![Oberheim DMX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Oberheim_DMX.jpg)
The DMX is a programmable
digital
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
drum machine manufactured by
Oberheim
Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim.
History and products
Tom Oberheim founded the company in 1969, originally as a designer and contract manufacturer of electronic effects devices for Maestro (most ...
. It was introduced in 1980 at a list price of and remained in the company's product line until the mid-1980s.
The Oberheim DMX was the second digital drum machine ever to be sold as a commercial product, following the
Linn LM-1 Drum Computer in 1980. Its popularity among musicians of the era contributed to the sound and evolution of 1980s
new wave,
synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
and
hip hop music.
Background
![Oberheim-DX processor board](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Oberheim-DX_processor_board.jpg)
Immediately following the success of the Linn LM-1, other manufacturers began to develop and release drum machines intended to compete with the LM-1's ease of programmability and realistic sound quality. The DMX featured sampled sounds of real drums, as well as individual tuning controls for each drum voice and a swing function. In addition, it boasted several humanizing elements such as rolls, flams, and timing variations that were meant to mimic those of real drummers.
The DMX features 24 individual drum sounds derived from 11 original samples and allows for a maximum 8-voice polyphony; one voice per card. It also featured eight separate outputs for individual processing, and allowed up to 100 sequences and 50 songs. One of the distinguishing features of the DMX is that it allowed integration with Oberheim's proprietary interfacing system (the Oberheim Parallel Buss) that pre-dated
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
and allowed Oberheim equipment to be synchronized with the machine. Later models included factory-fitted MIDI ports and third-party companies also manufactured MIDI interfaces for the DMX.
Drum and percussion samples are stored in
EPROM
An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored data after a power s ...
chips placed on removable voice cards.
The data format is 8-bit
PCM using
μ-law companding
In telecommunication and signal processing, companding (occasionally called compansion) is a method of mitigating the detrimental effects of a channel with limited dynamic range. The name is a portmanteau of the words compressing and expanding, ...
, increasing sound resolution to approximately 12 bits in the analog domain (a design technique also employed by other early drum machines, including products by
Linn Electronics
Roger Curtis Linn is an American designer of electronic musical instruments and equipment. He is the designer of the LM-1, the first drum machine to use samples, and the MPC sampler, which had a major influence on the development of hip h ...
,
E-mu Systems
E-mu Systems was a software synthesizer, audio interface, MIDI interface, and MIDI keyboard manufacturer. Founded in 1971 as a synthesizer maker, E-mu was a pioneer in samplers, sample-based drum machines and low-cost digital sampling musi ...
and
Sequential Circuits
Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer; it became a market leader and industry standard, use ...
).
The DMX's punchy and realistic drum sound made it attractive towards many artists and producers involved in the fledgling hip-hop scene and it is featured on many of the genre's early landmark recordings. It is in continuous use in
dancehall reggae
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
music. Artists that have used the DMX include
New Order on their 1983 single "
Blue Monday" and
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...
on "
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for ei ...
" (kick drum only). Several artists derive their names from the drum computer, including
DMX Krew
DMX Krew is the recording name of the musician Edward Upton. Upton's other aliases include 101 Force, Asylum Seekers, Bass Potato, Chester Louis III, Computor Rockers, David Michael Cross, Ed DMX, EDMX, House of Brakes, Michael Knight, and Viet ...
,
DMX and
Davy DMX
David Franklin Reeves Jr. (known professionally as Davy DMX, Davy D or Davy Dee, and also credited under the name David Reeves) is an American musician, DJ, and producer best known for his work in cooperation with Run-DMC, Kurtis Blow, The Fat ...
.
Oberheim DX
![Oberheim Stretch DX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Oberheim_Stretch_DX.jpg)
Introduced in 1983, the Oberheim DX was a slightly stripped-down version of the DMX, available at a list price of US$1,395. The look and feel of the machine was similar to that of the DMX, but it only featured 18 sounds instead of 24; allowed for 6-sound polyphony instead of 8; had a 4-digit,
7-segment display
A seven-segment display is a form of electronic display device for displaying decimal numeral system, numerals that is an alternative to the more complex dot matrix displays.
Seven-segment displays are widely used in digital clocks, electronic ...
instead of a 16-character
alphanumeric display
A fourteen-segment display (FSD) (sometimes referred to as a starburst display or Union Jack display) is a type of display based on 14 segments that can be turned on or off to produce letters and numerals. It is an expansion of the more com ...
; and had fake plastic wood instead of walnut. Fortunately, DX maintained the DMX feature of use of removable/replaceable voice cards on EPROMs. The DXa model added MIDI support from the factory.
Like the DMX, the DX was popular among early hip hop artists. It was also extensively used in
dancehall reggae
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
.
The DX was later extended with an optional bolt-on "Stretch" expansion, which added four new voices plus some additional features.
References
{{Oberheim
Drum machines
Musical instruments invented in the 1980s