Wondering what’s you opinion on modern drum machines and grooveboxes… What you use for live situation? What are your little secret weapons and technique to make them sounds big and punchy?
Messing with my TR8s recently. Super fun, yes, but when I use it with other instruments and play live it often just “disappears” from the mix and just adds mud. So definitely needs eq and comp on the output. Overall sound is a bit “cheesy”.
DSI Tempest could be punchy and grooves if tweaked A LOT. Fun device, keeping it, but use mostly for “modular” type of sounds and sfx. And rarely live.
Digitakt is quite punchy when used for drum sounds. Probably my best option for live at the moment. What a nice little device! Wondering if Digitone has same “punch” and “groove” if used as drum / groove machine?
Lot’s of other options sounds really weak. You just can’t get same presence and “punch” even as loops and drums from Ableton. At the same time 808 and 606 (and obviously all other TRs ) are still super punchy from scratch and there’s almost no need to tweak it to make them cut thru and they sounds so groovy. That’s why I still keep them, but hardly use live.
What about Erica LXR, Jomox, modular, other things?
Yeap! 100%. Unfortunately sold SR16 and all other machines of “that” type (Akai XR10, Roland R5 and that old Boss I forgot the name of… ). Just tired of limitations, but agree 100% that they are super punchy and hit hard!
However I still have HR16 somewhere with nice circuit bend mod. Should get it out of storage and see. Was my 1st real drum machine back in the days and as far as I remember in all live shows I played between 98 -2005 HR16 was one of the main drummer and always sounded very raw.
Bugbrand DRM was probably punchiest drum I ever used, blew Jomox out the water. A4 and AR can do punchy if programmed as such, but probably not as much as Jomox/TR/DRM.
Well… really hard to say when listening to it alone if it’s good or not. But when start mixing it with 303 or modular bass or another sampler it starting to get lost… it’s still there in the mix but feels a bit “alien” and not a pretty one… don’t know how to explain better… feels too plastic most of the times… Anyway, it’s just my experience with it. It really depends on music, arranging, sound design skills etc…
Modor is killer.
Would love to get one as well.
Size is a bit “questionable”, but it brings advantages at the same time and looks very nice.
Such a shame TR8s can’t go into same sonic territories. I planed to use it as a “all around” digital drum machine for live gigs and improvised techno… Seems like it has all the options and specs but at the output is much more muddy and soft, no matter what I do … : (
Division dept 01/IV all the way!
I nearly sold mine having not used it for ages, got it playing to sample it and just couldn’t part with it. The kicks and claps it can put out can be very punchy indeed.