KORG Rhythm 55 (KR-55) Drum Machine

Korg released both the KR-33 & KR-55 in 1979. They are the successors to Korg's successful Mini Pops series of drums. The KR-55 looks a bit like a old school calculator, but don't let it's appearance fool you.
 This was quite cutting edge for its time.  There is a micro-processor involved in rhythm making. Gone are the days of the old diode matrix.

Its built in sequencer has 48 preset patterns (Waltz, Samba, Cha Cha, Afro, Enka, Rhumba, Bossa Nova, Tango, Slow Rock, Swing, Rock, etc.). There are 16 Intro patterns & 16 Fill-In patterns though sadly you can't  program your own patterns. (Roland had  just brought out the CR-78 one year earlier which had this feature as did the Roland TR-606 which  wouldn't come out till 1981).

There are 12 analog sounds: Bass Drum, Snare Drum, 2x HiHat, Cymbal, Low Conga, High Conga, Rim Shot, Claves, Cowbell, 2x Tom Tom. The sounds are commonly described as snappy & metallic.

Here is a great video I found on youtube which gives a really good example of these sounds.

The rhythms are not mixable like on some of the old Minipops drums, but the tempo and volume knob do allow for a little tweaking. There is also a "swing" control to add a bit of spice to the groove.

 In his excellent SOS review, Gordon Reid discusses the TR-33 & TR-55 "History of Korg - Part 1"

"More successful [than the Sigma] were the KR33 and KR55 rhythm units, which replaced the ageing Mini Pops series. These were more sophisticated than their predecessors, generating analogue sounds that were far more realistic than the noise-based thumps and hisses offered by the earlier DoncaMatics, Mini Pops, and units from competitors."

Here is the Korg KR-55 manual

There is a Trigger out , but no trigger in. Thus un-modded, it's impossible to sync with external gear. There are several triggering modes: I understand that The KR-55 runs at 8ppqn so you will need to use a clock divider if you wish to sync it to midi or sync24.
  
It can also be externally controlled via the footswitch jack for the Start/Stop & Intro/Fill switches.

There are no individual outs for the 55 but there are faders for most of the drum sounds.that allow you to mix the volume levels of the bass, snare, cymbal, hi hat, conga/TT, Rim Shot/Cow Bell/Claves.
There are lots of mods on the net on how to get individual outs.

The Korg Rhythm 55 was used by Jean-Michel Jarre (Magnetic Fields) and Depeche Mode  in 1981 (Speak and Spell) & Cabaret Voltaire.

Modding:
Analogue solutions midi kit looks nice but has a fee of £109 for the kit.  I may end up doing it but would love individual outs along with it.
http://www.analoguesolutions.org.uk/mods/kr55.htm 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zfpZ9RBK8

Here is a great place for some modding (esp for multiple outs) :
http://alienatedsynthesist.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/kr-55-clock-in-mod.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31603983@N05/sets/72157628641466671/ 

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For more info on the history of Korg Drum Machines Click Here  

Korg SR-120 (Mini Pops 120) Drum Machine.

The Korg SR-120 came out in 1976.
In that same year Korg also produced the Mini Pops MP120, the Mini Pops MP35  & the Mini Pops MP 45 Rhythm Machine.
The SR-120 is identical to the MP-120. This was the final drum which Korg produced under the mini pops label.... and was supposed to be their best. It has all the bells and whistles.

She boasted 6 sounds (BD, SD, Cy/HH, low conga, high conga, claves) and 16 presets (slow rock, swing, bossa nova, beguine, rumba, mambo, samba, waltz, tango, polka, foxtrot, march, rock 1 to 4).
making 32 patterns.
The sounds esp the Kick are awesome.

The Korg 120W

This version has a wood case, but they also came covered with tolex.
The cube shape also seems to be catching on both with Roland & Korg. Roland's CR78 is just two years away.

Korg, in addition to the tolex version, re-branded these as Univox SR-120s which came in a road case with lid & handle (the 120-P).
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb9n2PhmfCo
Another important point to make about the 120 is its use of a ROM (read only memory) chip to store the patterns. Looks like the identity of the ROM is a AmericanMicro Semiconductor uPD471D

UPD471D

The Roland CR-68 & 78 also followed this trend with ROM chips too.
Earlier machines of both companies used what's called a diode matrix to store the patterns.

The mini pops 120 schematics indicate the use of both a diode matrix and a ROM chip.
The diodes are easy to fix. However replacing a integrated circuit made in 1976 is much trickier, if you can't find a replacement chip.

There are lots of mods for this machine if you can find one that works.
A good place to start is here:
http://www.estecho.com/gear/Korg_Mini-Pops_120.php
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For more info on the history of Korg Drum Machines Click Here

Udaipur - India

This is such an underrated place.
So very very beautiful. Reminds me of Venice.
It's quite a big city with lots to see.

Give yourself at least 4 days. A week would be nice.
Some pics of the water front:

 Panorama from one of the bridges.

 It's New Years Eve: the calm before the storm.

Udaipur is very romantic. It is  the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar,

in the state of Rajasthan

Udaipur was founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh. With the  emergence of artillery warfare in the 16th century it was decided to move the capital to a more secure location... away from the old fortress of Kumbhalgarh.

 Roof top nightclub. The perfect place to see the New Year in.

Lobby of the Lake Pichola Hotel

The lake Palace is in the distance.

The Lake Palace covers an entire island in the Pichola Lake.

For more travel postcards click here:

http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/travel-postcards-index-my-travel.html

Elektron Party : MM,A4 & Rytm drum

The boys are back together.
A Elektron MonoMachine SFX-6 (keyboard version) ,
a Analog Four and the Rytm Drum

Roland TR 330

Roland TR-330  (late 1972 / early 1973 ??)

This is a bit of an odd one with respect to the name. It's pretty rare too. The TR label belies its roots - it's from the Roland family of Transistor Rhythm Machines.

Did Roland base it on the TR-33 and add a zero - thus TR-330 ??
She probably lies between the TR-77 which came out in 1972 & the TR -66 which was first manufactured in 1973. (It's definitely not as advanced technically as the TR-66 which is why I think it comes before the 66 & after the 77).
And I think it sounds a lot like my TR-77 too.

Take special note of the wooden cube shape. The 330 was the first of Roland's drum machines to take this appearance which would finally evolve into the ground breaking CR-78 in 1978.

There is heaps of bass and great analog percussion - claves etc. There are 8 drum sounds.The Kick is very very good. Reminds me of my TR-808. Lots of bottom end.

The voice board has trimmers (variable resistors) for tuning the oscillator's pitch & resonance....and/or for some very nice distortion. Nice warm & round analog sounds.

The circuit boards & speaker slide out of the wooden sleeve very easily They are held in with just 4 screws on the bottom.

And it has it's own built in speaker which you won't find on any other Roland drum of this vintage.
The speaker isn't of the highest quality but if you like rather cheezy distortion you will love it.

I don't have any service manual or schematic so if anyone out there has one I'd be forever grateful.

The tempo slider is unusual. It displays the tempo both in modern BPMs (40 to 280) and in the traditional classical way ..... in Italian, as was the custom before the invention of the metronome.
The old way is def more romantic. Largo (rather slow; stately), andante (walking speed) & presto (Very fast) are words you rarely see on a drum machine.

There is one "Balancing" knob which sets the volume of the Kick  & Hi hat. It can completely mute the hi-hat or totally remove the kick which I think is very useful.

There are 10 Preset patterns. Waltz, Slow Rock, Rock Beat, Bossa Nova, Mambo, Cha-Cha, Beguine, Rumba, March, Swing.
Size: 9-1/2" wide, 7" high, 12" deep. Weight 10-1/2 lb.

On the rear panel we have a jack for an external amplifier. There is also a jack for a foot-pedal control.

The speaker is on the top. Tempo switch to the left. To the right is the transformer. Careful with this if you open your 330 up. There are high voltages here which can be lethal.

At the bottom is the clock & tempo board. I haven't modded this one yet, but I reckon here is a good place to start looking for that external sync input. Above the tempo PCB is the power regulation board.

This is the underside of the machine. On the right we have the voice board. The left is the pattern board. I haven't opened it up but I understand that its completely made from diodes..... the famous diode matrix where we have a network of intersecting horizontal and vertical buses. All discrete logic. Nice !!!

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For more info on the history of Roland Drum Machines click here

Roland TR-66 Rhythm Arranger

Roland TR-66 Rhythm Arranger

The TR 66 came out in 1973. It's importance in the history of drum machines can't be understated as it marks the transition between the four drums of the TR series - (TR 33,55,77 & 330) and the ground breaking CR series (CR 68 & 78).

Though it still bears the name TR, standing for transistor rhythm, Roland moved from a solely percussion based pattern machine (with pre chosen sounds), to one where 2 patterns could be combined.. The top 16 patterns were (chosen with a dial ) a kick, snare and hi-hat. The bottom consisted of your standard percussion patterns: Waltz, Jazz Rock, Slow Rock, Cha-Cha, Bossa Nova, Rhumba, etc. that you could find on the earlier TR machines  These are selected by the buttons along the bottom row.

I really like the snare & kicks from this drum. All the sounds are warm & analog.The sounds include kick, snare, hihat, conga, bongos, claves, maracas, cowbell, rim shot, and cymbal. The TR-66 has been used by Depeche Mode and on the "Cha-Cha" rhythm on Roxy Music's "Dance Away" (1979).

Sadly, there is no way to sync the Tr 66 without modification.

The "Arrange Switch" offered two extra variations to the standard (AUTO) setting giving 36 patterns in total.

By combining the "Rhythm Selector" & "Variation Selector" interesting mixed rhythm patterns can be produced. When adding the Tempo, Balance control & the arrange switch, lots of variation is possible. A great little machine. !!!!

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For more info on the history of Roland Drum Machines click here

Fenix I & III (and a Roland CR 78)

video:

The Fenix III sequencer has a very useful clock divider (left of photo). The Roland CR 78 needs a 48 pulse per measure clock to sync. The Fenix clock divider needed a bit of tweaking but worked.

Here is the unedited video: