Of course you know the rhythm box/drum machine has had a profound impact on modern music-making, but how much do you know about its history? Was the
Rhythmicon the very first rhythm machine? Korg's
DoncaMatic (great name, eh?) was one of the first commercial models. Up until 1979 they were all pre-programmed, but Roland ushered in the modern era with the user-programmable
CR-78, and followed it up soon after with the legendary
TR808. Go
here for a fairly comprehensive overview of vintage drum machines
(organized alphabetically, with photos and descriptions/background info). And
here you can interact with a wide assortment of virtual
[Flash] rhythm boxes of the 70's and 80's.
(Knee-jerk Flash haters, go ahead and hate it, but this is one of the best uses of Flash I can imagine.)
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Dec 27, 2006 -
26 comments
Bassline Bassline. Rock has its electric guitar, hip-hop has its turntable/mic, and electronic music has its Roland TB-303. One of the few single instruments that can claim to define the entire genre, its history is an interesting one: "Bassline Baseline is a video essay that investigates the invention, failure and subsequent resurrection of the mythic Roland TB-303 Bass Line music machine in the last two decades of the 20th century."
posted by afx114
on Jul 18, 2005 -
24 comments
Economics and Race: "Twenty-seven-year-old Harvard economist Roland Fryer grew up poor and black, in a family that was falling apart. His mother abandoned him. His father drank heavily and beat him. Fryer sold drugs and carried a gun. Then, at age 15, after he got pulled over by the police and then let go, he decided he wanted something different."
posted by yoga
on Apr 1, 2005 -
8 comments
