Behringer RHYTHM DESIGNER RD-6-BB Review UK 2026

Key specifications

What the RD-6 is, and the colour question

The RD-6 is Behringer's copy of the Roland TR-606 Drumatix, the little companion drum machine to the TB-303 bass line. Behringer showed it at NAMM in January 2020, and it has become one of the most common first analogue drum machines.

There are three colourways: silver (RD-6-SR), black (RD-6-BK) and the blue version this page covers (RD-6-BB). They are the same machine inside. Pick the colour you like, or whichever is cheapest when you check, because the sound and features are identical.

Sound: eight analogue voices

Every voice is analogue: bass drum, snare, low tom, high tom, closed hat, open hat, cymbal and a clap. The clap is an addition, as the original 606 had none.

The character is the light, clicky 606 sound: a short kick, a crisp snare and bright, ticking hats. It is less heavy than an 808 and less punchy than a 909, which is why it works so well under acid lines and in electro, where the bass synth carries the weight.

What you cannot do is reshape the voices much. There are no tune or decay controls. You get level controls (some voices share one: the two hats share, the two toms share, and the cymbal shares with the clap), a global accent, and a distortion circuit based on the Boss DS-1 pedal with amount, tone and on/off. Reviewers are split on the distortion. It can add grit to hats and snare, but it also tends to thin out the kick, so most owners use it lightly or not at all.

Sequencer and workflow

Programming is classic 16-step: press a voice, light the steps you want, press start. Patterns are stored in two banks of 16, 32 in total, and each has I and II variations, so you can build a main groove and a busier alternative and switch between them. Patterns chain into songs of up to 256 bars, and a global accent lets you push chosen steps louder.

It is deliberately simple. There is no flam, probability or per-track length. One owner complaint worth knowing is that changing patterns live is limited, so the RD-6 is better at holding a groove than at improvised pattern-hopping.

Connections: more than you would expect

For a machine this small, the I/O is generous. Behringer lists a mix output plus six individual voice outputs, so you can process the kick and snare separately. There are trigger outputs for the low and high tom, which can fire a modular envelope or an old synth's sequencer. There is also sync in and out, MIDI In, Out and Thru on full-size DIN, USB for MIDI and sync (not audio), a 3.5 mm headphone socket and a start/stop footswitch input.

Power is a 9 V adaptor; unlike the original 606 there is no battery option. The case is 305 x 165 x 56 mm and weighs about 0.9 kg.

Build and what owners say

Owners mainly praise the sound for the money, the compact size and the welcome clap. The criticisms are about cost-cutting: a plastic case, pots not fixed to the panel (so treat the knobs gently), and a manual that German magazine Bonedo called close to useless. Expect to learn the button combinations from videos and forums rather than the paperwork.

Who should buy the RD-6

Buy it if you want your first analogue drum machine, make acid, electro or minimal music, or want a small box to sync with a bass synth. The individual and trigger outputs also make it a cheap rhythm source for a modular rig.

Skip it if you want to shape each drum's sound (the RD-8 and RD-9 give you tune and decay), want preset rhythms to play along to (the RD-78 has 34), or want realistic acoustic kits for practice (look at the Alesis SR-16 or SR-18).