With the evolution of current massive amounts of genres of music, same with the instruments that made it. The drum machine, a vital instrument has become part of the booming electronic music scene.
Sampling
Sampling played an important role in hip-hop history and art-form because of the culture has revolved the idea of updating classic recording, attitudes, and experiences for modern audience called "flipping" the culture. Sampling follows in the footsteps of earlier American musical genres such as blues, salsa, jazz and rock n roll in having become one of the most practiced genres of music in existence worldwide, and also, taking extra inspiration regularly from soul music, funk and RnB.
This evolution of the drum machine starts with the first use of the present now known 'drum machine' was the device called the Rhythmicon which was invented by American composer Henry Cowell who collaborated with Russian inventor, Leon Theremin to create. The invention featured up to 16 different rhythms and pitch effects, which attracted considerable attention. Cowell composed Rhythmicana (1931) and Music for Violin and Rhythmicon.
The Ryhmicon, created in 1930
Released 26 years later, came the Chamberlin Rhythmate, an electro mechanical keyboard instrument that inspired the creation of the Mellotron, in 1963.
Chamberlin Rhythmate 1956
The device featured tempo and pitch effects, and was used as a karaoke machine for home entertainment.
In the 1960s, an instrument called the Bandito the bongo player was featured on the album entitled Manhattan Research Inc by inventor, musician and composer Raymond Scott.
The album features all of Scott's work between the 1950s and 1960s. All the synthesisers, sequencers and drum-machine used were designed by Scott himself.
Bandito the Bongo Artist
In 1975, the pace of the drum machine production boomed as the worlds first programmable drum set by Paia electronics was introduced. The amazing gadget featured analogue synthesis and for the first time in drum machine history, programmability.
PAia's first programmable drum machine
Three years later, Roland, the worlds leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of musical instruments created the CompuRhythm CR-78 in 1978.
Compurhythm CR-78
The CR-78 represented an important advance in the drum machine technology at the time which used analogue drum sounds, which didn't sound like real percussion instruments but instead their own distinctive sounds.The unit also incorporated an early Intel microprocessor to provide digital control of its functions.
The wood cabinet and preset rhythms such as the Waltz, Bossa Nova and Rhumba. This suggested the designers made it to accompany an electric organ, later the CR-78 became the favourite instruments of pop and electronic musicians in the late 1970s and early 1980's. Famous songs made by this magnificent creation include "Vienna" by Ultravox, "Heart of Glass" by Blondie and "Remind me to smile" by Gary Numan.
Gary Numan's Remind Me to Smile
The Linn Drum was a drum machine manufactured by Linn electronics, that had 15 drum sounds sampled from real drums played from the machine specifically by drummer ART WOOD, a good friend of Roger Linn. The instrument was used by Gary Wright, Tina Turner, Cher and James Brown.
The LinnDrum in 1982
Two years passed, and it was Roland's big comeback with the TR 707 and soon to be big brother of the TR 909 was the backbone to early house music, particularly with the Acid House scene.
This great machine was used by the likes of Plastikman, Laurent Garnier, Aphex twin and Marshall Jefferson the pioneers of the house, techno and electro scene.
The machine offers a limited number of instruments sampled at 12bits, hence, why its sound is considered "old" but was built just as tough and durable as its little brothers the TR-808 and TR-909.
The 707 is particularly sought after by Roland users from the same era because it can synchronise with other hardware via both MIDI and DIN sync.
"Move your body" one of the house music classics.
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Roland's TR808 released in 1983
The earlier 808, which came out a year before the 707, is the more limited of the two in many respects: it’s an all-anlogue design but the kick drum can’t be tuned, there’s no MIDI as standard and there’s no swing option.
The TR-909 released in 1984
A year later, came the all new and improved TR 909 the first Midi-equipped drum machine, a fully programmable, and like its predecessor, the TR-808 can store entire songs with multiple sections, as opposed to simple storing simple sequences.
Daft punk's Revolution 909 produced with the TR-909
There’s very little left to say about the 808 and 909, so I’ll spare you the usual flowery language about booming kicks, crunching snares and silky hi-hats (there’s enough of that in the rest of this feature). Instead, let’s focus on something that’s discussed far too infrequently when examining the importance of these two iconic 80s units: their practical use as instruments.
Regardless of these differences, both the 808 and 909 are still excellent for production in both the studio or in a live setting. Their step sequencers are among the best you’ll find and the hands-on control allied with iconic sound engines makes for a much more engrossing experience than triggering a set of 808 or 909 samples (although whether that justifies the price premium is a different matter).
Both units benefit greatly from careful processing. Compression and EQ make the sounds come to life and allow them to be shaped into the tones we all know from the last 25 years of house and techno records. The 909 in particular also takes on an entirely new character when its sounds are distorted. Running the kick into an analogue mixer, turn the gain and hear it get angrier and more abrasive until it’s a harsh, fuzzy mess. These are serious instruments which reward thoughtful production.
It’s impossible to say which model is ‘better’: that’s a value judgement too far for two units which helped define the sound of electronic music as we know it today. Both are excellent instruments which justify the plaudits and command a premium on the second-hand market and prices continue to rise seemingly every month.
In 1986, the Japanese corporation Casio, wanted in on this new drum machine pioneering by introducing the Casio RZ-1. This was one of the first machines allowing the user to sample their own sounds, augmenting the unit's built-in sounds.
Casio RZ-1 introduced in 1986
Emu's Sp1200 release in 1987
The E-mu Sp 1200, is a classic drum machine and Sampler that was released in 1987, originally created for dance music producers. With its ability ability to simulate the "warmth of vinyl recording and constructing a the bulk of a song within one piece, it has been an acclaimed icon of hip hop's golden age .
Most of all of the French House/Filter House tracks up until after the release of Daft Punk's Discovery used hardware samplers with the most popular ones being the E-mu SP-12 and the E-mu SP-1200. Stardust's Music Sounds Better With You, along with both of Together's tracks, most of Alan Braxe's tracks, all of Thomas Bangalter's sample-based solo tracks, and all of the Le Knight Club tracks, used the E-mu SP-1200.
Many producers find that the Sp 1200 had less limitations in regards to sound quality because of the sounds that were kind of distorted and crushed. This had a heavy effect on the sound quality of the drums and with the Sp 1200 offering a sampler integrated into the drum sequence meant that you could load a 909 kick drum sound completely transforming into a gritty,punchy heavy kick drum known as distinct sound used on Thomas Bangalter's(member of daft punk) label Roule. (with its sampling rates at the time were much higher then most available drum machines)
Check out this video to see Alan Braxe briefly demonstrating SP-1200 (using his classic track with Fred Falke, "Intro"): http://vimeo.com/6606574
A year later, Roger Linn (creator of Linn drum) teamed up with Akai, to create the Akai mpc, a MIDI drum machine/sampler and sequencer. Its ablity to sequence, sample and velocity sensitive pads optimised its use a drum machine made it popular with musicians producing hip hop and other styles. Dj Premier, an important American hip-hop legend referred to as "the true essence of hip-hop, the king of underground hip-hip used the MPC60 to produce of his tracks during the 90's, and still uses it currently with Pro Tools.
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The AKAI MPC60
In 2001, the Elektron SPS1 Machine drum was invented. This is an advanced drum synthesises and drum machine with analog sounds from classic drum machines as well as electronic and acoustic drum sounds. You can tweak and morph them into unique and dynamic sounds. Drum editing features include amplitude modulation, a 1-band EQ, multimode resonant filter, distortion, sample-rate reducer, reverb and delay. There's also a compressor and a 3 Band EQ.
The built in sequence offers two programming methods which are Classic and Extended. The Classic mode works pretty much like the classic TR-series where as the Extended mode is more in depth. for example - storing Drum Kit info with patterns, patterns can go up to 32 steps. Intensity settings, and step time editing
Machinedrum SPS-1 (2001)
Tempest Analog Drum Machine
Tempest Analog Drum Machine is a professional drum machine that generates its sound using six analog synthess voice and a performance-orientated operating system which allows you to create, edit and arrange beats in real time. In each voice, it has two oscillators capable of producing sawtooth, square, triangle and saw waves with hard sync.
Midi Drum Pads
Since the use of drum machines are limited to having only a one sample pre-loaded at a time, comes the introduction of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface or otherwise known as MIDI controllers. Simply put, all you need is a DAW program like Logic or Ableton and a MIDI controller, to open a whole new horizon of new samples to add, and plug-in instruments easily adjusted and tweaked with a click of a button. Using MIDI controllers like drum machines are exceeded with even more functionality and playability by being able to create our own drum loops, sequences etc, all together bundling the software, controller and at a very reasonable price allowing almost anyone to program, design and play their own loop and songs!
Hip hop Pioneers
DJ Kool HERC, Jamaican born Dj who is credited with originating hip-hop music in the early 1970s in The Bronx, New York City.Campbell showed the first signs of sampling by isolating the instrumenal portion of the record which emphasizing the drum beat, the "break' and switch from one break to another.
The great Grandmaster Flash
This breakbeat Djing used hard funk records with latin forming the basis if hip-hop music. While Campbell djed and mced he first called his dancer "break boys " and "break girls" or simply b- boys and b-girls. Campbell's dj style was quikly taken up by figures such as Afrika Bombataa but sadly he never made the move into commercially recorded hip-hop in its earliest years.
Joseph Sadler better known as Grandmaster Flash another american hip hop recording artist, dj and one of the pioneers of hip-Kool hop djing, cutting and mixing.Flash carefully studied the styles oand techniques of earlier djs Pete Jone, Herc and Grandmaster Flowers. He created the backspin technique, which was vital to sampling. Isolating breaks and extending them for duplicate copies of same record, he could play the break on one record while searching for the same fragment of music in the either using headphones, Another technique he created, was called punch phrasing (clock theory) involving, isolating very short segments, typically, horn hits rhythmically punching them over a sustained beat using the mixer
Conclusion
The evolution of drum machines over the last 80 years has summed up that the use of these electrophones, has influenced many genres of music that we listen to today especially genres that are lot more then just the music, the hip-hop culture.
We will continue to see the evolution as the years progress, with added tweaks to suit a better workflow for producers of all sorts, to use. Today, the use of drum machines are not only used for production in studios but also live, like the Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol 2, Traktor Kontrol F1, F2 and Maschine.
The Trakor F1
Many businesses have caught on the with the growing demand to be able to control and play music anywhere at anytime. This has also caught on with many independent companies as well like
DJ Tech tools that have created a midi drum machine/ sampler using traditional arcade buttons to give a better and adding fun into production, now also introducing the MidiFighter 3D that has added 3D controllers, allowing you to pick it up and move it to activate the motion sensors that control added effects like filters, beatmasher etc.
