Oh man, the first drum machine I ever owned! Saved up for weeks as a teenager back in the late 90's and thought it was just the coolest thing ever until the DR-202 came out. Great to see this old baby in action again after all these years....
Funny that you mentioned the zap. My friend owned a DR-550 in the early 90's and I used to borrow it just to have access to that sound. I would program beats and sample into my Ensoniq EPS. This machine is underrated. It has a very distinct sound that you can't get from using the samples in a hardware or software sampler. The drums are very punchy and tight, the overall sound is very crisp and has a glossy sheen, as if the output a sort of narrow peak in the treble frequency at the perfect spot.
please synthmania - every day i go to youtube first thing i search is your videos - dont stop uploading tutorial and composing - we all learn from you and spend so much fun time with you - god bless you my friend
I own a BOSS Dr. Rhythm Section DR-5 . From Sam Ash, 48th st NYC. 1996. the buttons are placed in a six string guitar configuration. it also has guitar input with pitch to MIDI conversion. I am still using it in 2017. :-)
I had one of these. It was a nice little drum machine, but a gave it to my friend's sons because they were learning to drum and do music for our church youth worship. I had a DR 880, too, and sold it to my guitar player friend. I still have my DR 5
Great vid!! (as always) I love that you're showing of a piece of gear that everyone can afford. I just recently picked up a DR-670 for under $100 used and I am amazed with how much I can accomplish with such a simple gear like this.
I don't know who this guy is- I stumbled across this video because I just inherited this machine and don't know much about drum machines... Great video, but even more important, this guy is very handsome. No, I'm not kidding. Good for whomever he's dating! A very sexy man with a boatload of electronic gear... Heaven!
I used to do concerts with that thing back in the day, I mean. 10 thousand people and most of my songs came from there with an Atari ST as a sequencer.
I had one of these, in my opinion the sounds are a bit different to the "Roland sound", seems a lot more lofi than say, a Roland R8, R5 or R70 (or even the JV sounds). Funny enough, that "Zap" sound was also one of my favorite sounds, the 808 sounds are not too bad either!
Hello, can you tell me if the tempo in bpm matches to tempo of other machines (computer, keyboards)...I ask this because I have an Alesis SR-16 and the internal clock doesn't matches, I set for example 110 on the sr16 and record a loop on my PC or Multitrack recorder and is a few faster, more or less the 110bpm on the Sr16 corresponding to 110.5bpm on the other machines
Another great video...you should do a tutorial on how they created that BIG snare sound in the 80's using the drum machines you have. I'm talking Lucretia My Reflection by Sisters of Mercy and Kyrie by Mr Mister type stuff!! :-)
Nice! Still I think it lost some of the Mild und Leise character of DR-55 that producer Tony Mansfield used to perfection, while not measuring up to the Linn (of course). But it fits perfectly for some smooth disco music of those times, I'm sure.
So, is this more for certain electronic type music as opposed to more organic, songwriter based stuff for best use? Sounds less humany to me--correct? cool sound nonttheless, just curious; thanks!
Now just put it through some fx, comp/limiters, sonic maximizers, aural enhancers, etc. and craft your own big creative sound from this tiny little puppy!! Roland/Boss are BOSS!! RIP Ikutaro Kakehashi
Did you make rave / music back in the 90's if so under what name, Love the channel as i'm a old raver myself 88-93 and you got the gear most of us only dream about owning or learning to use !
I did but never went anywhere in the '90s :-D My time is now on RUclips ;-D The only difference is that I still use the old gear instead of Ableton, hehe - thank you
Hi, I have it here, but I have a problem with an undesired background noise like a turntable mass when switch it on, do you think it's normal or I need to service it?
Someone else has the same problem in the comments below, and I told them the same thing: make sure that you're using a compatible power adapter for it, a wrong type *might cause the hum noise
I just got one of these last week. Paid $87 AUD for it shipped from Japan because it was untested. Works just fine. Not sure if that is overpriced but I'm happy with it. I was actually surprised how quiet it is with headphones. I'm powering with one of those cheap Joyo/Caline pedalboard power supplies. Great channel Synthmania. Cheers mate.
that's funny I just went in my basement and got my Dr 220e and Dr 550 mk1 after watching your Simmons fill video. the Dr 220 sounds very Simmons like. I am debating selling them but it's probably not worth it
hello :) i always love your videos :) and can you help me out? i'm in the market for some vintage drum machines, and i would like to ask which one is better for Synth Wave or Synth pop The Boss DR550 MKII? or the Boss DR670?
Yes, I had and liked the Electribe series a lot, and was going to buy the Rave-O-Lution after playing it in the stores but never got around to getting it. I'm a big fan of drum machines and grooveboxes.
hey! great vid, anyone knows how to connect it through midi to TR707 but without taking its note values, JUST the tempo bpms??i hope somebody knows thay coz im struggling with it, thanks!!
Nevermind , I don't know what I was thinking, this is the DR-550, on the unit you have maximum grid - so this what you do - open your DAW and go out from DAW MIDI Out to DR-550 MIDI In. Use the built-in sounds from the unit but use the DAW sequencer without quantization.
Oh man, the first drum machine I ever owned! Saved up for weeks as a teenager back in the late 90's and thought it was just the coolest thing ever until the DR-202 came out. Great to see this old baby in action again after all these years....
Do you know how to make the LCD read out better or darker
Funny that you mentioned the zap. My friend owned a DR-550 in the early 90's and I used to borrow it just to have access to that sound. I would program beats and sample into my Ensoniq EPS. This machine is underrated. It has a very distinct sound that you can't get from using the samples in a hardware or software sampler. The drums are very punchy and tight, the overall sound is very crisp and has a glossy sheen, as if the output a sort of narrow peak in the treble frequency at the perfect spot.
please synthmania - every day i go to youtube first thing i search is your videos - dont stop uploading tutorial and composing - we all learn from you and spend so much fun time with you - god bless you my friend
I own a BOSS Dr. Rhythm Section DR-5 . From Sam Ash, 48th st NYC. 1996. the buttons are placed in a six string guitar configuration. it also has guitar input with pitch to MIDI conversion. I am still using it in 2017. :-)
do you have any videos of it? i'd love to see
I had one of these. It was a nice little drum machine, but a gave it to my friend's sons because they were learning to drum and do music for our church youth worship. I had a DR 880, too, and sold it to my guitar player friend. I still have my DR 5
Wow!
I bought my DR-550 in 1989 when I was stationed in Okinawa Japan!
I still have it and it still works!
Appreciate the upload! It's probably not this specific model, but a local pawn shop has had a Dr. Rhythm I've been eyeing for years.
Did… did you say years? Just buy it man!
Man, you are doing a lovely job on this channel. Really glad that i found you!
Ayy I have that! My band director gave it to me because he thought it was trash. I have had a lot of fun with it
i love it when people think treasure is trash
This is a very simple tutorial for the non-techie (me) but "Techno" is coming back…so I'm getting a BOSS DR-550 mlii it's the Tops. Thank you.
Great vid!! (as always) I love that you're showing of a piece of gear that everyone can afford. I just recently picked up a DR-670 for under $100 used and I am amazed with how much I can accomplish with such a simple gear like this.
Love ya vids mate. Noticed quite a few similar sounds on my BOSS DR660 too!
One of my favourite drum machines, thanks for showing.
I own this drum machine, it's wonderful
The sounds of the beat at 7:59 remind me the "YO! BUM RUSH THE SHOW" (1st Public Enemy lp) production. I read that for that album was used Kord DDD1
Robert Funke sick!!
Hey there Paolo, great stuff here! Your videos are inspiring to my work in reproducing 80's music sounds. Big ups!
I love vintage drum machines :D
I bought mine in Sydney 1989? Still got it and it works, just forgot how to program the thing, so thanks.
great video, great to look back on the old gear. i used to have a DR660, loved it to pieces :-)
It's a tuff little unit. Sounds great with a little compression.
the best drum.machine ever built. Has like 100 different percussive sounds, good for latin, salsa, trap.and reggeaton
Great ! I owned this once. But I had much regret to sold this once.
80s-present beats.
Love your channel! Thanks for the consistent uploads! :-)
I don't know who this guy is- I stumbled across this video because I just inherited this machine and don't know much about drum machines... Great video, but even more important, this guy is very handsome. No, I'm not kidding. Good for whomever he's dating! A very sexy man with a boatload of electronic gear... Heaven!
Has he paid you to say that lol
I love this drum machine, it's superb
I used to do concerts with that thing back in the day, I mean. 10 thousand people and most of my songs came from there with an Atari ST as a sequencer.
Sounds good! About to get one off ebay for cheap. Can't wait to jam!
I just got one £40 cash converters £40 well sent i think,
King of the finger drummers
That looks a surprising amount like the SR-16…
MicroKORGI the Sr 16 was alot better and the Hr 16 even better
Hi sythmania really enjoying the videos I've always been curious about how all these machines hang together. Keep it going.
I would like to see you do a video demonstration of your R8.
Will do
Man you are AWESOME! I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!
Thanks!
I had one of these, in my opinion the sounds are a bit different to the "Roland sound", seems a lot more lofi than say, a Roland R8, R5 or R70 (or even the JV sounds). Funny enough, that "Zap" sound was also one of my favorite sounds, the 808 sounds are not too bad either!
Paulo, is Boss! I imagine this beat being played during their assembly. :)
Thank you!
Awesome, I used to have/use the 660
A tutorial please on how to connect with DAWs
synthmania my friend, i want to know how can i create italo disco fills in my daw ( fl studio )?
Seems like all drum samples were reused in DR-660.
Buddy. You rule.
Hello, can you tell me if the tempo in bpm matches to tempo of other machines (computer, keyboards)...I ask this because I have an Alesis SR-16 and the internal clock doesn't matches, I set for example 110 on the sr16 and record a loop on my PC or Multitrack recorder and is a few faster, more or less the 110bpm on the Sr16 corresponding to 110.5bpm on the other machines
Great sound from such a tiny machine! Can you tell me what you used to record the sound in this video?
Sounds a lot like the Alesis SR-16.
Another great video...you should do a tutorial on how they created that BIG snare sound in the 80's using the drum machines you have. I'm talking Lucretia My Reflection by Sisters of Mercy and Kyrie by Mr Mister type stuff!! :-)
Matt Bishop Yes, dont forget the high pitch snare on "She Drive me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals.
Matt Bishop I second that. Been trying to recreate that Sisters snare without success. I believe its multiple layers of snare...
Matt Bishop layer your snares and compress them
I have plenty of snares but no compresser at the moment, but thanks for the tip ;-)
You can create a huge 80's snare sound with this and an rv6 boss pedal.
what be best drum machine or drum pads for making music thats cheap i love old 80s italo and 90s sounds
Nice! Still I think it lost some of the Mild und Leise character of DR-55 that producer Tony Mansfield used to perfection, while not measuring up to the Linn (of course). But it fits perfectly for some smooth disco music of those times, I'm sure.
Is there anything you DON'T own? 😁😁😁
Bruno van Simon I’m sure that lm-1 or sp1200 might be absent from his collection 🤔🤥
Very good review 👍
Thanks! 👍
Good evening Paolo 😃yes, kraftwerk electric cafe
Good evening!
Device Factor Maaaaaaan machiiiiiine, suuupeeer huumaaan beeeeiiiing
Trans Europe Express
Ahhh the good old days....
a flaw I would say about the boss dr550 mark2 is not having pitch mapping
So, is this more for certain electronic type music as opposed to more organic, songwriter based stuff for best use? Sounds less humany to me--correct? cool sound nonttheless, just curious; thanks!
Hi Paulo, I wonder what you could squeeze out of Yamaha QY700 if you get it in to your hands.
Now just put it through some fx, comp/limiters, sonic maximizers, aural enhancers, etc. and craft your own big creative sound from this tiny little puppy!! Roland/Boss are BOSS!! RIP Ikutaro Kakehashi
Awesome!! Can you put these tracks on SoundCloud?!!
Did you make rave / music back in the 90's if so under what name, Love the channel as i'm a old raver myself 88-93 and you got the gear most of us only dream about owning or learning to use !
I did but never went anywhere in the '90s :-D My time is now on RUclips ;-D The only difference is that I still use the old gear instead of Ableton, hehe - thank you
@@SynthManiaDotCom Time for you to release pure 90s rave music ^^
Can you make a video in the style of Aphex Twin?
I bought one of these but there is a really loud hum and the volume is really low. I love the drum sounds though
The hum *might be caused by the power adapter - make sure to use a compatible type of 9v adapter for the machine
when running on batteries the volume is extremely low
I used to have the first one years ago and couldn't program it :-D I came here to see it done, now I'm subbed, thanks! Great videos.
Should have read the manual.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for listening
i had a dr660......beast it was🤗
Boss DR-550 mkII drum machine sounds something I need to buy and what else is it attached to?…thank you!
Do you know Boss ds 330 ? Can It be used as a groovebox ? Thx !
I had one way back when!
Hi, I have it here, but I have a problem with an undesired background noise like a turntable mass when switch it on, do you think it's normal or I need to service it?
Someone else has the same problem in the comments below, and I told them the same thing: make sure that you're using a compatible power adapter for it, a wrong type *might cause the hum noise
Aaron Hammett I solve the problem connecting it to my mackie, before that is connected directly to my Focusrite pre...
I just got one of these last week. Paid $87 AUD for it shipped from Japan because it was untested. Works just fine. Not sure if that is overpriced but I'm happy with it. I was actually surprised how quiet it is with headphones. I'm powering with one of those cheap Joyo/Caline pedalboard power supplies. Great channel Synthmania. Cheers mate.
ESTA AULAS PODEM SER EM PORTUGUES? PARA GRAVAR RITIMOS PODE SER SÓ NA LUZ ELETRICA?
that's funny I just went in my basement and got my Dr 220e and Dr 550 mk1 after watching your Simmons fill video. the Dr 220 sounds very Simmons like. I am debating selling them but it's probably not worth it
Simmons sounds are worth preserving!
hello :) i always love your videos :)
and can you help me out?
i'm in the market for some vintage drum machines,
and i would like to ask which one is better for Synth Wave or Synth pop
The Boss DR550 MKII? or the Boss DR670?
The DR-670 has many more sounds than the DR-550 mkII. I would go with the 670 because of versatility.
So cool!
:^)
Have you ever played with the first generation etribe or the quazimidi rave-o-lution
Yes, I had and liked the Electribe series a lot, and was going to buy the Rave-O-Lution after playing it in the stores but never got around to getting it. I'm a big fan of drum machines and grooveboxes.
SynthMania I have both and I love the filter on them. Nothing sounds like the revolution it as a total original sound
Nice
certified badman tbf
Hi. the mki has less amount of sounds but the same sound? the quality is the same? thank you
Yes, same
hey! great vid, anyone knows how to connect it through midi to TR707 but without taking its note values, JUST the tempo bpms??i hope somebody knows thay coz im struggling with it, thanks!!
I'm not sure, are all the sounds integrated by default, or did you import them?
Great vid btw!
David, thank you, these sounds are all contained in the DR-550 mkII's built-in ROM
Second-hand 50 euros all-in-one solution!
Ha, i had this one. Imagine i didn't have any other equipment to hook it up with, so i quickly got rid of it again ;)
does the 550 have a midi sync or something to clock a poly-800?
it only has midi out - which i see as a flaw
I have one but it has a power issue, it turns off for no reason.
I have Dr5 and still use today battery's 🔋
If only this thing was a 12 bit sampler as well as a drum machine
Can you save a ‘song’ after it’s turned off?
Yes
Just fixed mine. Fantastic.
how do I connect it to my daw to record from there if it has no midi out?
i do it with an aux to guitar cable adapter. Just plug the guitar cable into your audio interface, like you would with an actual guitar.
does this drum machine come with pre-defined patterns?
Yes
How did you get the 909 sounds?
They are contained in the DR-550 mkII's ROM
SynthMania Really lol. I guess it just sounded different in the vid XD
Btw love your channel!
Hello, how do i create a song chain?
Hello, read page 51 of the manual: cdn.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/DR-550MKII_OM.pdf
Can you record without quantization?
You can
@@SynthManiaDotCom can you show me how¡? it would be very helpful
Nevermind , I don't know what I was thinking, this is the DR-550, on the unit you have maximum grid - so this what you do - open your DAW and go out from DAW MIDI Out to DR-550 MIDI In. Use the built-in sounds from the unit but use the DAW sequencer without quantization.
Cool!
fun little guy
At the end of that video, sounds like Janet Jackson “Pleasure Principle”
That was a linn 9000.
how can i make a waltz time 123,123,123
Set Last Step at 12 instead of 16 (read the manual, pages 32 and 61)
@@SynthManiaDotCom ok Thanks pages 63 = 3/4 Takt
Tonight not house I take funk, my dear... :)
Literally just about to sell this XD
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
where's Grace?
wow this has that perfect 80s drum sound.
More like 90’s.
Wow
Ok ótimo Very bom
Intress
can I hook this up to a guitar amplifier?
yes