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Description

The E-mu Drumulator is a vintage classic in the world of drum machines, beloved by DJs and producers for its distinctive 1980s sound. Originally released in 1983, this digital drum machine brings a nostalgic yet timeless touch to modern music production. It's famed for its 12-bit sampling technology, offering a warm and gritty audio quality that stands out in any mix. The Drumulator is equipped with a set of pre-programmed drum sounds that include kicks, snares, and toms, making it a versatile tool for creating everything from hip-hop beats to electronic rhythms.

The Drumulator's user-friendly interface allows for easy sequencing, making it accessible for beginners while still offering enough depth for more experienced users to explore. Its real-time control features allow you to tweak and customize your beats, providing endless creative possibilities. The unit also supports MIDI integration, making it compatible with other modern equipment and software, ensuring it fits seamlessly into your studio setup.

Whether you're a collector of vintage gear or a modern musician looking to add some classic flair to your tracks, the E-mu Drumulator delivers a unique sound that captures the essence of an era while remaining relevant today.

Key Features:

  • Vintage 12-bit sampling for authentic 1980s sound
  • Pre-programmed drum sounds including kicks, snares, and toms
  • User-friendly interface for easy sequencing
  • Real-time control features for on-the-fly customization
  • MIDI compatibility for seamless integration with modern gear

Product specs

Brand E-MU Systems
Model Drumulator 8-Voice Drum Sampler
Finish Blue
Year 1983
Categories Drum Machines, Samplers
Analog / Digital Digital
Polyphony 8 Voices

FAQs

What type of sounds can the E-mu Drumulator produce?

The E-mu Drumulator is known for its classic 1980s drum sounds, featuring a range of digital samples including kicks, snares, toms, hi-hats, and cymbals, making it suitable for retro and electronic music styles.

Is the E-mu Drumulator suitable for live performances?

Yes, the E-mu Drumulator is designed for live use, featuring a user-friendly interface and robust construction, making it a reliable choice for performing musicians.

How many voices can the E-mu Drumulator play simultaneously?

The E-mu Drumulator offers 8-voice polyphony, allowing you to layer multiple drum sounds simultaneously for complex rhythms and beats.

Can the E-mu Drumulator be integrated with modern DAWs?

While the E-mu Drumulator is a vintage piece of gear, it can be integrated into modern setups through MIDI connections, allowing synchronization with DAWs and other MIDI-compatible equipment.

Does the E-mu Drumulator allow for custom sample loading?

The E-mu Drumulator does not allow for custom sample loading, as it uses pre-set digital samples typical of early drum machines from the 1980s.

AnalogAudio1

AnalogAudio1

E-MU DRUMULATOR Vintage Drum Machine 1983 | HD DEMO | SAMPLE PACK

Video thumbnail for E-MU DRUMULATOR Vintage Drum Machine 1983 | HD DEMO | SAMPLE PACK by AnalogAudio1

E-MU DRUMULATOR Vintage Drum Machine 1983 | HD DEMO | SAMPLE PACK

AnalogAudio1

AnalogAudio1

Video thumbnail for E-mu Drumulator Tears For Fears ''Shout'' drums by SynthMania

E-mu Drumulator Tears For Fears ''Shout'' drums

SynthMania

SynthMania

Video thumbnail for E-mu DRUMULATOR | Early Synth-Pop Classic by Espen Kraft

E-mu DRUMULATOR | Early Synth-Pop Classic

Espen Kraft

Espen Kraft

Video thumbnail for E-mu Drumulator original factory patterns by SynthMania

E-mu Drumulator original factory patterns

SynthMania

SynthMania

Video thumbnail for ZIF sockets on E-mu Drumulator by SynthMania

ZIF sockets on E-mu Drumulator

SynthMania

SynthMania

Video thumbnail for The E-mu Drumulator Drum Machine- The beat of the 80s (and Beyond!) by Nostalgic Explorer

The E-mu Drumulator Drum Machine- The beat of the 80s (and Beyond!)

Nostalgic Explorer

Nostalgic Explorer

Reviews

PROS

  • Intuitive and fun to use

  • Durable build quality

  • Iconic 80s sound from 8-bit eproms

  • Affordable compared to similar vintage drum machines

  • Swappable sound options for customization

  • Versatile across genres like synth-pop and italo-disco

  • Not steep learning curve for beginners

  • Unique sound that's hard to replicate with samples

CONS

  • Limited programming capabilities

  • Individual outputs are RCA, which may be inconvenient for some setups

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about E-mu Drumulator.

Setup and maintenance

  • The Drumulator's PSU shows no apparent issues, with precise rail readings: +5v at 5.63V, -15v at -15.28V, and +15v at 15.01V indicating stable power distribution.

    Source
  • A failed tin can regulator may overvolt and erase the program ROM chip, specifically at 12k, highlighting the importance of checking this component.

    Source
  • The Z80 CPU receives proper voltage signals: +5V on VCC, +4.5V on RESET, and +5V on INT, yet the machine remains unresponsive, indicating a possible deeper fault in the system.

    Source

Features and functionality

  • The Drumulator emits a burst of drum sounds upon startup, affected by the volume knob, but fails to display lights or segment displays, suggesting a deeper internal issue.

    Source

Mods and upgrades

  • Adding a small SMPS to replace the original 5v regulator is recommended to prevent potential overvoltage issues that can erase the program ROM.

    Source

User experience

  • Inconsistent behavior noted with different EPROMs; new OS EPROM installations often fail to resolve issues, suggesting potential memory chip failures.

    Source

Critic Reviews

E-mu Drumulator (EMM Jun 83)

muzines.co.uk

The E-mu Drumulator impresses with its affordability and ease of use, providing essential features akin to pricier models like the LinnDrum. It boasts twelve individually sampled sounds and dynamic programming capabilities, ensuring versatile rhythm creation. While it lacks advanced mixing and panning options, its individual audio outputs lend flexibility for external processing. The Drumulator's design maximizes software over hardware, keeping costs reasonable without skimping on sound quality. However, swapping sound chips isn't user-friendly, and its limited memory might require frequent data management. Overall, it's a solid choice for budget-conscious musicians seeking a reliable digital drum machine.

positive

4.5 out of 5

Based on 1 Review and 2 Ratings

5 star
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1 star
jimmarchi1

I grew up with this bad boy

my dad and uncle were always fucking with this guy in the 80s. They used it heavily in their proto chill-out record, "Stress Break" around '85 when I was in grade school. I was excited to discover recently my uncle had it in his basement. So I traded him some guitar stuff for it and have it in my arsenal now.... this is pure Depeche mode and just a great, singular sound in rhythm machines that always loses something when individual hits are sampled.

Artist usage

Add artist
See how Martin L. Gore uses E-mu Drumulator

Martin L. Gore

Singer, Guitarist

Depeche Mode

...
Verified via Soundonsound

In this article it states Depeche Mode used an Emu Drumulator on People are People - "According to Gareth Jones, the chief aim when recording and layering all the parts for 'People Are People' was to maximise the excitement. And to that end, whereas drum machines such as the Emu Drumulator and Roland TR808 had loomed large during sessions for the Construction Time Again album, sampling took precedence when creating drum sounds for the stand-alone single."

See how Jean Michel Jarre uses E-mu Drumulator

Jean Michel Jarre

Keyboardist, Music Producer

The Dustbins

...
Verified via Wordpress

At the back of the album cover of the Rendez-vous album by Jean-Michel Jarre is a list of used instruments. In short:

Seiko DS 250, Synthex, Moog, Roland JX 8P, ARP 2600, Fairlight, Emulator II, Eminent, AKS, Lynn 9000, Memory Moog, Drumulator, Laser Harp, RMI, Seiko DS 320, OBX, DX 100, Matrisequencer, TR 808, Prophet, Casio CZ 5000, Baby Korg personal keyboard.

See how Robin Guthrie uses E-mu Drumulator

Robin Guthrie

Guitarist

Cocteau Twins

...
Verified via Robinguthrie

In the equipment notes on his official website, Robin Guthrie lists the E-mu Drumulator in the third paragraph, second line, indicating his use of this drum machine.

See how Moby uses E-mu Drumulator

Moby

Music Producer

Hanzel und Gretyl

...
Verified via YouTube

is featured at 0:23 in the video

See how Steve Albini uses E-mu Drumulator

Steve Albini

Singer, Guitarist

Big Black

...
Verified via YouTube

At the very start of the video you can hear Steve test the Drumulator pressing the button for the Bass Drum. Also at this point and year Atomizer was released.

Also Noted Atomizer and all post-Atomizer releases by the band do not feature the TR-606, instead opting for the E-mu Drumulator as mentioned on the Big Black Wikipedia page.

See how Junkie XL uses E-mu Drumulator

Junkie XL

Composer, Music Producer

Tiësto vs. Junkie XL

...
Verified via YouTube

At 8:58 Junkie XL shows his Drumulator

See how Knxwledge uses E-mu Drumulator

Knxwledge

Music Producer, DJ

NxWorries

...
Verified via YouTube

He's seen using throughout the NxWorries music video for "Link Up". While there isn't a great shot in the video of the front of the Drumulator, Peanutbutter Wolf has a picture of the Drumulator in a "behind the scenes" style post on his instagram page that clearly shows the unit.

See how Alan Wilder uses E-mu Drumulator

Alan Wilder

Drummer, Keyboardist

Depeche Mode

...
Verified via Soundonsound

listed under drum machine in recoils equipment list

See how Roland Orzabal uses E-mu Drumulator

Roland Orzabal

Singer, Guitarist

Tears for Fears

...
Verified via Muzines

"We've got a Movement drum machine, too but I won't go into that, I don't want to say nasty things about it. It's very, very hard to use, I think — you have to punch things in about five times before anything gets picked up, whereas a Linn is once. It's not even a punk drum machine, like the Drumulator. That's great. I don't think the basic sounds are much good, but there's the Rock Kit for it which is really mad — it's on 'Mothers Talk', very sort of vicious — and we've used it on the demo of 'Shout', too.

"But I think the Drumulator's badly thought out. It keeps going wrong, blowing out chips. Bad design, yes — we haven't had trouble with the Emulator in that way at all."

See how Stephen Morris uses E-mu Drumulator

Stephen Morris

Drummer, Keyboardist

Joy Division

...
Verified via Attackmagazine

"Technique was an interesting album because we’d moved on to Voyetras (fetches one), a rack-mounted synth. Midi came out so you could plug a keyboard into it.

Earlier, when we did with [producer] Stephen Hague to do True Faith he had a Drumulator Mk.1 which was a drum version of the Emulator, so it had compression on it. On the record it’s a drum machine and live I play a sample. It turned into the E-mu SP 12, which was the sampling drum machine that launched hip-hop. By the time we got to Technique we were still using those synths but we’d moved on to Akai samplers, loads of them.

So we had a Mac running Upbeat software, a simple drum machine and all these Akais. A lot of the things on Technique that sound natural are not. For Dream Attack, we were too lazy to play an acoustic guitar, so we sampled every note in the riff and programmed them individually. It was bonkers, one sampler per string!

Oh and before you could quantise things we’d sample every drum and reprogram the whole backing track out of these parts. I basically turned myself into a drum machine. When we did Technique it felt new and pioneering, but then everybody started doing it."

See how Front 242 uses E-mu Drumulator

Front 242

Music Producer

...
Verified via gearnews.de

Per this May 04, 2021 feature from gearnews.de:

The drum sound is now the quite hard sound of the E-Mu drumulator, which leads bone-dry through the No Comment tracks.

See how Jorge González uses E-mu Drumulator

Jorge González

Singer, Guitarist

Los Prisioneros

...
Verified via YouTube

Jorge González utilizo la caja de ritmo "E-mu Drumulator" para la canción "Eve-Evelyn" y también para los demos del "Pateando Piedras"

Genre Usage

Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.

Used With

Based on how musicians on Equipboard use E-mu Drumulator, it is most commonly used with the following gear.

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