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Drum Machines

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? by xxxscumbagparty

Has anyone got any recommendations? I'm/we're (That is my band) sick of searching fruitlessly for a real drummer so have decided to go with a drum machine but we want something that will sound good live going through a PA. I've resisted going down this route for soooo long as any bands I've ever seen live with a drum machine have been poo. Am currently thinking of getting a Boss DR 880, any comments are welcome!

xxxscumbagparty | 19 May '08, 23:59 | Send note | Report this | Reply

TR 808 or TR 909

but they might be a bit techno/electro for ya I'm no expert these are the only ones I know from listening to far to much Detroit Techno

jimitheexploder | 20 May '08, 00:02 | Send note | Report this | Reply

You'll pay a fuckload for one of those now

most newer boss ones will have all the classic samples anyway.

What sort of sound are you going for?

TheSoundofBastards | 20 May '08, 00:05 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Thanks for the tip

I'll check out those drum machines, perhaps on ebay :D
We're going for a Shellac/Mclusky kind of sound. Yep we're a 'rock' band I guess, I'm sure drum machines sound great live in an electronic band but (off the top of my head) with the exception of Big Black I can't think of any other rock band that use them!!!

xxxscumbagparty | 20 May '08, 18:15 | Send note | Report this | Reply

...

Comment: I know a guy who'll come to your house and kneecap you if you think a DR880 is worth filling in for a real drummer.

Alternative: Laptop/Fruity Loops/Drumkit From Hell = Excellent, if you have the resources.

Stealthy | 20 May '08, 18:31 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Big Black

mainly used a TR-707 (lots of websites say they used a TR-606, but that was only really for the very early stuff), and you can pick them up quite cheaply on eBay. They do sound very artificial though, which may or may not be what you want.

argle | 20 May '08, 18:45 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Ta...

We would love a realistic drum sound but realise that's probably not going to happen :( Thanks for the suggestions everyone I'll have a look. We did try Denmark Street today with no luck, TurnKey closed and Zavvi, (or whatever the hell it's called now) in the basement only had one! ONE!!! It was distinctly average too, I think if we get one we'll have to put some effects on it and have a pseudo drum sound. Who would have thought trying to have a play with drum machine would be so hard? Still not as hard as actually finding a real drummer :P

xxxscumbagparty | 22 May '08, 00:03 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Just because...

you can't think of many bands that use drum machines, and synthetic drum sounds, doesn't mean you shouldn't. The worst thing to do is to use a drum machine to try to sound like a real drummer. It won't, and most indie and rock bands that use drum machines like that sound like crap. If you're going to use a drum machine, use it as a drum machine. Experiment with using 808/909/synthetic sounding samples and making it sound griddy and electronic, because nobody else is doing it right now.

Don't get a Boss DR880, they sound rubbish and feel plasticy and like a toy. See note below about drum machines aimed at rock bands.

Mu_Tron | 22 May '08, 01:15 | Send note | Report this | Reply

A bit pricey...

epecially for what it does.

You can pick up an MPC500 for £350ish. It's a drum sampler, so you can put any sound you like in and aren't stuck with ROM samples, they sound fantastic and are reliable. The 500 also runs on batteries if you want it to. Its probably the most professional you can get for the money, as most drum machines are actually really really shit, especially those aimed at live bands wanting to replace a live drummer.

Mu_Tron | 22 May '08, 01:08 | Send note | Report this | Reply

My only suggestion

would be to see if you can find one that can be triggered into the next 'phrase' with a footswitch. Maybe this is common and maybe it's almost impossible to find, but for live playing, the ability to 'hang' on the verse, say, because of some other fuck up would be really useful and it would mean there's an element of 'live' to your backing track that wouldn't be there otherwise.

TheoGB | 22 May '08, 08:46 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Das ist richtig

Yeah, I reckon it's much easier to get something that you can control whilst onstage especially if one of you mistimes a chorus or verse or something.

It's much harder to get it back on track than just loop the drum track for one more bar, believe me!

mdash | 22 May '08, 09:42 | Send note | Report this | Reply

I found that

using even a really basic drum machine can sound ace if you put it through a pedal. I recorded a track with my friend with a really simple, tiny drum machine and put it through a woolly mammoth pedal which really beefed it up, and then you can alter the pitch to make it more blippy and crackly... it's hard to explain. But the track is here www.myspace.com/transmetropolitanmusic.
Hope this helps a little.

captainsoph | 22 May '08, 08:59 | Send note | Report this | Reply

and also

footswitch is a must have otherwise it is TOUGH. Unless you have a lead singer who is doing nothing else, it can get pretty hairy.

captainsoph | 22 May '08, 09:00 | Send note | Report this | Reply

PINCH

not pitch, sorry.

captainsoph | 22 May '08, 09:03 | Send note | Report this | Reply

The Kills...

...is another rock band with drum machine.

the_milkiest_jag | 22 May '08, 09:09 | Send note | Report this | Reply

this sort of thing

is easier to do effectively if you have individual outputs for each of the drum sounds, so that you can put effects on some and not others. I mention this because the TR-707 does have individual outs.

argle | 22 May '08, 09:08 | Send note | Report this | Reply

SR16 also has auxiliary outs so you can put

some of the drum sounds through an external source.

TheSoundofBastards | 22 May '08, 09:13 | Send note | Report this | Reply

I did one of these threads a few weeks ago

and was recommended an Alesis something or other that I then bought off Ebay for £50 and then used last week, pretty sucessfully at a gig. In short - its great and cheap. Hard to beat.

JimmyHuntspill | 22 May '08, 09:55 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Just a thought

but there are some great drum loop libraries that you can pick up for a similar price to a half decent drum machine. For your cash you get acoustic drum loops which you can edit to your hearts content, and as they are real drums they do sound pretty close to the real deal.

Also you can get them in mixed and unmixed varieties so you can either use a fully mixed "song" or just put it all together in software of choice. You could then just use a mini disc player or CD to play the tracks through a PA.

I'd reccomend Discrete Drums or Drums on Demand for this idea.

darkanddivine | 22 May '08, 10:09 | Send note | Report this | Reply

WOW!

Thanks for all your suggestions! Yeah, we've realised that we'll have to experiment and probably go with a more electronic drum sound, which is cool. (There really is no substitute for a real drummer) We'll steer clear of the Boss DR 880 :P as no one seems to like that one! The second biggest issue we have will definatley be controlling the thing once we're playing live, I can imagine it going horribly wrong and playing to a pre-recorded backing track would be dangerous!
Had a go on an Alesis and thought it was ok, nice and cheap, it could sound better going through some pedals though. I'll have to try some more out.
Didn't realise The Kills used drum machines either!

xxxscumbagparty | 26 May '08, 11:14 | Send note | Report this | Reply