Vintage Drum Machines
Old school drum machines like the Roland TR-808, TR-909, LinnDrum, E-mu Sp-1200 and Sequential Toms provided the beats to a new gernation of electronic music. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s drum machines helped provide the foundation for everything from hip-hop to house, electro to techno and even some rock.
I will be expanding this page with more vintage drum machine reviews, samples and photos weekly so bookmark us and come back soon!
Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer
Perhaps the most versatile and influential of the drum machines that revolutionized music in the 1980's, the Roland TR-909 combined synthetically generated analog sounds with digital samples and an intuitive programming interface. Rows of knobs provide ample tweaking opportunities allowing for a wide range of expression in the drum sounds - none of which approach the sound of acoustic drums but provide ample drive for electronic dance music. The Roland TR-909 has provided the thumping foundation to house, electro, techno and many other forms of dance music since it's release in 1984.
Roland TR-909 T-Shirts
Drum Machine Tees, Sweatshirts, Stickers.
Roland TR-909 Vintage Drum Machine Shirts
Cool 1980's retro drum machine t-shirts and gifts for DJ's, Producers and Beat Freaks. The Roland TR-909 has provided the thumping foundation to house, electro, techno and many other forms of dance music since it's release in 1984.
Buy Roland TR-909 Drum Machines
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Roland TR-909 Drum Machine Samples
Download TR-909 Drum Sounds
- TR-909 Drum Machine Samples
- Roland TR-909 drum samples.
- MeanBeat 909 Samples
- 13 samples from the legendary Roland TR-909 in Wav - 44.1khzHi quality Samples for Battery.
- Petite Miami TR 909 Samples
- Roland TR-909 and TR-808 16 wav files for download.
- Virtual 909 - Play Online!
- A fun flash TR-909 emulator, play a 909 in your browser.
Roland TR-808 Drum Machine
More Bass for Your Speakers
The Roland TR-808 was released in late 1980 and was one of the first programmable drum machines. Although sounding unlike a traditional drum kit the 808 featured punchy bass, snare, high hat and 13 other percussion sounds with knobs to shape each drum sound for a variety of styles of music. The 808 became the signature beatbox used in most R&B and hip-hop as well as dance and techno tracks. Booming bass kicks, crispy snares and a signature piercing cowbell sound made famous during the 80's are all part of the 808 and its unique analog sound.
Buy Roland TR-808 Drum Machines
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byRoland TR-808 Drum Machine Samples
808 high hats, kicks, snares, cymbals
Download TR-808 Drum Sounds
- TR-808 High Hats and Cymbals
- Roland Tr-808 High Hat and Cymbal Samples.
- TR-808 Kicks and Snares
- Roland Tr-808 Kick Drum and Snare Drum Samples.
- Petite Miami 808 Samples
- Six basic 808 samples.
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Roland TR-707
Like it predecessors the TR-808 and TR-909 the TR-707 shares the intuitive programming interface with the addition of a handy LCD screen to show all drum sounds at a glance. The 727 also sports separate drum sounds outputs as did its predecessors while utilizing sliders instead of knobs for individual drum volume control. Being sample based this unit is not as tweakable as the 808 or 909 but has a grungy 8-bit charm.
Although the bass drums and the snares are less then kicking, the claps, high hats, rim shots and other sounds are bright and punchy. The Clap, crash, ride, high hats and toms are similar to the 909 and sound great, especially when processed individually. Released in the early days of MIDI the TR-707 also supports DIN control and can in fact be used as a bridge between these two control systems.
Buy Roland TR-707
Rythm Composer/Drum Machine
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The Roland TR-727 was the latin sidekick to the more standard TR-707. As such the 727 lacked traditional drum sounds such as kick, snare and high hat however it possessed a dependable arsenal of electronic latin sounds such as bongos, timbales, shakers and whistles that have added mucho energy to house, tribal and world beat tracks around the globe. As with its predecessors the TR-727 features an easy to use interface and nice LCD display for creating dynamic multi-layered rhythms. Probably not a primary drum machine but assuredly a spicy addition to your beat arsenal.
Buy Roland TR-727
Rythm Composer/Drum Machine
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byRoland CR-78 CompuRhythm
The CR-78 was an important early drum machine technology and was used by many influential artists on a number of famous recordings. The CR-78 is a classic analog pattern producing Rhythm Machine, not an individual drum sound machine and was the first to use a microprocessor. It has 34 built in preset rhythm patterns which can be varied at the push of a button. These patterns include Rock, Disco, Waltz, Shuffle, Slow Rock, Swing, Fox Trot, Tango, etc... Some are cool, but the ability to vary them gives the user some creative control.
The CR-78 offers 14 electronic analog drum tones. Sounds include Kick, Snare, Rim, Cow Bell, HiHats, Cymbals, Congas, Bongos, Tambourine and Guiros. With 11 variation effects and the ability to adjust Tempo, accents, and fade in/outs the CR-78 is capable of producing nice rhythms for use in ambient, hip-hop, dub and other electronic music.
Visit VintageSynth.com for more info.
Buy Roland CR-78
Good luck but they do come up occasionally.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byWhat's Your Favrite Old School Drum Machine?
dalerogers wrote...
also check out the audiotool at hobnox.com to program your own patterns on software replica versions of the 808 and 909!
Posted June 29, 2009
Lensmaster
Dave " Kip " Stewart wrote
I use an Alesis sr16 drum machine these days , but really do miss the Roland CR 1000 that I used to have back in the 1980´s...such an uncomplicated user friendly machine...If youre out there somewhere..all is forgiven .come back to Daddy..ps I love you
Posted June 22, 2009
Lensmaster
Alex wrote
Hello,
I have a CR-78 which I am looking to sell. I have had it for years as it was a present from a well meaning relative. I never really used it though. Anyway, I only found it the other day and just need to ensure that it is still in working order. If so, would anyone be interested?
Thanks,
Alex
Posted December 01, 2008
nytclubber wrote...
those drum machines really really look old and aged! i'm glad that the modern ones have more style and also do better. nice lens!
Posted August 24, 2008
LaraineRose wrote...
WOW! I must be slipping. I thought all of those bands had a drummer! I guess now I know - thanks to you.
5***** for showing "whot's really happenin!" Come see my JUKEBOX - might even be a drummer there. *grin*
Posted January 30, 2008
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