Electric Rhythm: The History of the Drum Machine | Reverb

Leon Theremin. Sly & The Family Stone. Prince. Drum machines have influenced our music and the way we perceive rhythm since the Rhythmicon popped onto the scene in the 1930s. Join William Kurk as he gives us a run-down of the evolution of the incredible drum machine. Read more on Reverb: goo.gl/MfT1zq
For more from William Kurk: goo.gl/NWE2Qh
Special Thanks:
- Danny Garcia (Danny The Wildchild) : goo.gl/zcPUR9
- Noam Wallenberg & RaxTrax Recording : www.raxtrax.com/
Want to know more about Drum Machine History?
Check out these excellent resources:
www.factmag.com/2016/09/22/the...
• The Linn LM-1: The Dru...
www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/16...
daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/...
/ looking-for-the-perfec...
reverb.com/news/alesis-hr-16-...
reverb.com/news/gear-tribute-...
reverb.com/news/the-process-h...
reverb.com/news/two-classics-...
For a ton of awesome info about the 808, be sure to check out the 808 documentary: itunes.apple.com/us/movie/808...
808 tribute "Ad" footage taken from Origin Workshop:
• Roland TR-808 Original...
"Rhythmicon" Footage sourced from Andrey Smirnov:
• Rhythmicon demonstration
"EKO ComputeRhythm" footage sourced from EKOSALE:
• EKO COMPUTERHYTHM for ...

[@frottery]

8:08 it's the 808

[@krisscanlon4051]

Irony

[@jrurbbehdidiwdnndjduw85eos73]

@@krisscanlon4051 that is the opposite of irony

[@thesadwolf]

@@jrurbbehdidiwdnndjduw85eos73 Which is ironic.

[@rooneye]

@@krisscanlon4051 lol you tool! hehe :P Are you American by any chance? You guys just do NOT get irony. As demonstrated here.

[@rooneye]

@@jrurbbehdidiwdnndjduw85eos73 It is. Literally! :D

[@Assortment54321]

I love how the host in this is dressed all 80s.

[@battlecatsgo]

Members Only jacket FTW

[@cruzrfl]

damn!

[@bernsteiner88]

He ROCKS!!!

[@seanthehaggis]

Might be a hipster

[@NOWtheband]

I get what you mean but as far as I've seen, he always dresses like that, ha ha!

[@edwinsamuel5065]

William is turning into a reverb legend

[@thecaveofthedead]

I'm an old rock dinosaur raised in the anti-synth '90s. Videos like this are giving me an insight into an entire creative world I missed out on. Brilliant stuff.

[@goatskindreams]

so you don't like Nine Inch Nails?

[@WrektSK]

Hey thecaveofthedead! I'm a rock/metal guy too who got into synthwave music about a month ago. It's a beautiful genre and the gears are great in their own way. Both raw and synthesized music have their own quirks in my opinion. I've gotten into producing synth and retrowave stuff, it's not only helping me broaden my perspective, it's helping me to generate new ideas for my heavier stuff :D

[@thecaveofthedead]

@@WrektSK That's what I was hoping Sajid. Thanks. I really think there's so much to add to the rock stuff we do by paying attention to electronic options.

[@WrektSK]

@@thecaveofthedead Couldn't agree more! Good to have like-minded rock listeners man 🤘♥

[@markuskoivisto]

@Dr. Jack Kevorkian Metal/alt-rock scenes in the 90s were generally pretty anti-synth. Eurodance was obviously a thing.

[@darkknightsds]

Prince's work on the Linn LM1 was revelatory

[@KlausBahnhof]

I believe the first record to feature an 808 was Yellow Magic Orchestra's 'BGM' in 1981. They were quick to adopt new technology as soon as it became available and, being Japanese, were in a unique position to do so. Their earlier albums were influential on hip-hop. Worth checking out their music if you're curious about non-Western drum programming.

[@Meikurey]

Ironic how back in the 90s we tried making drums on these machines sound as realistic as possible, now it's the other way around

[@alapekuttaja7222]

What, we're trying to make real drums sound as fake as possible?

[@publika6883]

Not really

[@weldin]

TC I think he’s trying to say that now we have a lot of electric drums that use sound effects and even some drummers who use a laptop.

[@kirilltilman]

Same about trying to make recordings as undistorted and clean as possible with digital recording and now we distort them and make them worse sounding to give them a this warm and good feeling analog vibe))

[@michaelx9079]

When these things came out they always sounded shit....so most people smothered them in explosive reverb

[@jeffblack5024]

In about 1981, I had a little Boss DR55 Dr Rhythm. I used to play with the thing in my bedroom and it taught me the basics of step time and how rhythm is all about fours (and multiples). New Order used one of these little things to trigger their sequencers via its CV output early on. I think the next thing I got hold of was the Roland TR-606 (AKA Drumatix). which was meant to be the companion to the failure bass sequencer that was the TB-303 (whatever happened to that?). It's now a softsynth on the Roland Cloud and just the sound of it evokes early 80s hiphop and electro. I love it. But we all wanted 'proper' drums sounds. A richer friend bought a Sequential Circuits Drumtraks and I spent ages painstakingly programming one note at a time step sequences to go with it into a Roland Micro-Composer via the brand new MIDI. Of course, it was all strictly machine time - a groove was barely possible. I think I lost touch round about the Roland TR505 - a sample upgrade to the early analogue efforts, I was always looking for the next thing and it looked like the grooveless machines had had their day. Then House came along and suddenly this old junk shop technology was all the rage. I kind of felt it was old hat at the time, but now I recognise that the sound of analogue is just as important as acoustic drums. It can certainly deliver low end better than any drummer. The original Propellerheads Reason was based on Rebirth - their recreation of the Roland classics. So I naturally graduated to that and it's still my favourite DAW. So that little box in my bedroom grew to a bigger box in my living room. And that's been my journey. I'm an old man now, but feel privileged to have witnessed the evolution first hand.

[@nunayobiz]

Greatest drum machine pattern ever - 777-9311 by The Time (Prince)

[@outdatedgear5036]

Not only do you guys run a awesome website, you guys make great KZbin content.

[@Reverb]

Thanks! Glad you like watching as much as we like creating. :)

[@12edit]

Tracklist: 00:04 Roxy Music - Same Old Scene 00:09 Blondie - Heart of Glass 00:12 Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing 00:14 New Order - Blue Monday 00:18 Madonna - Into the Groove 00:25/10:57 Prince - When Doves Cry 01:03 Super Mario Bros - Underwater Theme 02:56 Jorge Ben - Mas, Que Nada! 04:24 Kraftwerk - Tanzmusik 04:58 Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair 07:00 Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight 08:30 Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) 08:47 Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show 11:42 Mr. Fingers - Can You Feel It 13:00 Nas - The World Is Yours

[@xu1net]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/apWbaoZjn7SmnLs Roxy Music - Same Old Scene from memory but hey what would I know!

[@12edit]

@@xu1net You're right! Fixed.

[@xu1net]

Hey thanks! Glad I could help :) Your channel is awesome by the way, I have internet radio streaming in my garage, always looking for new stuff to play!!

[@RichRobinson]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated, from one music lover to another…

[@michaelgamboa4986]

The whole Pink Floyd AMLOR used that shit

[@LikeAGentlemanPlease]

TR 808 commercial shook my soul.

[@stephanleo]

I think Roger Nichols' drum machine"Wendel" that he developed and build for Steely Dan in 1978/79 is the first sample based drum machine. You can hear the Wendel II drum machine on Donald Fagens 1981 album "The Nightfly".

[@paulmurray280]

Having played so many bars in the 90s I would always sneak the drum machine, 707 and later the R8, into the third set as they were often frowned upon as being playback. The sheer ingenuity we had to go through to make such a small internal memory go so far, oh the good old days

[@AlexBallMusic]

Really enjoyed this video, then clicked the description and found you've linked my video on the same subject. Thanks very much!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks, that's good to know! Yours is a much higher quality production, so really enjoyed watching this. I've got a BIG documentary coming up this month telling another very iconic synth story. Just got one more section of it to film.

[@goodboid]

Alex, the sheer effort you put into your videos is no joke!

[@ThinkBritishEnglish]

Alex Ball interesting , what's that bud?

[@GavinMorris1]

Get a room you two :)

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@ThinkBritishEnglish There's a big clue on my Facebook page...

[@jaggass]

You can't say that the 808 had realistic sounds but it's distinct.

[@fendi-bull8167]

I think the limitation of the hardware we were force to work, focus and commit on what we have, that's revolutionary.

[@jaggass]

@@fendi-bull8167 I own nothing but vintage gear.

[@fendi-bull8167]

@@jaggass yeah with the limitations you're force to do a singlework around perfectly instead of going for a cheap way. That's how I view vintage equipment. It forces you to be more creative.

[@jaggass]

@@fendi-bull8167 The SP1200 being the best one. Modern day synths etc have got far too many features and nobody ever utilizes them. Most just stick to presets like a piano sound which is fine but an upright is much cheaper and does what it's supposed to. I have a Linn 9000 and i use all 2 features it has.

[@MakeSomething]

This video needed to be made! So well done and great research!

[@momtnz]

If you want to know more about Drum Machine history then check out the RHYTHM MACHINES books and DRUMFAX books by Alex Graham on Amazon.com. Three books that cover the entire history of drum machines from the Rhythmicon to 2018. They list pretty much EVERY drum machine ever made, including some rare prototypes.

[@wokeautism9662]

no it didnt, its just a moby promo sucker, its a scam to sell his kit, they using drum machines and music history to profit as ususal, its not about the music , a true music head knows all of this already and wouldnt watch a doc with moby as the 'expert' he's an expert scammer, FACTS

[@emmettfrancis9894]

you all prolly dont care at all but does anyone know of a tool to log back into an instagram account..? I was stupid lost the account password. I love any help you can offer me!

[@emersontristen4080]

@Emmett Francis instablaster :)

[@leadspot]

this is probably the most important video to watch and to have as a favorite youtube video for those who think EDM is a now electronic music genre and for those who wants to learn about the history of where these sounds come from and why they are so important for future productions and how important are as basic material to produce music this is pure gold, thank you Reverb !!

[@wokeautism9662]

nice sentiment, but this is a pure scam by reverb and moby, if you TRUELY feel that, way how can you listen to a moby for more than a few seconds??? MOBY = EDM ...........by deffinition he's a mainstream comercial product of the underground

[@tauttechminusmanagedmusic3778]

My grandfather had both the Chamberlin and Sideman playing alongside a grand player-piano in every pub to which he was owner-landlord. I remember my step-grandmother singing as he played and depending on the song, one of the two drum-machines playing. A fantastic boyhood memory.

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

It's great to see some of these old drum machines. I specifically remember the studio that I started at having the Oberheim DX. I remember when Sly Dunbar got the MPC 60 and every studio that did reggae wanted one. My studio musician had the EMU. The first drum machine that I bought was the MPC 2000. Great memories

[@idiotdrummer60]

The Sly & The Family Stone single may have been the first hit in the USA to use a drum machine, but Robin Gibb's 'Saved by the Bell' from 1969 uses a drum machine, and was a hit all over Europe.

[@powerkor]

really helps me understand what happened to music from the 70s to the 80s

[@zacharykim295]

1:10 isnt he playing the mario underwater theme??

[@scrappy1312]

It sounds like Mario 64 - Haunted Merry Go Round

[@JamBurglar]

Bingo!

[@xc3n]

Yeah! I was looking for that comment

[@mynameisjack0618]

Yes

[@freddymarcel-marcum6831]

Geeks!

[@djcoolcliff]

I remember the first day I was able to hook up my keyboard and use 16 different sounds with a MPC 3000! Didn’t have a manual and it took like 4 months! When I did it, it changed my life!! Still on the MPC platform 30 years later!!!!!! All of my industry work was done used a MPC as the brain!!!

[@sydwhitaker5776]

The production value is insane on this, good stuff

[@LukeLine]

This was really insightful and great to learn about the progress of drum machines... please do more 👍 I noticed Nils Frahm uses one of those old rhythm boxes too

[@DrakenSchwert]

Thank you Reverb for your massive drum machine soundbank, it's been an absolute pleasure educating myself in the history of these machines.

[@andrejristic278]

excellent work. hats off for the film. brief, but tells you everything, and covers the history of such an integral part of modern music.

[@cavalettibnu3488]

GIVE US MORE!!! amo seu trabalho!

[@racooninvasion]

Great job on this video! The pacing, sound, EVERYTHING is perfect!

[@carlmasondrums]

This was awesome guys! cant wait to see more mini-doc's like this!

[@FazerOnStunn]

Thank you William Kirk! I love this, esp. by how you tied it back to things in the 1930s and Leon Theremin! This is a most excellent, informational video, William!

[@SexRaptorize]

Got emotional watching this. Thank you

[@ifferl8781]

That was mind opening. I still feel overwhelmed. I play piano and learned on a casio but didn't play much with the rhythm. It even has an sd card capability. Time to finally read the manual. Reverb videos are amazing

[@christopherfederici2776]

This is one of the most educational videos on KZbin, keep making these long videos with a ton of interesting content!

[@rb8058]

Good overview but omitted a lot of things, such as New Order's popularization of the drum machine in British dance music (alluded to it in the video open but didn't go further); Jam & Lewis' extensive use of layering different drum machine hardware to create Janet Jackson and New Edition albums; the significance of the Alesis drum machine line; and the proliferation of software-based drum machines in iOS and Android apps today. Maybe we can expect in a Part 2?

[@wokeautism9662]

they should have omitted Moby as well, wtf does he have to do with music let alone drum machine history, 100% cringe

[@CrossCuntryFranco]

@@wokeautism9662 He owned several drum machines, which he sold on Reverb. There's also a video of him showing his drum machine collection back in 2010.

[@DheerajSukumaran]

awesome documentary... loved this. short and precise with every points mentioned.

[@wirtzlouis]

This video was so informative and interesting. I can't understand how somebody can dislike this.

[@RoadToSalvationX]

The TV shot is framed so well. Great vid

[@kawsakiTV]

Moby’s own antique drum machine & organ playing a version of the Water stage from Super Mario Bros?! Um yes

[@janbonne]

Y'all are so fun to listen and watch!!

[@Musik_Arbeiter]

Great video Reverb! I'd love to see more videos about the history of different electronic instruments in the future!

[@jrsivmusic]

Excellent presentation, covered so much ground but didn't skimp on the epochal moments and gave them their due. Good stuff.

[@tonematrix]

Awesome job on this! I could watch these videos all day!

[@DynamicRockers]

Excellent video. Very informative and well produced!

[@___Benedetto]

One of my favorite videos on the Internet.

[@RitchieCaron]

The links between the machines and popular music is very well presented in this video.

[@jthchs]

Reverb just kills it as always. Keep doing your thing.

[@jamessisson3703]

Very good. Thanks for making this documentary.

[@tomaburque]

You know, this video was truly awesome. Hearing those tones just takes me back.

[@wokeautism9662]

im glad you enjoyed it bruv, the tones made me press stop and unlike hahahahaha

[@alexmathewmendoza]

Fantastic video! Really well produced and informative.

[@ASHdemoREEL]

*excellent* historic trip down drumsynth generator's interesting timeline from its origins to present day! THANK YOU for making this!

[@siliconbrush]

My NI Maschine just cracked a tear seeing all his relatives in one place.

[@KnzoVortex]

All about XLN XO now

[@whatyoumakeofit6635]

Jeez oh petes !!!!!!! Dont mention the, boss dr rythem section. That thing made I big wave in the industry. And believe it or not, its still used by alot of people today. Great video !!!! I got reminded how far we've come with drum synths. Thanks

[@projectz975]

this is fantastic! hope to see more videos like it

[@Nickys_Music96606]

I love drum machines. Especially classics.

[@mindflux1445]

loving this, will have to share it with my students

[@iwillnevergetone5]

this is incredibly well done !!

Masterfully done. Bless Kurk!

[@segwaydave]

Wonderful presentation! Well done!

[@cruzrfl]

So much nostalgia in 16 minutes! Really really great video! Wish I had at least half of Moby's drum machines.

[@lagduck2209]

Yeah, that was really informative and beautiful presentation. That's how musical documentary should work!

[@matthewcrane1599]

Well presented. My friend is giving me an old organ soon and I'm pretty sure it has built in drum beats. Even though I have some drum machines I probably am going to use some of these old school beats just for the heck of it. This video makes me more excited to try it out.

[@fernandoorozco3751]

I love how he signed off at the and then went straight into The Robot and walked away. Classic.

[@thebreakfastmenu]

ironically things like Roland drum pads allow real drummers to sound like drum machines today.

[@DapperHesher]

Today? Drum pads have been around forever.

[@ModestEgg]

Is it a bad thing? I find it much easier to play drums than program a drum machine, but I like their sounds.

[@VeryImportantPoetry]

Chceck The Blessed Isles band - they are using drum machines very well.

[@hoagie7859]

@@ModestEgg yeah sequencing can be a logical disaster, compared to just playing it! especially when you're used to just sitting down and playing how you feel. sequencing i always end up just sitting there scrapping parts til its a super simple beat, im probably just stupid though haha.

[@britishboxer6875]

hahahaha, true!

[@navierbresse5351]

What a beautiful video. Congratulations guys!

[@phunkym8]

great production value of this video

[@cpcohen1945]

Thanks for this. I'm starting to learn a Volca Drum -- it's great to know where it came from.

[@goncalomarques2711]

One of my favourite videos of your I would love one on KEY BASS

[@TsavosAlliance]

So many Epic Drum Machines!

[@pointsofhonesty]

I'm glad not every company needs to make videos for money...Reverb.com is being innovative in pushing AWESOME musical information...thanks William! Always looking forward to all the videos you are featured and your team is producing.

[@steevee1945]

Interesting that the Alesis SR-16 was not mentioned. One of the best selling programable drum sample machines ever, and still available.

[@avace917]

Agreed. It's actually Alesis' best selling product to date

[@isaiahromero9861]

Legendary in the post punk genre too

[@robertchavez5137]

Awesome- Thank you for posting !!

[@hgbarria]

Thank you for such a wonderfull piece of history!

[@424Recording]

Fascinating vid on the history of drum machines. Damn, how do you do it, Reverb? Timely and informative. +1 for the Elektron Digitakt; being able to synthesize your own sounds and manipulate the sounds of the past... kind of feels like the future to me! ✌️😎

[@bobwillett5663]

How does this channel only 408k subs? This is so professional and made very well

[@davecole0]

Williams’ wardrobe is next level!

[@KortKramer]

Sweet brief history of the drum machine - I learned a lot. I love the Member's Only jacket too! 👍

[@NoUploadJustComment]

Nice job filming/editing the video to resemble the 80s aesthetic.

[@Johnny_Dregs]

Job well done. This was entertaining and informative. Thanks.

[@AndyMangele]

A big Like for this video - interesting content alongside great narration and editing!

[@festeplatte4225]

GREAT VIDEO!!! Thank you mate!

[@elvinlewis4233]

Quite fascinating. Great post guys.

[@SuperWave86]

Very informative video on drum machine history

[@matthewleger5605]

Such a good video -- please do this for synths someday!

[@mendiapodaca]

That was very informative. Love your channel. Thank you.

[@ErikHawk]

Nicely done! Enjoyed this.

[@naughtystudios]

Awesome video. Thanks man

[@dasvorlesesofa-geschichten4076]

very very good video! thanks

[@djsaltbeats]

pretty dope presentation

[@areameye69]

awesome research, guys! thanks!

[@theethanatorem]

William Kurk is the MAN I love these vids.

[@soyfernansu]

Amazing video, thanks!

[@soydavidvidal]

This is beautiful.

[@MarcPapers]

amazing video

[@hanglotusmantra]

Such a well made educational video 👌 Thank you for sharing it.

[@machoenid44]

Exelent Job my friend ,thanks for that Awesome job.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Brings back a ton of good memories!

[@wuzzyselectronicalbumpicks9751]

Fantastic video!

[@HammyTechnoid]

My Roland R-70 helped me get so many songs produced... and sounding so good...