Boss DR-220E
Dr. Rhythm (1987)

 

Compact portable digital drum machine based on 12 bits PCM samples with LCD matrix sequencer.

There were two 220 versions released on the market:
- the "DR220A" version with Acoustic drum samples
- the "DR220E" versin with a more Electronic-oriented drum sample set.

DRUM MACHINE the main panel features a LCD display (no backlit), 16 buttons, 12 pads (no velocity) and a volume slider.
Rear panel terminal connectors:
- mono main out
- headphones out
- trigger I/O (pulse +5V)
Originally the machine came with a plastic silver case.



Power supply is a 9V external PSU PSA-100 DC (- 300mA or 6x 1.5V batteries.

 

 

VOICE main core based on uPD7514G 236 manages yp to 6 channels polyphony, note that some sounds are channel-shared.
Each voice has a sample assigned with some channel-shared restrictions e.g. you cannot play rimshot and claps at the same time.
Sound edit is limited to just 2 parameters:
- Note accent (5 levels)
- Gain volume (5 levels).

 

WAVETABLE internal ROM (at IC2) a 128 Kb ROM contains 11 PCM waves at 12 bits resolution.

electro BD	electro SN	hihat
cowbell/slap	hi/low/mid tom	china cymbal / cup

 

SEQUENCER internal 32 ROM patterns onboard but It is also possibile to record your own patterns in 2 different modes :
- realtime (with tap button)
- step mode.
Some limited edit functions like copy patterns and delete/ insert note.
SYNC internal tempo range from 40 to 250 BPM or slave-synched to external analog Trigger.
TIP: trigger signal is able to control 1 sound.

MODIFICATION not much aroung about classic cheap Circuit bending, check out video below:

 

MEMORY:
- 32 presets rhythm patterns
- 32 free slots
- song max 256 bars.

 

RELATED FAMILY:

	Boss DR-220 A is the "sister" quite the same but with different ROM wavetable more oriented to more traditional acoustic drums.
	Other classic DR drum machines: - DR55 analog - Dr110 analog

 

VST PLUGIN / SAMPLED VERSION there are some free and commercial samples set:

name price link demo Goldbaby FREE sample set n/a

AUDIO DEMO

record 1 record 2

VIDEO CLIP SELECTION Demo 1 demo2 demo3