Rhythm King

If you are as old as I am you may remember the Maestro Rhythm King. It was one of if not the first drum machine in the 1960s.. It had awful sounding drums and even worse rhythms as well as a foot pedal to make it start and stop on a dime. If you are not familiar with it see and hear it here:



Anyway my good friend BobH was over Sunday and we put on a short drum machine loop as a click track and jammed to it. BobH came up with a great guitar track that fit the repetitiveness of the drum machine so we thought why not make a song out of it. So we added our own parts to the drum track and hopefully spiced it up enough so it wasn't so redundant.

BiaB Style = Awaken2 - Slow Meditative New Age
Tempo = 100 PBM

I deleted the guitar track
Drums- UVI Workstation - Prime 8+ - preset Clean Frank
Bass - Ultra Analog VA3 - 30,867Hz - preset Quzo bass
Strings - Ultra Analog VA3 - Angelicals - preset Oxygen PT2
Piano - Ultra Analog VA3 - Factory Library - preset Play A Low Note
Utility track - EastWest play - Symphonic Choir - preset Full Choir

Bob is playing the rhythm track on my SX Tele guitar.
I am playing the lead and harmony on my Harley Benton fake Gretsch guitar and via my keyboard and breath controller the Swam Tenor Sax. All three went through Amplitube.

As always all comments are welcomed.

Nice job, Mario and Bob! I just finished walking and feeding my 3 dogs their breakfast. This is the first thing I'm listening to. What a cool way to start off the morning.

Cool track, Mario, nice instrumental bed and I like the melody and harmony parts you came up with on the guitar. Sax sounds good too.

I don't remember that particular drum machine, but I had a much simpler drum machine from Maestro many years ago, called the Rhythm Jester, early 70's maybe. Fun times!

Man, I learned a lot about drums by programing drum machines. Ringo was an amazing time-keeper.

You and Bob have great sessions. Must be a blast! Man, that's some fine "sax" playing. Very moody tune. Sometimes slow beats are harder to keep than faster ones. Good thing you had that drum machine to keep you on track. Keep jammin'.

Very cool, dreamy song! Doesn't sound redundant in the least. You provided a lot of interest around the theme. I was surprised it ended so abruptly. Thought this would just drift off like a dream...

Ha! Great job on all live instruments, and good on you for keeping your vintage gear in play. It all sounds super!

Thanx so much for taking the time to listen and comment on this jam.


Thanx Dave.

I think the Rhythm King was the first from Maestro and yours was a later model.

Marty, yes Ringo was a human drum machine as always kept perfect time.

Yes Bob and I do have a blast jamming. We started using the drum machine so we could not only keep in time, we do have a knack for wandering, but also so we could bring them into BiaB and possibly post them.

Thanx for this very kind review.

Thanx Ron. It ended so abruptly because that was the way those old drum machines stopped. I though ending it like that added some realism.

I do have some vintage gear but a drum machine is not one of them. What you heard was from UVI Workstation , a soft synth using bank Prime 8+ and the preset called Clean Frank, weird name for a preset isn't it!

I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

Cool bit of retro music.

Love the FX, which helps create the atmosphere. And you fooled me with the SWAM sax!

You can find other classic rhythm machines here: https://www.rhythmicrobot.com/beat-room

Thanx David. I did realize there were so many drum machines! I never used drum machines on a song until I got the UVI software. I always just looped a BiaB drum track. Back when I was gigging I would never use a drum machine.

I love this man, you guys did superb.

As for the "stone age" drum machine, thanks for sharing. I never heard of that thing.
There's definately value in history, it gives one a grounded perspective and an appreciation of the technology we have today.

Thanx Steve.

I hear ya. I wish I had half the tools to make music today when I was gigging. When I was gigging I used a Casio Strat MIDI guitar controller and three tone generators and my long time friend had three synths for his keyboards but the sounds back then were no where as good as the sounds today. But I had fun back then and I am having fun today so that's all that matters.

This is really cool and inventive tune. The King is used in such a way that I didn't pay any attention to the quality of its sound, thanks for sharing the information about that "beast".

The chord progression is very unique and mysterious, great effects on the guitars, the sax adds enjoyable warmth. Other synth sounds are a treasure chest in this electro-ambient-jazz wonderland, reminding me of a Finnish band called RinneRadio.

Janne

Mario,

Now that is cool... You guys sound like you have discovered a Time Machine back to the early 60s...

Great, great stuff.

Bob

Cool stuff, Mario.
That sax is impressive.

Old is New again.
Lucky for us


fj

Thanx so much Janne for this wonderful review. I tried to mix the drum machine like they mixed drums back in the 1960's. They were mixed a lot quieter than they are mixed today.

Thanx Bob. There are times I wish I could step into a Time Machine and travel back to the 60's.

Thanx Floyd. Adding the breath controller with my keyboard opens up a lot of possibilities I don't have with my wind controller. There are a lot of VSTis that are replicating the old sounds.

That's a really beautiful theme, Mario, and I love that recurring guitar phrase. Gorgeous!

Cool, atmospheric retro sound done with retro stuff.
Very nerdy
I love it, Mario!

Great, unique sound Mario. You are the master.

Thanx so much. I actually thought that the guitar phrases were a little repetitious, but maybe I was wrong.


Thanx, I'm glad you liked it.

Thanx Brad!

Dramatic feelings, I like it! Well done Mario.

You definitely kept it interesting with the musician and production skills. The angelicals (I think) reminded me a bit of Star Trek. I love the bits you play on guitar. Altogether, an amazing sound, scifi space feel.

Thanx Sören for taking the time to listen and comment. I appreciate it.


Thanx for this wonderful review.

Hi Mario,

First I watched that video, expecting you to perform in it some way.
But the song in it was not your style. Your own version of rhythm King was far more interesting! Really cool, with all those sounds.
You're a much more creative guy than I thought you already were!
Liked it all very much,

Hans

Very good tune Mario. Relaxing and at times it could transport you to a mystic place .
Well done
Cheers

Mike B.

Thanx Hans. Thanx for those very kind creative comments, I appreciated them.

Thanx so much Mike.

An excellent song to listen to along with our porch wind chimes while looking through our forest out the window.

A great creative jam and as always the performances are top tier ... as is the mix.

Most enjoyable,

J&B

Mario, you and Bob sure have a good musical connection. Everything is in the right spot and contemplative mood makes for good listening, Tom

Mario...this is very sound-tracky...weird and wonderful...love the texture running in and out...could be the perfect soundtrack for one of those 1950's sci-fi B-movies...very cool!

Thanx so much Janice and Bud. Yes Bob and I can be very creative. Bob know little music theory but he uses that to his advance, i.e. he comes up with some excellent chord progressions.

Thanx Dan. I never thought about it but you are right, it could be used for a 50's sci-fi B-movie.

Your instrumentals are TOPS Mario!!! I love the synth sounds that create the ethereal backdrop!! Vox chorus is wonderful sounding!! And I love the dissonance on the resolution each time. GREAT STUFF!!! Take care. Greg

Mario,

Your songs are always a hoot and a blast.

This is so much fun.

And, as usual, TRIPPY. You, my friend, are the TRIPPY KING.

At the risk of repeating myself, Mario, everything you produce sounds like it belongs in a movie soundtrack.

Thanx so much for this wonderful review.


Thanx Ed, I appreciate the kind words you send my way.

Thanx David! l don't need acid, weed, or alcohol to be trippy! I was born with a brain that is half a bubble off!