Moog Music Forum

Hi again .. now i'd like to hear (or read) some opinions on inexpensive drum machines / sequencer, that have analoggy (or even inexpensive analog) sounds like 909 or 808, preferably could be tweaked on each sound. Cos some of em are just "toy-ish" and sounds weak. A sequencer with other sounds like synths/fx is a plus.

Thanks so much in advance!

sixsinisters wrote:Hi again .. now i'd like to hear (or read) some opinions on inexpensive drum machines / sequencer, that have analoggy (or even inexpensive analog) sounds like 909 or 808, preferably could be tweaked on each sound. Cos some of em are just "toy-ish" and sounds weak. A sequencer with other sounds like synths/fx is a plus.

Thanks so much in advance!

I hear some elektron machine drum demos on their website and i think is a great machine. But is expensive (about 1.5k dollars). About the sequencer, LP has midi so you can use your favorite DAW to seq it.
I´m using Ableton Live to control Phatty and its great.

I hope been hepful.

Cheers from Argentina.

Have you considered going the software route? I'm having a lot of fun with Numerology. It works great for sequencing the Little Phatty, too.

Hi, thanks for your suggestions ..
Unfortunately i'm going for hardware and trying to avoid of any use of softwares/computer .. except for multitracking/recording .. i'm planning to make it for gritty&analog feeling for live.
Thanks a lot though for all

analog 808 clones:
acidlab miami
http://www.acidlab.de/

MFB 522
http://www.mfberlin.de/Produkte/Musikel ... -522e.html

Both look and sound great (at least on youtube) plus the MFB is very reasonably priced.

Now we're talking .. been looking for their clones for few weeks, wasn't hard enough i guess

Sheeshh .. those sounds make me chills thanks so much !

The miami has better interface, although i heard that the sound of the mfb is a slight better ? but those knobs too cramped in a small space .. beautiful anyway .. now i need to look up for a good deal somewhere.
Appreciate it!

Anything else?

Korg Electribes -- $499. ESX1 is their sampler drum machine, and the EMX1 is their synth drum machine. Really fine machines, and a farily easy learning curve.. Only draw back is the Smart Media card for loading samples, presets, etc. I have the ESX1 and love it. Haven't used it to sequence my Moogs, but I believe the EMX1 is better suited for that job.

The miami has better interface, although i heard that the sound of the mfb is a slight better ? but those knobs too cramped in a small space .. beautiful anyway ..

Anything else?

Myself I'd consider the miami and MFB.
Both would complement the LP very well on all fronts.

Both get good reviews, although there's some minor criticism on the Miami (snare) but that interface does seem great. Colorcode, knobs, general look, the works... As for sounds, I think one can also consider it as a good synthdrum on it's own rather than just an 808 clone.

Too bad the 503 is out of run, but the Schlagzwerg largely makes up for that with it's full-on black look ; very slick combined with the LP, a nice plus imo.
Sizewise, MFB might be a hassle if you got big hands (tricky handling, uncomfortable after a while) but you can't argue about the fact they're relatively cheap AND analog! You get a good soundsource to begin with, that's what counts..

There's also the JOMOX Xbase series, but that's in the higher (read: Elektron) price range.
Different but definitely worth checking -but mucho money- is the amazing Vermona DRM1. I think somebody already did a thread about it...not sure

This one on ebay will surely make your day, it's 'rainbow-colored with theremin' plus it looks and sounds fatter than a Taurus -hahahaha- (hey what more can you want?)
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-ANALOG-DRUM ... 1|294%3A50
4 ON THE FLOOR LOL

And I know it's not analog, but in case of emergency
http://www.hobnox.com/index.1056.en.html

I use an MPC 1000- works great as a sequencer, and its really easy to find good 808 and 909 samples- just make sure you upgrade the OS- Akai's standard OS is kinda weak.

Yeah i've seen those xbase's and it's kinda expensive, close to the real 909/808 used. Too bad

And i've always been curious on AKAI MPC's line, what's the difference between 1000, 2000, 3000, XL, and so on.. Which one is good/better in most terms?

I'm now following them cos usually been use for hip hop/r'n'b style artists, thought it's maximized for that purpose.

How does it work? does it work like a regular drum machines on how we make the pattern, sequencing (step/real time tapping), sequence muting?
Cos if it does, it's gonna be great if we can just load them with for example 909/808 samples, but can we tweak the samples to any particular tone/shape/decay?

I'm sorry, cos i'm new to these things
Cheers!

I use a Machine Drum SPS-1 MKI. I really like it. The sounds it makes are very very broad. It is not sampled based but synthesis based. You can also sequence and control the LP very well with it.

From what I've learned, of the newer mpcs, the 1000 and 2500 are the most popular and the best bang for your buck (I heard the 5000 is kind of a dog). The older mpcs like the 3000 or 2000 are great, but don't have much ram, great storage, etc.

For sequencing, my mpc 1000 is super intuitive, probably one of the most natural feeling drum machines I've ever used. It's pretty traditional in execution (just like you described) but gives you tons of control at your fingertips, and allows multiple tracks, swing control, muting and other goodies without having to dig through a bunch of sub menus. It also functions great as a sequencer for the phatty, and the ability to loop knob changes and buttons through midi gives some interesting mod capabilities.

For customization of sound, the os has built in filters, eqs and some decent effects, and let's you adjust attack and release and other parameters pretty easily.

r05c03 wrote:I use a Machine Drum SPS-1 MKI. I really like it. The sounds it makes are very very broad. It is not sampled based but synthesis based. You can also sequence and control the LP very well with it.

+1

The Machinedrum truly is a remarkable piece of kit. It's really easy to program, sounds great and has rock solid midi timing.

I love my Machinedrum.

In fact, I love my Machinedrum so much that I've just bought a Monomachine.

If your talking inexpensive, the Elektron and Akai MPC 1000 are not that. However, they are great machines.

I bought an MFB-502 "Drumcomputer" on eBay recently (in spite of terrible user reviews) and am very happy with it. It is tiny and feels very lightweight and plastic but the sound is great, especially through a large speaker cabinet. I prefer the white noise hats and cymbal to the newer TR808/606-like hats on the MFB-522. If you don't already have a drum machine and want something versatile (and don't mind going with a virtual analog device) the Korg ER1 is the best thing going in my opinion. Possibly the best user interface ever designed for a drum machine. They go for around $150 used on eBay.