drum machine

American  

noun

1. a device that simulates percussion sounds in various combinations and rhythms, and can alter digitally stored drum sounds or make digital recordings of drum sounds.

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drum machine British  

noun

1. a synthesizer specially programmed to reproduce the sound of drums and other percussion instruments in variable rhythms and combinations selected by the musician; the resulting beat is produced continually until stopped or changed

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Example Sentences

“Tonic” is one of several tracks in which the hurdy-gurdy is processed to resemble a snarling guitar, and a drum machine implies a relationship to experimental rock.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lang: On “Swag,” most of the songs started with the same two instruments: a drum machine and a little synth patch I had on my computer.

From Los Angeles Times

She was supportive of her son’s burgeoning musical interests, lending him the $600 he needed to buy his first drum machine, effectively changing the course of his life and the state of L.A. music as we know it.

From Los Angeles Times

When he met Afrika Islam, Bambaataa’s mentee, he told him that the track was made using a drum machine.

From Los Angeles Times

The crowd was screaming his name while dancing, wholly possessed by the deeply ancestral, bewitchingly robotic beat of the drum machine coming from Uncle Jamm’s Army’s regular set-up — a temple of sound worship made up of 100 Cerwin Vega speakers.

From Los Angeles Times