>>> the "wendel" machine (other sources say "wendal") is a DRUM
MACHINE,
constructed by roger nichols, and i'm quite sure that this was the first
device using *sampled* sounds of *real* drums. the rhythm patterns are
programmable. if you listen to the mentioned steely dan album (gaucho),
there is no chance to realize that it's no human drummer drumming. (the
follow-up "wendel II" can be heard on donald fagen's album "the
nightfly".)
later on, iirc around 1982, the Linn drum machine was the first drum
computer at reasonable price using samples of real drums. <<<
A drum machine doesn't necessarily use the samples of real drums. Other
drum machines have created analog and/or digital sounds, such as the
Roland TR-808 and TR-707. The Roland TR-909 was the first to use a
combination of created and sampled digital and analog sounds (the crash
sound was sampled). Peace.
