All user reviews of 5/5 for the Boss DR-770 Dr. Rhythm

Bought on eBay for $280; I needed a way to record drum tracks without going into a studio.

The sounds you get are very, very realistic; I've done a lot of recordings with this drum machine already and people are always hard-pressed to tell it's a drum machine and not live. Its snare and bass drum sounds are especially impressive; the "natural" kit's snare sound is exactly that. The DR-770 sounds especially organic if you play it as a drum kit rather than using programmed patterns, for a more human touch. Multitracking different parts also allow much more intricate parts to be played.

One thing that you can't get with this drum machine is cymbal sounds. It just doesn't have the complex character of stick hitting metal, and the sustain is poor on all the crash settings. It's also not possible to play a convincing ride part on here.

Good. The pads are velocity sensitive, which means they can lose sensitivity over time, but that's part of the deal.

This is an indispensable tool for the one-man, home-recording musician who doesn't own a drum kit (or can't play one). Granted, the dynamics are probably better on an actual electronic drum kit with pads, but since those run at least $1,000, compared with $200-400 for drum machines, they are out of reach for most casual musicians. The Dr. Rhythm is invaluable in this respect.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased the Dr 770 late last year thru Musicians friend, actuall was pretty happy with the price, as a demo it was barely 3 hundred bucks.

Having had a few drum machines, the first thing to strike me about this unit was the sound. Having been a few years since I last checked into the drum machine technologys i was really surprised at how far they've come. The menu is easy, with two separate pad banks, each with 16 sounds, and when layered, produces 32 sounds and a full layered percussion/drum sound a'la santana springs forth. Realistic sounding drums with around 400 preprogrammed patterns. With 255 available sounds, and 64 user drum kits a user can create up to 3520 original sounds ! midi in and out, a phono output, and 3 main outputs, two stereo, and one individual. (all assignable). A very easy to use flam/roll utility, and onboard effects (although they aren't the best sounding effects). Plug it in and select a drum kit, decide on layering, and either real time, or in step mode, record your patterns. It is that easy. Or use one of the 400 very useable built in rhythms. the pattern selections are song oriented, each pattern name has a verse part, verse fill pattern, chorus, and a chorus/fill pattern. Making real time recrding with the unit slaved, extremely easy.

The only complaint I really have is the unavoidable 5lb transformer in the power plug. But remember folks, if it wasn't a wal-wart, it would be in the unit itself, making noise, and heat. This is how companies make these units today affordable.

The casing is a very rigid plastic with a somewhat readable display led, I imagine it could be very hard to read on a dark stage. The pads and menu buttons are all made of a durable yet easy on the fingers rubber material.

I like it, nothing else to say. Go get one, this unit is by far the best machine in the Boss line so far. Enjoy.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bote super strong pace in the least amount of space. The 800 rhythms (including 400 ditables) can be truly complete. Quick Search function to quickly find a rhythm and style and are fast to search
The possibilities are truly edition trs strong. With 255 sounds of all styles, filters, a qualiseur and the choice of shades on a same sounds, the DR 770 permits crativit total.
With 128 drum kits (64 presets), there was plenty to do.
For Fast Fashion in squenceur is the same.
In short, it's really a box complte rate and ultra compact (about 15 * 20 * 7 cm).

UTILIZATION

Use of this bote rhythm is very simple logic and especially trs. Same when you have not used a rather complex function for a while, found the procedure easy because all custom settings are classs. The edition is trs complte sounds, you get lost a little beginners because a bote rate often does not give us many opportunities. With the manual, you come very easy to do what you want.
Playing on a keyboard, using two assignable pedals can introduce variations or fill-in during the song.
A major default on the use: the LCD screen is not clear (a lack frankly in some lighting conditions)!
A little lacking: for users who are Fully ear or do not sufficiently matrisent solfge, we very much regret the display grid of beasts like the rhythm of the TR 707 o Fast Fashion new rhythms silent child's play.

SOUNDS

The sounds are good trs overall, but like many bote rhythms, you need a good amp or a good sound system to realize the quality of sound.
The choice of sounds and all rglages associated with them can cover all styles of music: Techno Jazz, there for every taste.

OVERALL OPINION

It is a terrible machine. I use it for 2 years, you can do virtually anything you want. The price of the DR 700 is really justified for the performance it offers!
The only missing: that of not being able CRER pattern for the intro and the end pieces
(4 patterns are associated: Rhythm Original, Fill-in to Change, Rhythm Variation, Fill-in to Original).
In short, if you hsitez again, I assure you, the DR 770 is a good choice trs!

251 drum samples of high quality, low 4 (inutilisables. .. or so for the gag!) And an "off" (an empty sample ... yes, it can be handy). The instruments are fully editable (Level, Pitch from -2 to +2 octaves, Decay, Nuance, Pan, Assign Type, frequency response to velocity, etc.).. The setting of shade to choose the location of the strike received (or to the center outward to the snare, for example). The Assign Type to manage the polyphony of a pad (if he cut himself or not, when it is played twice, cut if other sounds, etc.).. Certain sounds (hi-hats, etc..) Completely change the stamp with values ​​of very high pitch. It is possible to reproduce an incredible amount of percussion sounds and create from scratch.

400 factory patterns and 400 users. Enormous. It is impossible to overwrite the factory patterns (very ugly: when the Japanese get the idea to make rock, rap or samba, NOTHING can stop them ... not even the bad taste).

64 factory and 64 drumkits users. 55 sounds per kit (32 are playable from the pads: the others are accessible via MIDI).

Effects: Reverb / Delay + Chorus / Flanger. The parameters are few, but especially the beaches they are too narrow. For example, for the reverb can not set the type (Hall, Room or Plate), duration (from 0 to 31), and the level of low-pass filter (0 to 7 only: the sound of the reverb is very clear and quite cold ... damage). The time is not synchronized to the tempo. I do not like chorus and flanger (anyway I never liked these effects here ...). Anyway: what are the effects of drum! And in any case for the more demanding it is always possible to send the kit components to external effects by separate output (very easy to use: just adjust the pan of the far right-pad the display shows then "INDIV" - and adjust the level of individual output).

The DR is very compact and very solid (nothing more than you can carry around in your backpack without problems).

UTILIZATION

Patience and spirit of synthesis will be necessary to sequence your patterns. Indeed, one can see that and not an instrument at a time: those who are used as interfaces to TR (myself included) should get out paper and pencil to be able to visually represent the sequences! The DR-770 works in "ticks". The black is divided into 96 ticks: the triple is 12 ticks eighth, the sixteenth note 24, the eighth 48 ... there are also the triplet sixteenth note, eighth note and black (respectively 16, 32 and 64 ticks). This mode is a bit abstract at first (my music theory lessons are far), but it turns out ultimately very open and allows the habit to publish precisely these sequences and to engage in the joy of the cons- rhythms (and then anyway, simply adjust the quantization of "sixteenth note" to find the classic steps of TR 16). You can choose the length of the patterns as you see fit: 1 to 80 black ... live rhythms to 3 times (the brave can even indulge in the mysteries of rhythm to 5 times)!

The creation of songs based on your patterns is very simple, just paste them end-to-end. It is also possible to delete or insert parts.

Attention, as in all the drum machines, there is no room for error when you change something, whether an instrument or a sequence, the changes are automatically saved ... there is no undo or "revert to saved" (I say this for those who are familiar with software). Before attempting something radical must make copies! This "direct" approach still has the advantage of simplicity ... and to see the bright side: you will not lose any data in case of power failure!

The pads are velocity sensitive, but the race is very short so it's quite difficult to properly dose the strike force: so do not count on them to have a subtle and full of finesse ... Instead, edit your footage and enter the values ​​manually.

SOUNDS

The sounds are very well selected and sampled. Perhaps too well sampled: the DR is very clean on it (and that's what one would expect from a drum pro!), And these are not the effects that are embedded to change anything. We must all this mess with external effects, distortion, compression and EQ to really be something CHIREDÉ (as the young)! But maybe it's just a matter of taste.

I highly recommend the "swing" at low doses it can meet any pattern (even if you just have to make you feel right without a little swing "sixteenth note 62%" will not make it wrong!).

I also recommend to save your curls in your sampler and then filter them, cut, rearrange the overlay, etc.. And more so you do not have to carry the CD on stage where it is ultimately not very useful (the screen is a bit small and not backlit, and I find it difficult to achieve good patterns in real time), unless you use the pads to MIDI control.

OVERALL OPINION

I paid my own less than 300 euros in a poor suburban consignment shop five months ago and I have been the bargain of the century (next in the same window, there was the SCAM OF THE CENTURY : a Groovebox MC-303 EUR 300 ...)! Its small size, blue-stylee Bontempi and yellow buttons all round had to convince sellers that it was not a serious machine (the fools!). Against it by very hot on the bottom, at the power supply. At first it worried me, but I got used to (and read on U.S. sites it was normal for this model).

The guy (or girl) who had made before me the rai with: it is partly for this kind of surprises I love buy opportunity. on the other hand, make sure that documentation is provided (without it you will not get very far).

I LOVE THIS MACHINE. At home she is always at hand (that is to say, on my couch in front of the TV). The more I use it, the more I discover features, at least I can do without.

In short: "I c'que ch'sais not, I see life in blue ... it serious doctor?" (And hey presto, I finished on a double play on words and twisted a quote wild pub)