Rhythmicon (1930–1932) (1932) and
Joseph Schillinger, a music educator In 1930–32, the innovative and hard-to-use
Rhythmicon was developed by
Léon Theremin at the request of
Henry Cowell, who wanted an instrument that could play compositions with multiple
rhythmic patterns, based on the
overtone series, that were far too hard to perform on existing keyboard instruments. The invention could produce sixteen different rhythms, each associated with a particular
pitch, either individually or in any combination, including en masse, if desired. Received with considerable interest when it was publicly introduced in 1932, the Rhythmicon was soon set aside by Cowell.
Chamberlin Rhythmate (1957) In 1957, Harry Chamberlin, an engineer from Iowa, created the Chamberlin Rhythmate, which allowed users to select between 14
tape loops of drum kits and percussion instruments performing various beats. Like the
Chamberlin keyboard, the Rhythmate was intended for family singalongs. Around 100 units were sold.
Wurlitzer Side Man (1959) In 1959,
Wurlitzer released the Side Man, which generates sounds mechanically by a rotating disc, similar to a
music box. Wurlitzer ceased production of the Side Man in 1969. although, at that time, these sizes were still as large as small
guitar amp head, due to the use of bulky electro-mechanical pattern generators. Then in 1964, Seeburg invented a compact electronic rhythm pattern generator using "
diode matrix" ( in 1967), and fully transistorized electronic rhythm machine with pre-programmed patterns,
Select-A-Rhythm (SAR1), was released. As a result of its robustness and enough compact size, these rhythm machines were gradually installed on the electronic organ as an accompaniment of organists and finally spread widely.
Keio-Giken (Korg), Nippon Columbia, and Ace Tone (1963–1967) In the early 1960s, a nightclub owner in Tokyo,
Tsutomu Katoh, was consulted by a notable accordion player,
Tadashi Osanai, about the rhythm machine he used for accompaniment in the club, a Wurlitzer Side Man. Osanai, a graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the
University of Tokyo, convinced Katoh to finance his efforts to build a better one. In 1963, their new company Keio-Giken (later
Korg) released their first rhythm machine, the
Donca-Matic DA-20, using vacuum tube circuits for sounds and a mechanical wheel for rhythm patterns. It was a floor-type machine with a built-in speaker, and featured a keyboard for manual play, in addition to the multiple automatic rhythm patterns. Its price was comparable with the average annual income of Japanese at that time. In 1965,
Nippon Columbia filed a patent for an automatic rhythm instrument. It described it as an "automatic rhythm player which is simple but capable of electronically producing various rhythms in the characteristic tones of a drum, a piccolo and so on." It has some similarities to Seeburg's slightly earlier 1964 patent.
Alesis HR-16B (1989) / HR-16 (1987) --> SR-16 (1991) By 2000, standalone drum machines had become less common, partly supplanted by general-purpose hardware samplers controlled by sequencers (built-in or external), software-based sequencing and sampling and the use of loops, and
music workstations with integrated sequencing and drum sounds. TR-808 and other digitized drum machine sounds can be found in archives on the Internet. However, traditional drum machines are still being made by companies such as Roland Corporation (under the name
Boss),
Zoom,
Korg and
Alesis, whose SR-16 drum machine has remained popular since it was introduced in 1991. There are percussion-specific
sound modules that can be triggered by pickups,
trigger pads, or through MIDI. These are called
drum modules; the Alesis D4 and Roland TD-8 are popular examples. Unless such a sound module also features a sequencer, it is, strictly speaking, not a drum machine. In the 2010s a revival of interest in analogue synthesis resulted in a new wave of analogue drum machines, ranging from the budget-priced Korg Volca Beats and Akai Rhythm Wolf to the mid-priced Arturia DrumBrute, and the high-end MFB Tanzbär and
Dave Smith Instruments Tempest. Roland's TR-08 and TR-09 Rhythm Composers were digital recreations of the original TR-808 and 909, while Behringer released an analogue clone of the 808 as the Behringer RD-8 Rhythm Designer. Korg released an analog drum machine, the
Volca Beats, in 2013. ==Programming==