Roland TR-626 modification notes

George Gleixner [Crashb65@yahoo.com]

Written May 27, 2009
Patch bay points:
IC# IC point
IC15
Resistor
Linked together
R102a

R113a

R100a

R99a

R98a

R97a

18 - 3

5 - 11

5 - 16

5 - 17

R102b R113b

R100b R99b

R98b

R97b

5 - 18

5 - 19

5 - 28

5 - 29

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

27

27

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

Explanation and reasoning behind patch points:

Lets start with IC15. The big chip right in the center, which is the location of tons of bends and theres literally
only one combination that crashes (32/16). Burnkit2600 put together this wonderful map of every point to
point combination on IC15 which Ive put at the end of the pages.
The other patch points on IC5 do neat things with IC15, 18 and itself.
A and B are all patch points simply linked together, not to the machines circuitry. Good for
combining multiple points rather than 2 together. Itd be weird stacking 6 banana jacks on top of each
other, or impossible if using another patch system.
The resistor bank points:
The resistor bank comes from two of the 4051 multiplexer chips (IC18 and IC19) above it which output the
individual drum sounds. They are routed straight to resistors and assigned like this:
R102.Snare
R113.Crash/ride
R100..Toms
R99.Hats
R98..Rim
R97Bass drum
The top points, when routed through points
27, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (on IC15) replace the individual
Sound with a squarewave synth (different points
are different octaves). The pitch of the synth is altered
With programmed pitch of the individual drum sound.
Putting the sounds through IC5 (11, 16, 29) and IC18 (3)
cause different distortions to that individual sound.
Because I wanted the option of running multiple sounds
through different synth sounds, I added addition patch points for them.
If youd like you can always figure out which sounds come from which pins on IC18 and IC19 if youd like to
route additional sounds (cowbell, timbales, congas, etc) through synth and distortion patches as well. I use
both points of the resistor in the patch bay because the other end of each resistor outputs a higher level of the
sound for added volume when routing sounds through the machine. Try running drums through the other
patch points too, of course!

Patch control bay:

Something else I added and thats really worth putting on your machine (especially if
youve got as big a patch bay as this) is a patch control bay. Essentially, the ability to
patch points two a switch, button or pot so you can have access to your favorites. Itd be
done like this -------------------------------------------------------
This way you can connect a patch you like to both points that are wired to a switch and flip
it when you want it engaged. I found it a little difficult to use pots since many will just have
a dead zone and on zone and different patches would need different pot values. This is
good though for song progressions and being able to easily switch individual drum sounds
to synth sounds in combination and easy.
Level/volume controls:
So, heres an almost necessary mod. Volume controls for individual sounds. Its one of
those features you feel should have been included alreadyThis is done the same as it is on the TR-505.
Though the 626 does have individual outs which are good for effects, having to use a mixer just to control
would be very overdone with this easy mod.
Using the same resistor bank from above in the patch bay you can add volume controls for each
of the sounds noted in the picture. Simply wire up a 100K potentiometer to the points as such:
This is how youd wire up level controls
for the bass drum sound. The potentiometer
ranges from muted in the left position
to loud and crunchy on the very right,
with normal volume in the very center
position. Shorting R97 and R105 simply
makes a shortcut to the muted position
on the potentiometer which makes for a
good kill switch for individual sounds.
If you want to make volume controls for other
Sounds that arent in the small little collection
Of resistors right there you can always, like I
Said above, figure out which pins are which
Sounds on IC18 and IC19 then follow the circuit
and do the same thing - or simply cut the data line from
the IC pin and add a potentiometer or switch between
the points.

Kit Changes:
These are taken directly from burnkit2600s IC15 map. These just swap out sounds in the rhythm for another
sound (Conga becomes snare drum, etc). I chose to add 8 switches for the 8 burnkit2600 favorites which are:
28,2
29,2
32,2
29,16
30,16
32,28
32,29
32,30

Rhythm fills:
I added 8 switches and buttons for different rhythm fills. Basically this scrambles the RAM chip holding the
rhythm information, so when you engage a switch you get strange rhythm with different sounds and pitches.
The RAM chip is usually avoided, but Ive found each of these connections to be perfectly stable for fills:
Common point: IC18 pin 8
Pins on IC2: 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 21, 23, 24
The other pins on IC2 did sometimes cause fills, but would change the programmed rhythm or crash the
machine.

Individual squarewave synth outputs:

Very simple but awesome individual output jacks for the squarewaves available from the 626. Get some
audio jacks (I use ) and wire one point to the 626s ground, and the other to these points:
IC15 pins 27, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Each output is a different octave of squarewave, from lowest to highest: 6, 5, 27, 7, 8, and 9.
Additional point to point bends:
IC25 pin 5

Bend points
C71 (above phone
jack)

IC5 pin 24

IC18 pin 8

IC15 pin 20

IC23 pin 3

IC25 pin 1

IC16 pin 6

IC15 pin 5

C39 (above
phone jack)

Description of bend
Use a 5k pot and a switch in line to turn this on and off. This
is a heavy distortion which also causes some plain noise
frequency. Good for distortion synth sounds and nice loud
gabber sounds.
Pitch down. Switch is best for this. (Have not tried a pot lower
than 1K, but every pot Ive tried simply has an on/off area. No
variable pitch)
Nice fuzzy, crunchy distortion. Makes bass drum sound great
too. Not sure if its pin 3 or 6 on IC23 since its a small chip
and isnt labeled. The one that has C43 connected with it is
the one Im talking about, though 6 does cause a heavier
distortion.
Causes the toms/timbales to have a sort or tremolo/reverse
gate type effect and causes the ride/crash cymbals cutoff time
to change and be much longer, almost eradicating the cutoff.
Again, not sure if this is pin 3 or 6. Counting from the IC16
label its 6 away.
I call it this the auto-bassline mod. Usually the synth sounds
you can achieve are really sharp and crisp, this is muddy,
warm and deep. It adds a bass synth sound to every sound
which varies with instrument pitch. For this you can use a pot
or a switch. I used a switch with a 330ohm resistor in place.

Been a bit tied up recently with personal matters but finally got back to business
and it is DONE.
[img]http://i32.tinypic.com/ml03yf.png[/img]
[img]http://i28.tinypic.com/106kjuc.png[/img]
[img]http://i27.tinypic.com/2dvofp2.png[/img]
[img]http://i29.tinypic.com/2damvwn.png[/img]
[img]http://i26.tinypic.com/xfrnlg.png[/img]
[img]http://i26.tinypic.com/xfrnlg.png[/img]
[img]http://i30.tinypic.com/f06t88.png[/img]
[img]http://i27.tinypic.com/f1m8so.png[/img]

This thing is, to say in the least, incredible if I may say so myself! When I started making it I wanted
to make almost every available useful modification I could find accessible... I did just that. Took lots
of money, time and effort but was most definitely worth it! Hope to be performing with it as well
sometime.
So, down to detail....Where do I start...
[b]
On the case itself: [/b]
- Heavy full sound distortion/bass generator knob with on off switch
- "Bass line" switch (adds low octave synth tones with lowpass filter effect)
- Bass drum distortion switch
- Pitch down switch
- Switch that adds odd tremolo to congas/toms and reduces cutoff for cymbals
[b]On the panel: [/b]
- Volume knobs and kill switches for bass drum, snare, hihat, toms, crash/ride
- 8 "kit replacement" switches... just replaces drum sounds with other sounds/pitches
- 8 "fill" switches/buttons. Creates odd repeating patterns, snare rolls, different rhythms. This is
attached to the RAM chip but I've found these points to be secure.
[b]The monster patch bay[/b]
This may be a lengthy explanation... Okay, first off there are quite a few "sections." 32 points for
IC15, 8 points routed again to points 27, 5, 6, 7 and 8 on IC15 (explained in a minute)