Advice on 80s drumsynth

[FelixVita]

Hello everyone!

I'm currently in the market for a drumsynth, but i'm not very particular. All I need is a finger pointing me in a direction as to what I should look for.

I would really like to obtain a flexible drumsynth that provides punchy 80s beats.

I just thought I'd mention some tracks that I think have absolutely marvelous sounding drums :

Flashdance - Maniac (the intro)
Phil collins - Ssudio
a-ha - The sun always shines on TV (starts in the middle of the song)
a-ha - Take on me (from the beginning)

That's just what instantly comes to mind, but hopefully it gives you some idea of what I want. I like what most people would call cheesy (in this forum also known as nostalgic).

By flexible I mean:
- I'm just going to buy one as of right now. Since I live in Norway it makes buying this so much more difficult. I'm gonna move there in a couple of years, but I'd really like one for now

That's why I'm not considering such novelties as the 808, simply because the sound of it is too... what should I say... recognizable... If I'm going to use it every time I'm jammin' I'll eventually go insane... probably

That also brings me to price... the 808 is certainly way too expensive right now... I'd be very happy if I don't have to ebay a bunch of gear to afford the drumsynth.

Anyway, I've said enough. I'd certainly appreciate it if you guys would help me out here - this is the only place I could think of asking a question about this topic

[sequentialsoftshock]

Sequential Circuits DrumTraks. Excellent machine for the money. Great sounds and flexibility. The samples are good and tunable across a wide range. It has pretty good midi implementation and individual outs for processing.

[Z]

I'm pretty sure these drum machines were used on these recordings:

Flashdance - Maniac (the intro) - LinnDrum
Phil collins - Ssudio - Roland TR-909 (heavily processed)
a-ha - Take on me (from the beginning) LinnDrum

I would consider looking at a Boss DR-660.

[FelixVita]

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys!

I really liked the hi-energy, punchy feel of the Sequential circuits drumtraks synth!
The Boss DR seems a bit too modern and hip-hoppish to me. With a machine like that I believe I'd end up wondering why I can't just program the beats on a sequencer on the computer. I'm just saying, I think i'm gonna need something with wooden panels

Oh and btw, you wouldn't happen to know if the linndrum was used on Human by The Human League? I forgot to mention that track in my previous post...

So anyway, I'm probably going for something that sounds like the drumtraks or the linndrum. A linndrum would probably be to expensive, but what I'm asking is if there's other alternatives worth considering - you know, just so that I have a couple of different options to search for on ebay.

Hope I'm not taking too much your time guys, and I appreciate the help!

[Z]

Oh and btw, you wouldn't happen to know if the linndrum was used on Human by The Human League? I forgot to mention that track in my previous post...

HL used the Linn LM-1 (LinnDruim minus the cymbals) on "Don't You Want Me" and other early 80's tracks.

I'd save up for the LM-2 rather than get a DrumTraks. I'm going to sell my DrumTraks and all my other 80's PCM based machines and keep my LM-2.

Or buy a sampling drum machine and get all the classic beat box sounds. Check out HarlemNights' Korg ESX-1 videos on YouTube.

[FelixVita]

Hmm, yeah...

I think I have come to realize that I am a poor musician that cannot afford everything he wants.
Thus, the korg esx alternative seems like the most attractive option.

One thing though... Where do I get the samples? I've seen some on ebay, but uhm... You wouldn't happen to know where I'd be best off getting them from?

Thanks for helping me decide. It's been very helpful!

[Z]

One thing though... Where do I get the samples? I've seen some on ebay, but uhm... You wouldn't happen to know where I'd be best off getting them from?

Electrongate.com has LinnDrum and Oberheim DMX sounds directly from the EPROMS (before they go through filters & amps).

There's also tons of sample CD's (on eBay) with samples from damn near every classic drum box

Also, the MFB Kult has most, if not all, the classic sounds loaded into it.

[30h5]

Or buy a sampling drum machine and get all the classic beat box sounds. Check out HarlemNights' Korg ESX-1 videos on YouTube.

+1 What Harlem Nights does with his ESX could make anyone give a second thought about buying a dedicated 80's drummer.

[prophei]

i would grab a simmons sds5. it is a rackmount modular drum synth that has drums that could do all the 909/808 type stuff from a massive punchy perspective, but goes WAY beyond that. it would not be recognizable like those machines, and is likely in some of the tracks you mentioned...

one thing to note, it doesn't have a sequencer, so you would have to trigger it from something else. it is well worth it though, and not many people use them these days. they sound epic.

[sequentialsoftshock]

Hmm, yeah...

I think I have come to realize that I am a poor musician that cannot afford everything he wants.
Thus, the korg esx alternative seems like the most attractive option.

One thing though... Where do I get the samples? I've seen some on ebay, but uhm... You wouldn't happen to know where I'd be best off getting them from?

Thanks for helping me decide. It's been very helpful!

I've got a sample set of the DrumTraks, TOM, 606, 808, 909, 505, 707, etc that were under a creative commons license. The 909 set is like 167 different tunings/hits!

[FelixVita]

I've got a sample set of the DrumTraks, TOM, 606, 808, 909, 505, 707, etc that were under a creative commons license. The 909 set is like 167 different tunings/hits!

Sounds nice!
I guess those are the kind of samples that you could use with an ESX type of sampler?

Then all I would need is some linndrum samples and I'm good to go!

So where did you buy the samples? Link to site?

Electrongate.com has LinnDrum and Oberheim DMX sounds directly from the EPROMS (before they go through filters & amps).

I guess that'd be a good thing especially since I will use the filters on the sampler itself to shape the sounds... right?

But I didn't seem to understand fully, how you're supposed to buy the samples... Do you have to buy the chip itself and then in some way extract the sounds out of it? A little guidance?

[prophei]

Z wrote:
Electrongate.com has LinnDrum and Oberheim DMX sounds directly from the EPROMS (before they go through filters & amps).


I guess that'd be a good thing especially since I will use the filters on the sampler itself to shape the sounds... right?

But I didn't seem to understand fully, how you're supposed to buy the samples... Do you have to buy the chip itself and then in some way extract the sounds out of it? A little guidance?

i can burn those chips too... i make em for my sequential drumtraks

[sequentialsoftshock]

I've got a sample set of the DrumTraks, TOM, 606, 808, 909, 505, 707, etc that were under a creative commons license. The 909 set is like 167 different tunings/hits!

Sounds nice!
I guess those are the kind of samples that you could use with an ESX type of sampler?

Then all I would need is some linndrum samples and I'm good to go!

So where did you buy the samples? Link to site?

Electrongate.com has LinnDrum and Oberheim DMX sounds directly from the EPROMS (before they go through filters & amps).

I guess that'd be a good thing especially since I will use the filters on the sampler itself to shape the sounds... right?

But I didn't seem to understand fully, how you're supposed to buy the samples... Do you have to buy the chip itself and then in some way extract the sounds out of it? A little guidance?

http://rapidshare.com/files/381841127/Samples.zip.html

[FelixVita]

http://rapidshare.com/files/381841127/Samples.zip.html

Hey, thanks! That sure is a lot of sounds! And there's even linndrum samples as well! Cool

So I guess all I need to do is to load them onto an SD card and use them to make some nice beats on the esx-1...

Thanks a lot guys! Maybe I'll buy a real linndrum or 808 one day when I feel that I have enough money

In the mean time, space out on those synths guys!

[iProg]

I'm pretty sure these drum machines were used on these recordings:

Flashdance - Maniac (the intro) - LinnDrum
Phil collins - Ssudio - Roland TR-909 (heavily processed)
a-ha - Take on me (from the beginning) LinnDrum

I would consider looking at a Boss DR-660.

Sussudio also contains LM-1 sounds. Otherwise correct!