One of the things that makes a song for me besides the bassline is the drums. Without some good sounding drums, a song sounds like pure shit to me. I've heard some of the most boring songs on the radio played live and they sound decent because instruments are being played. You can have the best voice in the world but if you ain't got no good music behind you, you need to sit your ass down.

Anyway, throughout the years, I have heard songs with real drums, drum machines, and a combination of both. However, I have noticed that the sound of drum machines has dramatically changed over the years. I'm not a musician but I definately have ears and I know what I'm hearing.

The drum machines that Prince used had a much stronger feel to them than the ones used by artists today. Also, artists like Midnight Star, The Barkays, The Jonzun Crew, The Egyptian Lover, etc. had nice sounding drum machines. I remember absolutely loving Kraftwerk's "Numbers" the first time I heard it. It was a really great sound.

Then, the house music era came around and those drum machines sounded great also. They flowed well with the song and they still beat hard. The new jack era came around and those drum machines seemed to pound a little weaker than before but they were still OK.

Then, we come to the hip hop era of the 1990s and the current era of music. The drum machines are very weak sounding and they just barely tap. Not only that, they sound like the drum machines themselves have been edited with a double cassette deck and a pause button....very amateur sounding. Now, for a person like myself who loves the music first and vocals later, when you fuck up the drums, you have fucked up the entire song. Then there's the opposite such as the drum machines on songs like Outcast's "I Like The Way You Move". The song is decent but the drum machines beat too hard. If you turn the song up, all you hear is something that sounds like a fog horn drowning out the rest of the song....."Boom, Booooom". The same goes with a lot of the Miami Bass type rap like Luke and The 2 Live Crew. Some of the songs sound decent but the drum machines beat and echo too hard and drown out the rest of the song. It's like today's artists can't get it quite right. They are either barely tapping or pounding too hard. Hell, if they can't get it right then throw that shit away and get the old drum machines back.

Anyway, what the hell were the artists of the past and the ones in the present using that makes their music sound the way it does?
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[Edited 2/1/06 1:18am]

Bass & drums are the main instruments in a band, I agree.
Check if I do as I say here...http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=326735

I don't think any professional/semi-professional artists today use specific drum machines to create their programmed drums with. They are usually done these days on a sequential sample-based programs that allows the programmer to use any type of samples they wish. So they are not tied to any retailer-specific sounds on their work, but are able to choose from any possible sound they can get their hands on. I personally have some 1000+ different drum sounds on my own setup.

I agree with you on the notion that the sounds favoured in today's mainstream pop/r&b -music are quite weak and definitely lack any drive. Basically the rimshot sound kills all the drive, the same goes with something I've noticed you stressing for quite long: the song's just don't have enough fast tempo to feel energetic. However, I think the drum-programming in pop music reached some kind of creative, wacky apex some 3-4 years ago (with Timbaland and the Neptunes and their followers), but now it has apparently become far more conventional once more. In fact, they are again making straight 90s style beats with their "newer" sounds, which contributes even more to the blandness of the beats.

OK VAIN...since u are one of the coolest cats here at the org im gonna school u a bit ...dig it...
VAIN SAID
drum machines on songs like Outcast's "I Like The Way You Move". The song is decent but the drum machines beat too hard. If you turn the song up, all you hear is something that sounds like a fog horn drowning out the rest of the song....."Boom, Booooom". The same goes with a lot of the Miami Bass type rap like Luke and The 2 Live Crew. Some of the songs sound decent but the drum machines beat and echo too hard and drown out the rest of the song. It's like today's artists can't get it quite right. They are either barely tapping or pounding too hard. Hell, if they can't get it right then throw that shit away and get the old drum machines back.

Here is the source of that BOOM BOOM sound you have been hearing since the early 80's



Nobody really uses the original anymore because the machine is vintage and quite costly and samples of its sounds are VERY available even free online...

Here is a list of some of the most popular machines since the early 80's:





THE SOUND OF MPLS FUNK !!! Princes baby !!! Tha linn LM 1



THE DEFINITIVE house music machine the roland TR 909





WHEN the Hip Hop era started rocking samples it was these two machines that formed the backbone of Most of the hits of the day...mid to late 80's - early 90's the akai S 900 and S 950 and the emu SP1200


The next major shift was to the akai mpc series' of machines..the mpc 60...3000..2000..2000xl...ect are still the most popular drum machines out...they enabled more sampling time,sequencing and simplified options for hip hop and groove based producers...a one stop production tool if u will..used by DR dre...kanye west...and damn near everybody else rockin beats in hip hop...


reason 3


fruity loops


cubase


Pro tools

This is where its at today...even country music artist (EVERY RELEASE in fact) has to pass through one of these types of programs at some point... the fact that you have much more flexibility at a fraction of the cost of hardware in computer software is the primary reason the whole industry has changed...Once you needed an engineer, producer, arranger,mixer,assistants,and a matering house...and... OH yeah lets not forget...PLAYERS...great musicians ...to make records...today u just need a few moves...some good connections ..a few good samples and some decent looks and you are a STAR...shitty but the facts...
RIGHT ON !!!
[Edited 2/1/06 6:19am]