Roland have just started shipping the DR-880, a new Dr Rhythm drum machine. It's got some weird features - along with 400+ drum sounds, it has some built in amp models, so you can plug a guitar in and jam along. Best of all, it looks a little bit like a teeny weeny Akai MPC2000 (but without the samples, and the clever Roger Linn design).
But it's a bit hard to see who's going to rush out to spend $500 on a Dr Rhythm drum machine. I seem to remember my friend Laurence's big brother had a DR-110 (right),
which cost £200 when it was released 1984 - by the time we got it it was probably 1987. It was crap, obviously, but there wasn't anything else. Nowadays, the world (well, Ebay) is full of crap drum machines, and a bunch of extra sounds and a weird guitar amp sim isn't going to do the job. Don't miss the virtual DR-110 at the Keyboard Museum. And if you're wondering how much your old Boss kit is worth, this page will tell you.
Posted by Tom Whitwell. 
