Elka Drummer One

One of our favourite beatboxes of all time. For sale in very good condition and perfect working order following a service (including extensive re-capping) by our techs. 

Dating from c1969, this uncommon beatbox 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. Happily, we now have another available.

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.

CONDITION: In very good cosmetic condition with some scuffs and other signs of wear around the face. The wooden case is clean with some dings and scrapes around the edges. See photos for more information on cosmetic condition.

Switchable voltage for use anywhere in the world.

Demos of another Elka Drummer One we had through:

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Dark & Stormy… Claustrophobic, late night rhythmic experiments. Had to go back to the office to see what would emerge from the mismatched pile of boxes. Varispeed Binson still needs some work but there is moody magic in the imperfections. #techno

A post shared by Soundgas Limited (@soundgasltd) on Aug 20, 2017 at 2:12pm PDT

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More polyrhythmic investigations with the varispeed modded Binson (that’s the knob on the right – the other one being tweaked is the feedback on the left). Shades of vintage Plastikman? All gear that is available now or soon. @cloudshillmusic Laut valve booster continues to impress as it adds muscle to the sounds from the Elka. A touch of spring comes from the simple but effective Hawk HR-12 that is on soundgas.com now. #techno

A post shared by Soundgas Limited (@soundgasltd) on Aug 21, 2017 at 11:26am PDT

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Head over heels. Sixties techno vibe from the Elka Drummer One. I knew I’d like this machine, but wasn’t prepared for the fall: totally lovestruck. Has such vibe, sounds great and is a doddle to use – my kinda gear for sure. Able support from the varispeed modded Binson EC-3, Wersi Bass Synth and @cloudshillmusic #laut pedal which are both for sale on www.soundgas.com now.

A post shared by Soundgas Limited (@soundgasltd) on Aug 29, 2017 at 12:55pm PDT