HYPETRAK Review: 'Beat Box - A Drum Machine Obsession'

One of J Dilla’s favorite musical equipment was his MPC 3000, Madlib often utilized his Roland SP 303, heck Kanye West even made his MPC a key focal point during his live performances of “Runaway.” The relationships between producers and their equipment is always an interesting one, especially in today’s world where hardware is now exchanged for much cheaper software. One producer who has lived through these changing times is Boston’s Joe Mansfield, who owns roughly 150 different drum machines, and recently released a his 200-plus page book, Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession.

Mansfield’s collection began back in 1985, when he first purchased a used TR-808. As a young hip-hop producer, Mansfield went on to produced for Ed O.G. (“I Got To Have It” and “Be A Father To Your Child”), then later founded Traffic Entertainment and Get On Down. Now, more than 30 years later, he has archived some of the finest musical machinery that money can buy. With his extensive library of beat machines, he now shares his obsession with the masses in the form of a well packaged coffee-table book, which details select pieces, along with some wonderfully shot photographs from award-winning photographer Gary Land. Each photo is tastefully paired with a brief background about the machine, some include short personal stories and/or interesting facts. Readers can view archival advertisements and interviews with master drum machine programmers and innovators including Davy DMX, Schoolly-D, Marshall Jefferson and Roger Linn.

Able to play and/or program each machine detailed in the book, Mansfield isn’t one who views his remarkable collection as an arrangement of untouchable trophies, and because he actually has an emotional bond with each piece it gives readers a deeper appreciation for the library he’s amassed. The book will be enjoyed by those who love music, technology and photography alike, and with the holidays right around the corner, it’ll surely make for the best stocking stuffer on anyone’s fireplace. For those interested in purchasing the book you can do so now by clicking here, or for the deluxe edition (seen in the photo gallery above), which includes a slip cover, a cassette, 7-inch record and more, you can click here.

Photography: Jessica Latumeten for HYPETRAK