I just got a Behringer RD-6 Analog Drum Machine, an economical version of a classic budget Roland drum machine, the TR 606... aka the companion piece to the TB 303 bass Synthesizer- the one famous for creating acid house as a genre (post-ten ragas to a disco beat ;). This thing seems really great so far, and I was able to score one for only $125.
It has all the features of the original, plus common desirable mods such as individual outputs, MIDI and distortion controls.
I think this has some cool retro early 80s sounds and will be great to sync up to the modular stuff, as well as the TD-3, the Behringer TB 303 "tribute"... which I was also able to score for very cheap a while back - and they commonly go for under $100 these days.
I found the machine easy to program, able to write and save patterns without even looking at the manual, and zipping around the interface after only the second time using it.
While it's sounds may be rather limited, and frankly uneditable-basically other than the accent feature, it has that great lo-fi electro-punk, trashy bedroom-producer sound going for it...and that makes it stand out.
Now Behringer is a company notorious for it's "tributes," but I think they have this kind of "if Robin Hood was a capitalist" vibe going, which ultimately gets these classic sounds in the hands of musicians-ones that could only ever dream of using a VST plugin of those original sounds! Love the budget gear giant or hate them, but you have to appreciate the amazing time that it is to be alive and be able to get such cheap gear-a real Renaissance for music gear. Plus, one has to wonder what the next generation will be able to do with those old garage sale budget finds that they stumble upon!
...Also, these are available in all your favorite colors!
▶️ 3Speak
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