MXR 185 Drum Computer

In the market

• 1983-08: GBP 1500 — UK review RRP. MXR Drum Computer; options unspecified Source ↗
• 1983-09: GBP 1400 — Approximate UK review price. MXR Drum Computer; options unspecified Source ↗

On record

• Cabaret Voltaire / Richard H. Kirk — Cabaret Voltaire’s 1984 writing and recording practice. Kirk calls the MXR Drum Computer the group’s main drum machine, says he preferred it to the Linn for sharper, clearer sounds, and describes starting rhythm-based songs with the drum pattern. Source ↗
• Amadeo 85 feat. Moniquea — Galaxy Dance / Play It Loud. The release credits the MXR 185 as the A-side drum machine. Source ↗

In the studio and on stage

• Cabaret Voltaire / Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder — 1984 working setup. A 1984 Cabaret Voltaire account describes the MXR Drum Computer as the group’s main drum machine and contrasts its sharper sounds with the LinnDrum. Source ↗

A rhythm part under the player’s hand

Select an empty pattern, enter its length and start recording against the click. The MXR repeated the loop while the player tapped its twelve voice buttons, adding parts on successive passes. Accuracy moved notes onto the chosen grid; Erase removed a voice at the unwanted beat. Setting length to zero cleared the pattern. The September 1983 reviewers advised slowing the tempo to enter complicated fills, then returning it to playing speed. This was real-time entry with correction, not a row of switches marking every step.

MXR 185 Drum Computer ↗ MXR Drum Computer ↗ MXR Drum Computer ↗

From a loop to an arrangement

Rick Palmer’s August review describes copying a pattern before altering it, or doubling its length without entering every hit again. In Song mode, pattern numbers were inserted in order; the display showed the current step and pattern, and Insert/Delete revised the sequence. He reported space for up to one hundred patterns and one hundred songs. Tape saving provided an external library, while battery-backed memory retained work after power-off.

MXR Drum Computer ↗ MXR Drum Computer ↗

A kit to mix, with limits

The twelve recorded voices included three toms, two hi-hat articulations and a crash. Open and closed hats shared their level slider and output. Ian Gilby’s October review documents a pre-panned stereo mix and fixed-level individual outputs; plugging into an individual socket did not remove that voice from the main mix. Pitch moved every sound together and was not stored with the rhythm. Gilby criticised the crash’s abrupt cutoff.

MXR 185 Drum Computer ↗

Starting with the rhythm at Western Works

In November 1984, Richard H. Kirk named the MXR as Cabaret Voltaire’s main drum machine. He preferred its sounds to the Linn’s and described starting rhythm-led pieces with the drum pattern before layering other parts on tape. The interview connects the instrument to a writing method, without isolating a named track. A later credit is more specific: Amadeo 85’s 2020 release lists the MXR 185 for the A-side, ‘Galaxy Dance’. Its B-side equipment list names other drum machines; the MXR credit must not spread across the whole release.

Life is a Cabaret ↗ Amadeo 85 feat. Moniquea — Galaxy Dance / Play It Loud ↗