Synth Site |  Yamaha |  RY-8

Yamaha included 15 drum kits and 128 drum sounds on this module, which can be styled for almost any type of music. Though they are somewhat dark and dry since they are PCM based, the kits and sounds are still quite realistic and very usable, especially in the rock and techno genres. Editing capabilities are quite limited though, as the RY8 only offers adjustments for pitch, volume, accents, and pan. No filters are effects processors are included onboard. The other options included are a decent sequencer, an accurate guitar tuner, and, most impressively, a guitar synthesizer.

In fact, the guitar synthesizer that the RY8 has is really what separates this drum machine from others. It has very quick tracking as long as you provide it a clear, and very audible signal (with my Fender Strat, there was no detectable delay). Its accuracy is also very good on the low end, but strangely, it played a lot of false notes on the highest pitches. You can only play one note at a time, however, and the onboard voices, as mentioned before, are quite poor. But if you route it to a module or keyboard through MIDI, you can get some impressive results.

So, overall, with all of its features, you really cannot go wrong in buying this. Though it is obviously styled towards guitar players who need backing accompaniment or who want to have access to an affordable yet capable guitar synthesizer, its realistic drum patches should appeal to a synthesizer player as well.