The History Of The Drum Machine

DJZ has a great article on the history of the drum machine that I've posted below. It's not complete by any means, but still gives a good insight to a machine that really did change musical history.

"Save for using an actual human with sticks or sweaty palms, there is nothing more beneficial to modern electronic music than the invention of drum machine technology. Hip hop, new wave, disco; the sequencer with a rompler/rhythmic sample — the drum machine — made it all possible.

While we can all thank drum machine innovators from the 30s throughout the 60s — Leon Theremin’s Rhythmicon, Harry Chamberlain’s Rhythmate, Raymond Scott’s Rhythm Synthesizer — for their pre-computerized rhythmic prowess and dedication, it wasn’t until the pre-set 70s that drum machines came into their own. The Eko Corporation’s ComputeRhythm, Ace Tone’s Rhythm Producer FR-15, the PAiA Programmable Drum Set and the late great Roland CR-78 made early disco what it was. Yet it was the 80s of early house, electro-dance music and new wave that set the basic drum patterns for where we are today.

The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer of 1980 and its immediate follow-up, the cymbal-crashing LinnDrum, were the first true drum machines to use digital samples. From the Minneapolis sound of The Time and Prince in the United States to UK giants The Human League’s pop coming-out party, Dare, the LM-1 was the sound of a generation, a cheaply crisp and densely snapping set of pulses that got its drive from two chips that when triggered simultaneously gave the compu-rhythm a certain fleshly kick to it.

The Roland 808 only advanced that devil-in-the-flesh feeling, which was weird because it did not use clean, digitally sampled sounds, but rather analog-created bumps and grinds, continuous signals with noise as part of the transfer. The 808 had pre-loaded grooves such as open hi-hats, closed hi-hats, and cowbells along with a big, thick kick drum and dense snare beat. Afrika Bambaataa is probably the first most famous proponent of the 808 as is all early house music. 808 State isn’t just an English electronic act – it is a state of mind and a position of being.

The Roland 909, on the other hand, was a half-breed: semi-analog and semi-sample-based – not as open to noise and fuzz as the 808 – with a drum kit’s real arsenal of hits and kicks along with a sequencer. It was the first MIDI-equipped drum machine and, like the 808, had greater capacity for storing whole tunes rather than just percussive tics.

The Yamaha RX 5 had its built-in sounds, 24 to be exact. But through a series of envelopes and triggers, you could affect the attack and the decay of each sound, therefore giving each percussive sound its own character feels and flaws. It also had a kitsch factor that not every drum machine had in that it offered door slams, gunshots and ricochets.

The Oberheim DMX – this was the sound of the later 80s, hits by Eurythmics, the System and New Order, the kick drum on the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and the chalky snap of Phil Collins’ “Sussuidio.” Easier to program than all previously made drum machines, the O-DMX was the realest sounding drum machine as it sampled the tone and crack of real drums, along with tuning functions for each percussive voice. Along with creating variations of time and pace prevalent among real drummers, the O-DMX did one thing no other drum machine did previously: it offered a swing function. That is the improvisational heft of all drummers – the rate and particulars of how a drumming man or woman swings. This was truly the start of the brave new world of the drum machine; a real duty now for the future move.

For all of history’s drum machines, now easily manipulated and inexpensive, the most popular is still the 808. Kayne West titled his most robotic and romantic album yet after it (808s & Hearbreak). Producer Timbaland hasn’t just used 808s, he’s got a song named after it. So does Bassnectar (“The 808 Track”) .

It’s the tinny thump that you watch David Byrne dance to in the Jonathan Demme Talking Heads documentary, Stop Making Sense. It’s the thin, sexy click of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” and by Japan’s Yellow Magic Orchestra on the clattering “Thousand Knives.”

It is the rough thump of Arthur Baker and the Beasties’ Licensed to Ill. The Fresh Prince liked it back in the day, and Ke$ha likes it today. Kraftwerk used it in the “Computer World” 80s and during last year’s series of shows at the Museum of Modern Art. It was the sound of the Bronx and Berlin and beyond. It is the past and the future."

Here's the link to the original article. Below is a nice overview of the Roland TR-808, the machine that started it all. 

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6 Bands That Changed The Business Of Music

Inc. recently ran an interesting article about the iconic bands that changed the business of music. Yes, they all influenced music to a great degree, but most overlook their moneymaking abilities and how their actions improved the lot for all that came afterwards. Let's look at them:

Led Zeppelin
Major change: Zeppelin shifted the balance of power from the concert promoter to the act. They were the first ones to negotiate a deal to take 90% of the gate.

The Rolling Stones
Major change: The Stones were the first major group to pay for their own recordings, then lease the master to the record label. This allowed them to retain ownership of their copyrights for future licensing deals.
Major change 2: Their lips and tongue logo became a classic brand identifier.

KISS
Major change: Kiss took merchandise and licensing to a new level, eventually licensing over 3,000 product categories. This is a common tactic for artists today, but it was KISS who saw the value in licensing before everyone else.

The Grateful Dead
Major change: While other bands from the '60s through the '90s were all wrapped up in record sales, The Grateful Dead realized the current Music 3.0 mantra way before anyone - "Your music is your marketing." They encouraged people to tape their performances and share them with their friends, thereby broadening their fan base. Sound familiar? That's what acts are doing today, only online.
Major change 2: The Dead were social way before social media, selling concert tickets directly, creating an engaged fan club, and promoting and selling special products and fan-generated materials through the fan club.

Journey
Major change: You don't think of Journey as being at the forefront of any business dealings, but they were the first major act to go for a tour sponsorship deal (with Budweiser).
Major change 2: Journey was also the first act to own their own touring infrastructure, owning their own sound system, staging, and transportation.
Major change 3: Although the Stones led the way by being the first to lease their masters to the record label, Journey took it a step further by providing the artwork and marketing material as well.

Moby
Major change: Moby was the first artist to realize the tremendous potential of media licensing. When his Play album first came out it did nothing on the charts and was ignored by radio. That was before he licensed every song on the album for commercials, television and movies, then the record blew up.

The next time you hear the music of any of these artists, give a little thought to the behind the scenes influence they've had on the new ways of revenue generation they helped create.

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The Band PreProduction Checklist

Your band is playing either in rehearsal or in the studio and suddenly there's a train wreck where something sounds way off. Don't know what to do? Here are a number of questions to ask if the song just doesn’t sound as good as you think it should.

1. Do all the players in the band know their parts inside out? Is there a part that someone is unsure of?

2. Are all the players performing their parts the same way every time (assuming that you’re not recording some forms of jazz and blues where you want a different performance)? Any variation can lead to a section not gelling or not being tight.

3. Is the band playing dynamically? Does the music breath volume-wise? Does the verse have less intensity than a chorus or bridge?

4. Does the band lose its drive when playing with less intensity? Does it forget about attacks and releases when they play quieter?

5. Is everyone playing the song and section starts and stops the same? If not, ask every player, “How are you playing it?”

6. Does the band sound tight? Are the attacks and releases of phrases being played the same way by everyone? Are the builds, turnarounds and accents being played the same way by everyone? If not, ask every player, “How are you playing it?”

7. Is the band in tune? If not, make sure everyone uses the same tuner and tunes the same way.

8. Does the song have a groove? Is the rhythm section playing in the pocket? Is the drummer or bass player slightly wavering in tempo?

9. Is the tempo right for the song? Try it a BPM or two faster or slower and see if it feels better.

10. Are all vocals in the best range for the singers? Does the singer have trouble hitting all the notes? Does the singer sound comfortable singing and is the vocal sound right for the song?

This checklist will take care of at least 90% of the problems that a band will run into, but if you find that you still can't get it right, there's one more thing that you can do that will probably clear things up. Either take a break, or come back another day and try it again. It's amazing what some time away will do to clear a band's collective thinking.

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"Ramble On" Isolated Bass Track

Going back in time again, here's the isolated bass track from a Led Zeppelin song that I always loved - "Ramble On." On it you hear bassist extraordinaire John Paul Jones play a complex track very well, but listening to just his track alone isn't quite fair, as you'll see.

Here are some things to listen for:
1. Listen to how the bass sounds. Big, full and fat, with lots of lows yet plenty of definition. We sometimes have a hard time achieving that today.

2. Listen to how the level changes between the first verse and chorus from there on. It's much louder by the end, as is the rest of the band. It's a good example of dynamics.

3. Listen to how JPJ plays the verse line staccato (short and choppy) in the first verse, then legato (smooth) from there on.

4. There's a lot of missed notes that you probably didn't hear with the rest of the band playing (I know I didn't). Listen at 1:20, 1:30 and 2:31 just for starters. Then there's a mistake at 3:47.

That's not to rag on one of the best bass players ever. It's just to point out that back in those days, we had a different idea of what was acceptable than we do today, where we try to wring perfection out of each note.

5. JPJ plays some brilliant ad libs on the outro after about 4:00. Too bad we miss a lot of this thanks to the fade on the record.

This just goes to show that an isolated track does not make a song, it's how the entire band interacts. If you listen to the real thing, you'll hear how spot on JPJ is with both drummer John Bonham and guitarist Jimmy Page, which is why the band always sounded bigger than the sum of its parts.

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New Music Gear Monday: Dave Smith Prophet 12

Although I neglected to mention it in my NAMM overview, the Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 12 was one of the most talked about instruments at the show. Dave was the designer of the original Prophet V synthesizer, which was the very first truly polyphonic synth. That doesn't seem like such a big deal today, but believe me, back in the 80's it was an earth shattering development.

Dave really put everything into the Prophet 12, from 5 oscillators per voice (4 plus a sub oscillator), arpeggiator, analog filters (which is why it sounds so analog), and a load more that you'll see in the video. If you're into keyboards, this is one well worth checking out. It doesn't sound to try like any other instrument; it has it's own voice.

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Buddy Rich vs. Neil Pert

Here's a great video for drummers, engineers, lover of drums, and musicians everywhere. It's basically a video that illustrates two ages of drumming, first with the legendary Buddy Rich, then with Rush's Neil Peart. While Neil is great, I can't help but feel that Buddy is at least a step beyond both in dexterity and energy.

A couple of things to notice:

1. Check out the angle of Buddy's snare drum. When was the last time you saw an angle like that?

2. Buddy's drums sound like one instrument while Neil's drums sound disconnected from one other by comparison.

3. Buddy's stick work at 4:40 is amazing! What control the man had.

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NAMM 2013 Overview Part 4 - The Oddities

One of the best parts about NAMM is some of the things you see on the floor that don't seem to fit into any category. Most of these are usually found in what's affectionately known as "Inventors Row" down in the basement in Hall E. It's also sometimes known as "The Chapter 11 Hall," meaning that most of the exhibitors will probably be out of business by the time NAMM comes around again next year. I don't know about that so much, but here are a number of unusual offerings that caught my eye.




Here's a number of guitars that had their bodies made by a 3D printer. The company that made these is called 3D Systems, and they won "Best of Show" from Yahoo Finance. If you don't know already, 3D printing is the future. Just like everyone had to have a real printer in 1990 and a cell phone a decade later, the same will happen in the 3D world. You've been warned.












Next we have an interesting rotary key instrument that shrieked like a banshee as it was actually electric and plugged into a distorted amp. Didn't get the name of the company since I was so befuddled.









Teac (the mother company of Tascam) presented an interesting version of a boombox (or maybe it's a clock radio?) with retro styling. I didn't know that people still bought these things.















Now for something completely practical. Here's a USB flash drive duplicator from EZ Dupe. Want to get your music out there? No one can refuse a free flash drive.












Here's one of the weirder ones. It's a gallery of artist in-ear monitors by Ultimate Ears (I think). I'm not so sure that I want to know what the ear canal of my favorite music celeb or athlete is like.











Finally, here's a display for "man-made ivory" picks that are harmonically tuned to suite your music by TUSQ. Don't know how much of that I buy, but they felt pretty good, and at least they have some out-of-the-box marketing.


That's it for this year's NAMM show. Now that January's near over, we can all get back to business.

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NAMM 2013 Overview Part 3 - Music Products

NAMM is a big show. It takes up all 4 halls of the Anaheim Convention Center as well as the basement hall and second and third floor halls and rooms. Then there's the Arena and the adjacent Marriott Convention Center, not to mention the activities at the Hilton and Sheraton Hotels. That's a lot to cover and I can't get to it all even under the best of circumstances. This year it was a little harder as I was locked down in meetings for most of the days that I was there.

I say this as a bit of a defense in that what you'll see below is what caught my eye from the parts of the show that I saw. There were undoubtedly many other things that I never got to. With that out of the way, let's look at some of the music products from the show.




The famous Buchla synthesizer is back, this time in a more modern package. It's complete with a preset card (on the upper left) that you can solder your own resistors if you choose. This version runs about $4k, which is a lot better than the $40k that the vintage ones are bringing on eBay.







Another blast from the past is Magnatone. The amps didn't gain major traction when they were introduced in the 50's, but gained favor over the years for their "vintage sound" by players like David Gilmour and Neil Young. They also have a unique stereo vibrato feature only found in these amps. Billy Gibbons has been touring with one, so they must be good.











Staying on amps for a moment, I came across this one from Four Force that was amazing in how light it was. And I mean really light as in less than 5 pounds! This EM-1 is a 5 watt Class A amp that sounds way bigger than it feels. There's also a 50 watt bass amp available in a similar package. Perfect for the aging rocker with a bad back!















While this picture is of a striking edition of the Moog Voyager Performer, the real talk of the show in terms of keys was the Moog Sub Phatty. The Sub Phatty is probably the grittiest, dirtiest sounding synth you've ever heard (I mean that in a good way), and it's destined to do big things in the EM world.











This is the U-Bass, which is a short 21" scale bass that sounded about as good as a regular scale bass (at least at the show). Big sounds from such a small instrument. Very impressive.












The last item is more of a vocal toy that I couldn't get close enough to take a picture of, so here's the promo pic. It's by TC Electronic and called the VocalLive Touch 2, and it mounts on a mic stand and allows a vocalist to dial in effects and harmonies in real time as you sing. It even has a looper built in. Very cool, and the wave of the future for vocalists, at least on a club level.

That's it for now. Tomorrow we'll look at some of the oddities from the show.

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NAMM 2013 Overview Part 2 - Audio Products.

When I go to a NAMM show or an other similar exhibition, I no longer go to see a specific item. I usually walk the floor waiting for something to jump out at me. Sometimes the product is obvious, and other times it's buried in the back of a booth, but if I see the need or use for it, you'll see it mentioned here. Sometimes it's a "why hadn't anyone thought of that before" product, while other times it's a new twist on an old problem solver. Here are some of the audio items that caught my eye at NAMM 2013 (in no particular order).







First comes the audio-technica AT5040, a new microphone that distinguishes itself by its unique quad capsule (seen in the upper left center in the back). This configuration provides more than twice the area of a normal one inch round diaphragm used in other large diaphragm mics. The result is extended highs and lows and lower noise. Looking forward to hearing this one.












The next item is the ME-1 Personal Monitor mixer by Allen & Heath. This is a CAT-5 based system that allows you to mix up to 40 input sources. It also has a couple of cool things like a built-in ambience mic and a simple two knob "me and everyone else" system to break it down to what's most important in the quickest amount of time. A&H have always built great sounding gear (their consoles have been consistently great for the money through the years), but for some reason sometimes get overlooked. The ME-1 could bring a lot of people into the fold that weren't A&H lovers previously.








Much has been written about Slate Pro Audio's Raven MTX mixer control surface that was shown at last year's AES show. That unit was back in a more refined state at NAMM, but a new entry was a baby version dubbed the MTi. It has the same unique display that toggles between the Slate mix and traditional Pro Tools mix and edit windows, along with some built-in hardware for monitoring and cue mixes. I was told that it will be about $3,500 and ship in April, about a month after the larger MTX.










As I wrote yesterday, Chinese mics have hit the floor in terms of price, so the only way to go is up. MXL has a new mic called the Genesis II that supposedly sounds like the venerable AKG C-12, only for $595. Who knows if it's even close, as you can't tell from a demo on the show floor, but it sure is a trend that's the wave of the future. The fact that it does have a hand-selected NOS Mullard 12AT7 tube weighs in its favor though.















I've been raving about the Monoprice 8323 headphones for about a year as the best phones you can get in the $25 range. Now Monoprice has decided to jump into the audio game with both feet with a full line of audio gear that ranges from mics to speakers to cables to mixers to guitars and more. All the gear is surprisingly good for the price, and the prices are astoundingly reasonable. Hopefully I can try out some of this gear soon and give you a report.










SM Pro Audio is another company with great products for great prices. At the show they introduced their 500 series modules and racks. The racks come from 1 to 8 spaces and have a unique feature in that they have internal audio routing built in as well. Also available for the 500 series was a unique dual band optical compressor, a 5 band parametric EQ that has 5 full spectrum overlapping bands, and a tube preamp. Big bang for the buck here.







Finally I stumbled upon an interesting company called acouStaCorp that had a number of unique temporary acoustic controllers including this big air-filled pillow called a AqFlex. This system is said to work on frequencies below 250Hz. It takes up a lot of room, which probably isn't that big of a deal in a theater, but is a unique approach to acoustic control that you don't see much.

That's it for the audio portion. Tomorrow we'll look at musical instruments.

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NAMM 2013 Overview - Part 1

Winter NAMM in Anaheim is certainly a winter-wonderland of gear, music, friends and celebs that should be experienced at least once in a lifetime. If you've been to it more times that I'd like to admit, it's not quite the experience that it once was. That said, it's still the best way to spot trends (which is what I try to do), gauge the health of the industry, network, and catch up with old friends.

First a few NAMM bitches. The TSA-like security was at an all-time high, with rules that even many of the door attendants didn't seem to understand. Then, the cell phone communication was as troublesome as ever. And still no free wi-fi? Come on, Anaheim, it's 2013 already.

Then there was the new promenade that was created in front of the convention center between the hotels. It was great for the concerts at night (Tower of Power on Thursday night, Legends of Rock on Friday) as it seems to accomodate about 5,000 people, but it made the foot and car traffic much more difficult. And parking was harder than ever, although that was no doubt due to the 100,000+ crowds.

Okay, let's get on with some of the trends that I saw.

The Livid Base

One of the things that was bigger than ever was controller category, with new offerings by Akai, Ableton, Livid and many more. Here's the Livid Base, which caught my eye as very cool, although the picture doesn't do it justice.

Akai MPC Studio

Speaking of Akai, they had some cool new products with the new streamlined MPC Studio.

Akai MPC Fly

Akai also got the "best idea in packaging" award for coming up with MPC Fly which is built like a laptop with the top half being an iPad dock.

Blue Nessie

It seemed like ever mic company at the show had a new USB offering. Here's the new Blue Nessie, which has a built-in EQ, limiter, desesser and even zero-latency monitoring. Very cool.

Behringer iS202 iPad Dock

One of the things that I expected to be hot that wasn't was iPad software and accessories. Last year that was the big trend for the show, this year not so much, although Behringer had a number of products like this iS202 Docking Station. Behringer had so many new products that they've truly become a major force in the industry. Like Yamaha from about 30 years ago, they've developed into a powerhouse by making their products better and better, yet they've managed to keep the prices extremely low.

By the way, Yamaha was truly disappointing at the show, with only a minimal showing of very dated products. I don't know what that means exactly, but it's not looking good on that front.

Tascam iPhone Accessories

While the iPod had some decreased traction, the iPhone had some renewed energy, with a ton of new products and accessories like mics and mic preamps similar to these offerings from Tascam.


So those are the big picture trends that I saw from the show. I was only there for 2 days and didn't see all of it, but I did get around enough and speak to enough people to get the general feel. Tomorrow we'll take a look at audio products, then we'll visit with music products, and some oddities.

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10 Levels Of Artist Income

Here's a great post from Digital Music News from a while back that looks at the 10 levels of artist income. You'll see a picture who's size is commensurate with the amount of income, then find an explanation underneath.

Artist Royalty.

I never have to work another day in my life, thanks to my royalties and other music-related revenues. If I go on tour or make new music, it's because I want to. I can live a fairly outrageous, lavish lifestyle, and enjoy this healthy stream of income for the rest of my life.

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Royalty with Responsibilities.

I never have to work another day in my life, thanks to my royalties, touring receipts, and other music-related revenues. However, it could run out: although I can live quite comfortably, I have some budget considerations and long-term financial planning to consider.  

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Actively Wealthy.

I am making a very substantial amount of money from my music, but I cannot retire. I tour, release albums, and write songs, not only because I want to but because - frankly - I have to.

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The Middle-Class Musician.

I am a middle–class musician, producer, or other music-related professional who makes a decent, livable wage that supports not only myself, but my family as well.  I can put some money into long-term investments, like retirement funds, property, etc., and can get a kid or two through college. 

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Surviving, thank you very much.

I'm a working musician, producer, or other music-related professional, and making a decent, livable wage that barely supports myself. Or, I can cover the costs of a team, touring expenses, and my own expenses, but not much else.

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Operating at a loss.

I am not quite breaking even, but staging full tours, creating serious recordings, and hiring others to help manage things like digital distribution, tour management, and social networking.   

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In the game.

I am making the equivalent of a minimum wage salary and surviving off of my music.

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Part-time, looking for full-time.

I make a modest amount of money from my music, but I must work another job at least part-time to survive.

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Hobbyist.

I make little to no money from my music, and rely entirely on other sources of income. I may not be trying to generate income from my music, but still face some expenses related to this hobby. 

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Burnt.

I've unfortunately given up, due to financial challenges related to making music. I'd blame this partly on piracy, and the generally low level of compensation from most performance outlets. I've found another profession, or am looking for another profession.

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I can't tell if this is depressing or not. Which one are you?

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"Can't Help Myself" Isolated Bass

Motown's James Jamerson is ones of the giants of the bass world, so it's always a pleasure when we can get to closely study his work. Here's a video of his isolated bass in The Four Tops hit "I Can't Help Myself (Suger Pie Honey Bunch)." As you listen, take notice to a few things:

1. The leakage of the rest of the band onto the bass track. Most of the recording of those early Motown hits recorded in Detroit were done on an 8 track tape machine, which means that many of the instruments had to be recorded together on the same tracks. The bass was the exception as it always had its own track, but that didn't mean that it was totally isolated. Since it was recorded through an amp, you can hear the rest of the band playing as well, which is something that we probably wouldn't stand for today. Didn't seem to hurt anything here.

2. Listen to how Jamerson's articulations change throughout the song. Sometimes he has a smooth release and sometimes it's staccato and chopped off. This is something else we would probably replace today, asking him to play it one way or another throughout the song.

3. There's a mistake that Jamerson makes throughout the first third of the song as he plays a major against a Dm (the third chord in the pattern) over and over. At some point he realizes the mistake and makes the change (it's only one fret difference). Not that this has ever bothered the millions of listeners that have enjoyed the song. In fact, if it weren't for the isolated track, no one would probably hear the difference.

This track is a perfect example of how modern production techniques have changed from the 1960s. Today we look for more precision and isolation, but we often lose the feel and groove as a result. That said, the track is proof that a hit is still a hit, mistakes and all.

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