I've been revisiting an old fav drum machine of mine - The Boss DR-55 Dr. Rhythm.
(Mainly as it's awesome for triggering the arp of a Roland JP 4).
This classic drum machine produced by Roland Corporation has been in my collection for decades.
It was I think one of the first I ever owned.
The Dr55 was sold under Roland's guitar pedal Boss brand.
Introduced in 1979/80, it quickly gained popularity due to its affordability, portability, and ease of use.
You can still find these on Ebay quite cheaply. They haven't yet undergone 808/909 price inflation.
The DR-55 was one of the earliest programmable drum machines available to musicians and became a staple in many home studios and electronic music setups.
It was one of the first step-write-style drum machines, and it was the first rhythm machine in BOSS' successful Dr. Rhythm Series.
It inherited much of its sounds DNA (an appearance) from the CR 68 & 78 drum machines.
I love this machine so much as it highly portable and sounds great ....suitable for both studio and live use
The FS-1 jack is for a footswitch. It's an input.
The DR-55 features 4 analog drum sounds:
kick (BD), snare(SD), rimshot(RS), hi-hats.
You can globally adjust the master Volume, master Tempo, master Tone and master Accent for the drum sounds.
Only the BD, SD, and RS can be programmed.
The HH has a switch to select between OFF, 8th, 16th/12th preset pattern
These sounds are generated by analog circuits, giving them a warm and characteristic tone.
Accent Function:
Accents can be programmed.
You can globally adjust the accent volume.
This feature allows users to emphasize certain beats within a pattern, adding dynamics and variation to the rhythms.
Users can program their own drum patterns using the DR-55's step sequencer.
There are 8 memory slots to store up to 8 patterns:
This is divided into
a. six different 16 step drum patterns (4/4 rhythms) b. two 12-step patterns (3/4 and 6/8 rhythms).
In each memory slot you can record 2 variations :
A or B.
These is a switch to select either variation in rec or playback modes.
The centre variation switch position (AB) records and plays both A & B variations consecutively.
1. set switch to WRITE mode.
2. select a drum sound to program.
3. Steps are entered with the start button.
Rests are entered with the stop button.
4. The beginning of a pattern is indicated when the RED LED
lights up.
5. Pattern playback is enabled by setting the switch to PLAY mode and pressing START.
Jacks:
Unbalanced 1/4 inch.
Note that a cord must be connected to
this jack for the drum to be turned on.
This is like many of BOSS's
guitar effects pedals
Foot switch 1/4 inch input - use with a FS-1 pedal. (Like with the Roland CR 78).
DBS : outputs a pulse for each step. (+5v, 8ms) ... use to drive the arp on a Roland Jupiter 4
When this jack is used, accents no longer occur in the programmed rhythm patterns.
It can also be connected to the Roland modular System 100M.
I purchased a new 6V battery holder on Ebay. I have two DR 55s and both had a broken battery holder
when I initially bought them.
These are made of really weak plastic which will definitely break one day. So buy a few as backups.
While the DR-55 lacks some of the advanced features found in later drum machines, its simplicity and iconic sound have contributed to its enduring popularity among musicians, particularly in genres like electronic, synth-pop, and new wave. Despite being over four decades old, the Boss DR-55 continues to be sought after by vintage gear enthusiasts and remains an important piece of music technology history.
Links
I'm in two minds about modding the drum. But here are some links if you're up to vandalising a piece of music history :-)
I think simple mods like external clocking & adding a DC input (to eliminate batteries) are harmless.
+ Dr 55 mods
There are also plenty of modern clones of this machine, which have all the bells and whistles ... so maybe leave the original alone and buy a clone to mod to your heart's content.
Clones
The circuitbenders.co.uk CB55 is an exact clone of the voice board of the Boss DR55 drum machine. It has the four fully analogue percussion sounds, bass drum, hat, snare, and rimshot, but leaves out the clunky and arguably useless sequencer. There is also an overall accent feature that adds a little extra punch to the whole mix when it is triggered.
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