Not Bad For A Girl: Katie Marie's top six drum machines of all time!

Katie Marie lists her all time top six drum machines – what are yours?

This week I thought I’d discuss a very important topic that usually creates mixed reactions among musical type peeps… I’m talking about… drum machines! And the thing that sparked this off was a friend of mine said to me:’So Katie… being a drummer you must really really hate drum machines!’

Errrr… w-r-o-n-g!! I absolutly love drum machines! I always have done – all shapes and sizes and sounds. And over the years I’ve managed to collect quite a few. So just for all you nerdy musical types like me, here’s just a few of my favs.

So lets kick off with one of the first ever drum machines I owned, the Roland TR-626.

This is such a brilliant drum machine that’s ooozing retro coolness You can do about a million and one things on this and it also has a seperate line out for each individual part of the kit! Very cool.

Next up is a drum machine that you’ll defo either love or hate… the Alesis SR-16

I think these were ‘industry standard’ at one point, but we used to use this one in the very first function band I gigged with and I used to play bass guitar and operate this fella. Sounds pretty dated these days, but still very usable.

The next drum machine on my list is defo one of my all time favs, partly because it’s just amazingly retro and partly because I bought it in a second-hand music shop for a tenner! It is the very unique Watford Electronics Rhythm Generator!

I’ve no idea where it came from or who on earth Watford Electronics are, but if you heard it you’d agree with me that it is the coolest looking and sounding drum machine hands down. It basically makes beats out of white noise and you can mix and match all the different rhythms in any way you like, it’s just brilliant… and it looks cool.

So I think out of all the drum machines I’ve ever owned, this one has to have been the best learning tool EVER! It is of course a Boss Dr Rhythm.

This does EVERYTHING you could possibly ever need a drum machine to do and it’s so easy to use – plus the drum sounds actually sound like drums, lol, amazing!

Ok so only two more machines left and I couldn’t do a list of favs without including my Yamaha RY-9.

This has been such a useful little gizmo when I’ve been learning drum beats and also just for writing drum parts before I record them live. It’s got a ton and a half of great uses and it’s tiny wee so it’s done a lot of travelling!

We’ve come to the end of my list, and this last one isn’t strictly a drum machine but it is very kewl indeed. It is my Yamaha QY-70.

Now this really has done a lot of travelling, because it’s so brilliant for jotting down ideas. I bought this years ago and it’s one of the bestest things I’ve ever bought. It’s got a huge collection of drum patterns and backing as well as keyboard sounds and loads more. You can also record ideas on the little weeny piano on the front – perfect!

So that’s my list. Anything missing I should know about?

Ooo just before I go – I’m playing up at More Restaurant, Dartington, every Wednesday from now till Crimbo! There’s late night shopping on the Cider Press Centre every Weds and all the shops stay open till 8pm, plus they are serving mince pies and mulled wine! (horrah!) I’ll be playing at More between 4.30-7pm so hope to see you there!

• Check out Katie Marie on MySpace, or on her website.