E-mu Drumulator

Back in 1983, this drum machine crashed the party as the first programmable sampler under $1,000, packing real drum hits into a box that sold over 10,000 units and shaped countless synth-pop and Italo disco tracks.

Its 12 gritty 8-bit PCM samples—bass drum, snare, rimshot, three toms, clave, cowbell, claps, open/closed hi-hats, and ride—route through 8 polyphonic voices with per-channel lowpass filters, including dynamic VCFs on the toms for punchy control. You program 36 segments across 6 banks, chain them into 8 songs up to 99 steps, and dial in tempo, time signatures, swing from 50-71%, and unique programmable accents with 30dB range via a slider and drum selector buttons that double as pads. The front panel keeps it simple with a 2-digit LED display, 4 velocity pads, 2 knobs, a fader, and 25 buttons for step editing, insert/erase, and real-time recording; out back, 8 individual RCA outs, Met/Trig pulse for syncing gear, tape I/O, and RS-232 for computer control let you expand creatively.

Players love its intuitive workflow, durable build, and that raw, lo-fi 80s snap that's tough to emulate digitally, though some note the RCA jacks and basic memory demand careful tape backups. Swappable EPROMs open doors to custom kits, like the Rock Drums set from Tears for Fears' "Shout."