the 800R can be used to control both vintage and modern analog synthesizers that work on the 1V/octave standard. That's pretty much every analog synth out there except for those by Korg and Yamaha.

A history of these units can be found at: link

Scroll on down a little over half way at the above link, or search for the heading “Milestone: The Roland DG CMU 800R CompuMusic”. This unit is a piece of history. Well, maybe a small one. The Sound on Sound page says it all. These were way way ahead of their time, and almost none remain in operating condition.

This unit was donated to a local school decades ago, and sat untouched for years. Unfortunately the original Roland box has “Sound Mixer” written on it in black felt pen by confused band director. To the best of our knowledge, this unit is exactly what was shipped from Roland. We have no way to test it, so it is sold as is, with our belief that it is exactly as shipped by Roland in its day, a couple decades ago. Check out the matrixsynth link for details on how the first unit ran.

All proceeds from this auction will be donated to the local public school instrumental music program. Bid with the assurance you’re helping a small town music program!"

Again, here's a link to the auction.

Update: Note that this seller has been known to sell the software.

Roland CMU-800R XMas CAROL

YouTube via digitalbeatsyndrome.

via this auction

"I take no credit for any of the work in this film. The DIY retrofit of the CMU-800R was done by RJB who is author of the Japanese DIY synth blog Radiojunkbox."

via this auction
"Roland CMU-800R Analog Synth / Drum machine. Very rare to find one of these in this condition, complete with the Apple IIe software and interface card. It has a Bass Channel (mono), Lead Channel (mono), Chord Channel (4 note poly), and Drum Channel (TR-606 drum sounds). It also has 8 Channels of CV(0 5.25v, 1v/octave) out and 8 channels of Gate out (0-12v), which would compliment the CMU-810 sister synthesizer or other analogs using CV-Gate. This particular unit was found in the basement of a music school with another flawless unit, some confused person had marked on the box sound mixer. I had hopes to MIDI retrofit it but never got around to it. I've listed links so you can listen to how the machine sounds, I do not take credit for any of the music or film in the links. The particular unit for auction is NOT in any of the videos and audio clips, I've listed them for audio demonstration only. For those who are interested in MIDI retrofitting this synth, the video by deftaudio demonstrating this machine in action with the MIDI retrofit installed. He offers the retrofit for sale."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland CMU-800R

Remember this Roland CMU-800R? Looks like inteliko picked it up and could use some help hooking up with an Apple II. Via the comments of this post:

"Speaking of old gear for old computers, I won the CMU-800R on Ebay that was posted here a few weeks back. I'm craving to get a listen and some tweakage on it but I need a working Apple II which isnt in my budget, the purchase tapped me out cashwise along with gifts for my 1 yr old and wife. Anyone with connections to an Apple II who is in or near the FL treasure coast area(Port St Lucie to be exact)can meet up with me for some tweakage on the CMU-800r, Beer and Barbecue on me!!"

You can find inteliko's email address in the comments of this post. Title link takes you to more shots.

Roland CMU-800R, Compu Music SYNTH

via this auction

"Roland CMU-800R, Compu Music UNIT. A VINTAGE UNIT THAT CAN PRODUCE SOME COOL SOUNDS IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SETUP/COMPUTER. I DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER GOODS WITH THIS AUCTION, JUST THE 800R."

You can find prior posts featuring the CMU-800R here.

Roland CMU-800R w/ Radio Junkbox MIDI-IF Box & CV Out x 8

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Nov 28, 2017 Owen D RhythmDial

"Radio Junkbox midi box makes the CMU easily run by MIDI as shown here run by my Zaquencer. Drums from CMU run thru Vestafire distortions, synth parts just EQd and swept in Allen&Heath mixer, SpartaDelay and ZOOM reverb used in spots too."

The CMU-800R normally requires software and a vintage Apple II to work. The Junkbox MIDI-IF Box replaces that.

via this auction

"Nice condition vintage Roland CMU-800R and a MIDI-IF box from Radio Junkbox out of Japan that plugs into the weird super wide SCSI style original CMU cable and gives this unit great functionality by MIDI.

Individual audio outputs and main mix output.
Faders for audio levels work well for main mix adjustments.
Synth parts controls work well (decay, sustain)
8 channels of CV/Gate output based on MIDI channel inputs.
Power is 117v US power.
MIDI-IF box is awesome, includes its own 5V mini wall wart power supply, also sends out DINsync from incoming MIDI clock. Manual included for MIDI-IF box.

Sounds great too! Drums are very TR-606 like in circuitry and sound. The bass part is nice and full, deep and solid. The melody and chord part are similar sounding but chord part can play 4-note polyphony on its own. The synth parts are weak in their adjustment vs synths like the classic juno-106 but I’ve found adding fx like ring mod or resonant filters to them in eurorack or various rack units livens these parts up very well."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland CMU-800R MIDI Interface Test

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Mar 6, 2016 DeftAudio



via this auction

See this post for a fun overview and demo of the CMU-800R, including the software, at the 2006 PNW Synth Meet. You can find additional info on the CMU-800R here and here, and of course in the archives. Note you do not get full access to the internal synth parameters, so think of this as a severely limited preset synth with TR-606 drum sounds, and CV & gate outs. Still a fascinating bit of synth history and this one has MIDI so you do not need the software to make use of it. According to this Sound on Sound article it was "the first sound module to provide multitimbral voicing, independent outputs for each section, control over other synthesizers, and sequencing."

Description from the listing:

"The CMU-800 is one of unique and rare module that was produced by Amdek and then by Roland in the past. It's a medium-sized, off-cream metallic wedge, with a barrage of jacks on the back and a bare minimum of knobs on the front. It also sported this ruddy great ribbon cable hanging out the back!

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland Cmu-800r and Apple IIe

images via this auction

"1 Roland cmu-800r system with original manual + Apple interface card and cable.
1 Apple IIe computer with:
-MIDI in/out interface
- 64k / 80 columns expander card
-Disk interface with Disk I (Disk II available free of charge if needed, but is broken)
-power cable
-mouse"

For previous posts with more info, search for 800R on the top left of the site.

Roland CMU-800R

Click here shots via this auction.

Details:
"2 VERY RARE ANALOG + CV synth + 2 apple2 computers the kit includes:
- 2 x cmu-800r de roland compu music for apple
- 2 x apple2 with disk drive
- 1 x cart midi interface for apple2 de Passport Designs
- 1 x operation manual for cmu-800 original
- shématics (copy)
- no software"

You *might* be able to track the software down. See this post. via JB

Roland CMU-800R Analog Synth/Drum Machine

via this auction
"Roland CMU-800R Analog Synth / Drum machine. Very rare to find one of these in this condition, complete with the Apple IIe software and interface card. It has a Bass Channel (mono), Lead Channel (mono), Chord Channel (4 note poly), and Drum Channel (TR-606 drum sounds). It also has 8 Channels of CV(0 5.25v, 1v/octave) out and 8 channels of Gate out (0-12v), which would compliment the CMU-810 sister synthesizer or other analogs using CV-Gate. This particular unit was found in the basement of a music school with another flawless unit, some confused person had marked on the box sound mixer."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland CMU-800R with MIDI Option Installed

via this auction

"For the quick info visit:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec04/articles/roland.htm

www.cmu800r.deftaudio.ru

http://sites.google.com/site/analogvocoderinfo/interfaces/roland-cmu-800r

The CMU-800 is one of unique and rare module that was produced by Amdek and then by Roland in th past. It's a medium-sized, off-cream metallic wedge, with a barrage of jacks on the back and a bare minimum of knobs on the front. It also sported this ruddy great ribbon cable hanging out the back!

What is it? Essentially, its a computer-controlled CV/gate output system, designed to work with computers - a Japan-market-only NEC Z80 machine and the humble Apple II range. No MIDI, no inputs as such, just a means to let your "brand spanking new 8-bit computing marvel" be the controlling heart of your System 100M. The box was the same for each model, you just bought the interface and software to suit your particular CPU.

This unit is in amazing condition looks and works like new even it's 25+ years old! It has MIDI option installed. This is custom prepared unit, almost not possible to buy anywhere else:

http://cmu800r.deftaudio.ru/midi.html"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland CMU-800R MIDI Conversion Kit

Remember the CMU-800R? The biggest "problem" with it is that you need an Apple II to use it. Well, not anymore. Title link takes you to a site with info on a MIDI conversion kit for it. The site is in Japanese, however, you can find a Google translated version here .

"MIDI conversion KIT specifications

At the time of MIDI conversion remodelling, concept and the specifications were done as follows.

* At low cost and simple.
* It makes MIDI conversion KIT, the substance build in completely, decreases remodelling the substance as much as possible.
* CV, it makes 1~8ch of MIDI 1~8ch of GATE CORRESPOND.
* Melody of the built-in sound source, the base and the cord/code (4 sounds) it makes 1~6ch of MIDI CORRESPOND.
* The rhythm sound source uses MIDI10ch and the GM map.
* You do not use TEMPO [kontoru] of CMU-800.
* In order to be able to control MC-4 and TR-808 etc, DIN SYNC output is acquired. (In MIDI timing clock same period)"

via altemark.

Udpate via altemark in the comments: "Another japanese resource, seems to be an older version of the mod, not using a PIC? the page also has gif-files of the routing of the digital board among other things [link]"

Roland CMU-800R with IF-C64 Interface

I almost put this one up on MATRIXSYNTH-B, and then I realized something seemed a little off - the C64 interface and mention of C64 software. If you remember the previous CMU-800R posts, including video, you will note it required an interface for the Apple II. Does anyone know more about the IF-C64? Could you use this instead of the Apple II interface? Title link takes you to the shots pulled via this auction.

CMU-800R / Apple II Set-up Tips

Via philip. Click the image for the full sized shot. You can find more info and video on the CMU-800R in these previous posts.

Vintage 1983 Roland DG Compu Music CMU-800R Analog Synthesizer for Apple II

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

via the seller: "The Roland Compu Music CMU-800R is a four-channel mixer with internal preset voices and sequencer software for an Apple II or PC, built in 1983. There is a ribbon cable out the back. It features analog synthesis with fixed sounds. Four note polyphony in the chord section, monophonic bass and melody synth sections, and an analog drum section.

The Chord/Melody section has only 1 sound. The drum section is similar to the TR-606 Drumatix, and the bass section is similar to the TB-303 Bassline (some limited adjustments in sound were possible via software). It has separate melody, bass, chord, rhythm, mix outputs. There's also 8 cv/gate outs to run external analog equipment by control voltages, and there's a click in/out. On the face it has knobs for portamento, Melody sustain & decay, Bass decay, and Chord decay. It also has volume level sliders for each of the instruments and a master volume slider. The software uses a similar music programming method as the MC-8 or MC-4

I do not own an Apple II, so I can't test. It does power on. The sliders and knobs are all tight and functioning perfect. It is being sold as-is.

It does not come with the interface card or any software."

Anyone know if the software for this is available online?

Update via James in the comments: "It seems to be possible to MIDI-fy this device" & "More modding possibilities"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland Compumusic CMU-800R With Original Box

via this auction

"Up for sale is a Roland CMU-800R which comes with its original box and Apple interface card. Neither the manual or the software are included with this auction, I assume these went away with our old Apple computer at a yard sale many years ago."

The software for these is difficult to find. If anyone knows where to find it online, please comment or shoot me an email.

Roland CMU-800R real demo with AppleII interface.

DeftAudio

"This is the basic overview of CMU-800R capabilities and Apple II software driving it. Less talking and actual demos."

micronaut - experiment one

YouTube via Cranda11 | January 26, 2011

"http://micronaut.bandcamp.com

Having a bit of fun with the new equipment set-up, and trying to get a feel for the workflow. This piece is entirely sequenced from an Apply //e and Roland CMU-800R. I'm recording in to Ableton Live, but there are no samples or pre-recording. This track is 100% live.

The quick arpeggio sound, drums, and 16th note pulse are coming from the CMU-800R. The low bass note is from a Korg MS20 running through a Roland RE-201 Space Echo, and the main melody sound is coming from the Doepfer modular (in this case a TipTop Audio Z3000 oscillator, plus some Doepfer shit) and running through a Realistic Electronic Reverb and an Eventide TimeFactor. I used a couple instances of Audio Damage Eos for the main reverb inside the DAW, but that's the only computer effect."

Roland Compu Music CMU-800R

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
via this auction

I believe this requires software and an older PC or Apple II to work. Do a search on CMU-800R on the right for more posts.