Drum Machines Have No Soul

Drum machine

Sequential Circuits Drumtraks

Thirteen tap keys put recorded drums under the fingers. Drumtraks let a player write changes of level and tuning into a pattern, then connect the box to other instruments through MIDI.

Rhythm takes control →
Sequential Circuits Drumtraks. Electronics & Music Maker, via mu:zines.March 1984 · Electronics & Music Maker / mu:zinesSource & credit ↗

Sequential Circuits introduced Drumtraks at the turn of 1984 as a sampled rhythm section for the emerging MIDI studio. Its patterns, songs and tuneable percussion made it a practical partner for a keyboard-led composing setup.

Sources (9)
  1. Drum Update: Sequential Circuits Drumtraks announcement ↗
  2. Prophecies Spring 1984: Announcing Drumtraks ↗
  3. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks ↗
  4. D is for Drum ↗
  5. Classic Tracks: Model 500 No UFOs ↗
  6. Sequential Tom ↗
  7. Model 400 Drumtraks MIDIGUIDE MG400A ↗
  8. Model 400 Drumtraks Preliminary Service Data TN400-0, with TN400-1 update instructions ↗
  9. Techno’s Godfather Speaks: An Interview With Juan Atkins ↗

Source-led exhibition chapter

Sequential Circuits Drumtraks — a rhythm section with instructions

The June 1984 advertisement puts a whole recording room behind Drumtraks: tape reels, a drum, then a low black box with wood cheeks, keys and a numerical display. It records Sequential’s ambition for a writable rhythm instrument, not a reconstruction of a studio or a particular record.

Source (1)
  1. Prophecies Spring 1984: Announcing Drumtraks ↗

The room around the box

Sequential placed Drumtraks beside the Six-Trak and Prophet-T8 as MIDI became a working connection between instruments. Warren Cann tried it with a Prophet-T8, using a velocity-sensitive keyboard to perform dynamic changes more quickly than entering each level on the Drumtraks panel. The machine was a complete object, but also a member of a roomful of objects.

Sources (2)
  1. Prophecies Spring 1984: Announcing Drumtraks ↗
  2. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks ↗

Thirteen tap keys name the recorded voices, while displays and mode lights handle the less visible work. Cann found repeated mode selection interrupted his train of thought, but also found the lit controls made the machine’s state legible. That friction belongs beside the promise.

Source (1)
  1. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks ↗

More than thirteen fixed sounds

Individual levels and tuning could be written into patterns, so repeated hits need not arrive with identical weight or pitch. Chris Everard treated those changes as creative decisions; Sequential advertised the flexibility. These are reviewed and promotional descriptions, not permission to call every resulting timbre a new factory sample.

Sources (2)
  1. D is for Drum ↗
  2. Prophecies Spring 1984: Announcing Drumtraks ↗

Six grouped outputs separated families while leaving some combinations tied together. Cann took the machine to Mayfair Studios, liked most of its sounds, was less taken with the toms, and bought one. That is ownership and judgment, not an Ultravox recording credit.

Source (1)
  1. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks ↗

Silent voice and routing desk

Thirteen taps, six grouped channels.

Choose a group to read the documented panel and output relationship. This is a labelled study, not a factory pattern, mixer, emulator or audio player.

Bass drum: one of six grouped output channels. No audio is played.

Panel voices: bass drum, snare, rim, two toms, two cymbals, open and closed hi-hat, clap, tambourine, cowbell and cabasa.

The connection was played, too

Juan Atkins remembers making Model 500’s “No UFOs” with a TR-909 and a Sequential Drumtraks linked together in an Ypsilanti apartment studio. His account establishes the pair in that work, but does not assign individual voices, sections, cable routing, timing or stems to either machine.

Sources (2)
  1. Techno’s Godfather Speaks: An Interview With Juan Atkins ↗
  2. Classic Tracks: Model 500 No UFOs ↗

The silent connection study therefore names an attested pairing, not an emulation of the original setup.

A pattern can leave the machine

Alexis Taylor described making patterns on his Drumtraks, processing and recording them, then moving the result onto a CDJ to alter pitch before bringing it back into his work. The 2014 photograph shows his actual machine in a later studio context. His sticker-inspired “Drum Machines Have Got No Soul” was an unreleased work in progress at that date, not a released-track credit.

Source (1)
  1. Alexis Taylor's home studio ↗

The wider archive keeps differently graded associations separate: direct accounts, track credits, release lists, equipment inventories and a sample library should not become one undifferentiated song list.

The machine that stayed writable

Drumtraks arrived as sampled percussion, tune and level changes, cassette memory, MIDI and clock connections, plus a few paths into a mixing desk. The manufacturer ad shows the aspiration; Cann’s review shows its use; Atkins and Taylor show distinct later methods. The thread is not one sound that conquered a genre, but a rhythm that could remain writable.

Sources (4)
  1. Prophecies Spring 1984: Announcing Drumtraks ↗
  2. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks ↗
  3. Techno’s Godfather Speaks: An Interview With Juan Atkins ↗
  4. Alexis Taylor's home studio ↗

The complete original dossier, source register, visual archive, recording evidence and related routes remain below.

More records in the archive

The machine keeps turning up.

Midge Ure photographed by Ralph Denyer for Sound On Sound, November 1985.
Midge Ure photographed by Ralph Denyer for Sound On Sound, November 1985. In the accompanying interview, Ure describes programming DrumTraks guide parts for The Gift’s drummers so they could follow each song’s builds and fills, then expand on them.

Midge Ure / The Gift

Midge Ure says he programmed guideline drum parts on a Sequential DrumTraks for the drummers recording The Gift, marking out each song’s builds and fills before they expanded on the guide.

Read Midge Ure on The Gift and Sequential DrumTraks guides ↗

Alexis Taylor / Hot Chip / “Drum Machines Have Got No Soul” and Taylor’s studio method

Alexis Taylor says he used his Sequential Drumtraks “a hell of a lot,” building patterns before driving them through phaser, chorus and flanger, recording the results and pitching them again through a CDJ. He names an unreleased piece, “Drum Machines Have Got No Soul,” as one result of that method.

Read Alexis Taylor's home studio ↗
Cover artwork for David Baca — Beats for Peace.
David Baca — Beats for Peace: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

David Baca / Beats for Peace

David Baca says Beats for Peace was built on Sequential Drumtraks rhythms, with a Prophet VS and TX81Z sequenced from C-Lab Notator.

Read David Baca / Beats for Peace ↗
Cover artwork for Axis:Sova — Blinded By Oblivion.
Axis:Sova — Blinded By Oblivion: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Axis:Sova / Blinded By Oblivion

Axis:Sova say their 2020 basement jams with a Sequential Drumtraks and TR-66 became the basis for songs on Blinded By Oblivion.

Read Axis:Sova / Blinded By Oblivion ↗
Cover artwork for mmWave — Plastic Crosstalk.
mmWave — Plastic Crosstalk: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

mmWave / Plastic Crosstalk

mmWave writes that a Sequential Circuits Drumtraks was used on every track of Plastic Crosstalk and specifically hears it enter on “Rablat”.

Read mmWave — Plastic Crosstalk ↗
Cover artwork for Alex Ball — Coalescent Apparatus.
Alex Ball — Coalescent Apparatus: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Alex Ball / Coalescent Apparatus

Alex Ball’s release notes identify a Sequential Drumtraks on tracks 1, 2 and 10 of Coalescent Apparatus.

Read Coalescent Apparatus ↗
Cover artwork for Midnight Runners / Emerson Omega Sterling Gold — Open Labs.
Midnight Runners / Emerson Omega Sterling Gold — Open Labs: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Midnight Runners / Emerson Omega Sterling Gold / Open Labs

Midnight Runners’ Open Labs credits list Sequential Circuits Drumtraks among the equipment used by Emerson Omega Sterling Gold.

Read Midnight Runners — Open Labs ↗

Archive source

Cover artwork for Rhythm Electronics — Vintage Drum Machines for Roland MC-707 & MC-101.
Record artwork for Rhythm Electronics — Vintage Drum Machines for Roland MC-707 & MC-101; it identifies the release, not the machine or a recording session.

Rhythm Electronics / Vintage Drum Machines for Roland MC-707 & MC-101

Rhythm Electronics includes a Sequential Circuits Drumtraks kit and pattern set in Vintage Drum Machines for Roland MC-707 & MC-101, describing the source samples as recorded from mint-state machines.

Read Rhythm Electronics / Vintage Drum Machines for Roland MC-707 & MC-101 ↗
Cover artwork for Data / Zoran Jevtic and Zoran Vracevic — Could You Find Your Analog Mind?.
Data / Zoran Jevtic and Zoran Vracevic — Could You Find Your Analog Mind?: retained release artwork gives the documented machine story a record-world context; it does not depict the hardware, a session, or an individual track allocation.

Data / Zoran Jevtic and Zoran Vracevic / Could You Find Your Analog Mind?

The reissue personnel credit lists a Sequential Drumtraks for Zoran Jevtic and Zoran Vracevic.

Read Data — Could You Find Your Analog Mind? ↗
Cover artwork for Ronald Langestraat — Apollo.
Ronald Langestraat — Apollo: retained release artwork gives the documented machine story a record-world context; it does not depict the hardware, a session, or an individual track allocation.

Ronald Langestraat / Apollo

Apollo’s notes place Sequential Drumtraks in Ronald Langestraat’s 1991 live hotel setup.

Read Ronald Langestraat — Apollo ↗
Juan Atkins in 2010, photographed by Angie Linder.
Juan Atkins in January 2010, photographed by Angie Linder. It identifies Atkins in the Model 500 “No UFOs” TR-909 story; it is not a photograph of the original session or the machine.
Cover artwork for Model 500 — No UFOs.
Record artwork for Model 500 — No UFOs; it identifies the release, not the machine or a recording session.

Model 500 / No UFOs

Atkins names the linked TR-909 and Drumtraks on No UFOs.

Read Techno’s Godfather Speaks: An Interview With Juan Atkins ↗
01 // Extended

A rhythm section for the MIDI studio

Sequential announced Drumtraks in early 1984 as a machine that could work alongside its keyboards, not merely keep time beside them. Its thirteen percussion voices, tune and level controls, cassette storage, patterns and songs gave a musician a complete programmable rhythm part in one wooden-sided unit.

Sources (3)
  1. Drum Update: Sequential Circuits Drumtraks announcement ↗
  2. Model 400 Drumtraks MIDIGUIDE MG400A ↗
  3. Model 400 Drumtraks Preliminary Service Data TN400-0, with TN400-1 update instructions ↗

02 // Extended

The wider Sequential system

The company’s spring advertising placed Drumtraks with the Six-Trak and Prophet-T8. A keyboard could record dynamic drum performances, and the machine could then carry those ideas into a song. That combination made the pitch of the instrument clear: it was a rhythm machine designed for people already building arrangements with MIDI.

Sources (2)
  1. Prophecies Spring 1984: Announcing Drumtraks ↗
  2. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks ↗

03 // Extended

A documented place in Detroit

Juan Atkins has described the Drumtraks as part of the working setup around Model 500’s “No UFO’s”. It is a useful, specific association: one named machine in a documented artist’s process, rather than a vague claim for the entire catalogue of a genre.

Sources (2)
  1. Techno’s Godfather Speaks: An Interview With Juan Atkins ↗
  2. Classic Tracks: Model 500 No UFOs ↗

04 // Extended

Juan Atkins’ early MIDI relationship

Juan Atkins describes the Drumtraks linked to a TR-909 for Model 500’s “No UFOs”. The pair did not behave like a modern, effortless clock: he still had to start and align the Roland by hand. That small operational friction is part of the record’s history—a machine connection performed into place.

Source (1)
  1. Techno’s Godfather Speaks: An Interview With Juan Atkins ↗

05 // Extended

A machine Warren Cann bought himself

Warren Cann’s 1984 review ends with the practical vote that matters: he bought the Drumtraks. It is an ownership and testing account, not an Ultravox session credit, but it shows a working drummer encountering a programmable box as a serious instrument rather than a novelty.

Source (1)
  1. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks ↗

MUSIC HISTORY

In the market

  • 1984-02: USD 1295 — US announcement retail price. Drumtraks; options not itemized Source ↗
  • 1984-03: GBP 950 — UK review price. Drumtraks; options not itemized Source ↗
  • 1984-05: GBP 950 — Approximate UK review price. Drumtraks; options not itemized Source ↗

On record

  • Model 500 — No UFOs. Atkins names the linked TR-909 and Drumtraks on No UFOs. Source ↗
  • David Baca — Beats for Peace. David Baca says Beats for Peace was built on Sequential Drumtraks rhythms, with a Prophet VS and TX81Z sequenced from C-Lab Notator. Source ↗
  • Axis:Sova — Blinded By Oblivion. Axis:Sova say their 2020 basement jams with a Sequential Drumtraks and TR-66 became the basis for songs on Blinded By Oblivion. Source ↗
  • mmWave — Plastic Crosstalk. mmWave writes that a Sequential Circuits Drumtraks was used on every track of Plastic Crosstalk and specifically hears it enter on “Rablat”. Source ↗
  • Alex Ball — Coalescent Apparatus. Alex Ball’s release notes identify a Sequential Drumtraks on tracks 1, 2 and 10 of Coalescent Apparatus. Source ↗
  • Midnight Runners / Emerson Omega Sterling Gold — Open Labs. Midnight Runners’ Open Labs credits list Sequential Circuits Drumtraks among the equipment used by Emerson Omega Sterling Gold. Source ↗
  • Rhythm Electronics — Vintage Drum Machines for Roland MC-707 & MC-101. Rhythm Electronics includes a Sequential Circuits Drumtraks kit and pattern set in Vintage Drum Machines for Roland MC-707 & MC-101, describing the source samples as recorded from mint-state machines. Source ↗
  • Data / Zoran Jevtic and Zoran Vracevic — Could You Find Your Analog Mind?. The reissue personnel credit lists a Sequential Drumtraks for Zoran Jevtic and Zoran Vracevic. Source ↗
  • Ronald Langestraat — Apollo. Apollo’s notes place Sequential Drumtraks in Ronald Langestraat’s 1991 live hotel setup. Source ↗

In the studio and on stage

  • Warren Cann — Ownership and review testing; no named recording. Reviewer reports purchasing the instrument. Source ↗
  • Alexis Taylor / Hot Chip — “Drum Machines Have Got No Soul” and Taylor’s studio method. Alexis Taylor says he used his Sequential Drumtraks “a hell of a lot,” building patterns before driving them through phaser, chorus and flanger, recording the results and pitching them again through a CDJ. He names an unreleased piece, “Drum Machines Have Got No Soul,” as one result of that method. Source ↗

Sources

  1. Drum Update: Sequential Circuits Drumtraks announcement
  2. Prophecies Spring 1984: Announcing Drumtraks
  3. Sequential Circuits Drumtraks
  4. D is for Drum
  5. Classic Tracks: Model 500 No UFOs
  6. Sequential Tom
  7. Model 400 Drumtraks MIDIGUIDE MG400A
  8. Model 400 Drumtraks Preliminary Service Data TN400-0, with TN400-1 update instructions
  9. Techno’s Godfather Speaks: An Interview With Juan Atkins
  10. Alexis Taylor's home studio

The visual archive

Further visual evidence.

Sources for images shown earlier (12)
Additional visual sources (6)

Original publications and related image sources.

Machine Museum image viewer

Period image shown in the dossier.