Top 5 Drum Machines To Advance Your Music Production Career

It seems like every industry has tools to help consumers be professionals, and the music industry is no exception. Todays fans have more access to the tools these musicians and producers use to create their craft especially in the world of music loops and drum machines for hip hop — than any generation of fans in the past.

In short, it is now very possible to create professional sounding music loops with drum machines and launch a music production career
with little help from traditional music industry gatekeepers.

1)Beat Thang

Where to start with this product? A drum machine at its most basic, its the only portable, battery powered device that is small and compact enough to be transported in your backpack and capable of recording samples anywhere. Released by Grammy award winning beat maker Dallas Austin and Beat Kangz electronics, Beat Thang is arguably the best bang for your buck on the drum machine / music loop hardware product for music production careerists in the market right now.

Considering Beat Thangs extremely intuitive interface, this drum machine is a great buy for anyone intent on building a thriving music production career.

2)Roland MV 8800

This drum machine offers all you need from song conception to release, including components designed for tracking, mixing, and mastering any and all music loops you design. Perhaps most beneficial is that it comes loaded with Rolands legendary instrument and effects models, all of which can be used to create amazing music loops. Many music production careers have been born out of using it, and theres no reason it cant do the same for your music production career.

3)Akai MPC 2500

Similarly to Roland, Akai is another stalwart brand for those with music production careers, known best for its various high end drum machines.

It comes with less RAM than Beat Thang (128 MB vs. 256), but still has on board effects processors and MIDI connections (in case you wanted to write your own music loops on a MIDI keyboard). Whats cool about this one is that its possible to synchronize samples of different lengths without changing pitch.

4)Korg M3

This synthesizer, while not strictly a drum machine, packs just as much punch as the other items that are more geared towards hip hop and electronic music loops and beats. With so many applications and features that become easier to use as your music production career progresses, the possibilities with the Korg M3 seem endless.

However, while its versatility may be an advantage, the time it takes to learn the drum machine and all of its nuances is a disadvantage. Masterin it is not for the faint of heart, though doing so will do more for your music production career than just learning basics on other music loop software.

5)Fruity Loops

Fruity Loops is standalone software specifically for creating music loops that is installed on a computer, not hardware. But, its nearly a household name because of its ease of use. If youre really just looking for the basics that a cut and paste looping software can offer (for relatively cheap), then Fruity Loops is your best bet. But, dont expect to progress too far in any music production career if thats all you know how to use.