Drum Synths

[jasedee]

Hey all!

Looking for a hardware drum synth/module best suited to electronica & in particular nu-skool breaks (tech-breaks, progressive-breaks etc)

The one's I have been looking at include:

*Elektron Machinedrum
*Roland TR808/909
*Jomox XBase-09

Anyone have any thoughts on these???? Or other options I may look at? I am not really interested in software, as Im looking for immediacy and playability, and a more "Jam" oriented setup.

Cheers!

Jase

[Tomer=Trance]

well the microtonic drumsynth vsti is the best software drum synth IMO and is very instantly playable dou to its great step sequencer.
if you want to go hardware i would go with the electron beast dou to its flexibility and features.

[jasedee]

well the microtonic drumsynth vsti is the best software drum synth IMO and is very instantly playable dou to its great step sequencer.
if you want to go hardware i would go with the electron beast dou to its flexibility and features.
Yeah....I was trying to stay away from software.

Someone else said the MD would be good, but it is not analogue, is that right??? Which is why I thought one of the Roland TR's might be better.

Thanks for the Ideas Tomer

[Tomer=Trance]

just imagine it as a virtual analog drum synth.
demo it in your nearest store,its an insane machine.

[DIGITAL SCREAMS]

Real Analog drums is where its at.....and Jase knows it.....

Stick to your heart man....and dont be swayed by features and gimmicks. Its the 'sound' you want....

DS

[Tomer=Trance]

i think with the TR or "basic" drum machines you have to do alot of external processing to get the right sound or always you planing on using raw 808\909 sounds (which i dont like that much other then the BD and snare).
forget analog jase drum machines,go digital! :D

[3o3]

I've used to own a Elektron Machinedrum - Probably the best drummachine i've ever tried.. I love Elektron's stuff (I've used to own 2 sidstations aswell)

Like i've said; it's the best drummachine i've played around with. Dont mind that it's not analogue it sure sounds better than the 808/909 and has a much wider palette of sounds - you can even make electricpiano-sounds with it - strange FX / leads. It's a _great_ hardwaresequencer. And the drum-sounds is incredible

And the new machinedrum that lets you sample stuff and play with those samples live. Great stuff.

TR808 = Aye. It's a fine machine - but I dont know. I do like some of the sounds but.. nah, not worth the money

TR909 = who hasn't heard those sounds? You should get one just to be able to say that "Yeah, I've me a 909.."

Jomox XBase-09 = Isn't this machine just wellknow for it's hard kick and nothing else? I wanna recall that a friend of mine has one and he just use it for the kick.

If i were you - i'd check out the Machinedrum.. You're gonna love it for sure. So much possibilites with the sound

[jasedee]

Some good feedback here guys!!

Cheers...

I guess I really need to find somewhere I can demo these before I make the leap.

[3o3]

No problem mate

[DIGITAL SCREAMS]

Jase....seriously....if your interested in the TR909...try a 707 first. Ive been using one (my m8's) and its programming and features are relatively similar. 707's go for so cheap.....

DS

[melnikov_project]

what about spectrasonics stylus.it can be set to play many kinds of drums and loops for each note.
or the stylus rmx for very good loops and u can separate each sound in the loop and use it seperatly.
what i mean why bother makin somethink some one else already made for u.
:twisted: :twisted: :idea:

[Onkel Dunkel]

Jomox XBase-09 = Isn't this machine just wellknow for it's hard kick and nothing else? I wanna recall that a friend of mine has one and he just use it for the kick.

He should sell it and get the Mbase01 instead...

[Drammy]

I have the Machinedrum and am going to sell it, along with my Virus XL so that I can pay for my Virus TI.

The MachineDrum is absolutely fantastic for tweekheads, there are 4 synthesis types with so many paramters, effects, routing options and master effects available. The Midi Machines and Parameter locks unleash incredible potential!

The interface is a breeze to use the thing is rock solid.

I bought it because I am on the road a lot and when staying in hotels I felt withdrawn from my studio, so this little unit was easily portable and enabled me to make beats in hotel rooms.

I want a TI though and I have other alternatives for percussion (mainly RMX) so it is going to be passed onto the next loving home.

Drammy.

On the Yahoo Groups Elektron MD website there is a competition every month where the previous months winner picks 1 synth sound (ie an 808 snare or the physical modelling ride cymbal) and everyone else has to make a beat using that sound alone.

Have you ever tried making a beat from just 1 hi-hat? Including a kick and everything! Well with the MachineDrum you can do just that - fantastic piece of kit for the inventive and creative amongst us.

It might be worth checking some of the files on the forum (http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/elektron-users/)

Oh hang on a minute it looks like the contest finished November 2004, oh well, sign up and you can hear what they used to do...


Drammy

[Hollowcell]

As you can see already there is a fair bit of personal opinon around this issue.

My advice is talk to people who are making the beats you'd like to make to find out what they are using.

Specially for the genres you have mentioned there always seems to be a heap of processing - usually in the way of gates and compressors, but the raw sounds vary heaps. Putting it down to one machine would be pretty difficult.

[Merlot]

Dramm hit the nail on the head with the description of the MD. It is a tweakers dream. Great sounds that are not your run of the mill stuff either (like the rolands). Go with the MD. You wont be dissapointed.

[Panopticon]

Machinedrum. Love those things.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I really hate 808's, 909's and the like. To me, those sounds really seem to date a song.
But, alas, I'm crazy. I hate 303's too.

Flame away...

[jasedee]

Thanks for the info guys!

HC: Good point. But tracking down artists and convincing them to give away their secrets may not be too easy

Drammy: Cheers for the links!

DS: 707 huh? may just check that out...cos it would be nice to have some analogue goodness

melnikov_project: Trying to stay away from software. I need more hands on action, and I still dont think software is at the same quality as hardware, plus the whole taking up my CPU resources issue

[Smag]

Jomox have brought out the XBase09 SE which is an upgraded version of their drum machine.

You can select from 808, 909 CR78 and JMX sounds so it might be worth checking out.

[core7]

I write nu skool breaks but mostly electro, maybe 6 months ago I had cash in hand and was extremely hard-up to purchase a hardware drum sequencer. I bought, experimented with, and sold all of them within a month of buying them.
1. Roland MC 909 ( pure cheese, I liked the sequencer but the sound did'nt have any ass behind it )
2. Akai MPC 2000 ( completely prehistoric, utilising floppies and zips, it did sound good though )
3. Elektron MachineDrum ( it is all things great, except for the sound. I did'nt like the HH's or SN's and it sounded kinda thin and flat. thats my opinion a lot of people love 'em and they are fun and versatile. They emulate analog supremely with the tweakability factor but not so with the sound, the price did'nt justify the overall)

I ended up going back to just doing all my sequencing with my DAW. In hindsight it seemed redundant to sequence on hardware and then to sequence it back into Pro Tools. kinda like double work.

If it sounds good though I'll probably splurge on another. If you're into analog check out a Vermona drm1 mkII. I got to play with one the other day at the local synth museum and I was very impressed, it's a module, no sequencer and completely analog, sounds awesome and completly tweakable.

[Analog Warriors]

707 huh? may just check that out...cos it would be nice to have some analogue goodness

but the TR707 isn't analog - it's sample based :wink:

[Tomer=Trance]

after a long session today i can surly say Sonic charge's Microtonic 2 is the best drum softsynth for PC\Mac.
check it out http://www.soniccharge.com/
Its loaded with features and loaded with "sound". :)
tha fact that its fully midi controlable\automated makes it great for tweaking. also got a built in step sequencer for extra fun.

[jasedee]

but the TR707 isn't analog - it's sample based
oops.... :oops:

If you're into analog check out a Vermona drm1 mkII
It does look cool, and a friend of mine has one, but I was really looking for something with a sequencer. I need a more "jam" oriented setup

after a long session today i can surly say Sonic charge's Microtonic 2 is the best drum softsynth for PC\Mac.
Yeah, perhaps, but I still wanna go hardware....

[core7]

I know this suggestion may get a laugh,............. but have you ever used a Korg Electribe, like an ER-1. They're dirt cheap and you can get so much out of one, you can fully tweak out all your drums and not break the bank, and they sound fairly decent. I was amazed what can be done with one, mostly because it looks like such a toy, but they're super effective. A second-hand one will probably set you back $150-175. They're worth a look.

[Tomer=Trance]

isnt it sample based?

[jasedee]

I know this suggestion may get a laugh,............. but have you ever used a Korg Electribe, like an ER-1.
I was actually considering one....

The thing is, do you buy Access Virus Ti, or do you buy a Roland Juno-D????

Know what I mean? I'd rather wait and buy the best, then buy something cos it's cheap. I dont really have time for cheap gear, I always find it is just a complete waste of money. There are of course exceptions (arent there always?)

[core7]

I know this suggestion may get a laugh,............. but have you ever used a Korg Electribe, like an ER-1.
I was actually considering one....

The thing is, do you buy Access Virus Ti, or do you buy a Roland Juno-D????

Know what I mean? I'd rather wait and buy the best, then buy something cos it's cheap. I dont really have time for cheap gear, I always find it is just a complete waste of money. There are of course exceptions (arent there always?)

I think it's all a matter of preference.

Keep in mind though, you can buy a fairly expensive sequencer, grow tired of it, and then lose money on the resale.
That sucks, it happened to me ( not too bad, but still ) when I bought and sold my MPC 2000 and the MachineDrum. That's $50-100 that could go to other equipment and etc.
Just my 2 cents.

[Tomer=Trance]

maybe the machine drum is not the ultimate studio gear,but im sure its perfect for live use.

imagine a machinedrum run thru a sherman filterbank 2,pure horror 8O

[Onkel Dunkel]

imagine a machinedrum run thru a sherman filterbank 2,pure horror 8O

Mmmmm, that would be nice :twisted: