Examples of Famous Drum Machines in Music

When searching for this topic recently I was disappointed that well written articles had missed out one or two notable drum machines, or more thorough lists lacked examples, so here’s my short but sweet list of examples of the drum machines I think are worthy of inclusion.

This is not every drum machine ever. I’m leaving out a lot of more modern drum machines as they can basically do everything and arguably don’t have a sound to them in such a clear and obvious way. Not a hater of modern drum machines, I just don’t have the affinity.

Also I’m omitting most samplers, as samplers can sample anything, so while you might think your favourite sampler should be here… there’s good reason for it not to be. This pretty much rules out most Akai MPC-era workstations and E-mu SP1200 samplers.

Lastly anything extremely archaic wont make the list either. If you couldn’t easily identify one when you hear one, or it’s made before about 1975, it probably wont make this list (sorry to the most hilariously named drum, machine ever, the Wurlitzer Sideman). This list is incomplete so please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Roland TR-808

To start anywhere else would be facetious. Probably the most classic sounding drum machine out there. Never has something that’s sounded so far from its intended target has been so successful (and I’m including the 303 in that bracket). Arguably Ikutaro Kakehashi’s greatest contribution to music. Kanye even named an album after this machine.

Produced by Roland between 1980 and 1983 and described by some as the Stratocaster of Hip Hop, this all analog drum machine was one of the first with an onboard sequencer that allowed user programmable patterns.

During the early 80s it was the sound of everything from pop and disco (Whitney, Marvin, SOS Band) to electro and freestyle (Shannon, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Egyptian Lover) and of course hip hop, where we began to hear the of the kick layered underneath a big breakbeat to add weight and thump to a loop (see Straight Outta Compton).

In house and techno the machine was always in the shadow of its younger sibling the 909 (more on this later), but the instantly recognisable cowbell and other percussion sounds can be heard littered across early Aphex Twin records as well as countless others.

During the mid 90s to early 00s producers of Jungle, Crunk and Miami Bass were most synonymous with the groove-box, re-sampling and re-tuning it as a makeshift bassline, a trick that would later become the de-facto sound of hip-hop, with the sub-shattering, chest thumping sound is almost divorced from its origins as a kick drum. This can be heard in anything from modern trap to drill, grime, dubstep, EDM, the lot.

Linn Electronics LM-1 & LinnDrum LM2 & Linn 9000

I’m probably gonna take some heat from bundling all three of these together, and I know I said no samplers, but I also said there’d be exceptions.

Heard all over Prince, the first couple of Michael Jackson records, John Carpenter, Madonna, Jean-Michel Jarre, pretty much every Stock Aitken Waterman record and many many more. It is maybe the go-to disco drum machine.

Created by drum machine overlord Roger Linn (also responsible for the Akai MPC), the LM-1 debuted in 1980, with the LM2 in 1982 and Linn 9000 in 1984.

The Linn machines used 28, 32 or 40 kHz audio samples of acoustic drum kits (depending on which machine you had), which sounded far more realistic than an 808 and certainly more so than the analog bleeps and bloops from the glorified organ rhythm accompany boxes of the 70s.

Roland TR-909

Next to the 808, the 909 is the other undeniable big dog drum machine Roland are still dining off of 40 years later.

Created by Tadao Kikumoto (also the creator of the TB-303) and hitting the market in 1983 it utilised the newly released MIDI and contained a combination of analog one shots (à la the 808) but also the unmistakable digital samples we’ve all literally heard a million times. Like all the best things in music, it was initially a commercial flop.

While the 808 was all about electro and hip hop, the 909 is the cornerstone of house and techno, two newly forming genres emerging out of Chicago and Detroit respectively. The 909 was the metronome for dancers across America in the early to mid 80s.

Unlike the 808 and Linn machines, the 909s influence didn’t wane as obviously during the 90s. If anything as dance music headed for the charts the 909 became even more popular. The iconic kick and off beat open hi-hat combined with a Yamaha TX81Z bass was the sound of pop music in the early 90s.

While the 808 kick was known for its speaker-cone shaking low-end, the 909 kick had more punch and mid-range quality, making it more suitable for cutting through a busy mix.

Oberheim DMX

The Oberheim DMX is a sometimes overlooked drum machine, perhaps more comparable to the Linn that either of our Roland entries so far.

The DMX was a sampler but the internal sounds are arguably as famous as the unit itself, if not more so. The DMX is as widely used in hip-hop as pop. The sound is perhaps a little heavier than the internal Linn drum samples, a little more driven with a fatter clap and more brash hi-hats.

The most famous isolated usage of the DMX is probably the snappy kick drum intro to Blue Monday.

E-Mu Systems Drumulator

Another sampler masquerading as drum machine, last one I PROMISE. Maybe. E-Mu are well known for their samplers and sample-based synthesisers, this is really their only dedicated drum machine. It was released in 1983 this was E-Mu’s attempt at an LM-1 competitor, aiming to be better and cheaper. I would maybe contest the first point but regardless it certainly has a sound to it.

With only 8 different sounds at 12 bit resolution it would be fair to assume this unit wouldn’t have the impact of the Linn, nor probably did it. However in 1984, a company called Digidrums released bonus EPROMs for the unit, expanding it with some “rockier” sounds. All credit goes to Wikipedia for this list.

Roland TR-707 & 727

The 707 cousin the 727 could be argued to be underrated, especially in the shadows of the 808 and 909. Both units were digital sample based drum computers with the 707 offering the bread and butter drum kit elements and the 727 coming with the latin percussion.

The 707 in particular can be found across many an acid house record, particularly relating to the Trax label.

Both units were always popular with live performers for two reasons. Firstly there’s a handy matrix-style display, which makes it much easier to view the pattern, secondly there’s individual output volume sliders for each drum, rather than pots.

Simmons SDS-V

Eastenders drum fill.

Sequential Circuits DrumTraks

A cracking drum machine made by a company far more known for their synthesisers. This makes the list for posterity over anything else, as it’s hard to corroborate which songs have actually used the device, with only anecdotal evidence online.

The DrumTracks was a little more flexible than the TR-XOX style machines in terms of its editing capabilities, and like all of these drum machines it has a certain sound. Slightly flatter and rounder than the Linn or DMX, but still with some amount of punch.

Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm

One of two examples of a “pre-programmable” era drum machines in this list. Units like like (see also Korg Mini Pops) were hangover from the 60s and 70s, when electronic organs were purchased for home entertainment.

These tended to have some basic, un-editable rhythms (bossanova, waltz, disco, rock etc), and the CR-78 was no different. It has a certain sound to it that is like nothing else, it’s not high fidelity in the slightest and carries little to no low-end, but this charming drum machine has ended up on plenty of records.

Alesis HR-16

The rest of these aren’t in the same league as the above drum machines, and the Alesis HR-16 I’m only really including this because of its resurgence during the early 00s heyday of circuit bending cheap eBay purchases. This has seemed to bump the price up beyond what I would fairly value the unit at, but that’s supply and demand for you.

Circuit bending is a process of taking cheap (normally digital) devices and hacking the internal circuitry, creating connections where there weren’t before, corrupting data busses, adding potentiometers, overloading circuits, slowing down clock speeds, anything goes. The great thing about it is you don’t need much experience with electronics in order to have a go. Circuitbenders.co.uk had this to say about the HR-16:

For many years mankind has been baffled by the existence of the Alesis HR-16 & HR-16B drum machines, mainly due to the fact that the Alesis engineers appeared to have an obsession with doorstops at the time (see Alesis MMT-8 sequencer) and filled them with 49 sounds that sound strangely ‘odd’ in some indefinable way. Despite this, the HR–16 is one of our favorite bent drum machines capable of an excellent selection of extremely usable bent sounds and effects.

circuitbenders.co.uk

Roland TR-606

Not a household name but the 606 (and the less known 626) are still popular with acid house and techno producers wanting something more shrill and cutting than the arguably rinsed 909.

Released in 1982 and initially designed as the drummer for the TB-303, the 606, unlike many of the latter XOX designs was all analog, in-fact it shares a lot of the same inner workings as the 808, so if you’re happy to give up the tuning capabilities, this is a smaller, cheaper alternative, albeit significantly less flexible.

Korg Minipops

Like the CR-78 these primitive rhythm units encased in a nice wooden box and offers some preset drum patterns. Not flexible, not overly desirable. At the time this was cutting edge technology so fair enough, but now I can’t see how the average user would get much out of this beyond playing lounge jazz covers of the The Girl From Ipanema in a small satellite town bistro.

There were seven iterations of the Minipops made starting with the Minipops 3 (1967), 5 (1966), 7 (1966), 20 S[tereo] (1967), the Minipops Junior (1972), 35 (1976) and finally the 120 (1976). However due to my little knowledge of the specifics I’m bundling them all together here.

I don’t know what these were going for pre-2014 but I’d imagine their price skyrocketed after a certain someone named their track someone absurd like minipops 67 [120.2][source field mix].

JoMoX XBase 09

With the prices of drum machines skyrocketing to ridiculous levels it’s really no surprise that companies seek to emulate our most sought after ones.

The JoMoX XBase 09 is a credible 909 clone. I would normally shy away from including derivatives or pastiche in here but this is a rare exception.

Released in 1997, this is the newest drum machine on this list. Like the 909, the XBase is a analog/PCM sample hybrid, and offer some functionality that the 909 didn’t.