The Rhythmicon, invented and developed by Leon Theremin and Henry Cowell in 1930, is considered to be the world's first drum machine. Despite this grand title, it was played rather like a conventional music keyboard, with each note triggering a set of notes to be played, which in turn generated rhythmic patterns. The resulting cacophony was a highly polyrhythmic affair, where it could play quintuplets against triplets, with a minimum of effort. It was calculated that it would take over 455 days to be able to play every conceivable Rhythmicon pattern, or combination of patterns, in completion. Not quite the drum machine notion that we're more accustomed to these days.
In the tradition of the ‘round-the-piano-singalong, a market was beginning to reveal itself with a desire for rhythm generation units to accompany pianos and home organs. The Chamberlin Rhythmate was produced in 1949, and much like its sister product, the Mellotron, reproduced live players via tape loops for all your bossanova and cha-cha needs! It was a stylish wooden unit, with a speaker on one side of the cabinet. With such fine woodwork on display, it was an excellent addition to any home!
By your side-man
It was a full ten years later that Wurlitzer released the Sideman. For the first time since the Rhythmicon, a drum machine appeared that created sounds electronically, rather than via recording, but in this instance they sounded authentic and drum-like. The Sideman relied on a circuit board, which looked reminiscent of a clock face. A rotating arm would brush against contacts
