With the right samples and plug-ins, you can easily achieve the complex beats of 2021 in DAW. However, using the drum machine for hands-on operation will immediately stimulate our inspiration and creativity. In addition, the price of these beat making machines is no longer as expensive as before, and the market’s desire for the sound of vintage drum machines has prompted manufacturers to regain excellent classic songs. The newer original drum machines also have their cute quirks.
Whether you are looking for a retro revival or something new to improve your workflow, we have compiled 10 of our favorites for less than US$400, allowing you to master the rhythm immediately.
In the past three to forty years, Roland drum machines have been heard in countless genres. TR-808 and TR-909 are real icons in music, but TR-606 Drumatix does not always get the love it deserves. The design of TR-606 is a complement to TB-303, it has become synonymous with acid house, Roland brought it back to a new generation of manufacturers, this time in the TR-06 boutique.
The compact TR-06 uses Roland’s “analog circuit characteristics” to obtain real 606 sounds, and can program 32 steps for each mode. Up to 128 templates of 8 different songs can be stored in the memory. It has a built-in effects engine, including delay, distortion, bitcrusher, etc., as well as the ability to emit flames and ratchet sounds, which can quickly create trap beats.
In our review, we said: “It’s unfair to treat TR-06 as just a copy of the original 606. It has all the charms of Roland’s classic packaging box, but expands its functions, like the old-fashioned Old cars are as attractive as future-oriented Eurorack-friendly production units. There is nothing to dislike.”
Price £350/$399 Sound engine analog circuit behavior sequencer 32 steps input 1/8″ TRS input, MIDI input, 1/8″ trigger input output 1/8″ TRS output, MIDI output, USB, five 1 /8” trigger output
The Volca series products from Korg are suitable for various experiments. They are small in size, easy to carry, inexpensive and highly connectable. Volca Drum has a sound architecture modeled by DSP, including six parts, each with two layers. Although the sampled waveform is a simple sine wave, sawtooth and high-pass noise, the waveguide resonator can simulate the resonance of the drum shell and tube, so it has many uses.
Volca Drum has a 16-step sequencer with motion sequence function, which can store up to 69 knob operations during real-time recording. The slice function allows you to easily roll the drum, while the accent and swing functions allow you to pronounce specific steps and create a sense of groove.
Like all Volca models, the drum can be powered by nine volt DC or six AA batteries for continuous beat production. You will also get a complete set of music software for recording and expanding your musical ideas.
Price £135 / $149 sound engine DSP analog modeling sequencer 16-step input MIDI input, 1/8″ sync input, 1/8 output output, 1/8″ sync output,
The pocket operator is one of the most portable electronic instruments on the market-a clue to the name. Although Teen Engineering’s sound generator is small but powerful, the PO-32 Tonic is definitely a drum machine that can be considered. You need to use Microtonic software to unleash the full potential of the PO-32 and load new sounds, but using stock samples can bring a lot of fun.
We said: “The PO-32 tonic has 16 main buttons with 16 sounds or styles to choose from. The pitch, driving force and tone of these sounds can be adjusted through two rotary knobs. You can select presets through 16 buttons. The programming mode, you can easily add to them by selecting one of 16 sounds, distorting its characters and then recording them on these modes in 16 steps, opening, and closing. It’s very easy and fun.”
“You can also add one of 16 very good effects to the mix by holding down the FX button and selecting the pattern you want to play. As the drum machine itself, the PO-32 sounds great and provides amazing flexibility .”
The price with Microtonic is $169/£159, and the independent price is $89/£85. Sound engine MicrotonicSequencer 16 steps input 1/8 “input output 1/8″ output
If you are interested in Roland TR-06, but want to save more cash, Behringer’s performance may appeal to you. Behringer’s RD-6 is fully analog, with eight classic drum sounds inspired by TR-606, but does not include the clap from the BOSS DR-110 drum machine. The 16-step sequencer can switch between 32 independent patterns, and can link them together, which can contain up to 250 bar-shaped sequences.
You will be able to access the basic parameters using 11 controls and 26 switches. In the upper right corner is a deformation panel, you can use three dedicated knobs to open and close the deformation panel. Distortion is modeled based on the coveted BOSS DS-1 distortion pedal.
The original Roland TR-606 is made in silver only, and Behringer provides a complete palette for you to choose from.
Price 129-159 US dollars / 139 pounds Sound engine AnalogueSequencer 16 step input 1/8 inch input, MIDI input, USB output 1/4 inch mixing output, six 1/8 inch voice output, 1 1/8 inch earphone, MIDI output/pass through, USB
The design of Roland TR-6S will be familiar to those who have seen the brand TR-8S (modern products of TR-808 and TR-909). This six-channel drum machine is compact, with a classic TR step sequencer and volume attenuator for each sound. You will get many advanced functions, such as sub-steps, flames, step loops, motion recording, etc.
However, this humble metronome is not only the modern 606, but also circuit models of 808, 909, 606 and 707. In addition, TR-6S supports the loading of custom user samples and has an FM sound engine that can be used to expand the sound palette.
Roland’s TR-6S has built-in effects, and you can even apply it to other musical instruments because the TR-6S can be used as a USB audio and MIDI interface. The machine can be powered by four AA batteries or USB bus for use at any time. Roland’s TR-6S is indeed a bit more expensive than US buyers, over $400, but the sound it can produce may be worth a few more dollars.
Price US$409/£269 Sound engine analog circuit behavior sequencer 16-step input 1/8-inch input, MIDI input, USB output 1/4-inch mixed output, six 1/8-inch voice outputs, 1 1/8 Inch headphone, MIDI out/through, USB
UNO Drum is the equivalent of UNO Synth from IK Multimedia. It is the same size, the same weight, and the front panel has the same four/three rotation combination. The first four dials control the option matrix at the top left of the device. UNO drums are equipped with 12 drum touch-sensitive pads and 16 step sequencers directly below. There are as many as 100 kits on the UNO photosensitive drum, which can be used for 12 photosensitive drum components, and up to 100 patterns can be made.
We said: “The biggest advantage of UNO drums lies in their analog sounds and what you can do with them; you can simply bend, stretch, blend and scan all the analog sounds provided on board to the extent you want (and large Most PCM sounds), and you can spend hours doing this to provide your own extreme kit. Maybe we might even see other sounds added through software updates.”
“Either way, UNO Drum is another lightweight IK hardware with light weight.”
Price $249/£149 sound engine simulation/PCMS sequencer 64-level input 1/8 inch input, 1/8 inch MIDI input, USB output 1/8 inch output, 1/8 inch MIDI output, USB
Although Elektron’s products are more drum machines than drum machines, six-track instruments are still very worthy of selection. Model: The control surface of the sample has 16 knobs, 15 buttons, six pads, a display screen and 16 sequence keys. The minimal design and operation will allow you to create a beat immediately, if not already, will make you fascinated by the hardware.
We said: “Think of Model: Samples as a cool sequencer, and at the same time some sample playback, that’s right. Each project can contain up to 96 patterns, and up to 64 patterns can be linked in real time. . M: The S drive can contain up to 96 projects at any time, and each project can use up to 64MB of samples.”
“Although the build quality and sampling function are very simple, this is actually a very interesting machine and an excellent sequencer-in fact, if you only do sequence, it is still worth buying. This is not only for beginners, It is also suitable for open-minded professionals who will appreciate immediacy.”
Price $299/£149 Sound Engine SamplesSequencer 64 steps input 1/8 inch input, 1/8 inch MIDI input, USB output 1/8 inch output, 1/8 inch MIDI output, USB
As mentioned earlier, Roland TR-808 is the logo of the recording studio. Many respected artists from Marvin Gaye to Beyonce can hear their deep drums, crisp hats and lively snare drums in their tracks. Roland’s 21st century revival appears in the form of a boutique, providing modern producers with authentic 808 sounds and some new features.
The highly portable drum machine can be connected to your DAW via USB, allowing you to record each channel individually to operate as needed. Other important features include the ability to control the attenuation of many instruments and the pleasure of a long attenuation bass drum, which will make hip-hop fans shake the room with excitement.
We said: “The ability to subdivide instrument styles allows the use of smaller steps, which also brings step programming into the modern era. Although the programming architecture was equally tricky at first, it was due to the thunderous kicking and graceful sounds of that era. The nuance, the sound payoff is huge. Put this in your soundtrack and you will never know that it is not an original work, which makes it a bargain.”
Price: 399 US dollars / 149 pounds Sound engine analog circuit behavior sequencer 16-step input 1/8-inch input, 1/8-inch MIDI input and output 1/8-inch output, 1/8-inch MIDI output, USB
Arturia’s Brute instruments always hit a punch, especially DrumBrute Impact. The fully analog drum machine is the younger brother of DrumBrute. It combines 10 bass drum sounds and a powerful 64-step sequencer. You can use it to program up to 64 patterns.
You will find a dedicated kick circuit, two snare drums, toms, c or cowbell, closed and open hats, and a multifunctional FM synthesis channel. You can apply a swing to the beat to increase the sense of rhythm, use the dedicated wheel function to roll the hat, use the onboard looper to repeat small beats, and use the random generator function to experiment. Rich distortion effects can subtly saturate your beats or reduce their rhythm when throttling.
DrumBrute Impact can be connected to other devices via MIDI and USB, and can output kick, snare, hat and FM engines for post-processing. These four sounds are affected by Impact’s “color” function, which adds an overdrive effect to produce more exciting sounds.
Price US$299/£249 Sound Engine AnalogueSequencer 16-step input 1/8-inch input, 1/8-inch clock input, MIDI input and output 1 x 1/4-inch (mixing), four 1/8-inch outputs (kick, army Drum, pedal-, FM drum), 1/8 inch clock output, MIDI output, USB
Roland chose to revive its TR-808 as a miniature digital device, while Behringer freely recreated it with a similar appearance. Behringer’s RD-8 is a full-analog 808 replica of the desktop size, with enough modern features to bring it into the 2021 workflow.
The main function of RD-8 is 16 drum sounds and 64-step sequencer. The latter especially supports multi-segment counting, step and note repetition and real-time triggering. In addition, the device also has an integrated radio wave designer and dual-mode 12dB filter, both of which can be assigned to individual sounds.
Each sound has a 1/4 inch output, and you need a mixing console or audio interface to process each sound. For those who really have TR-808 experience, this may be an ideal choice. The tuning of the kick drum and drum tone is easy to modify, and the attenuation of the kick drum, the loudness and ness of the snare drum can also be easily modified.
Price $349/£299 Sound Engine AnalogueSequencer 16 steps input 1/8 inch input, 1/8 inch clock input, MIDI input and output 1 x 1/4 inch (mixing), four 1/8 inch outputs (kick, Snare drum, pedal-, FM drum), 1/8 inch clock output, MIDI output, USB
Post time: Mar-29-2021