Members MudDog Posted November 1, 2005 Members Posted November 1, 2005 Are drum machines as effective as metronomes for timing work and all around practice tools? I am struggling between buying either the Boss DR-3 drum machine or Boss DB-90 metronome (fairly comparable in price +/- $40). Is anybody familiar with them and would they recommend either over the other (or another/different machine all together?!?). I have read some mention/suggestions of Samplers (?)...they sound like digital recorders with the ability to alter file tempos and change tone "shapes", yes? Somehow these seem to have a different purpose/market in mind, true? I have played around a little with the DR-3 and I have even read the manual and it seems a little confusing when it comes creating and saving your won rhthms (and not merely using factory pre-sets). Bottom line, the drum machine sounds like it would add another positive dimension to my practicing and it sounds like it would make practicing more fun. But is it going to be as helpful to me as a metronome or will it be more of a distraction...what with all the additional time required to ust it effectively?(One Salesman said get the DR-3 and an inexpensive metronome. That seemed to defeat my purposes). Can anyone comment on:-which type of machine in general to buy in general (metronome VS drum machine).-How good/bad (positives/negatives) these two machines are. whether they would purchase one of these two machines or a different model alltogeher (why and which one)? Thank you very much for any and all help!!
Members MudDog Posted November 1, 2005 Author Members Posted November 1, 2005 Originally posted by Megatron_69 I use both-a lot. Thank you Megatron_69...I appreciate your reply. When you say you use both...do you have the two machines I mentioned above (DR-3 and DB-90) or a drum machine and metronome in general. If you have these two machines (DR-3 and DB-90) , would you buy them again or would you choose something else? Which do you find helps improve your playing skills the most and how? Thanks very much!
Members MrSteed Posted November 1, 2005 Members Posted November 1, 2005 Depending on how much you want to spend, how you practice,and the type of stuff you play, there's some nice little multifunctionunits that are really great. First off, a lot of Drum machines will have metronome settings aswell. So, just from a varsatility standpoint, I'd go with drums. A nice little practice unit I have is the Korg Pandora. It hasdrums, metronome, effects, tuner, bass tracks and a phrasesampler. About the size of a pack of cigarettes. The phrasesampler is a bit limited, but you can make some quick loops to jam over with. My favorite all around unit is the Digitech GNX4.
Members MudDog Posted November 1, 2005 Author Members Posted November 1, 2005 Thank you MrSteed for your reply! Wow, it gets a little confusing as the lines seem to blur between all these different instruments/products. Metronomes with drum beats, drum machines with metronomes (although I can't find a metronome function on the Boss DR-3), Samplers and now you bring up an interesting new toy...a Guitar and Bass Effects Processors. MrSteed how exactly does this work? You say it functions as a metronome AND a drum machine? I noticed according to its write-up on ZZounds ( http://www.zzounds.com/item--KORPX4D is this the one?)...that it also has guitar effects? Does this one unit essentially combine the metronome and drum machine concept and add the guitar effect aspect? It sounds like a fantastic product. Are there any downsides to it in comparison to the individual metronome (ex. DP-90) and drum machine (ex. DR-3). Thank you! By the way, I also checked out the Digitech GNX4...very impressive but at $500 a little beyond what I would like to spend...but thanks for mentioning it!
Members MrSteed Posted November 1, 2005 Members Posted November 1, 2005 Yep, that's the one. Basically, it's a drum machine, but some of the drum "patterns"are metronome selections. Personally, I don't need a lot offancy metronome settings. Just something that will keep a beat and that I can adjust for tempo. Generally, I'll practicewith a drum setting since it's less boring. So it's really drums OR metronome. The effects can be combined with thedrums. There's even a sort of Bass track and you can set itto any key, but I don't use it much. You can combine your guitar w/drums into a very short loopusing the phrase sampler and use that for soloing practice.
Members Eddie Posted November 1, 2005 Members Posted November 1, 2005 Originally posted by MrSteed There's even a sort of Bass track and you can set it to any key, but I don't use it much. That brings to mind something I used many years ago: the Yamaha QY-10. I actually wrote songs on that thing, and without an external keyboard!!!! Now that I think about it, it could make for a fun practice tool. They're probably cheap these days, and/or there may be some newer versions. For practice I still prefer the Boss DB-90.
Members MudDog Posted November 1, 2005 Author Members Posted November 1, 2005 Thank you for your replies MrSteed and Eddie! Wow...being new to these machines I find myself kind of scratching my head. I guess the thing I am ultimately trying to figure out is, who are the ideal audiences for each of these tools? There is Boss' DP-90 metronome, DR-3 drum machine, Korg's PX4D and Zoom's PS-04 (I have seen also mentioned on this site elsewhere). http://www.zzounds.com/item--KORPX4Dhttp://www.zzounds.com/item--ZOMPS04 With the blurring of the lines and some machines seeming to do it all like the PX4D (yes?...and each for basically the same price)... is there any benefit to getting a dedicated machine (ie. a machine that is ONLY a metronome or drum machine)? I know I must be missing something, what is it? Thank you very much again!
Members MrSteed Posted November 1, 2005 Members Posted November 1, 2005 I would imagine that a dedicated metronome is either a lot lessexpensive or has a million metronome-type tweaks you can make.Similarly for a drum machine -- maybe it also has better qualitysamples and such too. A dedicated effect may be higherquality than a multi-effect... I having 1 unit that does a bunch of things. Because It's justhome use the sound quality of the effects is plenty fine with me.With the Korg, I can tune up. Practice scales and stuff to atempo, dork around with the effects for fun, or play aginst a verysimple loop for solo practice. PLUS, I can stick it in my pocket,grab a pair of headphones and guitar and go anywhere with it!
Members Little Dreamer Posted November 2, 2005 Members Posted November 2, 2005 I've got a Zoom RT-123 drum machine, it's about the most useful tool for practice I've ever had. It's got a large variety of percussion sounds, and among those are wood block clicks and that sort of thing. You can program your own stuff, so you've got a fair amount of flexibility. I guess it depends on what you want - a fancy metronome probably has every conceivable rhythmic variation programmed into it, while the RT-123 you have to program yourself, and I think it only does the most basic time signatures. Of course, it also plays drums and bass, has 300 preset patterns and you can program 100 of your own, and arrange the patterns together into songs. Personally I'm not into anything but fairly basic time signatures - 4/4 for metal and a nice shuffle for blues, a simple four-clicks-per-beat metronome - and it covers those pretty well. I don't think they sell the RT-123 any more, but you can get the next better one, the 223 for about $180.
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