D1

Excellent drum machine. Love the sample sounds that came with it and the fact you can add your own samples. On the fence on the Donner software you have to download to update the device. Is designed for all their devices so it takes a bit to get used to it. But does allow you to update the device (Firmware, samples, etc). Also lets you backup songs you create to your PC. The MIDI also works well.

I’ll start with the pros. All of the stock samples sound great and the device has plenty of space to upload your own samples to your hearts desire. The mixer levels and fill functions are pretty unique to this device and the build quality isn’t the worst. Some of my cons would be the screen size and placement is kind of awkward, being left handed. having to peek in between my fingers to see the screen is not optimal. The pads felt kind of cheap and unresponsive yet over responsive at the same time. Granted the pad velocity is adjustable, but no matter what settings I used the pads just felt kind of inconsistent. Also the device seems to have some connectivity issues with the donner control app and donner customer support is no help. I can see this sampler having some potential as software updates are released. Being mainly a guitar player I have only been tinkering with drum machines/samplers for the past year or two so I may not be the most experienced voice, but for the time being I think there’s better options in this price range.

I love it sounds good quality is good also

Well made pro quality easy to use very responsive would recommend

I was really excited to try this machine as I had seen some positive videos and reviews. I'm not sure if I just got a bad unit, but it was a disappointment. It seems that you can do some good stuff and the interface is intuitive. However, on first use, the unit froze in separate occasions. It just stopped working while all the lights stayed on but no button worked. The screen also went blank even though the lights off all the buttons were lit. I thought it was a sleep mode and I could wake it up to continue working but the only way to get it working again was to turn it off completely and back on, which made me lose all progress each time. Besides that bad problem, I thought that the pads were not sensitive enough. You have to hit them really hard to get them to sense the touch, which then makes it nearly impossible to actually find the range of its supposed pressure sensitivity and so you end up with hard sounds all the time and no dynamics. Maybe it was a bad unit, but I decided not to get a replacement.

Absolutely love it! Pairs perfectly with the Donner B1.

Donner, Donner, Donner... what have you done this time... I've been playing electric bass and guitar for over three decades. This year my goal is to learn drums. I love writing, playing, and recording songs. The problem is that I live outside of town and there is no one to jam with. I have been using a "drum beat" guitar pedal, but that just loops the same beat... which gets boring after a while, as well as not adding any any fills or spice to the song. I have also tried creating beats using MIDI/samples and prerecorded drum loop samples. That is great if you want to create a drum line for a song that has a specific length. Yes, you can loop it, but again... boring after the twelfth time through. The Essential D1 lets me create a beat and have a few fills and variations on the beat that are accessible at the touch of a button (Donner... if you could please add a foot pedal for changing the beats and inserting a fill it would be appreciated immensely!). I can play along to a beat and between strums, push a fill or rhythm change button, and add some dynamics to my song writing process. So that is how I'm using the beat machine. It is easy to set up and write beats. I will say that as a visual person, it would be nice if you could connect via USB and create the beats on a grid then load them into a bank on the machine. The machine is small, lightweight, -portable- has great feeling touch pads, the knobs turn smoothly, and sliders... well, they slide well. Great machine with a lot of great features. It is easy to use, and the preloaded samples are decent. You can add your own samples and personalize the tones to your liking. This is a fun little machine packed with the power to keep you grooving, as Lionel Richie says, "All Night Long"... For me, it is a great way to add some dynamics to rhythms while I write and play songs. The only thing that could be better is if a foot pedal was added for inserting fills and swapping beats while playing guitar.

On the surface, it looks nice. It’s nice to make a little drum beat to play along to or practice with. The sound choices are quite limited after too long. The one I purchased had glitches and the power would cut off and come back on after I would get it cooking . That was enough for me. I sent it back and purchased MPC studio that comes with nice software that allows you to sample most anything off the Internet or any input to your computer. Bottom line, just by the MPC. Also, MPC beats is free to download as a limited version of their software. either the paid or free version will work with any USB controller.

What a great product by donner. Fairly cheap, but wow does it pack a punch. Easy to import samples, and the stock samples are waaay better than I would have thought!

Review for Donner Essential D1 Finger Drum Machine & Step Sequence Combined, Boast Color-Coded UI, 12 Tracks Sample, 16 RGB Beat Pads, 64 Preset Beat Patterns, 5 Endless Encoders, Reverb & Delay Effects I am in the process of setting up a small SOHO recording studio, having assembled some of the key components I was looking for, now sourcing bits of kit to add creativity and automation to the workflow. This is a finger drum and sequencing machine to make creation of drum/percussions sequences as easy as possible. Powered by a DC power adapter and the rear features 3.5mm headphone jack, 3.5mm aux in, MIDI in, MIDI out for controlling either this machine or other MID devices and L/R sound output for monitor speakers. There is also a multi functional USB-C port which serves as a general PC interface to load/backup samples as well as firmware updates. Beautifully presented in an 80s inspired look with coloured lighting for easier location of keys in low lighting and a backlit LCD display allows easy view of settings etc. Great for live use such as a live DJ session or for preparation in a recording scenario. Full control over the sound creation with the various knobs allowing to set ADSR parameters to get a sound unique to your project. I have a basic understanding of music and spent hours experimenting with the almost limitless abundance of options and settings. The internal memory banks have 4GB of storage capacity to allow a good level of samples to be stored on the machine. This is great for beginners and seasoned pros alike and will grow with your experience. Overall a flexible powerful drum and sequence machine which is beautifully presented, creative and versatile for use in a variety of different projects.

j'attendais depuis longtemps cette boite à ryhtme. pas decu par les fcontionnalités et la facilité d'utilisation.

Es mi primer drum machine, yo estoy encantado con el funcionamiento del Donner D1, además de haber comprado el Donner B1, juntos son una inminencia. El Donner D1 es muy intuitivo, tiene un sonido muy bueno, funciones perfectas para un perfomance, o uso personal, músico de habitación. La calidad de las almohadillas esta muy bien, las perillas, además de lo muy cool de la pantalla pequeña. Solo quiero llegar a casa después de trabajar una larga jornada y empezar a tocar con mis instrumentos Donner (★‿★)

Funktionalität & Bedienung 🎛️: Die Donner Essential D1 Beat Machine bietet eine Vielzahl an Funktionen für Musiker und Produzenten. Die 16 RGB-Pads und die umfangreichen Effekte wie Reverb und Delay ermöglichen kreative und dynamische Musikproduktionen. Design & Handhabung 🎛️: Das Gerät ist kompakt und bietet ein intuitives Layout, das sich leicht bedienen lässt. Das LCD-Display und die Endlosdrehregler erleichtern die Bedienung und bieten eine gute Übersicht über die Einstellungen. Klangqualität & Leistung 🎶: Die Beat Machine liefert eine beeindruckende Klangqualität und ist ideal für Live-Performances oder Studioaufnahmen. Die Möglichkeit, Samples zu importieren und direkt zu bearbeiten, macht sie zu einem vielseitigen Werkzeug. Fazit 🎯: Ein ausgezeichnetes Werkzeug für Musiker, die nach einer kompakten und leistungsstarken Beat Machine suchen. Die umfangreichen Funktionen und die hohe Klangqualität machen sie zu einer idealen Wahl für kreative Köpfe.