Last Updated on August 6, 2024 by IDS Team
A good drum machine is a staple of any great home studio setup, but what about if you’re on a budget, or otherwise want an overview of the best budget drum machines to decide before you buy? Ultimately, it’s not hard to achieve great-sounding trucks with just synth drums or drum VSTs. However, if you want hardware, there is fortunately a wide range of budget drum machines that not only won’t break the bank but which also sound fantastic.
This best inexpensive drum machine rundown will hopefully showcase a few machines that offer a host of creative interfaces. These will have you looking at your music with a fresh mind. So, without further ado, here are our top three picks in terms of budget drum machines this year – including the best budget MIDI drum machine (Roland TR 6S) and an overview of what makes them stand out and why.
Best Sampled Budget Drum Machine: Alesis SR 18
The Alesis SR18 is an upgraded version of the Alesis SR16 – taking all the great design of the original with a few modifications. It’s not necessarily one of the most modern of the best budget drum machines. Even though yes, it’s relatively recent, its choice of ROM-sampled sounds has the potential to date it a bit. But there’s always a place for every kind of sound generation, so we kick off the list by including it for more of a retro, throwback feel.
What Makes It One of the Best Budget Drum Machines?
Although it does run the risk of going out of date, we have to hand it to Alesis for having modified their technology so that the sample model offers something new. As the Sr6 has been going since the 90s, it’s not easy for them to do something fresh and relevant. Dynamic Articulation technology means, however, that samples change in real time to dynamic, textural, and timbral changes. This might not be up your street if you want to mostly focus on digital percussion but if you want a raw drum machine that is a general all-rounder and has the character and quality of analog instruments this one is for you.
Furthermore, it’s split into three layers that allow you to combine sounds in unprecedented ways, it can integrate with both a MIDI keyboard and instruments like electric guitars, AND it runs off both battery and mains power.
In addition, it also has:
- Joint EQ and compression
- Reverb
- 32 voice polyphony
- Raw sounds and samples
- Drum, percussion, and bass layers
- Samples were played in, as opposed to quantized and programmed
What’s Bad About It?
Of all the drum machines on this list, this is by far one of the most feature-packed, which can be a double-edged sword. Yes, it offers a lot that isn’t available in the SR16, but if you were more or less already satisfied with the former, there might not be that much of a reason to upgrade. Additionally, some musicians prefer the simplicity of machines that do a bit less or offer more in terms of tone sculpting as opposed to layers.
What we have touched on already, is that we’re not sure if it will be relevant that far into the future. The sounds are potentially a bit limited to retro or timeless styles but don’t sound very modern. However, for what it’s worth, the way they have updated these remains this is a minor quibble and it is a worthy contender for the title of best low-budget drum machine that uses real, analog sounds.
Who Is It Best For?
If you like the sound of sampled ROM drums, this is for you – the classic, realistic sounds make it a bit different from the other two drum machines on this list, which use varyingly modified forms of digital FM synthesis, however,
Find it here on their website or in your nearest retailer at an average of 120 USD.
Best Creative Budget Drum Machine: Korg Volca Drum
We would say the Korg Volca drum stands out on this list as one of the most finely tuned and sculpted instruments in the realm of budget drum machines. With this, we’re talking about subtle features such as its digital FM synth engine that gives you unparalleled quality of sound of the kind you would expect from a much more expensive or larger instrument.
What Makes It One of the Best Budget Drum Machines?
The Korg Volca drum is an example of smart engineering that offers new surprises the deeper you look into it. It’s intuitive and has a great variety of sounds to start off with, yes, but it also has lesser-considered features such as ‘choke’, which allows you to specify the relative loudness of any one sound when multiple sounds are played together.
Overall, we think this is the drum machine you want if you’re focused on character, creating rich, resonant, and emotive tracks couldn’t be easier because of the thoughtful extra touches that come with the Korg Volca Drum.
Furthermore, its intuitive interface means that you don’t have to restrict your kit layout to any particular pads – you can add bass, hi-hats, cymbals, and so on wherever you like.
What’s Bad About It?
We honestly can’t find much that’s bad about the Korg Volca drum, simply because it’s such a good all-rounder. In fact, this little synth manages to cover all the bases and then some, with just the right balance of textural creativity combined with smart engineering. In fact, you could say it’s small but perfectly formed. If we had to pick, we would say maybe there isn’t that much bang for your buck here – for example, it has only two layers compared to the three of the Alesis, and it doesn’t have any focus on bassline particularly like the Roland TR 6S does. Furthermore, if you want something a bit sleeker sounding, the analog modeling might not be for everyone. But all in all, there’s very little to criticize about this synth, which is why it makes this list easily, despite the fact we have already covered it here.
Who Is It Best For?
There’s no one specific category of person we think this would best suit, but it’s definitely worth recommending as a super affordable first-time drum machine that offers surprisingly high-quality sound. However, a particular mention should be made for on-the-go musicians due to its small size and portability in comparison to its quality. There aren’t many synths that offer this much in terms of tone, features, and so on, while still being convenient to take on the road at all levels.
Take a look at it on the website here, or find it at your nearest retailer at an average of 129 USD.
Best Budget Midi Drum Machine: Roland TR 6S
Lastly, we round up this overview with a look at the Roland TR 6S, which gains its spot here due to its ability to bring you rhythmic basslines that have incredible sound and seamless integration with your drum parts. We have to hand it to Roland for including this – in fact, the 6S is based on the 8S and is merely a smaller version with 6 tracks instead of 8 – because the inclusion of both instruments makes this a much easier machine if you want to grapple with a holistic look at tracks and pull parts together seamlessly. But where else does it stand out?
What Makes It One of the Best Budget Drum Machines?
First up, we have to hand it to Roland for including previous, timeless kits in their choice of sounds. The TR 6S draws from legendary kits and brings together the tones of vintage pop, the heyday of 80s synthesis, and well as more modern drum noises appropriate for cutting-edge production or throwback to 90s jungle or house. The TR6S lets you combine these sounds to make hybrid kits too, and blend everything together with a series of high-quality effects that are much more than you would suspect from such a small-budget machine.
What’s Bad About It?
There is a lot of work that has gone into the Roland tr6 and again, like the vocal drum, not much to criticize. If we had to find something, we’d say that maybe it could have done with some more features to distinguish it from the 8s. Depending on your price range, it could be that there’s not much point in getting the cheaper, smaller 6s compared to the 8s when they share so many features. Is it a redundant product? Not necessarily, if you’re on a budget. But there could have been a bit more added to it, potentially in terms of features too, as a lot of the design effort has gone into usability.
Who Is It Best For?
Like the Volca Drum, it’s a great machine for musicians on the go or those who have limited space and budget for their home studio. However, we’d also like to mention it as a smart solution for artists who might have to operate solo – its combination of drums with a focus on bassline means it’s easier to put together complete tracks without having to supplement it that much with additional equipment or VSTs. And, if you are finding you spend a lot of time in front of your laptop solo – its handy integration with the Roland Cloud means it blends seamlessly with this.
Take a look at the website here or at your nearest retailer where it averages 300 USD.
Final Thoughts
Of course, there are many more options than these that we could have included, and furthermore, not every drum machine is going to work for every musician or genre. However, we’ve tried to include a range that properly represents some of the options that might make you feel you’ve got something a bit extra in your studio without having to fork out too much cash. What’s more, if you are limited and only have the space for one hardware machine, we feel that all three of these make fantastic all-rounder pieces of equipment that you’ll be able to adapt across genres and moods to whatever suits you.
Love hardware, or looking for more hardware here? We have a whole section of hardware gear breakdowns and reviews. And if you’re a musician or bedroom producer on a budget who wants more easy solutions, we have more articles here and here on budget equipment that will still make your setup feel high quality and professional.
