Time for another Buyers Guide, and this month we look at the percussive world of drum machines, fast becoming a necessity for the complete electro-musician and an almost essential item in any home recording set-up. If you are looking for a drum machine, you'll need first to consider the most important parameter how much cash is there rattling around in the piggy bank? In our selection of all the relevant drum machines available that we've listed here, you could quite easily spend anything from 70 quid to over two grand, so it's well worth considering next just exactly what it is you want the machine to do.

Will it for example, just have to bash out a reasonably consistent bump-thwack all the way through your fabulous ditties, or do you want to be able to program intros, breaks, fills, outros, and all those other twiddly bits? Do you need to control accurately the individual sounds of the 'drum kit', or do you just want a loud-ish din in the cans?

Only you can answer these heart-rending questions, and all the other intricate self-analysis involved in Buying Something. The Buyers Guide is here simply to aid and abet you in the task: here you will find just drum machines — no drum synths, no sequencer-family add-ons, but pure and simple (and not-so-simple) drum machines.

As ever, the prices shown are INCLUSIVE OF VAT, and we suggest that you check further with distributors and suppliers for additional information that lack of space prevents us from printing. Remember to mention E&MM when making your enquiries — and good luck!

ABBREVIATIONS USED
AN — alpha numeric; inc — including; pres — preset; prog — programmable; RR — Roy Rogers; trig — trigger; var— variation; x2 — two locations per 'memory'.

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BOSS Roland (UK) Ltd., (Contact Details).
DR55 'Doctor Rhythm'	Prog: 4 voices, 8 memories (x2), Trig in/out	99.00
CLEF Clef Products (Electronics) Ltd., (Contact Details).
Master Rhythm	Prog: 7 voices (each with 3 var), 12 memories (x2), fill-ins, internal independent adjustment.
	Kit form, direct	79.00
	Manufactured, direct	119.00
EKO John Hornby Skewes & Co. Ltd., (Contact Details).
Ritmo 12	Pres: 12 rhythms, trig out.	120.00
Ritmo 20	Pres: 8 voices, 20 rhythms, conga-tom sustain, intro/fill-in, start/stop (also remote), 6 gains on voices.	180.00
ELKA Elka Orla (UK) Ltd., (Contact Details).
Sidekick 32	Pres: 10 voices, 16 rhythms (x2), fill with optional foot-pedal control	250.00
GODWIN Sisme UK Ltd., (Contact Details).
Drummaker 45	Pres: 15 rhythms (each with 3 var). Adjustable var every 1-4 bars. Includes keyboard or pedalboard for auto accomp. Bass, chords, arpeggios plus memory and pitch control with keyboard or pedalboard	625.00
HAMMOND Hammond Organ (UK) Ltd., (Contact Details).
AV64	Pres: 9 voices, 16 rhythms (each with 4 var). Adjustable for var every 1-4 bars plus fill	425.00
KORG Rose-Morris & Co. Ltd., (Contact Details).
KR33	Pres: 12 voices, 48 rhythms, trig out	235.00
KR55	Pres: 12 voices, 48 rhythms, trig out, +var, gain and output per voice	325.00
LINN Various suppliers, including: Argent's Keyboards, (Contact Details); Scenic Sounds Equipment, (Contact Details); Syco Systems, (Contact Details).
LinnDrum (new so-called 'LM2')	Prog: 16 voices (inc. cymbals), 49 'rhythm patterns', external triggering, trig in/out, cassette dump, gain output and pan per voice, user-changeable voices. Quoted prices range from:	1950.00 to 2700.00
MCS Movement Audio-Visual, (Contact Details).
Percussion Computer	Computer's drum option: set time/real time (external triggering), 14 voices, 10 memories (+ cassette dump), trig in/out, multiple control functions per voice	2068.85
OBERHEIM Argent's Keyboards, (Contact Details).
DMX (new)	Prog: 24 voices, 50 'pre-programmed rhythm sequences', trig in/out, cassette dump, output per voice, 16-character AN display	1650.00
ROLAND Roland (UK) Ltd., (Contact Details).
CR8000	14 voices on voice-card, 24 preset rhythms, 7 preset intro/fills, 8 prog memories, 6 gains to summed output	399.00
CR5000	Pres: similar to 8000, but without prog functions	299.00
TR606	Prog: 7 voices, 16 memories (x2), trig in/out, 5 gains to summed output	199.00
TR808	16 voices, 16 memories (x2), trig in/out, gain and output per voice	699.00
SOUNDMASTER Strings & Things Ltd., (Contact Details).
SR88	Prog: 4 voices, 8 memories (x2), trig out, fill-ins	72.95
ST305 (new)	Prog: 8 voices, 8 memories (x2), trig in/out, gain and output per voice	124.95
WERSI ElectroVoice Ltd., (Contact Details). Aura Sounds, (Contact Details).
Wersimatic WM24	Pres: 15 voices, 24 rhythms, fill, snare roll	kit 327.00 built 587.00