Is there a simple drum machine that can be operated with the foot

[stringalong]

This rendition of Constitution March has a great drum beat behind it. It has so much syncopation that the drum beat adds tons to the way this tune sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ftpwa0dH9s&ab_channel=HillbillyChamberMusic

Does anyone know of a simple drum machine that will do this, that is operated by the foot? Cordless preferred.

[BoxCarJoe]

Beatbuddy

https://singularsound.com/product/beatbuddy/?ar_clx=yes&ar_campaign=1623020281&ar_ad=309982776455&ar_adgroup=60479890743&ar_channel=google&gclid=Cj0KCQiApY6BBhCsARIsAOI_GjbUIS2XYZBvEF54SDgb suP4_g2NZuHowaMq7ETjyqj1ogABnvouEUEaAr__EALw_wcB

I have the 1st model that came out a few years ago. It's quite an amazing device if it fits your needs.

[Mike Buesseler]

You sure that’s not the bass you’re hearing?

[Jim Garber]

Not foot-operated, but a lot of folks I know love Strum Machine (https://strummachine.com/) and you can feed in the chords you want and also set it to speed up a bit each round for practice. It does cost a bit of money but my friends say it is worth it.

Here's a very strong foot-operated drum machine:\


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ijnnjOlO0

[ajh]

Find an old Alessis Sr-16 and attach a standard cheap foot pedal. They come with a lot of standard drum kit beats but are also very programmable once you figure out how to do it. Manuals are online. Also beat the dickens out of a metronome. Both together shouldn't cost more than 75. Very good analog sound and a lot of fun to play with. You need to hook up to an amp of some kind but are not tied to your computer.

[stringalong]

Dear Friends, I only wanted the drum machine for one tune, and all these suggestions, while you're very nice to send them, are too expensive for me and complicated. I guess I'll just have to make sure I keep a good march beat with Constitution March when I play it.

[Mike Buesseler]

Ok, off-topic here, but I love that Quebecois footwork. Does anyone do that while playing mandolin? Maybe too hard to keep your picking hand accurate?

[steve in tampa]

Instead of a machine, use a wooden box and mic it.

[stringalong]

Steve in Tampa, I'd still have to buy a mike and an amp. But that's definitely a good idea.

[BoxCarJoe]

It sounds pretty good with a light military beat.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QGH0nWUnNLqomnKZLXp2kpnPeNjyES_d/view?usp=sharing

See if you like this. I can easily change the speed if you like.

[stringalong]

Hi BoxCarJoe. This is amazing! Thank you. The drum beat is exactly the right length to play Constitution March one time through. But then it quit playing after I played with it three or four times. I had to reboot it. The speed is right for me, but can you make it about 4 minutes long? I could use it to do Constitution March for YouTube.

[BoxCarJoe]

Hi BoxCarJoe. This is amazing! Thank you. The drum beat is exactly the right length to play Constitution March one time through. But then it quit playing after I played with it three or four times. I had to reboot it. The speed is right for me, but can you make it about 4 minutes long? I could use it to do Constitution March for YouTube.

Sure.

I'll upload tomorrow morning if that's OK.

Don't know why it quit playing.

[stringalong]

Hi again, BoxCarJoe. No hurry at all. Thanks so much. Your name reminds me of a book I read as a child -- "The Box Car Children." Did you ever read it? It's very exciting about some children who were orphaned and moved into an abandoned boxcar on a side track somewhere. I loved it so much that, when I was in the third grade and my brother was in Kindergarten, I sat with him in our back yard and read the entire book to him!

[stringalong]

I just did an Amazon search for The Box-Car Children. There are a whole bunch of books with this title that are mysteries. Wow. I'd like to read those. But here is the original, the one I read in third grade. It was written in 1924. It's not a mystery. It's a drama.
https://www.amazon.com/Box-Car-Children-Gertrude-Chandler-Warner-ebook/dp/B083F71T4R/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=the+boxcar+children&qid=1613008185&s=books&sr=1-9

[BoxCarJoe]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10GrAhE7Ulgb7VJMcawIWfP6o2N3unujm/view?usp=sharing


Here is the longer version.

I got the nickname when I was playing bass in a blues rock band.
We played a famous blues song called "Wang Dang Doodle".
In that song is a cast of shady characters (automatic slim, razor totin' jim) and one of them is called "shakin' Box Car Joe"
and band mates started calling me that.

Those books sound like something I would have read to my son when he was young.
We used to love stuff like that.
Thanks for the link.

[stringalong]

Hi BoxCarJoe. Thanks so much for the longer drum set. I'm excited to try to fit this together with Consitution March and put it into YouTube. I'll give you credit for the drums.

Stringalong

[lflngpicker]

I have found those G-Dec Jr. Amps (without a foot pedal) to be very useful for backbeats and bass to play along with. Very enjoyable and the speaker is right there all in one package.

[stringalong]

Hello Iflngpicker, do you have a link where I can buy the G-Dec Jr. Amp? Can I get a foot pedal that goes with it, too?

Thanks for posting this information about the G-Dec Jr. Amps. Why do you say plural amps? Which one is the best?

[foldedpath]

Ok, off-topic here, but I love that Quebecois footwork. Does anyone do that while playing mandolin? Maybe too hard to keep your picking hand accurate?


Instead of a machine, use a wooden box and mic it.

I don't do the Quebecois podohthmy (sp?) thing, but I did experiment for a while with an amplified foot tap in a former duo playing mostly "Celtic" music. I was tapping my foot on the faster tunes anyway, and it seemed like it might be a good way to make up for the lack of a bass player or bodhran player. Here's the gadget:

http://www.porchboard.com/

And yes, you could put a mic or a contact pickup on a wooden or cardboard box, but this particular device makes a nice "thump" and it's plug 'n play, easy to use. In the end, we decided not to use it. The problem I found, is that once you start using it in a performance set, it builds an expectation in the audience that this is now the sound of the group. So you can't easily stop using it. And I didn't want to use it for an entire set of tunes.

Anyway, this idea is worth exploring for some times of gigs, and there is more info on this in past threads here at the Cafe. Try searching on foot rhythm or porchboard bass.

[Dave Greenspoon]

A used Digitech Trio (not the + version with looper) can be found pretty inexpensively these days.

@BoxCarJoe Wang Dang Doodle all night long.

[stringalong]

Thanks, David Greenspoon. Depends on what one considers inexpensive. It looks like $70 to me. That's too expensive. I'd pay $20 or $25 maybe. I tried a link BoxCarJoe sent me, and created a nice train rhythm, but it's really, really boring.