
Analog hardware is currently hot. The MFB-Tanzbär is an alternative to the still very popular 909 and 808 drum machines from Roland. This drum machine by MFB combines powerful analog sounds with a step sequencer.
Berlin based MFB has released various drum machines during the last 30 years, including the MFB-522 and 503. The 16 instruments of the Tanzbär (Dancing Bear) come partly from these two drum machines. These are two bass drums, a snare, rimshot, cymbal, open hihat, closed hihat, claves, clap, low tom / conga, mid tom / conga, high tom / conga, cowbell and maracas. Besides the drums and percussion, the Tanzbär has a simple bass synth and a lead synth on board.
Very powerful sound
The Tanzbär delivers a very powerful sound, reminiscent of the 909 and 808 drum machines by Roland. This machine can punch nicely and hard with booming bass drums and banging snare drums and claps. But the sound can also be adjusted to a much sweeter minimalist style, so it’s suitable for various electronic music genres. The first bass drum and the snare drum are adjustable with 7 rotary buttons. The other instruments have significantly fewer parameters. This may be unfortunate, but it makes the device very compact. It easily fits on the desk in the studio or in the backpack while travelling to the next gig. The dimensions are 330 x 170 x 60 millimeters.
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