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themaddog « Not a bad little unit »
Published on 09/20/11 at 11:18There are many great samples on this drum machine, all of which can have their tone, pitch, reverb, and decay adjusted. There are 200 preset patterns, 64 preset drum kits, and up to 200 user patterns can be edited along with 64 editable drum kits. Each drum kit can feature up to 32 unique samples across 16 dynamically touch sensitive buttons. There are multiple bass samples that are available as well, selectable across any of the drum kits. The bass is monophonic, but the majority of the drum samples are polyphonic. Each pattern can be edited with a fill, accessible by using the fill button as well. Patterns are edited in either step mode or in real-time with the use of a metronome. There is a 1/8" headphone out, 1/4" left and right outputs, MIDI in and out, and power can be supplied from 6 AA batteries or a BOSS power adapter, which runs for around $15.
UTILIZATION
It is very easy to edit patterns and make new ones from scratch. After the fact, individual samples can be manipulated. The only limiting factor is patches are designed to be 2 measures long, instead of 4 or 8 measures long. 4 measure patterns can be created using an 8/4 time signature, but this is not ideal. An additional fill pattern can be created along with each user pattern. Each preset patterns comes default with a fill pattern. Patterns can be combined to program songs.
SOUNDS
The sounds that come with this are pretty ok; there is a basic sampling of a variety of genres including rap/hip-hop, rock, latin, and swing. The bass samples are very good, and sound on average more realistic than the drum samples, but there tend to be more dance and techno related bass sounds than any other genre.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall this is a good drum machine, it's the first one I purchased and learned how to use. I now own a DR-880, which although sounds much better and can do more, takes me a longer time to get my patches created. Sometimes having too much choice can be a detriment to the musical process. If I could add two features to this drum machine, it would be the ability to program at minimum 4 measure patterns (8 would be even better and more musical) as well as some kind of random feature in order to randomize the dynamics and tone slightly for rock oriented music, to sound more like a real drummer.
UTILIZATION
It is very easy to edit patterns and make new ones from scratch. After the fact, individual samples can be manipulated. The only limiting factor is patches are designed to be 2 measures long, instead of 4 or 8 measures long. 4 measure patterns can be created using an 8/4 time signature, but this is not ideal. An additional fill pattern can be created along with each user pattern. Each preset patterns comes default with a fill pattern. Patterns can be combined to program songs.
SOUNDS
The sounds that come with this are pretty ok; there is a basic sampling of a variety of genres including rap/hip-hop, rock, latin, and swing. The bass samples are very good, and sound on average more realistic than the drum samples, but there tend to be more dance and techno related bass sounds than any other genre.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall this is a good drum machine, it's the first one I purchased and learned how to use. I now own a DR-880, which although sounds much better and can do more, takes me a longer time to get my patches created. Sometimes having too much choice can be a detriment to the musical process. If I could add two features to this drum machine, it would be the ability to program at minimum 4 measure patterns (8 would be even better and more musical) as well as some kind of random feature in order to randomize the dynamics and tone slightly for rock oriented music, to sound more like a real drummer.