Sound Master STIX Programma ST-305, Keyboard 1983

Sound Master STIX Programma ST-305 1-page advertisement from page 75 in Keyboard Magazine May 1983. The exact same ad began showing up in the North American version of the May 1983 issue of International Musician and Recording World (page 12).

After that dog's breakfast of an ad for the Memory Rhythm SR-88 came out (nerp... wasn't a fan...) Sound Master, or more likely their American distributor JTG of Nashville, really did a much better job at pulling together this STIX advertisement. There is just no comparison. 

This ad has more of what I like to see in ads - the three "C"s: Clean, Clear, and Concise (well, more concise than that last ad of theirs). Unlike that SR-88 ad, this ad provides a lot of good information and many of the specifications about the STIX Programma - all the way down to the detail of the "SQ" output.

You may also recall that in that SR-88 ad, there seemed to be a lot going on when it tried to explain who actually was involved in the manufacture and distribution of the machine:

"Another innovative product from The Rhythm Section by Sound Master Distributed exclusively by JTG of Nashville. "

This time around, Sound Master has the good sense to leave "The Rhythm Section" out of the picture, removing one level of bureaucracy from the reader's mind to make room for more important information - like what a musician can actually accomplish with their product. Or maybe The Rhythm Section just wasn't involved in this distribution deal.

Even the layout of this ad is pretty good, although why JTG needed to have the word STIX in large pink letters written three times across the page is a little confusing to me. Designers would tell you "it's a design element", which usually means there is no reason. I'm sure if the designer had spent an additional hour on problem solving, he/she would have found a better way to add colour and balance to the bottom half of the page.  

But, one of the biggest surprises in this ad-copy is in the last paragraph, where the word "rhythmer" pops it's ugly head back up. Back in March I posted a Korg KPR-77 ad that used the word "rhythmer" in the ad title, and I mentioned how this word was new to me - and even a little bit creepy. Farfisa had slapped the word right on to one of their early drum machines, and now we have Sound Master dropping it into their ad. Gah!

vout - a blog reader who recently emailed me some great info about his SIX different rhythm units, also commented on the STIX, but I conveniently left it out of that blog post to save for this one:

"Another machine of interest is the Sound Master ST-305, which has more sounds and individual outs, it seems to be Sound Masters answer to the TR-606, but is based on the SR-88."

Vintagesynth.com's STIX page slots it somewhere between the DR-55 and the TR-606, almost like the missing link. And reading around the net, I also found that the STIX was often compared more to Roland's TR-606 and Korg's KPR-77, rather than to it's sibling the SR-88, or even it's cousins like the EDC SR-99, Amdek RMK-100, and Boss DR-55.

Poor thing was really just an SR-88 with extra sounds, an accent feature (already available on the DR-55 and RMK-100) and separate outs/levels, no?

The full specs for both the STIX and the SR-88 appeared in the SPEC SHEET section of the July 1983 issue of Keyboard, and actually includes a bit of a comparison between the two. Great historical information.

"JTG Rhythm Machines. The new Sound Master SR-88 and Stix are user-programmable rhythm machines. The SR-88 has been redesigned to accommodate new features. Sounds included are bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, and cymbal. There are six 16-step memory positions and two 12-step memory positions. The unit also has the capability to record fills after every bar or every 4, 8, or 16 bars. There are tempo, tone, and volume controls, as well as an AC adaptor. There is a trigger output to sync to external synthesizers. An LED indicator flashes at the downbeat of each bar, and a footswitch jack allows for remote starting and stopping. The Stix features eight different sounds - bass drum, snare high and low toms, hi-hat (open and closed), cymbal, and accent. The cymbal is designed to give a punchier sound than the SR-88's, having been modeled after a crash cymbal where the SR-88's cymbal was designed after a ride cymbal. An individual slider control is provided to adjust the volume of each drum. A clear button erases unwanted rhythm patterns and a trigger output is provided for syncing purposes. Price of the SR-88 is $179.95; the Stix is $299.95. Distributed by JTG, 1024C 18th Ave. S., Nashville TN 37212."

I've found a few good videos on the STIX in action. Here's a YouTube video (uploaded August 8!) I found through (who else :) MATRIXSYNTH. Give's a good indication of what the machine can do.

 I also came across this video of a comparison between the STIX and the SR-88. Nice!

In the description of this second video, the author mentions that "both of them resemble the Boss DR-55 internally". Interesting stuff - but I promised myself after that Clef Master Rhythm post that I was done fixating on these little rhythm units.

I've think also now come to terms with the word "Rhythmer", but I sure hope "Programma" doesn't take off as a word to use on drum machines.

(Actually - secretly I do  :)

Sound Master Memory Rhythm SR-88, Keyboard 1982

Sound Master Memory Rhythm SR-88 drum machine 1-page advertisement from page 67 in Keyboard Magazine August 1982.

Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about this ad. There just seems to be a lot going on.

For example, am I supposed to know who "The Rhythm Section" is? The fact that they include themselves in an already long ad title suggests they must be some kind of a big deal. And then you find their name again in the bottom left-hand corner:

"The SR-88. Another innovative product from The Rhythm Section by Sound Master Distributed exclusively by JTG of Nashville."

So, let me get this straight. JTG of Nashville is the distributor of the SR-88 which was created by The Rhythm Section which is somehow owned or operated by Sound Master.

That is waaaaay to much information. Sounds like something political is going on there, and readers unfortunately get stuck in the middle of it.

There also seems to be a lot of ad-copy which actually doesn't give me much information. Reason #4 gives readers the most info including instant stop/start, variable tone and output switches, and a write/play mode indicator. The most I glean out of the four other reasons put together is: 16 rhythms, clock pulse and a price of under $200.

The actual specs that are probably most important to potential buyers are inexplicably shoved into the bottom right-hand corner.

Luckily for me, there are a few resources on the Web with more information about this beast. Unluckily for blog readers, as soon as I started looking for more info, I got swept up in a certain SR-88/Boss DR-55 controversy.

Comparing the SR-88 and Boss DR-55

One of the first Web sites I hit while looking for info on the SR-88 was Dubsounds.com. The site includes a great little write-up on the SR-88, but, more interesting was finding out about a little controversy about whether the SR-88 or the very similar Boss DR-55 came out first.

The two do seem mighty similar in functionality. For comparison purposes, I did a quick search on MATRIXSYNTH to find more photos. . A great photo of a gray SR-88 can be found in this December 2005 SR-88 MATRIXSYNTH auction post and the less common, but definitely more cool, blue SR-88 can be seen in this January 2011 MATRIXSYNTH auction post.

Comparing the two to the Amdek RMK-100

Interestingly, it's not just these two machines that look and function similarly. In this May 2009 MATRIXSYNTH SR-88 auction post commenter "PAC" notices:

"Interesting. I have an Amdek RMK-100 (sold as kit), very similar!"

Never heard of it, so I Googled "Amdek RMK-100" to see just how similar it was to both the DR-55 and the SR-88. Turns out (according to the Internet) that Amdek products were made by Boss/Roland back in 80s, and, not only that, but that the RMK-100 is actually the kit version of the Boss DR-55. Makes sense on why it would also be similar to the SR-88.

I found an ebay auction for an Amdek RMK-100 going on right now with a great photo of the front panel (see below), and indeed it does share a lot with the DR-55 and SR-88 - but definitely not identical to either one.

For example, it looks like the Amdek and SR-88 share a similar filler function that as far as I can tell is not available on the DR-55. And the DR-55 and the RMK-100 share a similar accent function that I don't see on the SR-88.

Now where does the Electro Dynamics Corporation Programmable Rhythm SR-99 fit in?

I also came across another machine with similar features - the Programmable Rhythm SR-99. No - not manufactured by Sound Master, but by Electro Dynamics Corporation. And, it too resembles the others in functionality, and especially the SR-88 in design also.

I've included a row of photos below to help make the comparison between the two. The SR-88 photo is from the 2005 MATRIXSYNTH auction post and the EDC SR-99 photo is from the excellent BigBlueWave.co.uk site. I've also thrown in a photo from another recent E-bay listing that included both - plus boxes and manuals! Sick!

Obviously, Sound Master and EDC are somehow connected, although I can't find any info on the Internet concerning these two companies. I do know that they were both advertising separately in Keyboard Magazine in late 1983, making it unlikely that one of the companies changed their name to the other. Anyone know anything?

And then there is the Clef Master Rhythm...

Now, I'm going to throw in a late entry. It's Sunday night, and I just came across this August 2010 MATRIXSYNTH auction post for the Clef Master Rhythm. It not only shares part of the name of one of the other units ("Master"), it too has many features of the other rhythm machines, and identical innards as the DR-55, but is expanded to include even more sounds:

"This is essentially a fully expanded Boss DR-55 feature-wise and tone-wise. The circuits are identical (schematically and tonally) to the Boss DR-55, but the Clef Master Rhythm gives you way more instruments than the Boss DR-55..."

Interestingly, according to the post, it pre-dates the Boss DR-55 - and also came in a kit form like the Amdek.

"The Clef Master Rhythm came out a little before the Boss DR-55 in late 1979/early 1980. It was sold in two versions and available in greater quantities in Europe than in the United States. One version was a kit that the user put together and another one was a prebuilt machine."

A photo from the MATRIXSYNTH post really helps show the similarities in functions with the others:

What does it all mean?

So, looking at all five machines, its almost like there was a rhythm machine salad bar of some sort in Japan, and each company stepped up to it and picked out which features they wanted to include in their product.

And that begs the question - since we know there was a kit form available and there are claims that the Clef Master even has the same circuits as the DR-55, could all five products (and probably others) have used the exact same internal parts - each company choosing which features to include and then customizing in their respective rhythm machine? And if so, were those parts supplied by Amdek, or did all five get their internal parts from some other manufacturer?

And if that is the case, then the question of whether the SR-88 or DR-55 came first doesn't really matter much, since it is likely that the kit components would have been available first. Plus, we have that one auction post with the claim that the Clef Master came out before the DR-55 - making it all even more confusing to figure out.

Or, am I totally off the mark on all this? Were they all created separately? Maybe I've just been fixated on this a little too much...

I'll keep on looking for more info on these companies and any connection they might have, but if anyone want to buy all four and open them up to take a look - it would be muchly appreciated. :D