drum machine for LP

Everything Phatty.
sixsinisters
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 4:40 pm

drum machine for LP

Post by sixsinisters » Sat Jun 13, 2009 5:39 pm

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! :D

sergiovalente9
Posts: 92
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2006 11:55 am
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Re: drum machine for LP

Post by sergiovalente9 » Sat Jun 13, 2009 6:11 pm

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! :D
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.
Little Phatty SE
MF-101
MF-102
Virus Ti snow
Elektron Machinedrum SPS-1 MK1

Bryan T
Posts: 812
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 4:23 pm

Post by Bryan T » Sat Jun 13, 2009 6:20 pm

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.

sixsinisters
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 4:40 pm

Post by sixsinisters » Sat Jun 13, 2009 7:03 pm

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 :)

mysterycircuits
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:00 pm
Location: Belgium

Post by mysterycircuits » Sat Jun 13, 2009 7:30 pm

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. :!:

sixsinisters
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 4:40 pm

Post by sixsinisters » Sat Jun 13, 2009 7:49 pm

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

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?

MarkM
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Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:28 pm
Location: Northeast Tennessee, USA

Post by MarkM » Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:32 am

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.
Mark Mahoney
http://www.reverbnation.com/markmahoney
www.cdbaby.com/cd/mmahoneympeck
www.cdbaby.com/cd/markmahoney

mysterycircuits
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:00 pm
Location: Belgium

Post by mysterycircuits » Sun Jun 14, 2009 3:29 am

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 :wink:

Pewt
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:43 pm

Post by Pewt » Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:33 pm

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.

sixsinisters
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 4:40 pm

Post by sixsinisters » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:06 am

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!

r05c03
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:08 pm

Post by r05c03 » Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:11 pm

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.
MF-102, MF-107, MF-m105, CP-251, MP-201, Elektron Octatrack, Filter Factory...

Pewt
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:43 pm

Post by Pewt » Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:18 pm

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.

moledog
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:29 pm

Post by moledog » Tue Jun 16, 2009 5:09 am

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.

MarkM
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Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:28 pm
Location: Northeast Tennessee, USA

Post by MarkM » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:37 pm

If your talking inexpensive, the Elektron and Akai MPC 1000 are not that. However, they are great machines.
Mark Mahoney
http://www.reverbnation.com/markmahoney
www.cdbaby.com/cd/mmahoneympeck
www.cdbaby.com/cd/markmahoney

toryjames
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Location: California
Contact:

MFB-502

Post by toryjames » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:46 pm

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.

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