# TR-1000 Tips and Tricks

author: [pmags](https://www.elektronauts.com/u/pmags/summary)

A variety of tips and tricks for working with the Roland TR-1000.

## Synthesis and sound generation

### Creating a drone from a sample

1. Add a sample to a track
2. Set the sample to loop (GEN, 2nd page)
3. [Optional] Mess around with the start, end, and loop points
4. Add a trigger on the appropriate step
5. Hold the step button down to access the stop parameters and choose CYCLE > "1st only"
6. Start the pattern
7. Enjoy endless drone....

While your drone is running you might want to:

* Add some modulation so it doesn't get boring! "Rate" is my favorite
* Play with start, end, and loop points manually

## User Interface

### Setting a track color

1. Hold down the track button you want to modify
2. While holding the track button using the right arrow to go to the second page of track options
3. Use the upper middle knob (C2) to modify the `SW COLOR` option

After setting track color, both the track switch and the respective button for that track (in INST PLAY mode) will appear in the color you chose.

## MIDI

### A flexible solution for independent latency compensation for up to 4 hardware devices

I cooked this up with the TR-1000 in mind, but this is useful for any combination of MIDI gear you may be juggling in your setup.

This requires a [Blokas MidiHub](https://blokas.io/midihub/). This super useful device is a programmable MIDI box that allows you to do all sorts of manipulation of MIDI signals. We're going to use it to implement a very simple latency compensation scheme.

**Cost to implement**: €164 / ~$190 USD

However, many readers may already have a MidiHub in their gear drawer in which case there's no additional cost!

#### Steps

1. Using the MidiHub Editor application, create a patch with inputs from Input USB A to each of the MIDI Output ports, with a "Sync Delay MS" pipe in between the inputs and outputs as shown in the screenshot below


2. MidiHub sync delays are only positive, so leave the device with the highest latency (TR-1000 in this case) to zero delay. Give all the less latent devices a delay that equals the difference between their latency and that of the TR-1000. In the image above I'm giving the device attached to OUT A (an Elektron Rytm MkII) a delay of ~6 ms to align it to the TR-1000.

3. In Ableton Live 12 give the MidiHub output a negative latency compensation equal to the TR-1000 (~7-8 ms is what most of us have found using the LayeredGens setting on the TR-1000).


4. Enjoy perfectly aligned, on the grid beats with up to 4 hardware devices and as many software devices as your system can handle. In the image below the left channel is a snare on the Rytm MkII and the right channel is a snare on the TR-1000


#### Integrating a Master Clock into this solution

If you have a master clock, like a Nome II or ClockStep:Multi, that you want to use with this setup it's easy to work it into the signal chain.

1. Replace the "USB IN" port with a “MIDI IN” port and attach one of the master clock's MIDI outputs to the MIDI IN port on the MidiHub that you chose.

2. Use the sync plugin / onboard latency adjustment of your master device to adjust for the latency of the MidiHub setup rather than doing it on the Ableton MIDI settings page.

## Related sites

* [The TR-1000 Deep Dive Video Breakdown](https://hackmd.io/@pmags/SkpVne3pgg)