Blue Strat Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 How do you guys feel about drum machines? My cousin and I both play the drums. He hates drum machines, and I think they're cool. What do you guys think? BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 They don't bother me at all. I prefer it when they are used as an accessory rather than as a drummer substitute. I think that the creative ways people have programmed drum machines over the years have inspired drummers to play rhythms that they would not have come up with on their own. Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sputnik 5 Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Outside of a guitarist practicing and rap music, drum machines are evil, with electric drums coming in a close second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I like them, but I also play drums in the studio. So I guess I can't hate myself for using both.......I also plan on some day getting an electronic set for the studio....."V-Drums". My 2 cents worth... Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam b_dup1 Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 i've gotten so sick of drum machines, especially when people say drummers have no talent just because they can be replaced by a drum machine , i dont mind people using them for bass or guitar practice or rap, but what fun would a drum machine be, it would be nearly impossible to have a good jam with one, plus its just that "feeling" that drummers have that drum machines could never produce .....bonham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I agree 200% with thatdrumngroove. I love the true sound, even if one can't play that good! I have a very good friend of mine that came over to the studio to do a little jam session with me, he is a very good drummer but hadn't practiced in a while. He knew what fill to put into the mix, but just couldn't get it together. Most of the time he was on track but he kept getting me off timing on the keys........Gosh I hated to here it played back. I muted his playing and started to play along with the song and I couldn't keep time because the keys were now off from the original drumming that my friend laid down. I tried to go along with his playing and it was off at every fill going back into the song. I think he was paying more attention to me than blanking me out and paying attention to his internal clock. WOW! Sometimes a drum machine can help even if it is used as a click track in this case. I was suprised at his playing....he does know some great stuff too. Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 What Super8 said. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendmik Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Define drum machine. An 808? A sequencer plugged into an Alesis DM5? What if the sequences are from an actual drummer? The Paul Kodish stuff? Can samples be used in a drum machine? Or only synth sounds? Anymore, a drum machine is a pretty broad statement. Some I hate, some I wouldn't hesitate in using on a recording. Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform. Mark Twain (1835-1910) -------------------- Reporter: "Ah, do you think you could destroy the world?" The Tick: "Ehgad I hope not. That's where I keep all my stuff!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Originally posted by Hendmik: Define drum machine. An 808? A sequencer plugged into an Alesis DM5? What if the sequences are from an actual drummer? The Paul Kodish stuff? Can samples be used in a drum machine? Or only synth sounds? Anymore, a drum machine is a pretty broad statement. Some I hate, some I wouldn't hesitate in using on a recording.To define the question, I'd have to say that the drum machine is probably a very realistic sounding synth of several great sounding drum kits, with the classic machine stuff thrown in, like 909, 808, and 606 snares. My only experience with drum machines is with a program called Hammerhead. I like it. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihategarybettman Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I too agree with ThatDrumnGroove. Drum machines are OK as practice tools or supplemental "instruments", but I generally hate the slick, sterile, mechanical feel of records that use drum machines/electronic drums as their primary source of percussion. Maybe it's because I'm a roots rocker kind of guy, but I want the groove in a song to breathe. I feel that one of music's primary purposes is to serve as an expression of the human soul and, therefore, it should sound like it was made by a human being. Music made by machines just doesn't fit the bill because, to my ear, it lacks musicality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmt Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 I was just watching the Beatles movie/DVD 'HELP!' They were doing the song 'Got to Hide Your Love Away' (if I remember correctly). They all start playing and the camera's on Ringo who was just sitting there, in bed. Suddenly, Ringo, who was apparently catatonic, suddenly lifts up his hand, which is holding a tambourine, and smacks it. The watcher instantly realizes that the drum part is so simplistic as to be a joke. Actually, there is some brushwork down in the mix also, but anyway, this could've basically been done by a machine (with a great sample) without any harm. But, that was a 12 string acoustic song. (not dissing Ringo here - just commenting on the song) Drum machines also obviously have their place with repetitive, trance-like dance tracks. Outside of that, and as a practice aid, and possibly as a recording aid, such as timekeeping for sections of a song, drum machines do a lot to make music suck. Can you imagine 'Sticky Fingers' with a drum machine - yuck! They kill the living groove that can happen between a bass player and a drummer. A bass player can groove with a drum machine to some extent, but there's not the same living energy. And the other thing is the critical interaction between the guitarist and the drummer. The guitarist and the drummer can drive each other, interacting to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Then there's the ability of the guitarist, when the energy's up, to bring down a slashing power chord and leave an open space where he just knows the drummer's gonna go into this monsterous tom fill, which they can exit together with a huge crash and power chord. And there's interaction between the bass player and the guitarist, and between all of those guys and the singer. The drum machine can be an aid in songwriting, but too often that's the song. The temptation is to keep working on the song in until it's finished and then that's that. And that's really robbing music of something. The song should be worked out in a group format, with a great drummer creating his own part, helping make something special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zele Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 Use then very often!! THe ROland JAM station..has great feel..easy to control for a free feel....also play a electronic kit-- FAT KAT..no live drums allowed in our studio C Jo Go Crystal Studios http://fp2k.redshift.com/cjogo/recording_studio.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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