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What to look for when buying your first drum machine

Byozfetch

Jul 16, 2020 #North East

If you are in the market for buying studio equipment, there is no better time than now, and this goes for drum machines too. There are so many choices at your disposal and the prices are much lower than they were five years ago.

What are drum machines?

Before we explore deeper into pads, nuts, bolts, and percussion, let us first tell you more about what a drum machine is precisely. Drum machines are the musical hardware which is built to copy the sound of electronic drums or other percussion musical sounds. Drum machines are typically box-shaped and has a keypad that looks like a keyboard from a PC. Any good quality drum machine permits the musician to generate, mix, and program various drum sounds. This eradicates the need for having a live drummer to perform various drumming sounds.

What are drum machines used for?

Contemporary drum machines are a popular selection for various music genres, from psychedelic folk, to dance music and are utilized for numerous reasons. For music styles that characterize a more electronic sound, the drum machine is usually more focused on the foundation of a song or arrangement since there is more room for sonic experimentation. However, for more conventional styles like rock, a drum machine is regularly utilized for recording quick, yet sophisticated sound demos without the need for setting up a full kit.  Check out https://roamingsound.com/best-drum-machine/ for more information on the best drum machines out there.

The evolution of drum machines

Drum machines started becoming more commercially available during the mid-twentieth century, but they were quite basic, and their abilities were rather primitive. They were mostly utilized for live improvisation or rehearsal when a live drummer was not available. However, since the 1970s, drum machines have expanded with loads more built-in sounds at your disposal. Musicians began to realize the potential of what they could accomplish with a track. Since then, the humble drum machine has progress, with more affordable, more powerful, and more user-friendly models available for purchase. Moby has one of the most productive drum machine collections in the world. Most of his songs engage the use of drum machines. He is a good example of what can be achieved with a drum machines that is fully used to its potential.

The primary features of a contemporary drum machine:

  • Built-in features – Any good quality modern drum machine will be equipped with a range of built-in features and musical effects.
  • Pressure-sensitive pads – different sounds can be achieved from these pads once they are stroked with your fingers. Contingent on the sounds which are assigned to every pad, wither it is space aged maraca, or traditional snare drum sound, you can tap out the drum sequence that you want to save and utilize in your music.
  • Editing and programming capabilities – with features like these you can record your own sounds and incorporate them with the drum-machine’s pre-set sounds. Contingent on the superiority of the drum machine, pre-set sounds can vary from ten to a thousand.

By ozfetch

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