I've never used one before and don't really have a clue.

I'm on a budget, so unfortunately I don't have a fortune to spend, but would like to buy a fairly decent one.

Anybody recommend any specific makes/models? Where online could I buy them? How easy are they to use?

Thanks in advance.

from what you say, I only have one advice - don't.
There are free programs, plugins that you can use on your computer. learn how to use those before you spend money on a drum machine. It'll help you decide later if it's worth the money and time.

(ALTHOUGH, the old Alesis HR-16 could do all those things. Unfortunately, that drum machine was made in about 1986, so the sounds are poop)

otan said:

Don't knock the SR OR HR series! I know D'angelo still uses that machine now (or samples of)!

of course there is an astronomical variety but is still a mean machine (especially when used with an MMT-8!)!

'dre

Usability is what I'm after.

I've never used one before. I don't want to buy one and then find out I need a PhD in electronic engineering to use the damn thing!

Which ones are user-friendly? Are the manuals easy to follow?

Akai MPC 1000 Drum machine , Sequencer , sampler ! ...the Sequecer in the mpc line is wicked,
great groove if your into that type of thang. However it's on the expencive side
I use an MPC 2000 with Dasilva on songs like "Kingdom & Backs up on the wall"
I've been kind of lazey as of lately useing my computers software sampler an exs 24 with our logic sequncer program...but it's just not as in the pocket as the mpc .the mpc was designed by a guy named Roger Linn who also did the Linn drum machine that Prince still uses to this day ! That drum machine has an even better Sequencer than the MPC !!! However there were only 500 made...good luck finding one of them ! Okay hope I was'nt a waiste of time
PEACE !

Yeah yeah yeah...he said he was on a budget & did'nt have a fortune to spend but, still wanted a fairly decent beat box nah ? By the way Otan your cover life can B so nice is wicked you got some mad skills there !!!

A drum machine requires several things:

rhythm - at least enough to actually PLAY the beats that you want to have your drum machine play back to you - quality in, quality out.

wisdom - Most of them, (these days) also require a PhD in Electrical Engineering. The learning curve on a drum machine nowadays is pretty steep. Getting it to play the pre-programmed beats is easy. Programming your OWN beats can be frustrating.

a delicate touch - Nowadays, touch-sensitive pads are all the rage. And the cheaper ones dont include the option to disable the touch sensitive pads... so, unless you can hit a phone button with the exact same amount of pressure, a LOT, again, you'll get seriously frustrated.

CONVERSELY,

a program like Fruity Loops ( www.fruityloops.com ) has a visual interface, where you see rows of 16 dots. Each dot represents an 8th note. You pick and choose which dots you want to play a sound, and which one you DONT want to play a sound. And then, you click a button, and you see what looks like a bar graph - each bar represents the volume of each drum hit for a particular voice, the snare for example.



So, if you want the snare to be a little louder on the 3rd hit, you just drag that bar up a little bit. And you can pan the drums, you can tune the drums, you can do all sorts of amazing things to the drums in fruity loops that you'd NEVER be able to do with a modern drum machine, (ALTHOUGH, the old Alesis HR-16 could do all those things. Unfortunately, that drum machine was made in about 1986, so the sounds are poop).

Additionally, Fruity Loops can take a sample and make it a voice. Like Linn Drum samples.

Fruity Loops has a free download but you cant save any patterns. The full version cost $99, which is STILL half of what most drum machines cost. Your only limitation then is your sound card.

IF you know NOTHING about drum programming, then I'd say go download Fruity Loops and just play with it for awhile. Drum machines ARE good tools, but yeah, they're a pain in the butt if you dont know what you're doing, and the cheaper ones are very limited in expressing yourself... you're stuck with their drums, panned their way, at their volume.[img]
[This message was edited Tue May 4 6:43:12 2004 by otan]

You can use samples, so, you're limited only in whatever you can come up with or locate online - I've got an entire Linn library, and they ARE real Linn samples.

otan said:

Would I be able to use from my own drum machine (Dr. 660)?