Starkeeper,
A drum machine is a unit that is primarily for recording drum tracks.. However many units also have bass sounds and allow you to record both drums and bass. The way they work is quite simple. Take mine for example. I have the Zoom MRT-3.. It has 7 velocity sensitive pads (with 2 banks, meaning I have a total of 14 sounds per kit) Now a lot of people like the keyboard set up because of the number of drum sounds per kit.. This isn't a problem with drum machines.. Especially if you have a unit that allows you to use more than one kit per song... Mine allows this.. I can have a drum track that has multiple patterns, and each pattern can be done with a different kit.

I also have the option of using a footswitch to control things such as bass drum, open hi hat. A decent drum machine will allow you to edit your own custom kits, and not just by assigning different sounds to the pads, but doing things like adjusting velocity level, tune, pitch, pan, and other settings. Also decent drum machines have kits that have multiple levels within the samples.. A good example is a kit on my drum machine called a bend down kit.. The sound changes as you hit the pad harder (along with the volume too)... Drum machines are easy to program.. You're using pattern chaining. They can be midi synced to keyboards quite easily, and can really breathe new life into some songs. There is not one kit on my PSR-550 that I honestly like... That's why I bought a drum machine. Recording on them also varies between makers. You can do realtime recording and step recording. Mine doesn't do it in tracks.. Since it only records drum tracks everything is just overdubbing. When you're recording just drums all you really need is overdubbing.. It wouldn't make any sense to have hi hat on one track, bass on the other and so on.. If you want a track that is just like your original, but without the hi hat, you just copy that pattern to an empty spot, and then delete the hi hat from that pattern.. You know have the same pattern, but without the hi hat.

My drum machine has kits sampled above CD quality. They sound awsome and so real. My drum machine only costs $99.00 It was $119.00 when I bought it though.. However, at $99.00 it's the best one on the market....

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 06-11-2003).]