Drum Machines

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. more...

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Most modern drum machines are sequencers with a sample playback (rompler) or synthesizer component that specializes in the reproduction of drum timbres as well as the sound of other traditional percussion instruments. Though features vary from model to model, many modern drum machines can also produce unique sounds (though usually percussive in nature), and allow the user to compose unique drum beats.

History

Early drum machines

Early drum machines were often referred to as "rhythm machines." In 1930–31, the spectacularly innovative and complex Rhythmicon was realized by Léon Theremin on the commission of composer-theorist Henry Cowell, who wanted an instrument with which to play compositions whose multiple rhythmic patterns, based on the overtone series, were far too difficult to perform on existing keyboard instruments. The invention could produce sixteen different rhythms, each associated with a particular pitch, either individually or in any combination, including en masse, if desired. Received with considerable interest when it was publicly introduced in 1932, the Rhythmicon was soon set aside by Cowell and was virtually forgotten for decades. The next generation of rhythm machines played only preprogrammed rhythms such as mambo, tango, or the like. The first commercially available rhythm machines were included in organs in the late 1960s, and were intended to accompany the organist.

The first largely successful drum machine was the Rhythm Ace. It was released around 1970 by a company then called Ace Tone (later called Roland). The Rhythm Ace was a preset-only unit; it was not possible for the user to alter or modify the pre-programmed rhythms. A number of other preset drum machines were later released in the 1970s. The first major pop song to use a drum machine was a cover version of Sly and the Family Stone's "Somebody's Watching You" recorded by Little Sister. The song, produced and composed by Sly Stone, entered the R&B charts in 1971. The first album in which a drum machine produced all the percussion was Arthur Brown/Kingdom Come's Journey, recorded in November 1972 using a Bentley Rhythm Ace.

Drum sound synthesis

A key difference between such early machines and more modern equipment is that they used analog sound synthesis rather than digital sampling in order to generate their sounds. For example, a snare drum or maraca sound would typically be created using a burst of white noise whereas a bass drum sound would be made using sine waves or other basic waveforms. This meant that while the resulting sound was not very close to that of the real instrument, each model tended to have a unique character. For this reason, many of these early machines have achieved a certain "cult status" and are now sought after by DJs and producers for use in production of modern techno and electronic music.

Read more at Wikipedia.org