So much fun with a little box! (drum machine)

[mcnach]

I've owned a a drum machine a couple of times before, but crucially I was not playing bass yet, only guitar. I had a Boss DR550 and an Alesis SR16, which I used to record things at home etc. I was mostly a bedroom player. Recording was fun. I occasionally jammed with others, played a couple of gigs but nothing special.

Then I discovered bass.

A few years have passed since. I played in a number of bands, gig regularly, never record anything anymore. I got a multitrack machine and decided I was going to start recording ideas etc to use in my main band, and I bought a Zoom RT-123 drum machine to help me add some rhythm.

The RT-123 is an old machine, it's basic but sounds reasonably good, easy to use, and cheap, second hand. And it's a hoot!

I can literally spend hours playing along to it, just browsing the pre-programmed patterns... It's like my own personal drummer, but one that doesn't fart or goes away for a smoke, and doesn't mind playing the same beat for hours on end. Ok, no, I actually prefer my live drummer, he's lovely and nothing compares to playing with a good drummer, but it's 1am and you don't want to go to bed... get your headphones on, plug in your bass to the aux input of the drum machine, and just play along!

Brilliant!

I love it, and the little RT-123 is really quite good, if you're after a simple and cheap machine. It has a "bass" accompaniment too which is hilarious

So, do you play by yourself much? Get a Zoom RT-123 for £40 or so and get ready to see the hours go by without realising!

Edited February 28, 2015 by mcnach

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Nice post . Think I'll have a look. 😉 regarding recording, what do you use?

[JapanAxe]

The humble drum machine is a great practice tool. Choose a style and off you go.

[PaulWarning]

I use Hydrogen, you have to programme it yourself, but once you've figured it out it helps you understand what a drummer does, it's great for demos to show other members what you've got in mind and it's free, converts the drum pattern to wav form so you can load it into audacity or something like that, and record vocals /bass/ guitar and whatever else you want on to it

[mcnach]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1425150342' post='2704564']
Nice post . Think I'll have a look. 😉 regarding recording, what do you use?
[/quote]

I'm using a Zoom R16, 16-track stand alone machine. Really easy to use. I used Cubase on the PC before, but I just like the simplicity of a stand alone separate machine. It can record 8-tracks at once, so potentially quite useful to record simple live demos, and it has built-in stereo microphones for those moments where you have come up with an amazing riff that you just need to record before you forget: easy, turn on, select a new project and press record.
Of course, when you listen back to it the next day you'll realise that amazing riff is actually crap, but maybe one day you get lucky
Well, no, I'm sure your ideas will be pretty good, but I rarely like mine when I listen back

[mcnach]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1425151992' post='2704584']
I use Hydrogen, you have to programme it yourself, but once you've figured it out it helps you understand what a drummer does, it's great for demos to show other members what you've got in mind and it's free, converts the drum pattern to wav form so you can load it into audacity or something like that, and record vocals /bass/ guitar and whatever else you want on to it
[/quote]

That looks pretty cool too!