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Q: Invention of electronic drum machine ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Invention of electronic drum machine
Category: Arts and Entertainment > Music
Asked by: nalexsmith-ga
List Price: $15.00
Posted: 31 Oct 2002 20:12 PST
Expires: 30 Nov 2002 20:12 PST
Question ID: 94992
Music-Tech. Journalist looking for origins of the electronic beat you
hear behind most pop music these days, called (I guess) either drum
machine or maybe it's just the synthesizer. When was this device first
invented and
used? In other words, when were live human drummers first replaced by
percussion machines in studio recordings? Related books or sources or
company names very welcome.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Invention of electronic drum machine
Answered By: bobbie7-ga on 31 Oct 2002 21:30 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Helo Nalexmith,

Thank you for your question.

I’ve assembled a digest of links to articles, information and an
assortment of resources addressing the history of drum machines and
synthesizers.

The Wikipedia describes drum machines:

“Drum machines are sequencers with a synthesizer component that is
tailored to the MIDI note numbers specified for drums. They are
specialized for the creation of rhythms by playing synthesized or
sampled drum sounds in a predetermined order. The original drum
machines were referred to as rhythm machines because they only played
preprogrammed rhythms such as mambo, tango, etc. About 1980 user
programmable drum machines appeared, allowing musicians to create any
rhythm they wanted. The Roland TR-808 was one of the first and most
popular of the programmable drum machines and the sounds that are
particular to that machine have become pop music cliches, heard on
countless recordings.”
They go on to say:
“Stand alone drum machines had become less common by the year 2000,
being partly supplanted by samplers, computer based sequencing with
virtual drum machines (100% software), and workstation synthesizers
that have drum sequencing built in. TR-808 and other digitized drum
machine sounds can be found on archives on the internet. However, drum
machines are still being made by companies such as Roland Corporation,
under the name Boss, Zoom, and Alesis, whose SR16 drum machine has
remained popular since the early 90's.“
Source: Wikipedia  http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_machine

The Roland Corporation – History, brand names, slogans and links
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_corporation

In the article “Technology and Music –A Blessed Union” by David
Diamond discusses the beginnings of the drum machine.

A short excerpt from this article:

“In the 1980s, the few remaining impediments to the marriage between
music and technology were eradicated once and for all. Audio engineer
Roger Linn squeezed sampling technology into a laptop-sized box,
called it the LM-1, and unveiled the world's first digital drum
machine. The LM-1's successor, the Linn Drum, became the era's most
successful drummer, playing on more hit records than any human
drummer.”
http://www.usc.edu/isd/publications/networker/96-97/Jan_Feb_97/feature-union.html
 
“Synthesizers have replaced drummers and bass players, and people now
have home studios that are practically state of the art."
http://www.blackballmusic.com/1rockmm/2rockvol/rmm16/

The history of synthesizers:
 
“Already in the 1870s some people had started to experiment with
electronically produced music. But it was not until the 1950s it began
more seriously. For example there was a studio built in Köln, Germany,
only for this purpose. The first synthesizer was built at RCA, USA in
1955. The synthesizers made in this early time were however very
expensive and also very hard to handle. In the 1960s the first really
useful synthesizers were made, for example by Don Buchla and Bob Moog.
Bob Moog is the most legendary of the synthesizer producers with
synthesizers like the MiniMoog and others, which has been much used by
synthpop musicians. In the 1970s the production of synthesizers
started in a larger scale.”
http://www.synt.nu/history/

The History of Synthpop:

“In the end of the 1960s some already famous musicians started to use
synthesizers, like for example Beatles and Beach Boys, but it still
didn't change their music very much. In 1968 the first synthesizer
only record was released, "Switched On Bach" with Wendy Carlos. It was
music of Bach played on a Moog synthesizer.
In Germany the experimental band Organisation was formed in 1968. They
changed their name to Kraftwerk in 1970. At this time they played a
disharmonious, but innovative music based upon synthesizers. They
released three albums in Germany in the first years of the 1970s.
Their music was getting more rhythmical and easier to understand. In
1974 they released their international debut "Autobahn", which was
kind of a breakthrough. It's a twenty minutes long car drive
accompanied by synthesizers and sound effects. They continued to make
this kind of music and they have released six albums since then. They
were style-forming for the synthpop.”
There are excellent links to explore at this website.
http://www.synt.nu/history/

Roland CompuRhythm
Drum Machine images , old ads, descriptions, specifications and sound 
samples.
http://machines.hyperreal.org/categories/drum-machines/CompuRhythm/

Roland CompuRhythm Sound samples
http://machines.hyperreal.org/categories/drum-machines/CompuRhythm/samples/cr8kkit.zip

Roland CompuRhythm Ad
http://machines.hyperreal.org/categories/drum-machines/CompuRhythm/images/roland.CR-78.ad.jpg

Roland CompuRhythm Ad
http://machines.hyperreal.org/categories/drum-machines/CompuRhythm/images/roland.CR-68.TR-66.ad.jpg

Twenty five drum machines with links to specifications, images, sounds
and old Usenet threads discussions of these machines.
Music Machine Website
http://machines.hyperreal.org/categories/drum-machines/

http://machines.hyperreal.org/winky/0065.html?Winky


The Alesis drum machine model, SR-16™ has been used by everyone from
songwriters to live performers to remix. It features a great selection
of 233 realistic natural drum sounds.
Reviews, FAQ, manual, image and specifications available here:
http://www.alesis.com/products/sr16/

Synthesizers - Back Into The Past
http://www.arturia.com/en/synth.html

The History of the “Grooveboxes”
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/shadowlands/1595/grooveboxhistory.html

History of Electronica      
http://www.techtv.com/audiofile/features/story/0,23008,3355116,00.html
 
Drum Machines
http://www.flyingpigmusic.co.uk/product-DRUM%20MACHINES.html

Drum Machine dot Biz features drum machines
http://www.drummachine.biz/store/drum/drum_machines/

An excellent book on the History of the Alesis
http://www.drummachine.biz/store/product.asp?sku=HL.00330425&nav=m

The drum Samples Page
http://spec.ch.man.ac.uk/~ashley/drums.html

Search Criteria:

history of drum machines
history of drum machines *synthesizers
drum machines


I hope you find this helpful and if there is anything that I've
written that needs clarification, please ask before you rate this
answer.

Best Regards,
Bobbie7-ga

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 31 Oct 2002 21:32 PST
Sorry, it should have said Nalexsmith.
nalexsmith-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $5.00
Great! First-time user, very impressed with speedy links to many
pertinent sources. Thanks. Also, pleased to discover Wikipedia.

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