Feature | Ultimate Drum Machines
ULTIMATE DRUM MACHINES
The beat-making tools in your DAW might be more powerful and flexible, but there’s a case for taking the hands-on route to beat creation. Let’s explore why – and how – to use a drum machine…
Let’s be honest – in 2024, the easiest and most flexible approach to beat-making is in-the-box. DAW tools such as Logic’s Drum Machine Designer, Ableton’s Drum Racks or the similar beat making tools in FL Studio, Reason or Bitwig are immensely powerful, allowing users to quickly sequence sampled and synthesised tones side by side, with endless editing and processing possibilities.
So why on earth would we advocate using a hardware drum machine? As is the case with hardware synths, there’s something very unique and creative about working with a self-contained machine. While DAW tools tend to offer open-ended functionality, a drum machine will lend itself to a certain sound and way of working through its selection of sounds, sequencing workflow and hands-on controls. What’s more, there’s an inherent physicality to rhythmic creativity, and a good drum machine lets us lean into that, whether that’s through bashing out patterns using performance pads or sketching rhythms using a physical sequencer.