Vintage Synth Explorer

Sequential Circuits • DrumTraks

The DrumTraks is a very programmable classic drum machine from the eighties. While its electronic drum kit sounds may not be as popular today as the TR-909 or TR-808, the DrumTraks exceeds them with superior editing capabilities. Thirteen drum sounds all with programmable tuning and level control. Extensive editing with copy and paste ability. There's even a mixer section for individual sounds, six individual outputs, one mono mix output, and cassette in/out for offline memory storage.

Pretty basic and easy programming, record a couple patterns and link them into a song. The DrumTraks can send Roland sync/clock to control a TB-303, TR-909, TR-808 or TR-606. It is also fully MIDI capable and syncable. This makes it very easy to use with old analogs and new MIDI synths and sequencers. If your looking for classic eighties electro beats and the vintage instrument that generates them then look no further than the DrumTraks. It is used by Orbital, Freddy Fresh, and Prince.

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Clint Beastwood

Posted 36 days ago

"I am sorry to laugh" MIDIguru, but the fact that the SCI Drumtraks and DMX use the same eprom chips has literally nothing to do with them sounding similar. The same eproms were also used in the Linndrum LM-1 and LM-2, the Sakata DPM-48, Oberheim DX, and the E-MU Drumulator. Any difference in sound is based on the samples and sound-circuits utilized in each drum machine. The Oberheim prommer simply provided a way to rewrite ANY eprom.

The MIDIGuru

Posted 54 days ago

Oh, btw. The reason it sounds so much like the DMX - They use the same EPROM chips!

The MIDIGuru

Posted 54 days ago

I am sorry to laugh. The Drumtraks machine is able to play samples (made with Oberheim EPROM Blower). This means that you have no way of knowing when you are hearing this marvelous instrument.

dracula3000

Posted 60 days ago

Tiga uses this as well
in Luxury

Algorhythm

Posted 128 days ago

It's debateable whether or not Prince used a DrumTraks - I've never seen anything conclusive - mostly he used the Linn LM-1 and a Fairlight. The DrumTraks samples are also suspicously similar to the Oberheim DMX, which is an easier machine to programme. It's also irritatingly unintuitive to programme pitch and dynamics into the DrumTraks, although the sounds are good, and it's quite a versatile machine.

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