Drum Machine - Back to the 80s!

[raylinds]

I like to practice in the living room rather than isolate myself in a bedroom. My wife is very tolerant of me playing through my Polytone at low volumes, but I hate to subject her to the monotonous click of a metronome so I started looking for one with a headphone jack. The next thing I know I am seriously considering a Boss DB-90 for $140, that had some very cool features. Then I got to thinking- couldn't I get a drum machine for the same money? I soon end up getting a used Alesis SR-18 for about $100.

Now, I had a Roland drum machine back in the 80s. It didn't sound anything like real drums, but it was fun to be able to jam with drums. I now use Superior Drummer which sounds amazing, and I thought my drum machine days were over. But sometimes it is just too much hassle to fire up my DAW for a quick practice session, especially if I just need a metronome.

The SR-18 has some pretty decent sounding jazz drum and upright bass samples and some decent jazz and Latin preprogrammed patterns. I can just program some basic metronome patterns that use a kick drum, hi-hat or sidestick and quickly plug in the phones and bring up the metronome pattern for a quick practice session. Once I get the song down with the metronome, I can use some drum and bass patterns to practice with.

Yes, there are cheap apps that I could use that do the same thing, but I like physical buttons and knobs and I think this gives a little more flexibility- and I actually remember how to program drum machines.

[mr. beaumont]

I have a drum machine. I find it the same as Band in a Box, I spend more time tweaking than practicing.

Once I found drumgenius it collected dust. Drumgenius is the bees knees.

[raylinds]

I have a drum machine. I find it the same as Band in a Box, I spend more time tweaking than practicing.

Once I found drumgenius it collected dust. Drumgenius is the bees knees.

What turned me off to Drumgenius was that they recommended only adjusting tempo by up to 5%. That seemed very limiting to me.

[SoftwareGuy]

I have a SR-18 and it sounds better than my old Boss drum machine, which died after after 30 years.

I prefer having a separate device. You will, of course, need some way to amplify the output.

[raylinds]

I have a drum machine. I find it the same as Band in a Box, I spend more time tweaking than practicing.

Once I found drumgenius it collected dust. Drumgenius is the bees knees.

Your post made me want to take another look at Drumgenius (I find your input valuable), and I downloaded it (didn't realize at first the app was free and buying loops is really cheap). I think I will also use that. I do think I will enjoy tweaking the drum machine, though.

[docsteve]

What turned me off to Drumgenius was that they recommended only adjusting tempo by up to 5%. That seemed very limiting to me.

That’s because the loops are modelled on actual recordings. That means you have to play them at a certain tempo or it won’t sound like the original at all.

Also, the app is originally aimed at drummers who want to copy these precise grooves.


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[Brian859]

There is another early 80s drum machine for sale on goodwill and its drawing some attention. Those must have been popular because Roland has reissued that in both the physical form and as a plug in.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]114864[/ATTAC
Roland Drumatix Tr-606 Rhythm Composer | ShopGoodwill.com

[supersoul]

There is another early 80s drum machine for sale on goodwill and its drawing some attention. Those must have been popular because Roland has reissued that in both the physical form and as a plug in.

The TR-606 is highly collectible and will go for hundreds of dollars. I bought one in the late 90s for $20 and sold it recently for $500. Then I bought a Behringer RD-6, which is a modern clone, for $90 used. The RD-6 is analog and feels/sounds the same.

They are very simple drum machines. There is no swing and you can't alter the sounds at all. To me, its simplicity is its strength. The 16 step sequencer is super intuitive, the tempo is just a knob, each sound has its own volume knob, and there is an accent which makes a step louder. It also just sounds great.

I don't really care for Behringer's practice of blatently copying gear, but Roland has had decades to reissue the 606 and they haven't. Their recent ones are updated and digital, and I think they lack the charm of the old 606. The Behringer is pretty much exactly like my old one.

[raylinds]

Back in the day I had a TR-707, which was a slight step up from the 606. I wish I had kept it.

[tbeltrans]

The TR-606 is highly collectible and will go for hundreds of dollars. I bought one in the late 90s for $20 and sold it recently for $500. Then I bought a Behringer RD-6, which is a modern clone, for $90 used. The RD-6 is analog and feels/sounds the same.

They are very simple drum machines. There is no swing and you can't alter the sounds at all. To me, its simplicity is its strength. The 16 step sequencer is super intuitive, the tempo is just a knob, each sound has its own volume knob, and there is an accent which makes a step louder. It also just sounds great.

I don't really care for Behringer's practice of blatently copying gear, but Roland has had decades to reissue the 606 and they haven't. Their recent ones are updated and digital, and I think they lack the charm of the old 606. The Behringer is pretty much exactly like my old one.

I have two pieces of Behringer gear. One is the complete reproduction as Eurorack the Roland System 100 modular synthesizer I bought used locally and the other is Behringer's own designed synth, the Neutron (also bought used locally). These all work quite well and sound quite good. Being analog, they do well to sit for a bit and warm up before using.

The Roland System 100 was a product back in the late 1970s, so Roland has had many years to build a Eurorack version. As for Behringer cloning other manufacturer's designs, I have read much commentary in various forums about that. I would think that the original companies could go after Behringer for copyright infringement if they considered it an issue, usually involving loss of revenue. But if a product is long discontinued and the only revenue generated is in the used market often at inflated prices due to the "vintage" marketing ploy, I am not sure what harm is being done. One company I worked for that is a household name, only used their IP to after companies that went after them, rather than taking the offensive stance, they preferred a defensive stance. Maybe that is what these companies are doing?

General comments: though I am retired from a career as a software engineer (the embedded stuff), I have never liked using computers for music. I much prefer to write out solo guitar arrangements with pencil and staff paper and my synthesizer studio is what is commonly called today "DAWless" (i.e. all hardware). I much prefer real knobs, buttons, and sliders to a mouse and screen.

Tony

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

That's the real deal:

[raylinds]

That's the real deal:

Yes- a very iconic DM that was made famous by Depeche Mode.

[icr]

I used these in the 1980s for practice. Now they have additional appeal for dance/trance music. Thus, the re-issue and crazy prices.

[raylinds]

The Sr-18 arrived today and I am pleasantly surprised by how good the jazz drums, upright bass and patterns sound. The videos I watched do not do it justice. This is going to make a great practice aid.

[Jx30510]

The SR 18 is still one of the best if you want a hardware realistic drum machine.
The Boss Dr 550 was really nice, with a real bass line track with a lot of sounds (from acoustic bass to Moog and everything in between), superb effects, and that could allow advanced songwriting capabilities with a massively tweakable sequencer.
The Roland R8 with its "Human feel" is regarded as one of the most realistic drum machine ever made, still today.
The most realistic sounding device suited for guitarists in a pedal format is in my opinion the Beatbuddy.
Today even Boss pedal loopers have nice drum tracks.
If you want to go on the ultimate hardware route, the most complete solutions are samplers.
Elektron Digitakt, Akai MPC ONE, Korg ES2, or Volca Sample 2 ..
The analog drum machines are more Electronica oriented, not really suited for jazz. Not so much because of the sounds, but because of their limited swing or time signatures, that feel all but jazzy. Even though you can do music with whatever you have if you have the creativity.

[telephonic]

I bought an Alesis SR-16 a few years ago and was amazed to find it was released way back in 1990. It looks like something that could have been put out today and you can still buy it at many music retailers. I sold it recently, mainly because it was complicated to program and I had to keep relearning it every time I came back to it. I put the money towards a Boss RC-5 so I could have drum sounds that synced with a loop.

[Jx30510]

Yes the Boss loopers are the best all in one solution to create tracks on the fly, or to work solos, arrangements
I once made the base for a complete track out of a Boss RC 3. I just played the loop on the Boss plugged in the Daw. These devices are so convenient to create full tracks.
Some loopers have MIDI Sync capabilities, you can run them synced with drum machines, samplers, synths, sequencers.
The possibilities are endless.
Imagine if guys back then saw what todays musicians have at home, they'd be floored

[raylinds]

The SR 18 is still one of the best if you want a hardware realistic drum machine.
The Boss Dr 550 was really nice, with a real bass line track with a lot of sounds (from acoustic bass to Moog and everything in between), superb effects, and that could allow advanced songwriting capabilities with a massively tweakable sequencer.
The Roland R8 with its "Human feel" is regarded as one of the most realistic drum machine ever made, still today.
The most realistic sounding device suited for guitarists in a pedal format is in my opinion the Beatbuddy.
Today even Boss pedal loopers have nice drum tracks.
If you want to go on the ultimate hardware route, the most complete solutions are samplers.
Elektron Digitakt, Akai MPC ONE, Korg ES2, or Volca Sample 2 ..
The analog drum machines are more Electronica oriented, not really suited for jazz. Not so much because of the sounds, but because of their limited swing or time signatures, that feel all but jazzy. Even though you can do music with whatever you have if you have the creativity.

While I am finding the SR 18 to be ideal for practicing given the quality of sounds, sequences and relative ease of operation, I came across a good deal on an Akai MPC One and bought it to use as a more comprehensive backing band setup.

[wildschwein]

I've been using the Alesis SR-16 for several years. It's very easy to find a pattern and just get playing. I don't spend any time tweaking it except for the tempo.

[telephonic]

Yes, it's certainly great for that. I was trying to sequence a bunch of different drum patterns and fills to build up a longer drum track for a whole song. It worked well, and I eventually got faster at it, but I found that as soon as I put it away for a while I had to get out the manual and relearn the process. This may be indicative of an unintuitive design, or it may just say something about my aging brain.

I did find I was able to use it with a TC Electronic Ditto X4 that has a midi input. I connected the two and they immediately worked in sync which was nice.

[2bornot2bop]

Drum Genius is the s%#$!