drum machine ?

[Hook]

Hey guys,
 A friend of mine want's some pre-made drum arrangements to jam/write and record with . I was wondering if the dr880 might be something for him (one is for sale on craigslist for $325). He doesn't want to have to arrange the patterns(at least not at first) he just want's the drum arrangements to help inspire his writing. Are there drum arrangements available for sale or download anywhere? Other options?
Thanks,
 Hook

[henwrench]

I'd go for the Boss Micro BR!! You can pick 'em up for about £50 on e-bay...

                                                            henwrench

[Vanncad]

He can just download the Boss Rhythm Editor and jam to his computer too if he wants

[Speed Demon]

If your friend wants to spend the money for a DR-880 it will work just fine for what he wants to do.
It has hundreds of preset drum patterns, all user-definable. Also bass tracks.
It  is a bit expensive but works well.

[64Guitars]

He doesn't want to have to arrange the patterns(at least not at first) he just want's the drum arrangements to help inspire his writing. Are there drum arrangements available for sale or download anywhere? Other options?

I'm not aware of any drum machine or software that includes good pre-defined arrangements, though they may exist. They all include lots of good patterns but they leave it to you to create your own arrangements. The BRs and the BR Rhythm Editor include some preset arrangements but they're not very useful. They only play for a few measures, then they repeat the pattern of the last step continuously until you press Stop.

One way to get complete arrangements is to download midi files from the web and import them into a BR pattern. Since a pattern can contain up to 999 measures, the whole song will fit in one pattern. If your friend doesn't have a BR and doesn't plan to buy one, maybe you could make some arrangements for him by importing midi files into your BR-900, bouncing them to an audio track, then exporting the audio track to a WAV file and, optionally, converting it to MP3 format. He could then play the files on his computer or MP3 player.

[Hook]

Thanks for the ideas!

[Speed Demon]

I sometimes use just a click track and play a rhythm track to it first, then add the other instruments to that.
As long as timing is matched to the click track, it works. 

[cuthbert]

I'm not aware of any drum machine or software that includes good pre-defined arrangements, though they may exist.

They do exist! But they stopped making them at the end of the Seventies.

I got this bad-boy back when they were still cheap:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwjAAWgXDz0

Well, it may not actually be good, but it definitely has pre-defined arrangements!  It's kinda cool retro, too - if you're into that.

[bruno]

I really like using drum loops - they do have a much more natural sound. Have experimented with drum loops and looper pedals for live, but it wasn't terribly successful as difficult to get a clean ending.

Have thought about a dedicated drum machine for a long time - one of these days!

iMac and GarageBand is brill for piecing together loops.

[bruno]

I'm not aware of any drum machine or software that includes good pre-defined arrangements, though they may exist.

They do exist! But they stopped making them at the end of the Seventies.

I got this bad-boy back when they were still cheap:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwjAAWgXDz0

Well, it may not actually be good, but it definitely has pre-defined arrangements!   It's kinda cool retro, too - if you're into that.

That is soooo cool.