Elka The Sidekick 32

Rare Italian drum machine from the early 80s. A hybrid digital/analogue unit: digital logic and EPROM rhythms but analogue sound generation.

Elka The Sidekick 32 for sale in excellent condition and in good working order. 32 rhythms (16 buttons and 2 variations of each). Has some great sounds – different to Roland, or even earlier Elka units, and the excellent, more realistic rhythm programs stand out if you’re used to Japanese machines from the same era.

Very quick first test demo below features the unit for sale.

NOTE: This drum machine is working, but awaiting a full service. It will ship within 15 working days of purchase.

CONDITION: In very good cosmetic condition with some oxidation spots on the face. One slider cap is missing. There are some scuffs and scratches to the case. See photos for more information on cosmetic condition.

One thing to note (versus all-analogue 60s / early 70s machines) is the digital rhythm selection – this means switching between rhythms on the fly is almost instantaneous and much smoother compared to push button machines; however the downside is that you can’t activate more than one rhythm at once.

The “Break” button allows you to add fills on the fly and hold it down to effectively create another variation on each beat. It doesn’t sound that great with some but there is fun to be had experimenting.

And the also worthy of note is the “Balance” – on this it is very useful (in that it works!) – at the bottom, you get nothing but drums and percussion and at the top, nothing but hats, cymbals and shakers.

Serviced and working well.

220v machine.

First demo is a quick test of the unit for sale; below that is a thorough test from YouTube (with thanks to the uploader):

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A post shared by Soundgas Limited (@soundgasltd) on Mar 21, 2019 at 2:29am PDT