Kawai R-100 "industrial" demo

Demo made by Matia Simovich

"1985 Kawai R100 drum machine. Forget about the Roland TR 707 or the Oberheim DMX, the Kawai dominates over these machines for several reasons. First and foremost, THE SOUND! This box has the absolute deepest digital 12 bit kicks, toms, and snares I have heard in a drum machine. The sound is very deep and ranges from chesty, impact hits to aggressive and biting high's in the hi hat and cymbal department. Aggressive is probably the best word to describe the overall sound and feel of this machine. And if you are a fan of industrial music look no further. This is the EXACT sound of Ministry, KMFDM, and pretty much the bulk of Wax Trax! Records. I have sat with my copy of Twitch, Land of Rape and Honey, and What Do You Know, Deutschland and have recreated the rhythms and sounds VERBATIM! This is the box that did it. Pretty much every sound was featured on those records and the inexplicable aggressive movement of the machine's sequencer is what makes that industrial feel! Don't believe me, then check out this mp3.

This was recorded with no outboard straight into Ableton Live and using only the R-100 internal sequencer to sequence everything including the melodic content. There are no fx added other than a delay on the orchestral hits and Beat Repeat to stutter and filter the beat. It's a quick and rough demonstration with no mixing (the levels are off I know :) ) but demonstrates but a fraction of the feel and the general sound of this box! I used maybe about 5 of the 48 different sounds and two patterns! When you process this box with some proper mic preamps and a slamming compressor see what happens :)"

• Category

  • Music

• License

  • Standard YouTube License