One of the truly great preset drum machines. Serviced and with warranty.
A VERY rare appearance from one of our favourite drum machines.
Serviced and ready to ship, with warranty.
Elka Drummer One for sale.
Serviced including extensive recapping. Supplied with 3 months warranty.
Dating from c1969, the Elka Drummer One is an Italian-made machine used by many seminal Krautrock bands in the late sixties and early seventies – Harmonia, Cluster, Roedelius, Kraftwerk etc – it was badged as Echolette in Germany.
Rarity and pedigree are one thing, but what really floored us is the sound and how playable the Elka Drummer One is. The drums are gloriously woody and cymbals/hats pleasingly analogue; very classy and distinct from those found in more common beatboxes. Add in some tape delay and a touch of spring reverb and you could be in a battered VW camper driving along a monochrome autobahn from Düsseldorf to Forst. As soon as we heard our first Drummer One, we knew it was staying in the studio – see demos below.
Programmable drum machines were a long way off in 1969, but the Elka features rotary volume pots that allow swift creation of varied rhythms on the fly simply by dialling in/out the individual drum sounds. Naturally, you can engage more than one rhythm at once by pressing the selector buttons down together, creating more complex polyrhythms.
And why don’t we have more of them, if we love them so much? Because they are a huge amount of work to restore, and with no guarantee of complete success.
In excellent cosmetic condition with only minor signs of age and wear. The case is clean with minimal scuffing. Please see photos or get in touch if you require more information on condition.
Switchable voltage for use anywhere in the world - it will be set up ready for you to use before we ship.
This auction item will have 20% VAT added to the final price for UK buyers. Buyers elsewhere may incur VAT or other local taxes on import.
Demos of another Elka Drummer One we had through:
We can't stop here, this is bat country! Our next auction (November 22nd) features some head-turning, show-stopping synths, however we also wanted to put the spotlight...
PUBLISHED: 21st Nov 2023
Tony takes a dive into the new Welsh-made Wellspring Stereo Reverb and comes up with a very big smile on his face.
PUBLISHED: 17th Oct 2023
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