Using your drum machine as a controller
Contemporary drum machines are considerably more advanced than their ‘80s predecessors in many ways, but nowhere more so than when it comes to sync and connectivity. While old-school drum machines often relied on simple analogue or DIN sync (a precursor to MIDI), modern machines are often capable of a broad range of options to help them integrate into wider studios. These can range from analogue pulse ins and outs to full MIDI implementation, USB MIDI and – as in the case of Elektron’s Overbridge – audio-over-USB and plugin-like control.