Electronic Drums of the 1980s

Vintage drum machines, AKA beatboxes, seem to gain value with no end in sight.  When I started buying gear heavily around 2000 to aid my composing work, TR808s seemed outrageously expensive at $800-$1000.  That’s a good laugh, ain’t it; they are now trading in the $3K – $4k range.  Even modest TR606s, CR8000s, Korg KR-55s, etc., are crazy expensive.  The same can’t be said for electronic drum kits of that era.  I’ve had some old Yamaha electro drums in my basement for a year and i literally can’t give em away.  For a brief while, tho, back round 30 years ago, Electronic Drums seemed like maybe the future.  Here’s a quick survey of what that future looked like.

above: Simmons ClapTrap, SDS7, Tama TechStar, MPC (endorsed by Bernard Purdie!!!!) Pearl SynCussionX, and Simmons SDS8 (top)