Why? Are you a songwriter in search of a sophisticated metronome, or are you a band without a drummer? Maybe you're both, and want something that will marry your Portastudio without the need for soundproofing and mikes for confetti...

You need a drum machine. So what if you've only got £300, or less?

Drum machines — in case you didn't know — are boxes that make noises like drums. Some of the boxes generate their own sounds and are known as 'analogue' because they analogise (offer a likeness of) real drum sounds. Other boxes, commonly referred to as 'digital drum machines', have real drum sounds digitally recorded onto small pieces of electricity inside them; naturally, these are more realistic sounding than the purely imitative analogue machines.

There are two methods of programming your own patterns into drum machines: easy and difficult (familiar?). Playing little drum pads in time with a metronome is known as 'real time programming', and is moderately easy, providing the machine corrects your more hideous errors. Running through the pattern beat-by-beat putting drums in the required places is known as 'step time programming' and can be difficult unless you know roughly what you are doing (try reading one of the programming handbooks such as the 'Drum Machine Dictionary' by Sandy Feldstein).

The more sophisticated among you who intend to use drum machines and synthesisers together will need to know about clocking and triggering facilities for synchronising sequencers to your rhythm computer (as they like to be known). For these, and even mentions of MIDI, read on, and inwardly digest. All of the machines mentioned here have been advertised for sale either new or secondhand at £300 or less. Prices are intended only as a rough guide.

BOSS DR110

Big brother to the seminal Dr Rhythm, the DR110 is a mono analogue machine with a capacity of 16 programmable patterns which can be arranged into three songs. Basic snare/bass/hi-hat (open and closed)/cymbal/handclaps are OK. What makes this such a good first buy is the LCD graphic display which lays out, before your very eyes, how program patterns are constructed. Also contains 16 useable presets. Expect to pay £80-£100. Reviewed February 84.

ROLAND TR606

The first cheap-but-serious drum machine with analogue sounds you could live with: flashing lights, step time programming for 32 patterns that could make eight songs. Two trigger outputs from the high and low tom toms, themselves an important addition to the normal drum kit. Often found secondhand with separate outputs for each of the sounds — a very useful DIY addition which shouldn't lower the machine's value. Pay £90-£130 for this slightly complicated but useable machine. Reviewed issue 3.

ROLAND CR78

Still available through secondhand columns, though it now looks and sounds hugely old-fashioned. The tasteful wooden case, preset patterns like "Mambo" and "Fox Trot", and conga and bongo sounds indicate home organry, but John Foxx was impressed enough with the "Metal Beat" sound and the triggers-out to use the CR78 on his "Metamatic" LP. But then he didn't have much choice. Four user-programmable patterns, and 34 presets make it a still useful writing tool. £100-£150, or less if you can.

KORG DDM110

The second low-price digital box, and still the cheapest. Programming in real or step time, MIDI interface, tape dump for cleansing the memory, an LED to indicate which bar and beat are playing. Thirty-two patterns can be glued into six songs. Good bass drum, good snare, breathy and short toms (high and low), rimshot, open and closed hi-hat, short crash, and dodgy handclaps — but all the sounds (with the exception of the crappy claps) are ahead of their analogue counterparts. Quite common in the classifieds at around £150. Reviewed October 1984.

KORG DDM220

Snappily named machine is the Latin percussion version of the DDM110, equipped with the same MIDI and memory specifications, and hi-conga, low-conga, timbale, woodblock, cowbell, hi-agogo (bell), low-agogo, cabasa, and tambourine. Congas and timbale were singled out for praise in the October '84 review. Less frequently seen secondhand, but at £199 new, it's still cheaper than the Roland TR727.

SYCO/MFB512

A rare beast, mainly because it's so small. German manufactured, with the option of separate outputs (via a peculiar five-pin DIN system) or stereo mix, the MFB512 is as interesting to programme as its name suggests. Ho-hum, but its bass/snare/one-tom-played-at-three-pitches/cymbals/etc all sound tolerable. More difficult to program (64 patterns, 16 fills, and eight songs) than the Holy Roman Empire, but at its time this wasn't a problem as this was the The First digital drum machine for less than £900 when reviewed May '84. It's worth less than £200 nowadays.

ROLAND TR808

Depeche Mode used to swear that this was the most accurate time-keeper of all drum machines. Analogue sounds, and slightly weedy ones at that, with the exception of the claps, which are the finest to be found anywhere. Big popularity still in New York disco music. Separate outputs, three trigger outs, colour-coded knobs for easy programming, three-tom-toms which are exchangeable for congas, rimshot, useless maracas, whacky cowbell, 32 pattern memory arrangeable into 12 songs; step programming only. A great machine once you came to terms with it, which explains its relatively high price of £170-£200.

YAMAHA RX21

Newest whirry digital machine with 44 preset patterns, and 56 programmable ones, not to mention the useful 'Copy' function. Nine voices (snare/bass/toms x 3 hi-hat [open & closed]/claps/cymbal) can be strung into four songs. Good LCD display helps with programming (more so than on the RX11 and RX15), as does the option of step or real time facilities. Good bass, OK snare, reasonable crash cymbal, good tom-toms, stereo outputs, MIDI, and a manual of supreme intelligibility make the RX21 a machine to covet for both writing (useful presets) and performing (good sounds). So why are they appearing on the market for only £210-£230? Reviewed October '85.

Goto page 80 for Roland TR909, Yamaha RX 15 and Drumulator

[Note: This rest of this article seems to have not been published - this issue is only 60 pages, and the article is not continued in subsequent issues.]