Monday, 17 November 2014

Korg iElectribe - 2010

The electribe groovebox comes to the iPad


The iELECTRIBE Gorillaz Edition (2010)

http://youtu.be/esLd3zpXO9I

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

Sunday, 16 November 2014

KORG MiniPops Junior Rhythm Machine.

This one is from 1972.
"One notable use of a Mini Pops drum machine (MP7) was by French musician Jean Michel Jarre, in the final part of his breakthrough album, Oxygene. This rhythm was achieved by overlaying two of the presets in a manner not intended by the machine's original design"
(from Wikipedia)







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

KORG Rhythm KR-33

The KR33 rhythm machine. dates from 1979.
This version is a bit worse for wear.















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

Roland Cr-5000 Compurhythm Drum Machine

The Roland CR 5000 came out in 1980/1981
It's very similar to the CR 8000. - the case is virtually identical. (The 8000 has twice the number of presets).

There are 9 sounds in the 5000 (BD, SD, Cy, HH, Toms, Rim shot, Congas, Claves, Cowbell)
and 24 presets.


 The presets are arranged into 3 banks of 8. They include the Samba, rhumba, mambo, merengue, waltz, foxtrot, Bossa Nova, as well as Rock 1, 2, 3,etc, and one disco pattern

The bass drum is a lot like a 606 - short and boxy.


The 5 volume pots on the top are identical to those used on the Roland 808. and as in the 808 they also control individual voice levels.






There ia a Accent knob for volume variation within patterns



I really dig the control of the cymbals and hi-hats.
The five buttons under the "arranger" section  make it easy to select various combinations (4ths and 8ths cymbal, 4ths and 8ths hi-hat, open hi-hat).
The 6th button in the arranger group turns on & off the conga.



These can be used in any combination with any of the 24 presets. 

I really like the Shuffle mode too --It randomizes the patterns.
We also have a 'Register' button to switch quickly between the Arranger & Preset settings.

The Crash button enables/disables the end-of-bar Crash cymbal sound


Intro/Auto fill-in knobs give 8 settings.
There are 8 fill patterns that can be triggered every 2,4,8,12 or 16 bars
There is a manual fill button or you can use the knob to automatically place the fills on the end of the 4, 8, 12th etc measure

It has a trigger out (8", 16", accent) for different speed arpeggios on Roland synths that accept EXT clock in.
But but sadly no trigger in .


There are 4 remote control inputs via a DP-2 footswitch.
The controls are start/stop, restart, intro/fill in & register.

Sadily there is just one audio output & no din sync.

The DP-2 foot switch
Links:
1. Estecho - adding individual outs
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For more info on the history of Roland Drum Machines click here

Ace Tone FR-1 (Roland's first drum machine) - Circa 1967

The Ace Tone FR-1 "Rhythm Ace" was Roland's very first preset drum machine. Circa 1967.
Before it came the The Rhythm Ace R-1 (1964) & R-3 (1966). No one knows if there was a R-2.

For the record, the R-1 was the world’s very first transistorized drum machine. It didn't have preset patterns. Nor did the R-3.

So in 1967, an automatic version, the Rhythm Ace FR-1, followed and was adopted by the Hammond Organ Company.   Ace Tone developed the preset rhythm-pattern generator using  a diode matrix circuit.


The Diode Matrix used a pulse generator & frequency dividing counter. The outputs were connected to a matrix of diodes which were arranged in AND and OR configurations. Logic circuits. :-)
The matrix output drove the various drum voices.

The diode matrix enabled the drum to have 16 preset patterns. You can cascade & mix these up by pressing two buttons simultaneously. The possible combination of rhythm patterns were more than a hundred.


In the USA, the FR-1 was sold under the "Multivox" brand. It the UK it was marketed as the "Bentley Rhythm Ace".



Also, the four round white buttons enable you to mute the cymbal, claves, cowbell and bass-drum sounds.


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

Univox/Korg SR-55 Analog Rhythm Drum Machine - 1967

Some pics of my vintage Univox SR-55 Analog Rhythm Drum Machine. This machine dates from 1967.

It's almost half a century old & is also known as the Korg MiniPops 3. 

A confusing thing about these early Korg machines is their numbering system. The MiniPops 5 & 7 arrived on the scene in 1966. The MP3 was produced in 1967. So this machine should have much in common with the MiniPops 7. The sloping face is shared by both the MP7 & MP3 and they are very similiar sounding machines, but the 7's got that awesome quijada/Guiro sound. They were both designed to sit on top of the organ/table

The MiniPops 5 was in comparison a different beast -- designed to sit under a organ, like the Keio MiniPops-Doncamatic.

Depeche Mode used this drumbox. It's all over Jarre's Magnetic Fields album though this may also have been the MP7 ??? . Kraftwork may have also used this???

Anyway, we have solid construction.  Nice big clunky switches.
The shiny aluminium knobs belong in the 1960s. Certainly well built.



These two knobs are a great way to combine different patterns for the swing & foxtrot.


This is the circuit board taken from the underside of the machine.




 Inductors ??? 

I don't have a MiniPops3 service manual or schematics but the MiniPops 7 schematics is available online and it has inductors all over it. It seems logical to suppose that Korg would have used similar technology in both machines. If anyone has a MP3 service manual, please email me. I would be eternally grateful.

I suspect this a RLC circuit or "tuned resonant circuit" - using inductors, caps & resistors.

The RLC circuits form harmonic oscillators.
Inductors are passive devices used in electronic circuits to store energy in the form of a magnetic field. They are basically coils of wire. They are the compliment of capacitors, which store energy in the form of an electric field. 




The pot on the right is the tempo control.
This looks like a good place to start your search for a sync in. The lack of a way to syncronise the 55 is one serious limitation.


The diode matrix/pattern section.








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