Drum Machine

[foldyman]

Hello,
I'm looking for suggestions on a good drum machine.
I haven't dabbled in music tech for years now, and I'd assumed there would all sorts now that would blow my mind. Not so apparently!

Desktop style hardware
MIDI clock out
Lots of preset patterns, like 200+
Programmable
Can import MIDI tracks
Natural sounding, unquantized presets
More focus on acoustic kits, and plenty of them
Less focus on FM or syth type sounds (although great if they happen to be there!)

There seem to be an abundance of things like the Korg Volca boxes, which look great in some respects but don't seem to have nice acoustic sounds or real patterns.

Looks like it's either that or an Alesis unit which I remember from years ago, which is inexplicably STILL a current model! And it sounds a bit naff to my ears.

I found this pedal board based Beat Buddy thing, which I thought sounded awesome, but just doesn't quite tick all the boxes.

Nearest thing I found was a Korg KR 55 Pro. Kits sound great, nice patterns (although it would be nice to have more of them than an 80s kids Casio keyboard does), but no MIDI which seems utterly crazy to me.

I don't think I'm asking for that much, but apparently I am.

Any suggestions?
Cheers,
A

 

[Basslice]

If you are using a DAW or computer, there are a lot of things out there these days. I use EZ Drummer 2. They have a demo you can download and check out. I will admit, that I only take advantage of a fraction of what it can do, but the samples are awesome and patterns searchable. I will predict you will get 30+ responses with other tips.

Great question.

 

[foldyman]

If you are using a DAW or computer, there are a lot of things out there these days. I use EZ Drummer 2. They have a demo you can download and check out. I will admit, that I only take advantage of a fraction of what it can do, but the samples are awesome and patterns searchable. I will predict you will get 30+ responses with other tips.

Great question.

Thanks, EZ Drummer is pretty good. I use SSD which is similar.
I'm after some physical hardware, something I can use sans DAW.
I wonder if software is the reason why there doesn't seem to be the hardware I'm after anymore.
Perhaps I'm now a luddite

 

[Basslice]

Thanks, EZ Drummer is pretty good. I use SSD which is similar.
I'm after some physical hardware, something I can use sans DAW.
I wonder if software is the reason why there doesn't seem to be the hardware I'm after anymore.
Perhaps I'm now a luddite

I have a couple of old Boss Drummer thingies and a full Roland midi kit that has pre-made beats. I find them much harder to use than the computer.

 

[ClusterFlux]

I'm not an expert, but....

Check out the Native Instruments Maschine. If the built-in options aren't sufficient, I believe you can download and install more samples.

Most samplers these days should be MIDI compatible and be able to download samples of drum kits. I believe Native has an integrated system for downloading sample packs to the Mashine.

 

[tothemax]

I went through a similar situation. For many years my go to was the Zoom Rhythm Trak, and when my 3rd one the RT-223 died about six months ago I took the hit and bought an Alesis SR-18. While the drum kit sounds are much better than the RT-223 the packaged rhythms are not, I think there are 99 presets with A & B options, plus fills. I finally did some research on the error that my RT-223 was giving and found out that there is a 3v coin battery soldered on the PC board. I modified the board and added a battery holder which repaired my RT unit.
As much as I preferred the kits on the Alesis unit and a few of the features, the Zoom unit seems easier for me to use. The Zoom has about 300 presets which about 30 are useable, the SR-18 has about 20 out of 99. You would think a drum machine would have a simple 4/4 rock beat without any extra crap, if there is I haven't found it yet (between these two machines and 400 presets). One thing I haven't tried is the Alesis supports two foot switches, one for start/stop and one for fills which seems pretty cool. If you're into midi and building your own loops the Alesis SR-18 may be a good fit. The kits do sound awesome.

Good luck with your search, for practice I use a drum machine like a metronome and like having a standalone unit with a footswitch (and for making simple tracks). If you do go the DAW route I found this software which was free to try (full featured) and the full license was a donation. It was pretty easy to use and has great sounding kits. I've got a small Kat eDrum kit in my studio and I'll connect the kit via midi to the MT-Power Drums and it really sounds great.

MT Power Drum Kit AU VST Drums Sampler Plugin Instrument FREE
​

Good luck with your search, you can find the Zoom RT units on Reverb and eBay for cheap. They will eventually need the battery fix.

 

[DirkP]

The pure drum machines today are mostly for the electro/techno/house etc. crowd. Lots of good reissues of the classics from Behringer like the 808, 909 etc. Very good and not expensive. But they are more about being analog and having the classic sequencers.

The most interesting machines - for me - are the standalone Akai MPCs, although targeting not exactly players of classical instruments, they offer incredible stuff.
You can use them as a standalone DAW, they are incredible good sampling machines, I love the pads, and you get an incredible amount of drum sets and can sample yourself or download whatever sounds and drumsets you're after.
But maybe a bit too expensive for you? You could have a look at the new Roland machines like the MC-101 and MC-707 or the verselab 707.
These offer much more, but everything you've been asking for.
I wouldn't buy one of the old drum machines from Alesis or Boss or Zoom that are available since decades now. Maybe very cheap used.

 

[Frank Tuesday]

I have not used any of these, so I can't comment on the ease of use, but the Novation Circuit Rhythm Groovebox is $350 (2 models one with sample import and one without), and probably the cheapest option for this type of thing. Korg KR-55 is $380. For a bit more, you can get a Polyend Tracker, Korg Electribe, or 1010music Blackbox for ~$600. Akai MPC One is $900. Then there are a bunch of options when you get above $1k.

 

[juggahnaught]

Hello,
I'm looking for suggestions on a good drum machine.
I haven't dabbled in music tech for years now, and I'd assumed there would all sorts now that would blow my mind. Not so apparently!

Desktop style hardware
MIDI clock out
Lots of preset patterns, like 200+
Programmable
Can import MIDI tracks
Natural sounding, unquantized presets
More focus on acoustic kits, and plenty of them
Less focus on FM or syth type sounds (although great if they happen to be there!)

There seem to be an abundance of things like the Korg Volca boxes, which look great in some respects but don't seem to have nice acoustic sounds or real patterns.

Looks like it's either that or an Alesis unit which I remember from years ago, which is inexplicably STILL a current model! And it sounds a bit naff to my ears.

I found this pedal board based Beat Buddy thing, which I thought sounded awesome, but just doesn't quite tick all the boxes.

Nearest thing I found was a Korg KR 55 Pro. Kits sound great, nice patterns (although it would be nice to have more of them than an 80s kids Casio keyboard does), but no MIDI which seems utterly crazy to me.

I don't think I'm asking for that much, but apparently I am.

Any suggestions?
Cheers,
A

This might not be that helpful, but you might consider a collection of devices linked by MIDI to do what you want. The Beatbuddy, for example, has good kits and good beats, but doesn't have a desktop interface and its programmability requires proprietary software. Other devices have the interface you want, but might not have the sounds you desire or the beats you want. However, if you use one device to drive the other, you can offset the issues and weaknesses of one device.

As others have stated, you can also do this with software on your computer like EZDrummer.

The best combination for something like this would probably be an AKAI MPC Live or something similar with MIDI out to a Beatbuddy. You could sequence everything and save everything (although you would have to figure out MIDI commands for the Beatbuddy and its kits) without having to use a computer.

 

[foldyman]

I'm not an expert, but....

Check out the Native Instruments Maschine. If the built-in options aren't sufficient, I believe you can download and install more samples.

Most samplers these days should be MIDI compatible and be able to download samples of drum kits. I believe Native has an integrated system for downloading sample packs to the Mashine.

So this is what I've gone with.
Not totally what I was originally after but kind of been seduced by it.
Like the idea of having discrete tracks in my DAW for each part, and has a nice grooveboxy feel to it.
Not quite as immediate as a Roland box which I was also considering, but a good level of being able to jot ideas down and turn them into full arrangements later if needed.
It doesn't seem to do the kind of unquantized, real sounding patterns and kits of some things, which I'll still continue to use SSD for when I want that.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Bassmike62]

Very helpful thread, thx for posting !
Just watched a bunch of videos, tending towards EZDrummer 2, seems to offer what I need.

 

[scott sinner]

Thanks, EZ Drummer is pretty good. I use SSD which is similar.
I'm after some physical hardware, something I can use sans DAW.
I wonder if software is the reason why there doesn't seem to be the hardware I'm after anymore.
Perhaps I'm now a luddite

Yes. There isn’t much in the way of hardware now for natural sounding drums. The closest to more portable is an iPad and DrumPerfectPro. Still then you ultimately need a powered usb supply for
Midi connectivity and a few utility apps to make it work. All that and it is viable, but still not as good as a cheap laptop with EZDrummer, BFD3 or similar.

There are some that can load samples and record unquantized (eg Circuit line) but you are limited to a small number of samples, no velocity layers. They’re just made for electronic or experimental stuff really.