The 8 Best USB Drum machines (2023 reviews)

Alesis usb drum machine is the epitome of what a great machine should be. This machine works very well with the metal genre, or rock, or any genre at all. It feels fairly sturdy and is heavy enough to the point where it never slides around with heavy cables pulling on it which is nice. The real power is its ability to record your own beats. It does have midi output in addition to 1/4 output jacks. It is easy to connect a midi keyboard to play the built-in bass synth or set the sr18 to be timed with other samplers and devices. The names of the hits also give a very brief description of what the hit will sound like.

For a young person recording at home, this is perfect for the first few years of making music, though now you can pony up like 200 and get something far superior. The Build is Solid, and the Drum Samples are top quality.

Why We Like This:

Bit samples, more memory, bass guitar sequencer ability to store midi files on device
50 preset patterns with a/b variations and 50 user programmable patterns
Delivers what they promise

Best For practice: Roland USB Drum Machine

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The roland usb drum machine's superior materials makes sure that it ages well with use. This device is easy to use, very easy to tweak live, easy to get tons of variations either automated or done live, and it sounds really phenomenal. It will take a while to master everything. The sounds are credible recreations of the originals, and Roland's "ACB" technology really shines in this product. It comes with a huge number of kits and instruments to choose from, so you can create complex rhythms in less than a minute. It also has audio over midi, so you can leave your audio interface at home.

The new FM model kits sound great too, and the sweet spots are easily dialed in. There are many advanced features to keep you occupied and engrossed for a very long time. Being small and battery operated it can be taken anywhere and used with headphones. There is a lot of functions on this machine so take your time, it's totally worth it.

Why We Like This:

Mix and match sounds for exotic hybrid drum kits
Advanced sequencer with sub-steps, flam, step-loop, motion recording, and more
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best For experimentation: IK Multimedia USB Drum Machine

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Ik Multimedia makes beautiful and great machine with classic and smartly choosen materials. This versatile portable drum machine is powered by your device/usb and works with iphone, ipad, mac, and pc so that you can create your beats and grooves wherever you are. It comes with 100 included pattern presets, 8 parameters per step and easy-to-use controls, all you need is a creative mind. It’s a breeze to find an ik inspired kit that catches your ear and tweaks to fit your taste, or create your custom kits from scratch.

The Uno Drum makes it easy to program and perform using the widest sonic palette to add professional drum grooves to your music. An intuitive editing section gives you control over key parameters like tuning, snap, and decay, and advanced controls for the digital samples.

The Uno Drum is also fantastic for stand alone recording or just a fun little jam in the basement with buddies. There’s even a cool cancel feature that removes all of your manual sound changes and reverts to the saved kit.

Why We Like This:

Useable for recording and gigs while still being portable and battery powered
Great little drum machine with classic and unique sounds
New and hot release

Best With synth: Boss USB Drum Machine

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The boss usb drum machine's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. It is great for drummers with a second instrument. It comes with preset beats in different styles that can be used to start a song. You can make it sound as synthetic or authentic as you need it to, depending upon the style of music you're creating.

There are 500 built-in rhythm patterns to choose from in a variety of different genres. It's much easier to keep practicing guitar and waiting for the drummer. It's easy to create your favorite song and play all day. The bass lines are basic but make a nice addition to the machine. It's great for drummers with a second instrument.

Why We Like This:

Very straight forward to use and sounds great
Easy to play with right out of the box
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For beginner: Behringer Drum Machine

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Compared with other machine in this category, the behringer drum machine has a convenient design. By taking a fresh and modern approach on a classic drum machine, the rd-6-rd gives you the power to harness the phenomenal sound of the venerable tr. It has been taken in designing the rd-6-rd to achieve new possibilities in beat creation by reviving a timeless design from one of the most classic drum machines of yesteryear. The rd-6-rd has 11 knobs and 26 buttons, all laid out in a highly-intuitive format that puts the fun back into your beat creation.

Each pattern you create can also be chained into a whole song up to 256 bars which adds up to eight and a half minutes of beats perfect for those spicy jams where you just can’t stop. This allows the rd-6-rd to be controlled by your daw if desired, allowing songs and patterns to be swapped or individual sounds to be triggered. It is fun for playing around in the studio. Whether you’re new to drum programming or a seasoned pro looking to enhance your setup, the rd-6-rd has everything you need to step up to the big leagues.

Why We Like This:

8 original drum sounds with mix parameters and global accent capability
Highly acclaimed and authentic clap sound from the dr
Amazing drum machine with true analog circuitry for classic sound performance
6 independent analog outputs for external processing or recording your rhythms as multi-track audio

Best For guitarist: Behringer USB Drum Machine

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The behringer usb drum machine is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily purpose. Whether you’re new to drum programming or a seasoned pro looking to enhance your setup, the rd-6-lm has everything you need to step up to the big leagues. It has been taken in designing the rd-6-lm to achieve new possibilities in beat creation by reviving a timeless design from one of the most classic drum machines of yesteryear. By taking a fresh and modern approach on a classic drum machine, the rd-6-lm gives you the power to harness the phenomenal sound of the venerable ds-. It comes with a distortion based on the venerable ds-.

The rd-6-lm has 11 knobs and 26 buttons, all laid out in a highly-intuitive format that puts the fun back into your beat creation. It allows for real-time switching between 32 separate patterns. Each pattern you create can also be chained into a whole song up to 256 bars which adds up to eight and a half minutes of beats perfect for those spicy jams where you just can’t stop. If you wanna make some fun old school beats, this is it.

Why We Like This:

6 independent analog outputs for external processing or recording your rhythms as multi-track audio
Highly acclaimed and authentic clap sound from the dr
8 original drum sounds with mix parameters and global accent capability
Step drum sequencer with real-time switching between 32 separate patterns

Best For Garageband: Zoom USB Drum Machine

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate machine. The zoom usb drum machine is exactly that - it's a simple machine that hits all the right notes. This is probably the most beautiful looking instrument there is in a dark space. The built-in mixer lets you control instrument volume, soloing, and muting. There is plenty of power under the hood to make great dance tracks. It also has a song mode.

The lights really look stunning. There is a lot of menu diving you are going to have to go through, but is not bad at all once you get your head around it. It is deep but if you use the software you can understand and see how the sound shaping is amazing. It is probably the most beautiful looking instrument there is in a dark space.

Why We Like This:

Allowed you to record notes into the sequencer with an external midi controller
Includes 460 drum machine, synth, and instruments sounds
Low-pass filters, delay, bit crush, and more

Best VALUE For money: Roland Drum Machine

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Next on the list, we've got yet another machine that manages to win our hearts. It's the roland drum machine and it's widely considered as machine that has favorable cost-to-benefit ratio. It makes your drumtrack sound good on one track. It is built with sturdy knobs, buttons, and switches. It has several tilt options for easy viewing in various live and studio scenarios. It has a built-in speaker, and even runs on batteries for when the beat absolutely must go on. It is small enough to take just about anywhere.

The sequencer has 16 sub-steps per step, so you can create detailed snare fills and intricate, rolling hi-hats. It provides finer control of tempo and shuffle.

Why We Like This:

Is an amazing machine, a near perfect re-creation of the
A must have for every electronic music or 80's fan
Very cool, sturdy, well built, and innovative stand/case enclosure