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Thread: Drum Machines

  1. #1

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    Hey,

    I went to a drum clinic recently and a producer asked why use a drummer when there are drum machines. the host said that a drummer will be able to use more dynamics and there will be more of a "real" feel to the music. What are your feelings towards drum machines?

  2. #2

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    They have their place but could never replace a drummer in a live venue.
    Signature here

  3. #3

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    A lot of the people I know that write songs and record them in their home studio will use a drum program because they don't have room for a drum kit or the gear needed to record one properly . But when it comes time to do something serious..like they want to put something out to sell..they will go to a good studio with a good engineer and hire a real drummer to play the parts . Drum machines have been out for such a long time . When they first came out everyone was saying that they were going to replace the drummer ... but they haven't ! Even with all their advancements they will never replace a live drummer .
    That being said I think they make life easier for songwriters and those with small bedroom studios . It makes my life easier when I go to replace a drum machine part in the studio as the artist has already figured out what he wants for the drum parts . All I have to do is hear it a few times and then lay it down . For me I usually nail it on the first take and I'm done for the day , get paid and go home .
    Rarely do I ever see a band on stage with a drum machine...
    Rudy .

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bish View Post
    They have their place but could never replace a drummer in a live venue.
    + 1

    ...................a small place.


    I'm still waiting for the guitar machine !
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  5. #5

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    "What are your feelings towards drum machines?"


    My 1st thought was a sledgehammer and how many pieces I could make out of 1.

  6. #6

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    Drum machines are all good. It depends on the genre - you won't often find live drummers in many electronic styles of music, but you also won't often find drum machines in most jazz, rock, metal, funk, folk, blues, etc. Samplers have been around since the 60's and drum machines even longer, and live drummers are still around as far as I know.
    Last edited by xweasel; 10-12-2015 at 06:22 PM.
    - Zack

  7. #7

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    I have no idea what is going to be popular in the future. The machines are getting better. Musicians may be obsolete, like slide rules or telegraph operators.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by 8beat View Post
    I have no idea what is going to be popular in the future. The machines are getting better. Musicians may be obsolete, like slide rules or telegraph operators.
    I agree. It's only a matter of time before they have the 'feel' thing down. Cars are starting to drive themselves. Half of factories are robots. People are being replaced left and right. I don't know if I'll see it in my lifetime but that day is definitely coming when a whole lot of drummers will be replaced.

  9. #9

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    What I don't understand is this...As technology gets better and better, how come music seems to get worse and worse?!

    all the best...

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    I agree. It's only a matter of time before they have the 'feel' thing down. Cars are starting to drive themselves. Half of factories are robots. People are being replaced left and right. I don't know if I'll see it in my lifetime but that day is definitely coming when a whole lot of drummers will be replaced.

    Tom, they will never get the "feel" thing down.

    Half of the factories with robots have robots for 1 very simple reason, and I think that most people know what that reason is. The next company that moves out of the US and we will have to learn Hindi. I'll let it go at that.

    The cars that drive themselves will get you killed once they start texting and using cell phones.

    I left Jersey because the people that were being replaced left and right were always the wrong people.

    As for the drummers being replaced, let's face it, a lot of them need to be replaced. The sad part is that a lot of them will be replaced by worse drummers. Pete Best's replacement always comes to mind.

    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    What I don't understand is this...As technology gets better and better, how come music seems to get worse and worse?!

    all the best...
    Damn good question kay-gee. I've been trying to come up with a answer, but I can't.

  11. #11

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    I don't like the robotic feel, some dance music is OK, but it gets to me after a while, prefer a human drummer.
    Bridie

  12. #12

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    I meet lots of people that want to play music. We love jamming. And people like making home recordings too. That might be the growth part of the music business.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    I agree. It's only a matter of time before they have the 'feel' thing down. Cars are starting to drive themselves. Half of factories are robots. People are being replaced left and right. I don't know if I'll see it in my lifetime but that day is definitely coming when a whole lot of drummers will be replaced.
    I think the same reasoning applies to all musical instruments and musicians. It has been possible to write and perform music entirely by computer for years (does anybody remember Frank Zappa's Sinclavier albums from about 30 years ago?), the question is - how many people would want to go and see someone performing by sitting at a computer pressing keys?

    For me the visual aspect of a live performance is almost as important as the music. Drumming machines in a live situation may be acceptable for some styles of electronic dance music, however the audiences are probably under the influence of unfeasibly large amounts of chemical 'mood enhancers' and are probably more interested in the light show than the quality of the music, I suspect if the music has a simple loud repetitive beat that is easy to dance to then the audiences are happy.

    I doubt if the use of drumming machines outside of studios, or artificial replacements for musical instruments in general, will increase by a great deal even if they find a way to give a less rigid, robotic, human sound. They may find a way to make them less robotic sounding but they are never going to be interesting to watch.

  14. #14

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    I believe the desire to "create" music is a primal human element. People will always want to express themselves through instruments. They may become less important in the commercial sense. To me that's OK. I'd like to see more ordinary people taking up instrument and jamming etc...

    all the best...

  15. #15

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    "I doubt if the use of drumming machines outside of studios, or artificial replacements for musical instruments in general, will increase by a great deal even if they find a way to give a less rigid, robotic, human sound. They may find a way to make them less robotic sounding but they are never going to be interesting to watch."
    Unless you are a robot!
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  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by 8beat View Post
    I meet lots of people that want to play music. We love jamming. And people like making home recordings too. That might be the growth part of the music business.
    Yea a word of advice given was that a drummer shouldnt just learn how to play drums, should also try to understand what a producer or a sound engineer does

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bridie View Post
    I don't like the robotic feel, some dance music is OK, but it gets to me after a while, prefer a human drummer.
    Bridie
    Haha i think we all prefer a human drummer

  18. #18

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    Technology has come a long way, but some human elements can never be replaced. Yes, factories are full of robotics, but only to perform tasks that are advantageous to do so. They are a tool more than a human replacement. The same goes for drum machines. There are applications where they make sense, but they can never replace the human element...they are only a tool. Self driving cars are great, but only to people who view automobiles as a tool to get from A to B. Not if you love cars. What is more scary than drum machines is a music producer that would actually think that way. THATS where the threat to musicians lye!
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  19. #19

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    Are there any drum machines here on DrumChat, or are you all human ?

  20. #20

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    One way humans are different from drum robots is we make decisions instantly to make the music sound better. Drum machines don't listen to anybody and just keep playing some pre-programmed sounds.

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by JoePasko View Post
    Are there any drum machines here on DrumChat, or are you all human ?
    I've been called a drum machine. Not quite sure how to take that.

  22. #22

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    @ Rick, I highly disagree with your second post, but that is not about drum machines.

    Guys, you have totally missed 2 major genres that already use drum machines Hiop-Hop/Rap and "Electronic" (i hate how genres subdivide themselves, so I just call anything, from house to dubstep ect as Electronic).

    Personally, I love both genres, I also love when they incorporate live instruments. However, as a drummer, would you really want to play a song where you beat never changes, you just have to learn 5-6 stops over a 4min song? Keep in mind too that beat is probably not even your idea. There is a musical instrument from the middle ages called a 'drone', invented for several reasons, one of them because nobody wanted to constantly sing the same note over and over. One of my bassists plays in a band that does rather ambient music, they use drum samples with live bass, keys, guitar and vocals.

    I have a program called Walk Band on my phone, and I can use it as a basic drum machine. It's a lot easier to come up with a pattern on that, send it to band mates and have them think of something, than it is to find the right place in my living room to place the phone, put the phone down, hit record, walk over to the drums, start playing, get up and turn it off (you'll hear the plastic hitting sound of the edrums anywayand it will sound really bad), and then send it to them. Oh, you want a 4 minute loop instead of the 1min i sent you, ok, give me 4.5 minutes and you'll have it.

    Ultimately, we are getting at the fundamental question: For what is music? If it's just about making people dance, well a guy at a computer can do that. If it's about the experience of a live performance, no computer can do that. I will say I've seen two major acts that did not at all impress me live, and left me feeling I could have saved the time and money and just listened to the music at home...
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  23. #23

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    "@ Rick, I highly disagree with your second post, but that is not about drum machines."


    What part do you disagree with?

  24. #24

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  25. #25

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    That was cool! Maybe that's the future.

    all the best...

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