Having already sung the praises of Roland‘s TR-8 rhythm machine (and the rest of the Aira line, for that matter) in XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Gear round-up earlier today, word has now come that the company will soon release an expansion pack for the unit including samples from its heralded TR-707 and TR-727 drum machines. Deemed the 7X7-TR8 Drum Machine Expansion pack, the collection will allow TR-8 users access to every single sound contained in the ’80s-era drum machines, which will come “faithfully reproduced using the original PCM wave data and detailed models of the original circuitry.” Furthermore, the expansion will also contain a number of “newly modified TR-909 kick and snare sounds with enhanced attack characteristics,” as well as a handful of new TR-808 sounds including “Noise Toms, Noise Clap, and Finger Snaps.”

The 7X7-TR8 Drum Machine Expansion will officially become available on December 19 with a price tag of $95. In the meantime, the videos below give some insight into the creation of and technology behind the expansion pack, and also give those interested a chance to see/hear it in action; more info on the upcoming sample collection (which, we should point out, is specific to the TR-8 and can not be used with any other hardware/software devices) can be found here.