Drum Machines Have No Soul

The document archive

The machine
in print.

Acetone 1968 Catalog CoverOpen scan ↗Bill Bruford on the Simmons SDS7Open scan ↗Cr 68 Cr 78 Catalogue 1978Open scan ↗

Catalogues, brochures and operating guides from the archive.

Read the documents that introduced these machines and explained how to use them. Follow their links back to the instrument stories.

Bill Bruford on the Simmons SDS7

Simmons · Period article / document

Bill Bruford on the Simmons SDS7

Bill Bruford’s 1985 One Two Testing interview, kept as a period document for the Simmons SDS7. He remembers using seven pads racked vertically behind him on King Crimson’s Japanese and American tours: a drummer’s explanation of why the new kit finally felt playable. The scan does not show the instrument.

February 1985

One Two Testing · Source & credit ↗

Simmons SDS7 →
Depeche Mode — Electronics & Music Maker, May 1982

Korg / Keio / Roland · Period article / document

Depeche Mode — Electronics & Music Maker, May 1982

Depeche Mode in Electronics & Music Maker, May 1982. Daniel Miller explains why their Korg KR-55 gave way to the Roland TR-808: it was more versatile and easier to join to the rest of the set-up. The printed account keeps the ARP 2600 bass drum and 808 snare in the picture; the group portrait does not show either box.

May 1982

Steve Howell / Electronics & Music Maker · Source & credit ↗

Korg KR-55B Rhythm 55B →Roland TR-808 →
Depeche Mode — Electronics & Music Maker, May 1982, continued

Korg / Keio / Roland · Period article / document

Depeche Mode — Electronics & Music Maker, May 1982, continued

The second page of the 1982 Electronics & Music Maker interview, retained with page one as a complete period document. It adds recording and live context to the KR-55 and TR-808 changeover, without pretending either machine is visible in the portrait.

May 1982

Steve Howell / Electronics & Music Maker · Source & credit ↗

Korg KR-55B Rhythm 55B →Roland TR-808 →
DPM-48 Owner's Manual — programming, voices and storage

Sakata · Catalogue / document

DPM-48 Owner's Manual — programming, voices and storage

A Sakata DPM-48 owner-manual page showing programming, voices and storage. The reported Prince association remains a lead in the linked dossier; this document identifies the machine’s actual working vocabulary.

Undated

Original issuer unconfirmed · Source & credit ↗

Sakata DPM 48 →
Korg KR-33 owner manual

Korg / Keio · Catalogue / document

Korg KR-33 owner manual

Korg’s KR-33 owner-manual view. James Petralli describes the machine as part of the White Denim studio set-up; the document shows the instrument as its manufacturer presented it.

Undated

Korg / Keio Electronic Laboratory · Source & credit ↗

Korg KR-33 Rhythm33 →
KR-55B Korg Rhythm owner’s manual

Korg / Keio · Catalogue / document

KR-55B Korg Rhythm owner’s manual

Korg’s official KR-55B owner manual. A reported Équinoxe booklet connection links the Rhythm 55 family to Jean-Michel Jarre; the manual plainly documents the machine itself.

Undated original edition

Keio Electronic Laboratory / Korg · Source & credit ↗

Korg Rhyth-55 →
LXR Owners Manual v0.91 — original front panel

Sonic Potions · Catalogue / document

LXR Owners Manual v0.91 — original front panel

The Sonic Potions LXR in its original owner documentation. The community compilation is a later collective afterlife, not evidence that this manual copy appears in any recording session.

28 June 2013

Julian Schmidt / Sonic Potions · Source & credit ↗

Sonic Potions LXR (original DIY model) →
Oberheim Performance System, E&MM January 1984 p.44

Oberheim · Period article / document

Oberheim Performance System, E&MM January 1984 p.44

The Oberheim Performance System in Electronics & Music Maker, January 1984. New Order’s “Blue Monday” DMX history runs alongside it, while the page preserves the machine’s own period setting.

January 1984

Electronics & Music Maker · Source & credit ↗

Oberheim DMX →
Original Electribe R (ER-1) brochure spread

Korg / Keio · Catalogue / document

Original Electribe R (ER-1) brochure spread

Korg’s original Electribe R brochure spread. Phil Hartnoll’s The Altogether setup points toward the ER-1 with a qualified model identification; the brochure supplies its launch-era context.

1999 copyright; scan dated 2005

Korg USA · Source & credit ↗

Korg ER-1 (Electribe R) →
Roland Catalog 1985 P4

Family · Catalogue / document

Roland rhythm machines — live, sequencer and computer connections

1985

Big Beat machine archive · Source & credit ↗

Sisters of Mercy / Wayne Hussey — “Sister Wayne”

Roland / Oberheim · Period article / document

Sisters of Mercy / Wayne Hussey — “Sister Wayne”

Sisters of Mercy in International Musician’s July 1985 Wayne Hussey interview. The printed conversation gives Doktor Avalanche its human history: a Roland TR-808 first, then an Oberheim DMX once the WEA deal arrived. This is the original magazine page and a period band portrait, not a photograph of either machine.

July 1985

International Musician & Recording World / Cover Publications Ltd · Source & credit ↗

Roland TR-808 →Oberheim DMX →
Sisters of Mercy / Wayne Hussey — “Sister Wayne”, continued

Roland / Oberheim · Period article / document

Sisters of Mercy / Wayne Hussey — “Sister Wayne”, continued

The continuation of the 1985 International Musician interview, retained as the second page of the period document. Hussey describes the nine-month making of First and Last and Always; the portrait is context for the record, not evidence that either drum machine is in the frame.

July 1985

International Musician & Recording World / Cover Publications Ltd · Source & credit ↗

Roland TR-808 →Oberheim DMX →
Sound Master Rhythm 1 (SM-8) — boxed pedal and operating manual

Sound Master · Catalogue / document

Sound Master Rhythm 1 (SM-8) — boxed pedal and operating manual

A boxed Sound Master Rhythm 1 pedal with its operating manual. David Packouz cites the foot-operated box as a BeatBuddy predecessor; the photograph documents the historical object that informed that design work.

Undated specialist dealer page; image copyright 2019 Soundgas

Soundgas Tech Ltd · Source & credit ↗

Sound Master SM-8 Rhythm 1 →
Stix Programma ST-305 Operating Manual

Sound Master · Catalogue / document

Stix Programma ST-305 Operating Manual

The Soundmaster Stix ST-305 in its operating manual. Rayspark Industries’ compilation connection is presented as a later artist-use lead, while the document establishes the machine’s own interface.

Undated

Sound Master · Source & credit ↗

Sound Master Stix Programma ST-305 →
Stylophone Beatbox MC Zani — portable electronic beats machine

Dubreq · Catalogue / document

Stylophone Beatbox MC Zani — portable electronic beats machine

The Stylophone Beatbox quick-start cover. The Wackids credit one in the FUTUR 2000 performance line-up; the booklet presents the portable device in its own public language.

c. 2009 manual; host page accessed 24 September 2026

Dubreq / Re:creation · Source & credit ↗

Dubreq Stylophone Beatbox →
Ultravox — Warren Cann on drums and electronics

Roland · Period article / document

Ultravox — Warren Cann on drums and electronics

Warren Cann in a 1981 Ultravox profile that documents his long-used, heavily modified TR-77. The machine is discussed in the printed text rather than shown in the photograph.

1981-04

Mike Beecher / Electronics & Music Maker · Source & credit ↗

Roland TR-77 →Roland CR-78 →
Viscount R64 code 803080 — rhythm-memory and control diagram

Viscount · Catalogue / document

Viscount R64 code 803080 — rhythm-memory and control diagram

The Viscount R64’s rhythm-memory and control diagram. Rodion & Mammarella’s later record connection is separate from this technical document, which shows how the machine was organised.

July 1984 (cover)

Viscount / Intercontinental Electronics S.p.A. · Source & credit ↗

Viscount R64 →
Magazine review page with a Yamaha rhythm-machine photograph above three columns of text.

Yamaha · Period article / document

Yamaha RX11 & RX15 — Electronics & Music Maker review opening page

The RX11 and RX15 in a period review. Baseck’s early RX15 experiments belong to a later artist account; the page shows Yamaha’s machines in their original market context.

October 1984

Electronics & Music Maker · Source & credit ↗

Yamaha RX11 →Yamaha RX15 →

A growing collection of archival images. Document dates and source credits accompany each image.

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Open original scan ↗