A 'Post-Digital' Drum Machine With Wood & Stone Step Sequencer

Created by DevKid (Ján Å icko) and Roman Mackovič, this somewhat portable drum machine made from wood and controlled by stones does things differently and celebrates the fact.  

They refer to it as post-digital, and the Janky does inspires visions of beat making in a post apocalyptic world. Here’s the deal, rather than programming in a beat on your Novation Launchpad Pro or Circuit or Maschine. MPC or Push, or (shock, horror) using a mouse and a computer screen, etc. With the Jamky you place small stones on the wooden grid to create your own drum patterns.

Sure, it can’t store more than one “preset”, randomizing your cow bells might take more effort that clicking a single button, but it looks super cool, uses stones, and gets you away from a computer screen, making music with the whole family!! Because it’s another interactive way for parents to teach kids about drum programming patterns. 

There's also obvious collaborative benefits as you can see in the video below. Whether you want to build drum patterns with a friend... or compete against someone, almost like playing chess in the park.

If you put wheels on it Jamky becomes portable...

If you put wheels on it Jamky becomes portable...

I guess you could say that Jamky is a stepping stone to working with more complex drum machines. (Sorry, we couldn’t resist).

A close up of the Jamky sequencer grid interface.

A close up of the Jamky sequencer grid interface.

 

Rounik is the Executive Editor for Ask.Audio & macProVideo. He's built a crack team of professional musicians and writers to create one of the most visited online resources for news, review, tutorials and interviews for modern musician and producer. As an Apple Certified Trainer for Logic Pro Rounik has taught teachers, professional... Read More

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