Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession

vintage-drum-machine

Get On Down Publishing has announced a new coffee table book, Beat Box : A Drum Machine Obsession, that looks at vintage drum machines.

Joe Mansfield’s 200-page Beat Box : A Drum Machine Obsession features 75 drum machines from the author’s personal collection, with 214 photos by photographer Gary Land and a Foreword by Dave Tompkins.

Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession

It all started with one machine. The location was Boston, Mass. The year was 1985. The beat box in question was the TR-808. Almost three decades later, Mansfield’s obsession with drum machines has finally spilled out of his home and climate-controlled storage space into the world at large.

With Beat Box : A Drum Machine Obsession, the Boston-based hip-hop producer and music industry veteran shares his deep love and respect for beat boxes on every page.

The Book features gorgeous photos of 75 drum machines by Gary Land, background and facts about each machine gathered by Mansfield; archival advertisements; and interviews with master drum machine programmers and innovators including Davy DMX, Schoolly-D, Marshall Jefferson and Roger Linn. The range of drum machines covered spans several decades, from the 1950s to the late 1980s.

Beat Box is part encyclopedia, part coffee-table photo book. It is set for release December 3rd.

13 thoughts on “Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession

  1. Hey everyone – I’m doing PR for the book and wanted to clarify: there is no authorized presale for the book. It will be released December 3 at http://www.GetOnDown.com as well as select stores, and there will be a special in-store-only premium version of the book (with extra cassette and 7″ single) on Fri 11/29 as part of Record Store Day in the USA. Best way to be kept apprised is following Get On Down on Facebook and/or Twitter. It’ll be worth the wait, trust me! Thanks, Brian Coleman

    1. Hey Brian. I’d really like the in-store version. Will you list worldwide stockists of this?

      I live in Ireland, so unusual items like this aren’t too easy to come across in-store. If you had any pointers I’d appreciate it. Maybe my local Tower Records might get me a copy?

  2. Great Concept – just such a shame the execution of the idea was not so great :o(

    Be aware that MANY of the photos of the Drum Machines in this book are TOO DARK.

    It’s really disapointing when you receive the book to find out that the photos, whichi s what the book is about, SUCK. They are clear and glossy but just TOO DARK. The worst photo being the studio440

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