The importance of a drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums, cymbals, other percussion instruments and often basslines. Drum machines are most commonly associated with electronic music genres such as house music, but are also used in many other genres.

They are usually used when session drummers are not available or if the production cannot afford the cost of a drummer. Also, many modern drum machines can also produce unique sounds, as well as allowing the user to compose unique drum beats and patterns that might be difficult to perform by a human drummer. Most modern drum machines are sequencers with a sample playback (rompler) or synthesizer component that specializes in the reproduction of drum timbres.

If you’re starting out in production and you want to make dance music, a drum machine will likely be the first thing you buy once you’ve grown out of drawing patterns into the sequencer of your DAW. You don’t need a drum machine, but it’s unlikely you’ll regret buying one if you do; having pads to bash out rhythms rather than simply drawing them into a window on your software of choice will make production a lot more fun.

Of course, buying a drum machine is a serious investment, so how do you know what’s right for you? Right now there are drum machines to suit everybody’s ability, budget and needs, with reissued versions of classic instruments sitting on the shelves alongside advanced devices that allow you to load samples onto your hardware. Not all of them are made equal though, and it’s important to know what you’re getting into before you buy.

What size?

Drum machines now aren’t the hulking units they were in the ‘80s, but size is still a consideration. Smaller drum machines can be quite fiddly to program and generally aren’t as good for playing live, as the tiny knobs can be difficult to tweak. Larger units are better for performance but take up a lot of room – something to consider if you have limited studio space. If you’re a casual music-maker or like jamming with others, a smaller unit – especially one that’s battery-powered – might be the best option.

Analog or digital?

As is the case with synths, some people believe analog drum machines sound “warmer” than digital ones, while some folk can’t tell the difference or simply don’t care. With drum machines, the truth is more complex, especially where percussion is concerned; Roland’s iconic TR-909 is only partly analog, instead using 6-bit samples for the hi-hats and cymbals. If you want realism, a digital (or hybrid) drum machine is the way to go as analog circuits just can’t recreate real-world sounds as accurately. Think about what kind of music you want to make and choose accordingly.

Do you want to use your own samples?

Most drum machines are limited by the sounds shipped with the unit, but some will allow you to upload your own samples. A sampling drum machine shouldn’t be confused with a sampler though; a sampling drum machine will typically only play a short, punchy phrase, whereas a sampler (like an MPC or Native Instruments’ Maschine) will be capable of playing longer phrases too, making it more suitable for building whole tracks.

Being able to upload your own samples means your drum machine can be anything you want it to be. There are plenty of free sample packs including recordings of classic instruments online, and sampling everyday sounds at home is a great way of adding your own character and standing out from all the music that uses retro drum machine sounds.

How much memory do you need?

Pattern memory is one of the most important things to consider when dropping a lot of cash on a drum machine, especially if you’re a live performer. If you’re a solo artist, it’s likely you’ll be using your hands for other things like triggering sequencers or taking synths, so the drum machine should be relatively autonomous. For this, you’ll want to make sure it can store as many patterns as possible. A “song mode”, which chains these patterns together for easy recall is also a good idea, as it means you can build seamless live sets.

If you’re primarily using your drum machine in the studio, large pattern memory isn’t quite as important, especially if you use a DAW like Ableton Live. As long as your drum machine is MIDI-enabled (which pretty much every drum machine made in the past 30 years is), then you can build your patterns in software and use that to trigger your drum machine. This method makes memory a non-issue. Of course, live performers can use a laptop to trigger a drum machine on stage – it just depends whether you want a computer on stage or not.