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The best drum machine ever

uttersutters 321 Posts
edited April 2015 in Strut Central
Thought people on here might enjoy this vid. It's about an amazing drum machine that played back 8-Track tape loops





I seem to have become the world's leading expert on these things... nobody seems to know anything about them!?



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  Comments

  • dj_cityboydj_cityboy 1,477 Posts
    that was/is incredible...
  • BeatsoupBeatsoup 511 Posts
    Daaaammmnn want!

    Did you make the video and or are selling the future sample pack? I would cop that, the quality sounds very muffled but the playing is so good. Lots of funky style.

    I thought this was gonna be about the chaberlin/ melotron when I started to read. This is a rare beast. Nerding out.. Some links, $$$ on ebay dude says something about replacing cartridge felt.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bandmaster-Powerhouse-Drum-Machine-Mellotron-Optigan-Rhythmate-LOOPS-BREAKS-/141618419071?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20f91d957f

    http://www.matrixsynth.com/2006/10/scottish-made-powerhouse-drum-machine.html
    more info
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    Yeah- I figured it was about time to blow these things up (if that's possible for something so niche) so I made the vid.

    Dude on eBay was me- That was my spare machine!
  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,789 Posts

    That's amazing. Any idea who the London session musician was? Nice beats.
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    Duderonomy said:
    Any idea who the London session musician was? Nice beats.

    Somebody contacted me through eBay and said it was Pete Best (he met him at some Beatles convention)... Don't want to spread that around though as it might not be true. Am sure weird Beatles fans would drive the prices up further if that came out as true

    Other rumours include it's development being funded by Rick Wakeman and Dave Biro (inventor of the Birotron, an 8-Track-playing keyboard of which like 2 exist. Would sell for $50k+ probably if one went on sale)

    Even more tantalising is that there were a set of 4 extra tapes, including 'Disco' and 'Hustle'! Impossibly rare. I've located an owner and am currently trying to get access to their recordings of them

    Shit is like a Raymond Chandler novella
  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    fantastic! sample packs for purchase?
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    jammy said:
    fantastic! sample packs for purchase?



    Eventually yeah. I have them all ready and am selling privately atm. Just sold some to Gotye!


  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing. I can't imagine the hype this would've gotten a decade or so ago.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    I wonder if Moby has this:



  • the_dLthe_dL 1,531 Posts
    that was amazing!! Thanks for sharing!
  • BeatsoupBeatsoup 511 Posts
    utters said:
    Duderonomy said:
    Any idea who the London session musician was? Nice beats.

    Somebody contacted me through eBay and said it was Pete Best (he met him at some Beatles convention)... Don't want to spread that around though as it might not be true. Am sure weird Beatles fans would drive the prices up further if that came out as true

    Other rumours include it's development being funded by Rick Wakeman and Dave Biro (inventor of the Birotron, an 8-Track-playing keyboard of which like 2 exist. Would sell for $50k+ probably if one went on sale)

    Even more tantalising is that there were a set of 4 extra tapes, including 'Disco' and 'Hustle'! Impossibly rare. I've located an owner and am currently trying to get access to their recordings of them

    Shit is like a Raymond Chandler novella

    Very cool thanks for the info. This is some interesting stuff. I wonder if the 1/4" master tapes of the original recordings are still around for producing the 8 track tapes. Stored in a basement somewhere, drum time capsule... High quality goodness

    Contact Rick Wakeman and Dave Biro?
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    This is the only drum machine I actually enjoy listening to. The fact that it is real drums being played by a human drummer makes this the drum machine for people who hate drum machines.
  • DawhudDawhud 213 Posts
    That is ill.
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    Beatsoup said:
    Very cool thanks for the info. This is some interesting stuff. I wonder if the 1/4" master tapes of the original recordings are still around for producing the 8 track tapes. Stored in a basement somewhere, drum time capsule... High quality goodness

    Contact Rick Wakeman and Dave Biro?

    The masters must be somewhere in Scotland I think. Weird that nobody has tried to revive this thing yet. Well, until me. Like somebody said, maybe 10 years ago when the whole dusty/sampling thing was bigger
  • soupsoup 69 Posts
    Thanks, this is ill.

    I'd imagine you could do something similar with your own drumming with a 4 track and one of those answering machine cassettes spliced to loop properly.
  • caicai spacecho 362 Posts
    utters said:


    I have them all ready and am selling privately atm. Just sold some to Gotye!


    Firstly thanks for sharing info and making the vid. Very cool.

    Funny you mention Gotye.

    My friend got married last year in this giant warehouse that houses a collection of old fairground machines - mechanical organs, carousels etc (this is the website http://www.fairgroundfollies.com/ ) and I was talking to the owner at the end of the night and he mentioned that Gotye had recently hired the place for a week in order to sample all the old fairground music that the machines play.
  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    cai said:
    utters said:


    I have them all ready and am selling privately atm. Just sold some to Gotye!


    Firstly thanks for sharing info and making the vid. Very cool.

    Funny you mention Gotye.

    My friend got married last year in this giant warehouse that houses a collection of old fairground machines - mechanical organs, carousels etc (this is the website http://www.fairgroundfollies.com/ ) and I was talking to the owner at the end of the night and he mentioned that Gotye had recently hired the place for a week in order to sample all the old fairground music that the machines play.

    Can't wait to hear the results! ---- sarcasm
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    cai said:
    Funny you mention Gotye.

    My friend got married last year in this giant warehouse that houses a collection of old fairground machines - mechanical organs, carousels etc (this is the website http://www.fairgroundfollies.com/ ) and I was talking to the owner at the end of the night and he mentioned that Gotye had recently hired the place for a week in order to sample all the old fairground music that the machines play.

    Wow. I'm jealous of the guy. He clearly has a massive thirst for weird sounds and the money (now) to be able to pursue his quest to the Nth degree
  • kalakala 3,361 Posts
    motown slowbeat for the win!
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    The samples are now available if anyone wants to cop

    http://www.bandmasterpowerhouse.com

    The full 64, unedited loops from Tapes 1-8

    44.1kHz/24-bit direct from my restored machine

    *sales pitch over*
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    cai said:
    utters said:


    I have them all ready and am selling privately atm. Just sold some to Gotye!


    Firstly thanks for sharing info and making the vid. Very cool.

    Funny you mention Gotye.

    My friend got married last year in this giant warehouse that houses a collection of old fairground machines - mechanical organs, carousels etc (this is the website http://www.fairgroundfollies.com/ ) and I was talking to the owner at the end of the night and he mentioned that Gotye had recently hired the place for a week in order to sample all the old fairground music that the machines play.

    I had a friend that had a roommate in Milwaukee that collected these things.
    Which at the time meant that any where you went in the house you had to step over organ pipes and bellows.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Duderonomy said:

    That's amazing. Any idea who the London blond model was? Nice upskirt.

    For real, very cool find. Good luck with the research.
    Shoulda tracked down the Pete Best rumor before selling.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I just checked the wiki on Pete Best.
    It suggests that he was not drumming when this was made, and was never a London session drummer. Also suggests he didn't have the chops.

    Still could be him till proven otherwise.
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    Well, the claims originate from him...

    Imagine if this shit had been a success back then

    You could have had a signature tape series

    Jeff Porcaro
    Harvey Mason

    *drool*

    LaserWolf said:
    I just checked the wiki on Pete Best.
    It suggests that he was not drumming when this was made, and was never a London session drummer. Also suggests he didn't have the chops.

    Still could be him till proven otherwise.
  • uttersutters 321 Posts


    I can't lie, this video took me ages to make, with my amateur-ass iMovie skills, but if anyone feels like sharing it i'd be really grateful
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    I'm not exactly selling lots of these, but I [em]just[/em] sold a sample pack to Trentemøller

    I LOVE him. Amazing producer.

    It's funny seeing who picks these up!
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Shared.
  • Mek_JaggerMek_Jagger 322 Posts
    utters said:

    I can't lie, this video took me ages to make, with my amateur-ass iMovie skills
    it's great. fantastic piece of kit.
  • uttersutters 321 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    Shared.
    Thank you!
  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,789 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    Shared.

    Facebook'd
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