Results are in! Cheap Behringer clone vs two real Roland TR-909s!

I did a test to see how close the Behringer RD-9 was to the original Roland TR-909, and here is the result of the listening jury!

700 people listening, and 34 of them filling in a form are a result MUCH better than I expected. But, is the results as expected? Could people hear a difference?

Thank you so much to Cryptout and Acid Mitch for sending me recordings of their TR-909s!

00:00 Intro
00:30 Deep Dive
09:04 Conclusion
10:39 Correct answers

#behringer #RD9 #roland #tr909 #shootout #test #poll

[We.Are.Lockhart]

People wanted to clone acoustic drums in the 80ies, now we clone the clones that defined the sound of the 90ies to reproduce it 30 years later. Circle of life in the music industry.

[StarskyCarr]

Very cool info here. Love the detail on the filters on the main and individual outputs. When it all boils down the minutiae of the details probably don’t actually make a difference overall from a musical perspective but it does help explain the minor differences we can hear. I’ve never owned a 909 but have so many records with it on I feels like I know it inside out. The overall feel is there for me - and it’s great to understand why there are specific differences. Respect for the detail 👍

[stephanegagne]

Your review helped me shape a decision, I got myself a RD 9, I have to admit, it sounds superbe, and the versatility of the instrument is very nice and capable.

[RegebroRepairs]

Wow, I've almost doubled my subscriber number the last few weeks! I'm over a 100 now, I did not expect that!

Should I pretend to be a proper YouTuber and make a 100 subscriber special? What should it be about in that case?
The only idea I have is that I show my collection of drum machines. Or maybe a channel trailer? Maybe someone has another idea?

[brianlespoir]

I listened to a few sounds and quit the video, because it was clear to me that they sounded or could sound the same. The clone has the character of the original and so I decided to buy me one and I do not regret it. The clone is awesome.

[stephanegagne]

excellent review, analyse, thank you

[robguitarwizard]

30-40 year old electronics in the original are going to make a difference.

Also I'm sure if you played someone a Roland 909 and told them it was a Behringer they would instantly say Not as good!

[xsm]

I feel the real comparison test is putting the sounds in a sequence,
there's something interesting I remember, that when the claps are close together on the real tr909, they start sounding.... hard to describe it in words.

[localhost]

Warmness/Fullness/Fatness == electrons hanging around == stuff
== electrons going where they're meant to go == silicon/digital/filters

[stapproach]

This is the most impressive compare between RD-9 and TR-909 that there is on the internet!!!
(so it must be true! 🙂) Massive Respect!

[AKrn]

Then there are the TR-909s made on June 6th, 1984 where a new worker, who we will call "Mary" inserted the wrong capacitor in the filter circuit giving a unique sound and the group Dirt, Air and Flames a #1 hit.

[Imetalman]

Awesome content. It’s interesting how detailed we get dissecting each sound. The reality is, the audience doesn’t care about gear as much as we do. 😅

[OliFreke]

Fascinating. They all sound wildly different - pitches are all over the place and yes, the filter is way higher on the RD-9. But I wouldn't have known which is supposed to be the 'correct' one as I've never owned a 909, only various samples, all of which are also quite different in terms of pitch and timbre. Great info on the different components on the main vs instruments outs as well. Thanks!

[mitchminimal]

Thank you for the very thorough comparison.

[lukaslukas]

Would be good to hear the RD-9 sequence run through a 6db filter as you say, and compared again with the TR909. The way individual sounds behave and interact with each other when sequenced always seems to be where clones have difficulty.

[ZekeMagnar]

This was awesome. Thanks for taking the time to do the comparison.

[alfiedotwtf]

Excellent video. Thanks for the detailed breakdown

[DocBolus]

Very interesting take. From what I can make out it's not just that most people can't tell an RD9 from a 909 they can't tell between the different iterations of 909 production, and to be fair why the hell should they?

[discorhythmia]

I prefer the sound of Behringer, without noise and filter, that's the raw sound I want to have from the get-go.

[StreetpeopleSe]

Really the best comparison I've seen so far. Based on facts and not feelings. Grymt jobbat!😊 I think the most prominent difference is that I feel the sounds from the RD9 are less balanced/glued together. When you play the loops, the sounds from 909 feels like the play togehter like a unit. The RD9 sound more like individual sounds playing together. Are there any compression or other dynamics in the 909 glueing the sounds together?