Drum Machines Have No Soul

Drum machine

Yamaha RX11

Write a sampled drum part from the panel, shape its accents, then decide how the voices leave for the mixer. The RX11 joined pattern programming to a more flexible set of outputs.

The digital drum boom →
Yamaha RX15 (upper left) and RX11 (lower right). Electronics & Music Maker, via mu:zines.March 1984 · Electronics & Music Maker / mu:zinesSource & credit ↗

Yamaha’s RX11 reached the British music press in 1984. An October review listed it at £799 including VAT and introduced a PCM rhythm machine with a large voice palette and serious connection options.

Sources (8)
  1. Yamaha RX Digital Rhythm Machines ↗
  2. Yamaha RX11 & RX15 ↗
  3. RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗
  4. RX11 / RX15 Digital Rhythm Programmers brochure ↗
  5. John Foxx: Recording In Mysterious Ways ↗
  6. Game Over: Credit 00 talks up his debut album on Uncanny Valley ↗
  7. Meditating on a moment: John Loveless in conversation with Discovery Zone ↗
  8. KAN Friday Column #222: Yamaha RX-11 ↗

Source-led exhibition chapter

Yamaha RX11 — A kit with a way out

Two machines arrive in public

In March 1984, Ian Gilby introduced two black Yamaha rhythm programmers to readers of Electronics & Music Maker. Their shape belonged to the company's DX era: a slim case, coloured keys and a small screen, with data-entry controls that would be familiar to a synthesizer player. The RX11 was the larger of the pair, promising more voices, cartridge storage and separate paths to a mixing desk. Gilby's projected arrival dates were expectations, not proof of shipment. By October, Kendall Wrightson was reviewing both machines as they began to reach British shops. His listed RX11 price was £799 including VAT. The pair belongs on the site as an encounter between a maker's proposal and a working musician's first months with the result.

Yamaha RX Digital Rhythm Machines ↗Yamaha RX11 & RX15 ↗

Silent routing study

Write, correct, route.

Select a voice, choose real-time or step entry, correct timing or accent, then decide whether a main voice leaves by its dedicated output or the selected left/right mix-or-tom route. This explains documented controls and routing only; it plays no RX11 or substitute audio.

A panel designed to write on

The RX11 did not ask the player to read a row of blinking steps. Its keys called up instruments and commands; a sixteen-character LCD gave the next piece of information. The additional two-digit display kept a song or pattern number visible. A rhythm could be entered in real time, corrected to a chosen resolution, or written one step at a time. In Wrightson's account, the fine timing settings could make quick flam figures, while swing altered the feel without asking a player to rewrite every beat. A beat could be removed during playback by holding Clear with an instrument key. Those are not footnotes to the music: they are the gestures by which someone learned the machine.

Yamaha RX11 & RX15 ↗RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗

The sound list needs to be read with care. The contemporary review counts twenty-nine selectable RX11 voices, including several bass and snare choices, paired cymbal and percussion variations, and four toms. That is a range of playable choices, not evidence of twenty-nine independent recordings or twenty-nine sockets. Yamaha stored the sounds in ROM; a player was shaping a given kit through selection, levels, accent and placement. The price of that convenience was a fixed sound set. A reviewer might prefer one open hi-hat to another, but could not load a replacement recording as on a sampling instrument.

Yamaha RX11 & RX15 ↗RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗

The rear panel changes the story

Turn the RX11 around and it stops looking like a small sketchpad. Ten dedicated instrument sockets offered separate routes for the main voices, while the left and right outputs could serve the stereo mix or remaining tom assignments, according to the manual's selected output-mode description. A producer could record a chosen drum separately, treat it at the desk and keep the rest of the pattern together. The cartridge slot offered another sort of exit: song and pattern work could move onto Yamaha RAM packs instead of waiting for a cassette dump.

Yamaha RX Digital Rhythm Machines ↗RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗

The source record contains a genuine contradiction. Gilby's March preview identifies separate RX11 sockets, and the owner-manual reading records them. Two other 1984 reviews distinguish the RX11's outputs from the RX15's stereo-only arrangement. Yet one sentence in Wrightson's October review says both machines had only stereo outputs. That sentence should be shown as a period-source error, not silently copied into a specification or used to erase the physical panel. It is precisely the kind of discrepancy a living archive can make legible.

Yamaha RX Digital Rhythm Machines ↗Yamaha RX11 & RX15 ↗RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗

In John Foxx's studio

John Foxx's account of recording “Enter the Angel” puts the RX11 to work beyond its own sound set. He programmed a guide rhythm in it, then used it to trigger material held in an AMS digital delay and modified Simmons modules. The Yamaha's own voices joined that composite rather than standing alone. A Linn supplied the tape sync code; Foxx described difficulty getting the RX11 to read a code of its own from tape. Paul Wickens later rebuilt the finished drum parts. This is a session story about a machine as clock, guide, trigger and one colour in a larger arrangement. It does not establish that an untouched RX11 kit is the finished record's entire drum sound.

John Foxx: Recording In Mysterious Ways ↗

Foxx also exposed a limit that mattered in a room full of MIDI equipment. He could play the machine dynamically from a keyboard, but said its own pattern memory would not retain that performance in the way he wanted; he used a UMI sequencer to preserve the dynamics. The front-panel promise of MIDI became a chain of practical decisions about what to store where. A visual study of that session can trace the actual devices and their roles without trying to simulate a recording for which we do not hold separated tracks.

John Foxx: Recording In Mysterious Ways ↗

What musicians carried forward

The RX11 also outlived the first review cycle as a method of writing. KAN's official account describes buying one in 1984 and using it as the basis of many demos; he says data from those beginnings passed into later programmed songs. That is a powerful account of continuity, though it does not by itself name a released track retaining the RX11's internal sounds. JJ Weihl, recording as Discovery Zone, identifies the RX11 and DX7 as the main basis of “Nu Moon,” while also naming digital instruments in the work. These stories are separated by decades and by the scale of the studio, but they meet at the same small panel: choose a sound, enter a beat, keep working.

KAN Friday Column #222: Yamaha RX-11 ↗Meditating on a moment: John Loveless in conversation with Discovery Zone ↗

The RX11 deserves the same careful treatment as a larger, more famous drum machine. Hear it when a licensed, model-confirmed recording is available; until then, let the controls, the output choices, the period documents and the musicians' own accounts carry the argument. The interesting question is not whether its samples were fashionable. It is what an owner could make the machine do once the pattern left its memory and entered a room.

RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗John Foxx: Recording In Mysterious Ways ↗

The machine in the record

John Foxx backstage in London in 2008, photographed by Grueslayer.
John Foxx backstage at Cargo, London in October 2008, photographed by Grueslayer. It identifies Foxx in the Enter The Angel RX11 story; it is not a photograph of the 1985 session or the machine.
Cover artwork for John Foxx — Enter the Angel — session described.
Record artwork for John Foxx — Enter the Angel — session described; it identifies the release, not the machine or a recording session.

John Foxx / “Enter the Angel”.

John Foxx used the RX11 as guide rhythm and trigger source for “Enter the Angel”, then let AMS samples and modified Simmons modules complicate the result. The Yamaha holds the centre while the rest of the studio starts to fracture its edges.

Read John Foxx: Recording In Mysterious Ways ↗

More records in the archive

The machine keeps turning up.

JJ Weihl, who records as Discovery Zone, photographed for The Ransom Note.
JJ Weihl, photographed for The Ransom Note’s 2021 Discovery Zone interview. In that conversation she says “Nu Moon” consists mostly of a Yamaha RX-11 and DX7; the portrait does not show the machine or a recording session.

Discovery Zone / JJ Weihl / Nu Moon

Weihl says Nu Moon consists mostly of a Yamaha RX-11 and DX7, with digital VST voices.

Read Meditating on a moment: John Loveless in conversation with Discovery Zone ↗
A Yamaha RX-11 Digital Rhythm Programmer photographed for KAN’s official 2009 column.
KAN’s Yamaha RX-11, photographed for his official 2009 column. In the accompanying first-person account, KAN recalls using the RX-11 as the base of most demos and as the original drum-data source for many programmed songs.

KAN / Demo and released programmed-song workflow

KAN says most of his demo recordings used the RX-11 as their base and that many released programmed songs originated with its drum data.

Read KAN Friday Column #222: Yamaha RX-11 ↗

Tony Springer / Wild T and the Spirit / Early demo workflow

Springer says his home demos began with Yamaha RX11 drums, a Tascam 246, bass and rhythm guitar before further overdubs.

Read Wild T: The Interview ↗
Cover artwork for Wayne Horvitz — Live Forever, Vol. 2.
Wayne Horvitz — Live Forever, Vol. 2: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Wayne Horvitz / Live Forever, Vol. 2

The official credits for Wayne Horvitz’s Live Forever, Vol. 2 list him on piano, DX7 and Yamaha RX-11 across 1988–89 trio performances.

Read Wayne Horvitz / Live Forever, Vol. 2 ↗
Cover artwork for Occidental Journey — Complete Works.
Occidental Journey — Complete Works: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Occidental Journey / Complete Works

Occidental Journey’s archive preserves two 1986–87 four-track cassette albums made with a Yamaha RX-11.

Read Occidental Journey / Complete Works ↗
Cover artwork for Moot Booxlé — Deep Integration.
Moot Booxlé — Deep Integration: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Moot Booxlé / Deep Integration

Moot Booxlé’s track notes credit a Yamaha RX11 for drums on “Integrating Signs”, “Frozen Shadow” and “The Sevens”.

Read Moot Booxlé — Deep Integration ↗
Cover artwork for Josef Kenny — Parallax.
Josef Kenny — Parallax: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Josef Kenny / Parallax

Josef Kenny credits a Yamaha RX11 and Roland TR-505 on Parallax, recorded mainly to a Yamaha MT8X cassette multitracker.

Read Josef Kenny — Parallax ↗
Cover artwork for MauSS / Costume — Unus spiritus.
MauSS / Costume — Unus spiritus: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

MauSS / Costume / Unus spiritus

MauSS is credited with Yamaha RX-11 drum machine on Costume’s Unus spiritus.

Read Costume — Unus spiritus ↗
Cover artwork for Wayne Horvitz — Live Forever, Vol. 2.
Wayne Horvitz — Live Forever, Vol. 2: retained artwork identifies the release or source-recording context, not a machine, session or sound allocation.

Wayne Horvitz / Live Forever, Vol. 2

Wayne Horvitz is credited with Yamaha RX-11 drum machine on these live 1988–89 recordings.

Read Bobby Previte / Wayne Horvitz — Live Forever, Vol. 2 ↗
Cover artwork for MoreEats — Big Cinema.
MoreEats — Big Cinema: 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.

MoreEats / Big Cinema

Moritz of MoreEats lists a Yamaha RX11 among the gear used for Big Cinema.

Read MoreEats — Big Cinema ↗
Cover artwork for Bernie Worrell — Army Arrangement.
Bernie Worrell — Army Arrangement: 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.

Bernie Worrell / Army Arrangement

Bill Laswell’s release credit names Bernie Worrell on Hammond B3 and Yamaha RX-11.

Read Bill Laswell — Army Arrangement ↗
Cover artwork for K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks — Sad Eyed Beatniks.
K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks — Sad Eyed Beatniks: 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.

K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks / Sad Eyed Beatniks

The artist credit identifies RX-11 drums on Sad Eyed Beatniks.

Read Sad Eyed Beatniks — Sad Eyed Beatniks ↗
Cover artwork for K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks — Then This Is Your Year.
K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks — Then This Is Your Year: 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.

K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks / Then This Is Your Year

The album equipment list credits RX-11 drums.

Read Sad Eyed Beatniks — Then This Is Your Year ↗
Cover artwork for MauSS / Costume — Unus Spiritus Vol. 2.
MauSS / Costume — Unus Spiritus Vol. 2: 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.

MauSS / Costume / Unus Spiritus Vol. 2

The release account identifies RX-11 as one of MauSS’s drum machines.

Read Costume / MauSS — Unus Spiritus Vol. 2 ↗
Release artwork for MauSS / Costume — Yellow Line Blues.
MauSS / Costume — Yellow Line Blues: 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.

MauSS / Costume / Yellow Line Blues

The album’s drum-machine setup names a Yamaha RX-11.

Read Costume / MauSS — Yellow Line Blues ↗
01 // Extended

A digital rhythm machine for the DX decade

Yamaha introduced the RX11 alongside the digital confidence of its DX synthesizers. PCM percussion, MIDI and a compact programming surface gave it the role of a proper rhythm programmer rather than a preset accompaniment box. The review press heard the promise first at demonstrations, then at the instrument itself.

Sources (2)
  1. Yamaha RX Digital Rhythm Machines ↗
  2. RX11 / RX15 Digital Rhythm Programmers brochure ↗

02 // Extended

Twenty-nine voices, a shaped kit

The RX11’s manual lists 29 voices, including alternate snares and bass drums accessed through paired pads. It is a kit that encourages selection and arrangement: choose the voice for the moment, then build a part around its weight and colour. Some voices share their available space, giving the patterns a character that comes from the machine’s own internal choreography.

Source (1)
  1. RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗

03 // Extended

A rack of outputs behind a small panel

The back panel is one of the RX11’s quiet strengths. Yamaha provided ten dedicated outputs, plus two sockets that can become stereo mix or remaining tom outputs. A player who needed to treat a kick, snare or tom separately could do so without losing the compactness of the machine itself.

Sources (2)
  1. RX11 Owner’s Manual ↗
  2. RX11 / RX15 Digital Rhythm Programmers brochure ↗

04 // Extended

What the reviewers heard

Kendall Wrightson liked the warm bass and snare, bright percussion and value, while finding the open hi-hat less persuasive. He also felt the memory could fill quickly in complex song work. That mix of excitement and practical pressure is a useful picture of the RX11 in 1984: a sound-rich machine asking its owner to plan carefully.

Source (1)
  1. Yamaha RX11 & RX15 ↗

05 // Extended

John Foxx’s guide rhythm

On “Enter the Angel,” John Foxx used the RX11 as guide rhythm and trigger source alongside AMS samples and modified Simmons modules. Paul Wickens later reworked the drums. The session makes a good portrait of the machine’s place in a studio: it could provide an organised rhythmic framework around which a larger sound world was built.

Source (1)
  1. John Foxx: Recording In Mysterious Ways ↗

06 // Extended

A later studio companion

Credit 00 included the RX11 among the drum machines and synthesizers used for Game Over. The Yamaha had become one of several hands-on sources recorded into a computer-based process, proof that its particular percussion vocabulary still mattered decades after its arrival.

Source (1)
  1. Game Over: Credit 00 talks up his debut album on Uncanny Valley ↗

07 // Extended

Discovery Zone and KAN

JJ Weihl says “Nu Moon” is built mostly from an RX-11 and DX7. KAN, meanwhile, has written that the RX-11 anchored most of his demos and that its data carried into many released programmed songs. One machine, two very different working lives: a sparse pop foundation and a durable writing companion.

Sources (2)
  1. Meditating on a moment: John Loveless in conversation with Discovery Zone ↗
  2. KAN Friday Column #222: Yamaha RX-11 ↗

MUSIC HISTORY

On record

  • John Foxx — Enter the Angel — session described. Guide rhythm and layered drums. Source ↗
  • Credit 00 — Game Over — album production. Artist names RX11 among album instruments. Source ↗
  • Discovery Zone / JJ Weihl — Nu Moon. Weihl says Nu Moon consists mostly of a Yamaha RX-11 and DX7, with digital VST voices. Source ↗
  • Documented machine history. KAN says most of his demo recordings used the RX-11 as their base and that many released programmed songs originated with its drum data. Source ↗
  • Tony Springer / Wild T and the Spirit — Early demo workflow. Springer says his home demos began with Yamaha RX11 drums, a Tascam 246, bass and rhythm guitar before further overdubs. Source ↗
  • Wayne Horvitz — Live Forever, Vol. 2. The official credits for Wayne Horvitz’s Live Forever, Vol. 2 list him on piano, DX7 and Yamaha RX-11 across 1988–89 trio performances. Source ↗
  • Occidental Journey — Complete Works. Occidental Journey’s archive preserves two 1986–87 four-track cassette albums made with a Yamaha RX-11. Source ↗
  • Moot Booxlé — Deep Integration. Moot Booxlé’s track notes credit a Yamaha RX11 for drums on “Integrating Signs”, “Frozen Shadow” and “The Sevens”. Source ↗
  • Josef Kenny — Parallax. Josef Kenny credits a Yamaha RX11 and Roland TR-505 on Parallax, recorded mainly to a Yamaha MT8X cassette multitracker. Source ↗
  • MauSS / Costume — Unus spiritus. MauSS is credited with Yamaha RX-11 drum machine on Costume’s Unus spiritus. Source ↗
  • Wayne Horvitz — Live Forever, Vol. 2. Wayne Horvitz is credited with Yamaha RX-11 drum machine on these live 1988–89 recordings. Source ↗
  • MoreEats — Big Cinema. Moritz of MoreEats lists a Yamaha RX11 among the gear used for Big Cinema. Source ↗
  • Bernie Worrell — Army Arrangement. Bill Laswell’s release credit names Bernie Worrell on Hammond B3 and Yamaha RX-11. Source ↗
  • K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks — Sad Eyed Beatniks. The artist credit identifies RX-11 drums on Sad Eyed Beatniks. Source ↗
  • K Linn / Sad Eyed Beatniks — Then This Is Your Year. The album equipment list credits RX-11 drums. Source ↗
  • MauSS / Costume — Unus Spiritus Vol. 2. The release account identifies RX-11 as one of MauSS’s drum machines. Source ↗
  • MauSS / Costume — Yellow Line Blues. The album’s drum-machine setup names a Yamaha RX-11. Source ↗

Sources

  1. Yamaha RX Digital Rhythm Machines
  2. Yamaha RX11 & RX15
  3. RX11 Owner’s Manual
  4. RX11 / RX15 Digital Rhythm Programmers brochure
  5. John Foxx: Recording In Mysterious Ways
  6. Game Over: Credit 00 talks up his debut album on Uncanny Valley
  7. Meditating on a moment: John Loveless in conversation with Discovery Zone
  8. KAN Friday Column #222: Yamaha RX-11

The visual archive

Further visual evidence.

These displayed records are labelled by their documented role, date and source; source-only records are listed separately below.

Yamaha RX11 & RX15 — Electronics & Music Maker review opening pageOctober 1984 · Electronics & Music MakerReview opening page, p. 18Source & credit ↗
Sources for images shown earlier (16)
Additional visual sources (8)

Original publications and related image sources.

Machine Museum image viewer

Period image shown in the dossier.