9 ways to get more out of your drum machine

Make better beats now with these diverse concepts and techniques

An electronic musician that doesn’t love drum machines shouldn’t be trusted.

Yes, synthetic percussion has been absolutely rinsed to death by now, and these sounds are often used in formulaic ways, but that’s why it’s so special when a producer actually does something fresh and unexpected with them.

We love the 808’s booming kick; the machine-gun 909 snares; those ‘cowbells’ and ‘rimshots’; and all the other tinny 80s drum sounds that evoke memories of late nights dancing to mechanical grooves.

And that’s why we’ve put together these nine diverse ideas to get your percussive juices flowing…