BOSS DR-01S Rhythm Partner (DR-01S)

Had a drum machine in the 80s. It sounded like an 80s drum machine. Then my wife bought me one as a present 15 years ago. Complicated and clunky to use and it was all Crash, Boom, Bam. Then I recently heard about this one. First of all, I’m a fan of Boss products. I have their Acoustic Singer Live amp and it is fantastic. Watched some videos and read reviews. My wife gave me a gift card for my birthday, so I sprung for this. It is fabulous. Organic, acoustic sounds (no crash, boom, bang) SUPER EASY user interface, lots of variety, as many as seven instruments at a time (if you count the metronome - you can choose a nice wood block sound). I was able to start using this right away and with quick glances at the very clear manual, I was navigating my way around. I used it for a livestream show the first week I had it. It’s so much fun to play along with, I’ve been playing more. You know how they say “practice with a metronome”? Well, I never could because it was boring. But with this I get a steady beat that is fun to play along with. With the Boss unit holding a rhythm, I’m taking more chances, trying more licks and fills. By adding rhythm parts I have found that some songs that have eluded me, that didn’t (at least with my abilities) come off well on an acoustic guitar, now made sense, sounded full (but not too “canned” or orchestrated). I play a lot of Americana/folk/country and most times a simple cajon rhythm is all I need. I’ve added simple rhythms to songs that I normally just fingerpick. The rhythm partner gives plenty of options to add something subdued and tasteful that doesn’t overwhelm the finger picking. Okay, corny as it sounds, Rhythm Partner is really the right name. It works as a partner, so smoothly and easily, I don’t know if I’ll ever want to play without it. I should add that I bought the Boss FS-6 foot pedal so I could control it hands free. The pedal seems expensive for a dual latching controller, but it’s worth it. The Rhythm Buddy gives you lots of options for pedal settings: instrument trigger, fade out, etc. Once again, just an example of the thought that went into the device. I have the right switch set for start/stop, and the left for tap tempo in case I need a beat on the fly. Just a great rig altogether.

Great item for learning rhythm. Has helped my guitar playing immensely by keeping me in time. Can change the sounds and rhythm ...

This thing far exceeded my expectations. Makes jamming on the acoustic at home 1000x more fun. It's smaller than I thought it would be, but the sound is not compromised at all.... and as someone who lives in a small apartment, I appreciated the smaller-than-expected footprint. I know there are workarounds to playing beats... I have various loop pedals / beat-buddy-type pedals and I know I could hook up tracks on my phone / computer / etc.... but being able to just hit "power" and then "play" on this thing is incredible. I now hardly ever mess around on my acoustic without it playing. I have it running on some rechargeable batteries too, so I can move it around the apartment, throw it on the coffee table, etc and not have to deal with a power cord. Get this thing, you will not be disappointed!!

At first it didn't seem worth the price. As I started using I have found it outstanding tool for practicing timing. I know feel it was well worth the price, even tho a bit steep!

I was hesitant to purchase the Boss DR-01s for Live accompaniment use because after combing thru every specification list and every Review I could find, I could not confirm whether it did or did not store the Tempo setting as part of the 50 Favorites memories. This is an important feature for Live use, as it takes time to recall a memory location, and adding to that, if you have to also scroll or input the Tempo of the next Song…. There are few things as “Unprofessional” as Lag time between Songs while fiddling with equipment. After receiving and testing it myself, I can confirm that YES, it stores the Tempo settings and loads your stored Favorites LIGHTNING Fast! To Save a Song & Tempo, Just set your Tempo and drum selections to your liking, hit and hold the Favorites button for about two seconds (until it blinks), scroll up or down to your Favorites Song number destination(1-50), hit the Favorites button again and your done. It writes the Song settings & Tempo into that location. Recalling a Song is even easier… hit the Favorites button, scroll to your Stored Song number(1-50), and hit the Start button (or foot switch) and INSTANTLY it loads and starts, with the stored Tempo and either a count in or immediately, your choice. Boss (Roland), as usual, has created yet another Professional Sounding and Operating unit.. I own lots of Boss / Roland gear, and this DR-01s DELIVERS. The percussion Voices are Great Sounding through a good PA using the line out jack too. PS; this device does not replace a real drummer or percussionist, but it offers great accompaniment for Guitar and/or Keyboard players and great tones in the easiest and least expensive form I have seen yet. Hope this helps my fellow Musicians.

I play acoustic guitar and sing in Assisted living homes usually to 5 or 6 residents at a time in the homes living rooms. These venues are to small to use any type of amplification so I was looking for a small battery operated drum machine to take with me but the ones I saw were mostly JUNK! I gave up looking and by chance saw the Boss DR-01s on YouTube, it sounded great but I wasn't sure it would sound that good in person. I ordered it anyway and figured I could always return it if I didn't like it. WOW ! this little machine blew me away!!! Sounds GREAT< super simple to operate< I use the Boss foot pedal to control the start and stop function. You can program and store up to 50 songs (I wish Boss would increase that and that they would ad some fills) I have the Beat Buddy as well for larger venues but this is PERFECT for smaller spaces.

If you want a rhythm unit with a built-in speaker this seems to be the only game in town. It has a large variety of sounds and patterns and it’s nice having individual buttons to activate each percussion instrument. This will get the job done if you don’t set your sights too high but there are three negatives: 1. Sound quality: I wasn’t expecting a lot of low end thump given the size of the speaker (and there isn’t), but what surprised me was the lack of treble on the drum sounds. The cymbals and hi hats are muffled and even the snare drums on certain samples sound a bit dull At first I thought my speaker was broken but listening to the tambourine samples they have appropriate high-end clarity. So it’s not the speaker, but rather they seem to be using lo-fi samples that do not have a lot of high-end clarity. 2. Functionality. The three digit LCD display feels dated and does not provide enough user feedback to get around the parameters quickly. As a result you have to remember multiple key presses to change things like the reverb. On the upside there are lots of individual buttons for the main functions, so this is not a dealbreaker. 3. Price. $250 might be worthwhile if the execution was flawless but given the drawbacks it feels over priced. One other minor issue. I use the unit next to a baby grand piano and wish it would go a bit louder. On the upside, and the reason I am keeping mine despite the flaws is that I enjoy playing piano and acoustic guitar with rhythm accompaniment. This gets the job done.

I haven’t had a lot of time to work with this, but so far it’s performed very well. I’ve set it up with a double foot switch to do most of the things I wanted to do but I’m still on the learning curve of the countless varieties of drum patterns that are included. It looks nice and I would recommend it.

Acompañamiento a medida, con posibilidad de hacer variaciones en directo mediante pedal (comprar a parte) y con 50 presets. Totalmente editable por grupos de percusión. Muy bueno y fácil de utilizar

Really useful bit of kit. Plug into a P.A. and it sounds great! The built in speaker is fine for home practicing. I just plugged in an old keyboard foot switch to control stop/start which saved a few pounds on buying a Boss one. The rhythm is set throughout the song so not suitable for songs with varied time signatures or breaks, but pick your songs carefully and the variation in instrument sounds make this one of the easiest and best drum machines around for live performance.

Surpreendente em recursos. Fácil de usar e muito versátil. Excelente!

Great little device, but would be better if you could adjust the bass drum sound separately. Really struggling to hear the beat.

Excelente.