Drum Machines Puns

I have an approximately $700 drum machine budget.

Used is totally fine (i buy everything used)

I want something that allows me to mess with samples onboard.

I have a Neutron and a Deepmind and Novation SL MkIII

I want to make Electronica including trance, downtempo, experimental and ambient.

At the moment Digitakt seems to be floating to the top of the list.

People with experience if you could please provide options and advice. The budget is little flexible.

-------------Notes-----------

I use ableton, I am not doing live stuff, the SL-61 is pretty much the centerpiece of my studio, i'm wondering if there is a drum machine that will compliment it. I use MacOS (2021 MBP)

------------Wrap Up---------

Firstly I would like to thank EVERYONE involved in this thread for helping me come to a final conclusion. There were a LOT of contenders and a few real possibilities.

I have watched tutorials on many of the devices that were not completely ruled out. The Digi still floated to the top for my use case.

I have pretty much decided on the Digitakt for a few reasons. The main one being that the more I investigated all the options the more I realized a few things.

• I really want to work with samples There are a lot of options that do this but the Digi seems to do it best (IMO) since the effects are stereo the mono samples are fine for me. Mono makes more sense as a fundamental starting point.

• I really want the type of quick on screen editing that the Digi provides

• The interface seems to make sense

• There is a lot of creative depth to explore

  • The limitation of the device are a plus when it comes to creativity for me

• I love that most everything is on the surface and not deep in menus

• I am not looking for a full daw for my setup. I really love ableton and my SL MkIII and feel that some of the extra features in the MPC line would be wasted, or worse, I would feel like i NEEDED to use them. The Digi is more purpose built for what I am looking for.

Looking for some drum machine recommendations. Only requires is an audio output for each drum track so I can record then as sepereate tracks into ableton. Looking for something under £300.

I must have acquired thousands upon thousands of the same sampled linn drum, roland tr 808 etc samples from various packs in my library by now. I also have several VST drum machines with similar samples.

I never use them, and honestly I've never been able to get over how corny they sound, and can't find a place for them.

What contemporary artists do you listen to who regularly use these types of sounds? Or how do you personally use them?

Edit: Link some actual tunes so we can hear specific examples! Thanks

Looking to buy a drum machine to play along with… Anyone used a BeatBuddy?

Or any other recommendations (I’m thinking maybe a Volca Beats or similar?).

Thanks!!

title is pretty much the question.

I got the MC707 and I want a dedicated drum machine. Also, one that is fun just playing live. Should I get a TR-8s or would the sampler in the 707 be enough and I can then just get a used TR-8 or would you recommend a totally different drum machine that can fill some gaps that I might have with the 707.

Maybe a nice analog machine would be an idea? How about a MicroBrute Impact? Or any other that you recommend?

besides the MC707 I also have a MicroFreak, an OP-Z and an Arturia Keylab 61 Essential

So, the drum tracks on my rc500 are terrible at best, was thinking of trying to incorporate some kind of synth/drum machine into my signal chain. It seems possible but not so simple.

Issues with instrument/line level, guitar amps not designed for this type of thing.

Ideally i can just toss an organelle(...??)or something at the start of the chain, create a beat, loop it, play guitar over top. Is this possible?! Do i need an ab/y pedal?! Can i just hook it directly to the rc500??

Im running everything in stereo to 2 small marshall amps, rc500 is last in the chain.

Any help/info would be appreciated 🤘

Hey All -

Here's my current rack.

I've kind of gotten bored with the drum side of my rack - basically the BIA, Crater, Tyso Daiko, and Xodes PV44. Maybe also the Zularic Repetitor. As my rack has grown, I've gotten more interested in generative music and patch programing. I don't want to not use drums in my music, but I'm questioning how useful it is to have these in rack compared to adding other VCO's, more modulation, logic, etc, all the good things that make generative patches come alive.

Frankly, generative drum sequencing in this rack tends to produce shitty results. Either boring, static patterns, or absolute chaos.

How many of you have gotten rid of in rack drums and just used an external drum machine? I think the arrhythmic beep bloops over a simple 4/4 house/techno drum beat tends to sound good, probably a lot better than what I'm doing in rack. I would definitely need to find something with a clock input, and probably also would want a few cv inputs. I'm not sure what exists on the market that fills this niche.

I sold all my hardware drum machines when I started to get into euro, which I don't regret because it was all cheap volca tier shit. If I get back into drum machines I definitely want to get something a little more professional tier.

I was watching producer vids a while ago and I think it was Timbaland who recommended randomizing samples to your drum pad to break out of the mentality of kick, snare, etc.

I usually drag in samples to DMD manually, but by then I'm all neurotic about what I have chosen.

Is there a way to randomize like 16 key assignments from a folder of 1000+ sounds? I would love to have a button that's just like "surprise me"

I am interested in buying an analog drum machine very similar to the Vermona DRM1 MKIV, so no trigger pads, sequencer, etc., just sound sculpting knobs/sliders for the various drum sounds.

Vermona DRM1 MKIV

However, I would like to able to record the parameter values of the sound sculpting knobs/sliders into my DAW via MIDI, which the DRM1 MKIV does not do. Does anyone know of such an instrument? Thanks!

Hello, and thank you for any help that I receive. A quick TLDR in case anyone doesn't want to read the huge paragraph of text explaining why I need help;

I need desperate help deciding on a drum machine or sequencer or sampler or whatever for my post punk / shoegaze project. Something along the lines of Joy Division, The Cure, Siouxsie, MVB, Slowdive, Hibou, Cocteau Twins, Salvia Palth, etc..

Now on to the paragraph: I am not a talented drummer at all, nor have the space for a kit anyways, and I don't want to bother my bandmate (different group we have together) everytime i need a drum beat to jam to, so I'm deciding to get a DM / SAM / SEQ / whatever gets the job done. I have a list of ones that you guys have recommended, as I have searched the web back and forth probably a dozen times, doing whatever research I can, to help me decide on a particular machine (Roland TR-08, Elektron Model:Samples, SR-16 / sr18, Drumbrute, and the Novation Circuit to name a few). My main problem is, that I am deeply afraid of buying the wrong machine. I have bought machines that sounded right by description, but upon delivery I didn't like the sound. I know the band's I mentioned use live drums, but like I said, don't really have space for them. Plus the machine would mostly be used for just jamming anyway.

I'm very much aware that theres VSTs and such, but i heavily prefer hardware. I would love to get my hands on some vintage Hardware, but I have absolutely no knowledge of fixing it if it breaks down, or if I need to modify it. Kind of hence why I'm staying away from it, even though I know something like the 505 with sound really cool with a lindrum mod on it. My budget is $600 (flexible), and this will be my first time using a drum machine, so anything easy to understand and learn would be very much appreciated.

I am currently suffering from a headache because of my constant searching back and forth, and even though it's really cool seeing all these machines be played, I'm getting sick of this headache. So please help a fellow shoegaze musician out. Thank you so so much!

There are a few standout songs from some rock artists with drum machine loops playing throughout the whole recording besides the accoustic drums, but subtle enough that you'd miss it if you didn't listen for it. For example Float On by Modest Mouse, where you hear part of the loop clearly at the very beginning or Semi Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind, where you hear it in the short held note on the "Goodbye" at the end of the chorus (it's hard to hear in the rest of the song, but the artificial sounding 'cymbal' hits on the right in the stereo field are easy to notice throughout). And of course there is In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins, where the loop not only plays in the beginning, but also when the accoustic drums come in. Those drum machine tracks seem to give the songs a nice bit of texture and cohesion, despite not doubling the accoustic drums in the songs. In contrast All Star by Smashmouth has similar parts, but those are seemingly mostly used to reinforce the existing drum track, with the exception of the reverbed dropped key (?) texture sound you hear in the intro playing through the whole song. The several other little drum loops placed in different positions of the song (in addition to other sound effects) are typical punchy reinforcement. The production on that song is pretty amazing, by the way, for a pop-rock song; despite the meme-ness, it's worth it to closely listen to it on headphones.

Now of course in the context of this sub, I'd love to know if you guys know anything useful about applying this technique. I really like what those loops do for those tracks, but it seems like something you'd have to think about early in songwriting/producing to utilize well. Do you guys know other examples of (rock)songs with semi-hidden drum loops underneath? How do you think they came to be? Are they a songwriting tool that leaves something missing if taken out? What techniques for songwriting and composition (ideally in a rock band context) come to mind for you where this could be used? If you use this technique yourself, do you have any tips on how to pull it off well? What sounds do you use for this? 808s that sound close to real drums don't seem to work too well for that purpose in my experience, bips and boops work better. What are your guyses and galses and nb palses thoughts?

I have a Push 2 (not a drum machine I know) with Ableton, but sometimes I think I like the beats I make better with my DFAM even though its far more limited in the types of sounds it can produce. With the DFAM I am forced to work with what I've got and I move forward. I think this falls in line with the whole necessity breeds creativity branch of thinking, but lack of discipline would be a fair criticism. I've been wanting a digitakt for a while, but the more I think about it the more I think I might prefer something like a Vermona DRM1 MKIV. Anyone else feel this way or have any thoughts to share?

As I’ve mentioned and a couple other posts, I am legally blind and cannot easily utilize gear that requires using menus on a screen. I bought the Novation Circuit when it came out because it doesn’t have a screen and I can actually see those insanely bright LED pads pretty well, but the sound quality and features do leave something to be desired. Is there anything that is totally tactile/hands-on but would get me in to more professional territory? Hoping for something with some sequencing capabilities and stereo samples. I’ve already got analog drums covered with my MFB 522 so I’m not thinking about the DrumBrute or anything like that right now. I’ve considered the TR8/TR8-S but got the impression from listening to demos that there is some menu diving involved. Thanks for any ideas.

This person, whoever they are, is a legend for putting this together. This isn't my collection, but its been up for over 10 years and still gets updated.

https://samples.kb6.de/downloads_snare_drum.php

Not affiliated at all, but I have donated to KB6 to get the full set, and you might want to do the same if you can. Money well donated.

Includes royalty-free samples from:

• Ace Tone Rhythm Ace
• Ace Tone Rhythm King
• Ace Tone Rhythm Master
• AcidLab Miami
• Akai MPC-500
• Akai MPC-1000
• Akai MPC-2000
• Akai MPC-2500
• Akai MPC-3000
• Akai
• MPC-5000
• Akai XE-8
• Akai XR-10
• Akai XR-20
• Alesis D-4
• Alesis DM-5
• Alesis DM-Pro
• Alesis HR-16A
• Alesis HR-16B
• Alesis Performance Pad
• Alesis SR-16
• Alesis SR-18
• ARP Axxe
• Atlantex MPC-1
• Austin ARB-6
• BME Rattlesnake
• Bontempi HF222
• Casio CTK-5000
• Casio CZ-230 S
• Casio HT-700
• Casio MA-101
• Casio RZ-1
• Casio SA-1
• Casio SA-10
• Casio SK-1
• Casio SK-5
• Casio MT-18
• Casio MT-100
• Casio MT-500
• Casio MT-800
• Casio PT-82
• Casio RapMan
• Casio RapMan II
• Chaser PR-80
• Cheetah MD-16
• Cheetah SpecDrum (Spectrum ZX81)
• Clavia DDrum AT
• Clavia Micro Modular
• Clavia Nord Drum
• Coron Drum Synce DS-7
• Cwejman S1 MKII
• Dave Smith Instruments Tempest
• Daytone Drum-Synthe RDS
• Deep Sky 1
• Denon CRB-90
• DigiTech RP-200
• Dr.Böhm Soundlab
• Dr.Böhm S-78
• Drumfire DF-500
• EKO Music Box 12
• EKO Ritmo 20
• Electro Harmonix DRM-15
• Electro Harmonix DRM-16
• Electro Harmonix DRM-32
• Electro Harmonix Spacedrum
• Electron Machine Drum SPS-1 MKII
• Electron Monomachine
• Electron Sidstation
• Elka Drumstar 80
• Elka X-1000
• Eminent Solina Rhitmix
• EMU Drumulator
• EMU E-Drum
• EMU Mo Phatt
• EMU Orbit 3
• EMU Planet Earth
• EMU Planet Phatt
• EMU Pro-Cussion
• EMU Proteus 1
• EMU Proteus 2000
• EMU Proteus 3
• EMU PX-7
• EMU SP-12
• EMU SP-1200
• EMU XL-7
• EMU Xtreme Lead 1+
• Ensoniq ASR-X
• Ensoniq ASR-X Pro
• Ensoniq EPS
• Ensoniq Mirage
• Ensoniq SQ-R Plus
• Ensoniq ZR-76
• Estradin Pulsar
• Fairlight CMI IIx
• Fairlight CMI III
• Forat F-9000
• Formanta Radio Plant Polivoks
• Fricke MFB-301
• Fricke MFB-501
• Fricke MFB-512
• Fricke MFB-522
• Fricke MFB-712
• Fricke Schlagzwerg
• FutureRetro FR-777
• GEM Drum 15
• Hammond Auto Vari 64
• Hammond Rhythm 2
• Hing Hon EK-001
• Jomox Airbase 99
• Jomox Mbase 01
• Jomox Xbase 888
• Jomox Xbase 09
• Kawai ACR-20
• Kawai K1
• Kawai K4
• Kawai R-50
• Kawai R-50e
• Kawai R-100
• Kawai

I'm looking to buy my first drum machine. I've been playing music for 15 years (guitar, piano, vox and drums) and I recently fell in love with the drum sequencer in Garageband. I'll often spend hours making a beat and playing guitar or piano over it.

Although I could keep doing that for a while, I thought it'd be more interesting to get a dedicated drum machine. I'd like it to be able to produce trap-style beats, with tripletted hi-hats and such. And a variety of sounds would be great, too. My budget's a hard $200.

I also already have a Yamaha Reface DX, but am laptop-less for now -- hence the desire to go the hardware route.

For my purposes, what do you think about the Korg Volca Drum? Or is there a better choice?

Hi! Not sure if this is the place to post this, but would appreciate any recommendations for a complete newb. Basically what I want is some sort of cheap, lo-fi, low-tech apparatus (drum machine? sampler? chaos pad?) that I can do this with: 1)Record my own sounds easily with a built-in microphone (will never, ever use any pre-recorded drums or samples) 2)Has at least 6 pads I can play (with my fingers, no matter how small) 3)Emphasis on low-tech and lo-fi (as in "shitty" is completely acceptable, not as in "cool lo-fi hip hop"... can even be a child's toy!) Thanks in advance! -Q

HAs anyone gotten The Nts-1 with groove working for beatstep? I am having a hard time with triggering and wondering if im missing something easy to assign the different pads to different notes?

Slightly hesitant to post cause im misusing my synth. apologies ahead of time.

I want to preface this by saying that I did post this in r/shoegaze, but I'm interested to see if there's any differing opinions, or maybe if you guys can help me out as well.

Hello, and thank you for any help that I receive. A quick TLDR in case anyone doesn't want to read the huge paragraph of text explaining why I need help;

I need desperate help deciding on a drum machine or sequencer or sampler or whatever for my post punk / shoegaze project. Something along the lines of Joy Division, The Cure, Siouxsie, MVB, Slowdive, Hibou, Cocteau Twins, Salvia Palth, etc..

Now on to the paragraph: I am not a talented drummer at all, nor have the space for a kit anyways, and I don't want to bother my bandmate (different group we have together) everytime i need a drum beat to jam to, so I'm deciding to get a DM / SAM / SEQ / whatever gets the job done. I have a list of ones that you guys have recommended, as I have searched the web back and forth probably a dozen times, doing whatever research I can, to help me decide on a particular machine (Roland TR-08, Elektron Model:Samples, SR-16 / sr18, Drumbrute, and the Novation Circuit to name a few). My main problem is, that I am deeply afraid of buying the wrong machine. I have bought machines that sounded right by description, but upon delivery I didn't like the sound. I know the band's I mentioned use live drums, but like I said, don't really have space for them. Plus the machine would mostly be used for just jamming anyway.

I'm very much aware that theres VSTs and such, but i heavily prefer hardware. I would love to get my hands on some vintage Hardware, but I have absolutely no knowledge of fixing it if it breaks down, or if I need to modify it. Kind of hence why I'm staying away from it, even though I know something like the 505 with sound really cool with a lindrum mod on it. My budget is $600 (flexible), and this will be my first time using a drum machine, so anything easy to understand and learn would be very much appreciated.

I am currently suffering from a headache because of my constant searching back and forth, and even though it's really cool seeing all these machines be played, I'm getting sick of this headache. So please help a fellow shoegaze musician out. Thank you so so much!