Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Do you have a drum machine?


RABid

Recommended Posts

Do you have an enjoy using drum machines, or do you consider them blasphemous?

 

I bought a Sequential DrumTracks back in the mid-80's and used it on stage for a few Prince songs along with Rocket by Herbie Handcock. I was the keyboardists, but a drummer at heart so I assumed that I was the one that needed to program and control the drum machine. In reality, back then I knew NOTHING about making a drum machine sound realistic. Luckily, neither did most artists using them on records. That machine nailed the Prince sound. I had no worries about what the drummer thought. I was covering rhythm guitar on a Hammond organ, sax and flute solos on a MiniMoog, and string parts on a string machine, all while playing keyboard parts at the same time. He could deal with playing along with a drum machine on a few songs.

 

Wow, how things have changed. Back then the swing function was crap and samples were very short. Now I can get a much more human, realistic feel from a Digitakt or TRs. I've always had a thing for drum machines and beat boxes. Maybe deep down it is not specifically drumming that I love, but creating beats and rhythms.

  • Like 1

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

Link to comment
Share on other sites



I own an Uno Drum made by IK Multimedia. Does what I need it to do. Inexpensive, programmable, and many sounds/kits are available from the factory as free downloads. Noisey using USB power. When recording must use batteries.

When I want to get my Matt Johnson vibe going it's perfect.

I also own a BeatBuddy, drum maching in a guitar pedal format. I use this for acoustic drum patterns, whereas the Uno Drum is for electronic drum patterns.

  • Like 1
:nopity:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've owned a few drum machines over the years.

A sleeper is the Yamaha DD55, you'll see them at thrift stores sometimes. The pads are better than most of the buttons on other boxes. The sounds are Yamaha, good.

 

I have a Roland Handsonic and it can record beats but I haven't done that with it. I've got IK MODO Drum, Izotope BreakTweaker and NI Studio Drummer and Drum Lab on my studio computer.

Those are fun sometimes.

 

I want to learn to play drums and play more expressively than the programmed beats allow me to play. The sounds you can get out of a dumbek or Korg Wavedrum are amazing. Nothing beats a real set of high hats, so many sounds there.

 

At the same time, sometimes the beats work great. I don't have my nose up in the air about it.

  • Like 1
It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

I have been using a mix of drum machines and a vintage DrumKat to get the beats which sound just right. Often a particular piece of gear has awesome snare and clap , but another has “better” toms or floor sound. And yet other have onborad knobs to modulate during a jam… Yet others have midi or cv clock.

 

I have fallen in love the my Drumulator and have embarked into the dark arts of sampling onto rom chips, prices are a bit out of reason for the available swappable chips.

 

Would love to have a full acoustic kit again but space is at a premium, even for an electronic kit. Have found a lot of expressive beats are possible with a mid-high level of midi modulation, KARMA algorithms along with the DrumKat is also really really good at this.

currently using:

Drumkat 3.8 / various modules and softkits

Midi K.I.T.I. trigger module

Drumulator with midi

Roland TR-08 Boutique

Akai TomKat

Karma Synth with RPPR and Future Loop exb card


 

When musical machines communicate, we had better listen…

http://youtube.com/@ecoutezpourentendre

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/28/2023 at 1:15 PM, Thethirdapple said:

I have been using a mix of drum machines and a vintage DrumKat to get the beats which sound just right. Often a particular piece of gear has awesome snare and clap , but another has “better” toms or floor sound. And yet other have onborad knobs to modulate during a jam… Yet others have midi or cv clock.

 

I have fallen in love the my Drumulator and have embarked into the dark arts of sampling onto rom chips, prices are a bit out of reason for the available swappable chips.

 

Would love to have a full acoustic kit again but space is at a premium, even for an electronic kit. Have found a lot of expressive beats are possible with a mid-high level of midi modulation, KARMA algorithms along with the DrumKat is also really really good at this.

currently using:

Drumkat 3.8 / various modules and softkits

Midi K.I.T.I. trigger module

Drumulator with midi

Roland TR-08 Boutique

Akai TomKat

Karma Synth with RPPR and Future Loop exb card


 

I recently pulled my Korg Wavedrum Global out of the closet and quickly realized that it is by far the best sounding electronic drum thingie I have ever played. 

There's no MIDI. There is a real drum head and it is responsive and sounds "real". The tonal changes from striking near the edge of the head and transitioning to the center are fantastic. The ability to stretch notes by pressing the head with one hand while striking with the other are fantastic. At higher volumes, you can even hear your fingernails scratching the head. 

 

I plan on working with it and I'm hoping this time I can leave all the computer drums sitting silently on the sidelines. 

  • Like 2
It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Thethirdapple said:


Very nice !!!

 

 

Very nice indeed! That gives you an idea of the range of sounds but there's much more that can be done. 

If it looks interesting to you then you owe it to yourself to at least try one out. I had to order mine from a store in California, could not find one in Washington state. 

  • Like 1
It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/5/2021 at 12:13 AM, Doerfler said:

I own an Uno Drum made by IK Multimedia. Does what I need it to do. Inexpensive, programmable, and many sounds/kits are available from the factory as free downloads. Noisey using USB power. When recording must use batteries.

When I want to get my Matt Johnson vibe going it's perfect.

I also own a BeatBuddy, drum maching in a guitar pedal format. I use this for acoustic drum patterns, whereas the Uno Drum is for electronic drum patterns.

 

I have one of those as well. It's sonically really powerful, if not a bit quirky, to get used to with the touch controls. I downloaded a CR-78 bank and use that the most. 

 

I also have both Arturia Drum Brutes, they have great analog sounds coupled with Arturia's usual sequencing paradigm. 

 

In usually just make some cool tribal-style beats and let them cycle, but I don't often do modern music stutters, rollers and such. Most of my programed beats lately, however come from sounds I sequence on my Voyager, Prophet 5 and DFAM...basically percussive sounds, not so much drum sounds.

  • Like 1

Editor - RECORDING Magazine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

I recently pulled my Korg Wavedrum Global out of the closet and quickly realized that it is by far the best sounding electronic drum thingie I have ever played. 

There's no MIDI. There is a real drum head and it is responsive and sounds "real". The tonal changes from striking near the edge of the head and transitioning to the center are fantastic. The ability to stretch notes by pressing the head with one hand while striking with the other are fantastic. At higher volumes, you can even hear your fingernails scratching the head. 

 

I plan on working with it and I'm hoping this time I can leave all the computer drums sitting silently on the sidelines. 

 

I am a HUGE Wavedrum fan (I might have posted this somewhere else on the forums), I have the original from the late 80s/early 90s, as well as the first of the reissue models (pre Oriental or Global). I need new heads for both soon.

  • Like 2

Editor - RECORDING Magazine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Paul Vnuk Jr. said:

 

I am a HUGE Wavedrum fan (I might have posted this somewhere else on the forums), I have the original from the late 80s/early 90s, as well as the first of the reissue models (pre Oriental or Global). I need new heads for both soon.

Nice! Korg knocked that one out of the park, there isn't anything else like it. 

  • Like 1
It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Thethirdapple said:

 And they go for a pretty penny on Ebay. Seemingly holding their value!

 

 

Yep, I would not sell mine at this point, it's too useful. I haven't played any electronic drums that respond the way the Wavedrum does. 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...