Anyone with a solo acoustic act use a drum machine or pedal?

[JackB1]

Was wondering if any of you gigging solo acoustic guys use a drum amchine or pedal like the Beat Buddy in your acoustic act and how has it been working out. I am very interested in the "SDRUM" pedal and was wondering how it would work out using it live for some of my cover tunes. I am just a little worried it will be too much stuff going on for me to have to think about onstage. I guess I could use it for songs that just have a straight beat all througout the song? For example, a song like "Running Down A Dream" by Petty.

[gfa]

I tried it and found it much more difficult than I'd thought it would be. Gave up on it. (BTW, I'm not solo, play in a band that did not have a drummer at the time).

[ohiopicker]

I tried the BeatBuddy Mini, and it was just too much fiddling around. In my case it is about all I can do to play guitar and sing as a solo act. I just wanted something that provided a couple of different sounds, and was cave-man simple. Soooo, I happened upon the Meinl FX10 pedal by accident. It has 10 separate sounds (various kick drums, single and double tamborine, or cabasa, hand claps, etc.) stereo and mono outputs, a large LED display. Volume control, and a large pedal like a wah. It only does what you want it to do when you step on it. Goes into the 'aux in' on your amp or into your pa.

Look for a used one on the cheap. I think it is a nice alternative to the good sounding but overly complicated devices on the market.

For those of you out there that are more computer savvy than I, I wonder if it would be possible to pull the SD card out of the pedal and hack it so that it will play customized sounds of your choosing?

[SpruceTop]

Back in the early 1980s, I used a Korg Drum Machine for a while. It had the analog tempo knob and I had to mark lines on the machine so I could have the right tempo for each song. I also used an MXR Pitch Transposer at that time to generate vocal harmonies. It could get a bit hectic with the tap-dancing required to switch the MXR back-and-forth to the proper harmony interval while singing and working the Korg's On/Off switch to start and stop the beat at the desired moment. After several months, I went back to just singing and playing guitar as it was easier to relate to the audience that way.

[capefisherman]

I use and LOVE my Boss DR-01. It's designed for use with acoustic instruments - congas, cajon, timbale, various latin instrument sounds, i.e., no tinny/cheesy sounding fake drum sets. A bit of a learning curve but plenty of pre-sets and when using Boss FS-6 pedal you can easily turn it on and off unobtrusively. Run through a good quality acoustic amp or PA it sounds natural and organic. I don't use it on every song when I perform but used sparingly and at a fairly low volume it really adds to the performance. It even has a programmable fade function so there is no abrupt end when it's disengaged. Highly recommended!

[MarkF_48]

Another user of the Boss DR-01S here. I also have the BeatBuddy which is good with the rhythm and drums sounds that come stock with it, but to get the most out of it, the songs, beats, and drum sets need to be managed in software, which I've found tedious and sometimes not straight forward. I keep saying I want to try to replicate some of what the DR-01 does, but haven't yet got around to it.
I was lucky on the DR-01S. GC had a used one for $114.99 plus shipping. Didn't have the manual, but was like new.

[Al Acuff]

My 2 cents is don't waste time and money on drum machines. If you want to add some rhythm and stay a solo act then check out the Porchboard.

Used tastefully a stomp box can add a bit of supporting bass and rhythm. You play it yourself so there's a human quality to the sound.

[Chriscom]

Totally get what Al is saying. I saw a guy play at my local bar who had one of those little foot tambourines on his shoe, and he told me it was the best $5 he ever spent. He used it effectively too. But never having accustomed myself to tapping all the way through a song, a stompbox just wouldn't work for me.

Thanks to the guys for mentioning the Boss DR-01S, which I didn't know existed. I got the Beat Buddy a couple years ago and while impressive, I could never manage that live.

[chevymopar]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

My 2 cents is don't waste time and money on drum machines. If you want to add some rhythm and stay a solo act then check out the Porchboard.

Used tastefully a stomp box can add a bit of supporting bass and rhythm. You play it yourself so there's a human quality to the sound.

that porchboard looks interesting......i know it is a matter of taste but to me the drum machines and too many effects make it sound like karoake.

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

My 2 cents is don't waste time and money on drum machines. If you want to add some rhythm and stay a solo act then check out the Porchboard.

Used tastefully a stomp box can add a bit of supporting bass and rhythm. You play it yourself so there's a human quality to the sound.

And here is a perfect example.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by MarkF_48

Another user of the Boss DR-01S here. I also have the BeatBuddy which is good with the rhythm and drums sounds that come stock with it, but to get the most out of it, the songs, beats, and drum sets need to be managed in software, which I've found tedious and sometimes not straight forward. I keep saying I want to try to replicate some of what the DR-01 does, but haven't yet got around to it.
I was lucky on the DR-01S. GC had a used one for $114.99 plus shipping. Didn't have the manual, but was like new.

Another recommendation for the DR-01s. I also own the Beatbuddy and the Digitech Trio+.

DR-01s wins hands down because it is dead simple and offers a lots of flexibility.

I almost bought a second one to mod it into a pedal with more foot controls!

Cuki

[tommyga]

Cuki/guys..how do you remember or recall which Preset is which? Do you fellas use maybe a small piece of paper or something??

[Guitars44me]

Former Pro drummer here. I detest drum machines and backing tracks.

When I hear a drum machine, I’m out of there… And I know there’s other folks who feel the same.

There’s plenty of things you can do with your feet if you have trained them to behave properly. If you haven’t, get a metronome and get started!

I find it interesting how many really good guitar players cannot tap their feet in rhythm.

Do NOT do anything on every song, or even most. A little will go a long way. Save it for the rawkers….

I use a homemade kick box. And a $9 eBay tambourine. An antique briefcase with an inexpensive CAD kick mic inside. Then, of course, one needs a proper amplifier, that will carry the bass. Just like a porchboard or other kick widget.
The kick mic has a less defined pitch, so blends well with the low end from the guitar. Which I tune down to D for more low end.

When playing without any amp, I just rock the tiny tambourine with my left foot and stomp the floor with my right.

Rhythm is important! Even people who can’t tell if you’re in tune can tell if you’re in rhythm, at least most of the time. Depending on their beverage consumption…

Hope you find something that works for you, and you have a lot of fun!

Paul

[L20A]

We all have our opinions on what we like.
If you want to add a drum machine, go for it and watch to see how it is received by your audience.
After all, it's your show.

[Rick Jones]

I just hit my guitar.

This was a pickup comparison, but you get the idea from it, go to 4.44 in:


Actually, I do use foot percussion too, it's a cut down piece of pallet board with a kickdrum mic in it, but I don't always take it with me as it's bulky.

A great Aussie guitarist called Jeff Lang showed me once how if you eq all but the bottom of the stomp frequencies out, your ear/brain kind of adds a pitch/note to follow the song around, even though there's no such thing happening in reality.