Product: Amdek RMK-100 Rhythm Machine
Price Paid: US $20 used
Submitted
08/29/2003
at
08:52am
by
Todd Marsden
Email: elektroherd at earthlink<dot>net
Ease of Use
:
7
You have to write patterns in a step mode, which is a bit limiting. I downloaded the manual for the Boss DR-55, which this is a decendant of, so that helped me get around it. Controls are for Start, Stop, On/volume, Accent, HiHat Volume, and Tempo.
Features
:
7
Not much on features. It plays four drum sounds, and you can store them in eight locations. It has a Filler feature, which I didn't explore.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
8
The sounds are basically that of the Boss Dr-55 and DR-110, with Kick, Snare, Closed Hat, and Open Hat. Closed Hat cuts off the decay of the Open Hat, which is nice. If you open up the box, you will find trim pots for the Snare noise, and Kick (bass drum) volume and decay. If you open up the decay you will get a bass synth tone.
Reliability
:
6
I got this used, and the battery holder for 4 double AA's was cracked. The Start and Stop buttons are sticky too. It is built well, however, out of all steel casing.
Customer Support
:
2
Amdek was a division of Roland, so infer from that . . .
Overall Rating
:
8
Amdek was a division of Roland in Canada, that later became RolandDG. They focus on computer related items, like printers, etc. This is basically a repackaging of the DR-55 with a few modifications. There is a 1/4 " User jack on the back, but it isn't connected to anything inside. On the circuit board there is a small section that looks like Perf-board. I assume this was for those early computer / musician / gear hackers. I purchased this to use with my Kenton Pro-KADI, and it works great. Right on the circuit board are flying leads that are labeled for each instrument. I just tack soldered my own wires and ran them thru the hole of the "User" jack, and hooked them up. Now I have MIDI control over the sounds, and can skip the clumsy programming.I may turn the pots for Accent Volume and Tempo into controls for Snare Noise and Kick Decay in the future. I have also hooked up the Pro-KADI to a Boss DR-110, Oberheim DMX, Sonor Mini Mammut, and Roland SPD-6. For the cost of one MIDI retrofit you can MIDI all your pre-MIDI drum boxes, just not at the same time.
