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This first-rate episode reminds me that there is now a whole new audience of young adults born in this century who have had very little exposure to the electronic/synth/dance/trance/etc music from the eighties and nineties, and who do not care one little bit about how any of it got made. Creating fun music for them now on inexpensive Bad Gear like this makes perfect sense to me! 😎
Ahh the wonderful DR-5. This was used heavily in the memphis rap scene as well as the main workhorse for Lil grimm (children of the corn, graveyard productions) and on a few tommy wright iii mixtapes. Very usuable for that early Horrorcore stuff. By putting multiple cowbells or claves across the drum kit, pitching them around, you can make those classic 90s cowbell melodies and make hardware phonk
I would say Sensational used it on Corner The Market, lovely album! Great piece of gear, super fast to program and lovely gritty sounds. The only problem is the limited memory.
the DR5 internal sounds are today sought out by a few enhusiasts of the 90s memphis underground rap scene and its "cloud rap" children. on the other hand, when it was newer i met multiple people using it as their main sequencer for electro-industrial and aggrotech, and some genuinely cheesy local goth rock made with basically only it + guitar + voice. i wish i still had any/all of those tapes, and i wish i hadm't been so quietly snobby toward the DR5 itself---i don't do guitar but much later on i learned that a fretboard-ish layout can be very handy for getting out of linear horizontal keyboard brain when i've been writng/arranging for more than a short time. PS: fabulous demos as always. your lack of fear in using huge boss/alesis/etc ROM drums has always been like finding out about a previously unknown close family member living on the other side of the world
So, I discovered Memphis rap around 2011 or 2012 because I was looking into examples of people using the dr5 for music that doesn't suck and he shared a link to his music on some dr5 thread on a forum!
If I ever get arrested by the FBI for pirating The Elder Scrolls Oblivion back in the 2000s, this is the machine I'd want in prison so I can make electro black metal from behind bars. That guitar patch in the beginning sold me, along with those meaty drums. It's like this machine was made just for me.
@@Screenshot1015 actually, daggerfall is free to play now courtesy of Bethesda, and I'd highly highly highly recommend Daggerfall Unity. Absolutely wonderful open source port. So probably not. Unless you pirated it back in 96', in which case... Props cause that sounds like a nightmare, with dialup and viruses and primitive 90s Internet. Hell, getting a legit game to run back then was an ordeal.
After the DR660 popped my sweet 16-bit cherry, the DR5 was a no-brainer for an aspiring jazz guitarist and basement hiphop producer (rappers LOVED the gunshot sample.) I too managed to record my own demo/EP with this, Pocket Sync, a Yamaha MTR, SM58, dbx compressor, ZOOM 9000S, my Mom's upright piano and the DR660. Still, the other kids in my music theory class realized immediately that the best use for this label maker was remixing the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme tune.
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This was my first ever bit of kit. The end of the 90s at art school and I bought it off a guy there. Still have it. Used to run that a MU15 and Zoom Sampletrak ST224 with it.
i have had one since the late 90s as primarily a guitarist, this was my intro to both drum machine programming and "midi" instruments it was also one of the most unique practice tools i have ever used because i could program in the entire rhythm section to use as backing tracks for my instruction books chord progressions in the Pre-Internet days with the headphones and amp sim, i never disturbed anyone it never got tired, bored, or too drunk to play, lol a boss ds1 into the input is glorious (watch the level) and it also works well w my old casio mt68 output using the "song mode', i played a gig once using only this and a digitech vocalist just to see if it would work at a coffee shop it was simplistic and minimal but that was part of the "charm" imo it was a "music technology" themed gig in early 00s... neat experience thanks for bringing back these memories this channel is great imo the humor really disguises how much info is packed into each episode good work \m/\m/
This was my first piece of gear, back in 2002. I didn't like it much because of the sounds and upgraded to other drum machines. A few years ago I dug out the Boss Dr-5 and discovered how amazing it really is and how some pedals can really spice up the sounds. I love it so much that I have two now.
This was my first piece of gear ever, I used it everyday when I was 19 to write my first songs and just recently discovered it's still working 20 years later with no issues. The chord button was an amazing feat for an amateur musician, you could just hit random chord combinations and get amazing progressions.
You, Sir, are a true and unique artist. Music, comedy, video, artwork, everything. And your epic reviews are as entertaining as they are informative, leaving me in absolute awe everytime. And my favourite thing about each and every video is the fact that in the end, I'm always left with an almost poetic tiny piece of doubt of: "is this now the most epic cult no-brainer buy or the worst piece of gear in the world ever?" Just how it should be. My deepest admiration for your work and may you be blessed by life like we are blessed by you.🙏🙏🙏
I really rate this unit (which I have), it's really good as an ideas scratchpad if nothing else. I think it is unique in that it has a chord playing function and is intuitive for guitar players as well as keyboard players.
I had one around '98 and I've genuinely never had as deep, muscle-memory familiarity with a programmable bit of music gear and have been chasing it ever since, lol. Maybe I should buy another to use as my sequencer 😂
The DR-5 was my first sequencer and I got a ton of use from it. The fretboard style interface was perfect for me. 8 bar patterns can be done by slowing to half tempo. My only gripe was that it didn't have a whole lot of storage space. It didn't pair with with my WinME computer but worked perfectly with the original Macintosh running Mark of the Unicorn's Performer software. bought another one several years because nostalgia.
I bought a Dr-5 in 1999 from a band for $150. I had no idea how to use it, but would use the presets and mute certain instruments to just get the beat. I mean I'm just an MC. I let my next door neighbor come over and use it and surprisingly he was a natural genius on the Dr-5. His brother was a Dj/Producer so I guess just being around him he learned the basics enough to maneuver around the Dr-5. He asked to borrow it and the next thing I know he comes back with instrumentals he composed that sounded nothing like the Dr-5 should be producing. We gathered other local artists and formed the hip-hop group Homegrown in Warner Robins, Ga. My neighbor taught me how to compose on it as well. That little machine started a movement in my city and we recorded cd's and performed at venues from Atlanta to Albany, Ga off the results of this machine. The Dr-5 was our staple peice of equipment up till about 2002, but it served it's purpose. I'm still blown away by how my neighbor used it to make trap beats that sounded as good as trap songs that were staples of the 90's. I still have all our ruff recordings before we mastered and polished. This machine will always be special to me.
19 notes of polyphony….humm, I didn’t know that. I’ve owned one since 1996. Haven’t used it since I got Fruity Loops. Still in the little canvas case I bought for it. Best little drum machine I ever had. Wrote songs and recorded them, working with 2 bands and several individuals, even linked it to a Korg keyboard using its internal sequencer. It’s been fun. Limitations: 4-5 average length songs maxes out the internal memory. Other shortcomings you already mentioned but one pet peeve is the double tap or tap & hold functions. I’ve also had certain songs (chains of patterns) be corrupted suddenly after performing some form of editing. Never figured what I did or how it happened. It’s like one beat of one measure was removed …changed the time signature from 4/4 to 7/8. Dunno😮
Are you spying on my studio gear? Watching BG is like a bad case of Deja Vu sometimes haha!! This thing is an instant house chord stab box, never used it for its intended purpose but instead as a kooky MIDI controller, it’s actually great in that capacity!!
The design reminds me of 90's office equipement. It just sort of resembles the keypad of a Fax/Copier or a polycom desk phone. It's appearance convey that kind UI aesthetic. This would be the perfect instrument for creating buisnesswave. It makes music and it's office appliance at the same time!
This and the Tr 626 were THE drum machine when I did solo Tiki bar gigs in 90s in my little beach town. I'm a guitarist. It was perfect since most guitarists couldn't program those old Roland's to save their life. Excellent video as always !
Just scooped one of these at Goodwill for $20! It was sitting on the electronics shelves under a dial-up modem Great work as always. Cheers A Friend in Chicago 🌙 MoonDog
I am completely out of superlatives haven't used here before in your comments section. This channel and your composition/production are the electronic equivalent to that guitarist adage "Tone comes from the fingers." I'm always slightly ashamed of gear I see on this channel that I abandoned in the past. It wasn't the gear that was the problem.
I had one of these! Surprise Christmas gift when I was a teenage guitarist. That pick scrape sample is etched in my brain. This thing was miserable, to work with, though, I programmed a few backing tracks in and the experience turned me off of music tech for decades…
I've had one of these since 1995. Never figured it out to the level where I could actually write something, but maybe some otherwise lost day I'll drag it out and occasionally glance at it aggressively.
When I was a high schooler in the 90s I wrote about 4 albums with a DR-5 and a Tascam 4-track. Those canned tracks bring back some heavy nostalgia. Speaking of heavy, the best kit for verbed out scuzzy metal drums was ENSEMBLE (I think it was called).
for me it was a DR-5 and a Fostex 4 track (cassette) for recording. i hooked up the DR-5 to a Carvin Keyboard amp with enough inputs to add a my mic and guitar for mini gigs. the good old days.
I wrote a song on this with 3 parts of music and wanted a 4th for bass. I used a deep tuned drum sound to play the bass pitches I needed, and it did the trick!
i LOVE this machine for simply being my first box that i could afford. the sounds are not great, but having access to 808 and 909 sounds with a relatively wide tuning range was a plus. but it was mostly great for being a four channel sequencer which was perfect for something i probably scored for $75 used... my favorite trick was midi'ing to my D-50 and having one channel of it fed back into the guitar tracking input, only to have the d-50's sounds trigger more unusual notes because the tracking was naff. press one key, and midi feedback would ensue! oh and as a guitarist, having the fret style layout made my entry into electronica far easier and the readout would also show how particular chords would be played on a standard keyboard.
My first bit of gear, back in 1992/3 was a Kawai K4, and the second a DR660, so I've always had a soft spot for the little Boss boxes - they pack a lot! On that note, the K4 was sold in the late 90s, but a K1 arrived last week - it's good to find the bargains, there are plenty left if you are willing to broaden your horizons!
I always select one meme included here and send it to a friend. This time it was new AFX album anime thing. Thanks for keeping my social life afloat :D
I took an airplane trip across country in the late 90's with one of these and was composing music while the other passengers were watching some dumb movie - it was awesome. I just bought another one. Thinking of linking them together for 8 tracks of synced MIDI wonderment...
This is like the third synth video in a row I’ve watched where someone runs cheesy sounds through effects pedals to improve it Although this time it isn’t a microcosm…
The DR-5 won't lead you wrong! There is another book I bought that was much cheaper than the encyclopedia and I believe that it is in PDF format somewhere for free online.
The DR-5 was the very first piece of gear I ever bought, and I wrote about 17 albums worth of (bad) material with just that single drum machine in my first year. I was so obsessed with it as well as my Yamaha midi data filer. Now I have a digitakt. I have written zero songs with it, let alone an album. I guess this video takes me full circle, not sure how I feel about it.
I blinked, heard amenities, and rewinded the video to confirm the meme! Herr Florian Pilz is a great hardware reviewer but an absolute meme God. As for the Boss, considering the era, I'd say it is quite decent. Also, each and every experiment is an absolute banger!
Grooveboxy gear + fx pedals = fun = maybe good music...better or worse, you get a beer out of it. Midi-in when available is quicker and easier but reduces the odds and/or potency of music unique to the gear. So is reading the manual or winging it really a waste of time? Great episode, jams, and hilarious memes as always!
You can make most crap drum machines palatable, with enough compression and layering. Granted you’re properly panning in the mix. I still think the TR-8S is the best value. You can play with any of Roland’s overrated drum machines, for a fraction of the cost! I say this being an absolute fan of said overrated drum machines lol great video as always bro! So glad you’re seen in my YT feed consistently.
I have both and they are more like siblings than anything else. I might even connect them based upon your post and see how they may fight lol 🤣 The Roland SCATTER feature wherever found on their gear is the secret sauce to supercharge any of your creations in ways never imagined. The midi circle may never be broken by great gear and our imagination is the only limit!
Uncanny how you select all my gear piece by piece - either (future present past). Sold my DR-5 to a Berlin Dark Wave project. I was very impressed by all the possibilities and the fretboard. And for a fraction of a second I thought I had understood it. Then it was gone again. Felt like early Alzheimer‘s. No sellers remorse here. Would always choose a digitakt over 12 DR-5s 😅 Digitakt and I are a unit and I find my way to the sound I want in complete darkness and all so far known mental states. Great presentation of this very suitable for 80s dark synth metal Sisters Laimbach Skinny Puppy Front 242 machine. 🤩🤩🤩
for a guitar player the fretboard interface allowed me to input faster and better than a piano style keyboard. my fretboard-based scale experience allowed me to play chords and do solos and input notes without breaking a sweat. i still own 2!
