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Remix & DJ > DJ Groove Production > Arturia Spark

Arturia Spark

Item ID: SparkDrum

Hybrid Drum Machine with 480 Instruments and 30 Kits with a 64-step Sequencer, 8 Pads, Effects Pad, 16-track Mixer, LCD, and Extensive Hands-on Controls

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Arturia has informed us that this item has an unusually long shipping delay. Be assured we'll get it as fast or faster than anyone else. Place your order now, and we'll ship it the very same day we receive it from Arturia, or call your Sales Engineer, who can give you the most up to date details and possibly offer you alternatives that would ship sooner.

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From Our Research Team:

The Musician's Ultimate Drum Machine!

When you're at the helm of Arturia's Spark hybrid drum machine, you've got massively flexible, amazing-sounding drums ready for you to cruise in any musical direction. Thanks to its combination of analog-modeled synthesis, physical modeling, and samples, Spark covers the sonic spectrum of drum needs. You'll find classic 808 and 909-style sounds in here, as well as authentic-sounding acoustic kits. Dub to techno, house to hip-hop to R&B, Spark is ready for it. And thanks to its smart and intuitive layout, you'll be making great grooves with Arturia's Spark in no time.



Arturia Spark Hybrid Drum Machine At a Glance:
  • Powerful combination of hardware and software
  • Fast groove creation
  • Tons of sounds

Powerful combination of hardware and software:
Arturia's Spark gives you the hands-on experience of a hardware drum machine, with the unlimited processing power of software groove production. You'll love how easy it is to create sequences, arrange patterns, and tweak effects on the fly - without ever touching your mouse or even looking at the computer monitor!

Fast Groove Creation:
The intuitive layout of the Spark drum machine makes it fast and easy to take a moment of inspiration and turn it into a powerful musical masterpiece. And don't let the term "drum machine" fool you - Spark has tons of Arturia's synth sounds and instrument samples to add the icing on your groovy cake.

Tons of Sounds:
Spark gives you 30 drum kits and 480 instrument and synth sounds that cover everything from well-behaved acoustic sounds to mind-bending electronic weirdness. Whatever kind of music you make, Spark has the sounds you want, plus new ones to inspire you.

Arturia Spark Hybrid Drum Machine Features:
  • Intuitive controller layout with rock-solid construction gives you a real hardware experience
  • Tons of high-quality drum and instrument sounds cover virtually every musical genre
  • Pads are velocity- and pressure-sensitive and let you perform with more expression than ever before
  • Touch-sensitive FX pad puts amazing effects like tape delay, reverse, filter, and more right under your fingers
  • Real-time automation for all parameters lets you tweak your sounds beyond what's humanly possible in realtime
  • MIDI I/O provides universal MIDI controller functionality

Get your hands on Arturia Spark and you'll be ready to groove in any sonic direction!
Specification Detail
Manufacturer Part Number 410101

Spark Image Gallery

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I was very pleased with the shipping speed and the way the stand was packed. I was especially surprised to see candy thrown in the box as well, thank you. It was very relevant to your name "sweet" water. Your "Thank You" inserts provided an insight into your service to your customers - and it really shows how you really appreciate your customers. Your customer service is excellent and I would not hesitate to buy from you again ... in fact, you will be the first company that will come to mind for my next purchase because I know what I will expect. Excellent Customer Service!


Cheryll, Lott, TX

Reviews

based on 7 reviews

Only a Month and Still Exploring!

by A. Bautista from Boston, MA
July 5, 2012
Music Background: Piano, Guitar, Ukulele, Bass Guitar, Singing, Student, Hobbyist
This drum machine by Arturia is actually a universal midi-controller, but that's besides the point -- it comes with the Arturia Spark software, which is a drum machine simulator packed with tons of so... read more [+]unds and drumkits that I'm currently still having fun trying out! This hardware/software combo really hit the right note for me (pun intended).

So let's get into the details:

I mainly play piano and guitar, but I wanted to delve into making some drum tracks to play along with, so I was searching for a drum machine. At the time (May + June 2012), Arturia was having a promo that if you bought the Arturia Spark, you would get free Arturia software (in this case, the V-Collection). Sweet deal! So I HAD to jump on it. Needless to say, I still have yet to explore each of the individual instruments in the V-Collection, but I'm sure it'll enhance my Arturia Spark even further to allow for unique drumkits/soundkits that I can shape to my heart's desire.

The hardware is sturdy in and of itself. The drum pads are VERY touch-sensitive and respond very well to light vs. heavy hits. Very nice for distinguishing between the sounds you may want and their intensity. The knobs are the usual kinds of knobs that you find on these kinds of instruments. Unless you're throwing your drum machine around, I don't see how they could break off as easily as some reviews I've read in the past have said.

As for the software, it's definitely going to take some time to learn, but I'm having fun doing it! I know I'm going to be keeping this drum machine for years to come because every time I come back to it, I remember why I bought it and it's always fun again. There have been some instruments in the past that I've bought and ended up selling or trading in because I forgot the enjoyment that I had when I first got the instrument, but this in not true for the Arturia Spark (for me anyway).

TL:DR version:

Great drum machine that's actually a universal midi-controller (but that's okay!). Hardware/software combo works well and makes the creative space more accessible that trying to use a mouse. Hardware is sturdy, drum pads are touch-sensitive and instrument overall is well built. Software has hundreds of sounds and drum-kits that will take lots of time to go through -- but that's where the fun of this instrument comes from!

Go get one! close [-]

Spark is a Revolution in Drum Controllers

by Jefferson Weber from Indianapolis, Indiana
July 3, 2012
Music Background: Composer, Hobbyist
So easy to use and very intuitive. Great Automation controls, great sounds, great everything! * 808 input and MPC inputs pads! So Awesome. Again very easy to use. Has some great performance features t... read more [+]oo! close [-]

Boom Bappa Boom Boom!

by Scott Sundberg from Spring Arbor, MI USA
May 26, 2012
Music Background: Mr. Muckabout
A lot has been written about Spark, but little has been said about how much fun this machine is. As a fan of old Roland and Korg drum machines, I've found this to be a terrific writing tool and a loa... read more [+]d of inspiration. It's easy to get around on and sounds great.

What it isn't is a substitute for Maschine. It is a DRUM MACHINE; albeit one that's software based with a hardware controller (which is obviously why so many people want to make the comparison). Having used Maschine for a long time, I have to say that Spark is much easier to get up and running on. It doesn't try to be everything to every one and that's its strength! While I miss some of my old machines (and have attempted to replace them with samples, etc.), Spark gives me sounds as close as can be, but with a fun, intuitive way to program and play. I really dig it! close [-]

GREAT Hands on control

by Reek Havok from Bellevue, Wa
September 12, 2011
Music Background: Composer, drummer, sound designer
I was excited to get my hands on Spark and. As a heavy user of drum machines from the mid 80's, I've missed having a cool drum machine to play with for quite some time. As we get more and more into vi... read more [+]rtual instruments and away from hardware, the hands on experience is always sorely missed which sometimes leads to a far more more static performance. Arturia's Spark gives me a great drum machine with a surprisingly rich feature set and a hardware layout that is not only incredibly well designed, but brings unprecedented usability and intuitive control right out of the box.
Real time control of preassigned controls like pitch, decay, freq shift are always available and a fast assign mode provides you more in-depth parameters for aux sends, cut off, resonance, panning and volume. On the fly pattern select and sound swapping is fast and simple.
I’ve been a fan of the Korg Kaoss pad for a long time and the built in X-Y touch pad on the Spark controller is very reminiscent of that. Quick access to Filter, Roll and Slicer make Spark very dynamic and playable instrument and provides the ability for some great creative patterns.
The hardware controller is beefy, rugged and feels great. I’m a drummer and so the way a pad plays is very critical for me and the Spark hardware controller does not disappoint. 8 illuminated and very playable/assignable pads are on the front and the heavy control itself help keep it in place regardless of the real-time beating.
Another cool feature is the pattern loop section. A simple button push jumps you into a mode where you can cut your pattern in 1/2, 1/4, 18th. 16th or 32nd and the move knob lets you move that selection all around the pattern making the pattern dance around creating all kinds of wild permutations of a pattern without ever switching away from that pattern. It’s easy to and fun to hit the on/off button of the loop mode to pop in and out of this mode.
I can sit and play with Spark for hours and have so much fun. Bringing back the tactile feel of a drum machine that’s been missing from my arsenal for so long, but adding features that are very cleverly thought out and making them easy to get to.
Spark ships with a great array of sounds and as I mentioned, it’s easy to change banks or individual sounds within a bank and add your own sounds.
Probably the most amazing thing about Spark is the price. I had to look a couple of times to realize that at $599 retail, the hardware controller comes with Spark. How Arturia does this with such a great piece of hardware is nothing short of incredible. close [-]

Sweetwater Advice

Carson McClain
You need this in your life immediately, if not sooner. Arturia Spark brings all of the vintage drum machines you want and need into one software/hardware hybrid instrument that is easy to use and fun. I own a Linn Drum, Machinedrum, TR-808, Maschine, and an Electribe - and love them all. The Linn brings a classic sound and workflow to my music, the Machinedrum has the best sound quality, the 808 is an essential piece to any electronic producers studio, Maschine is the most advanced and the electribe is the most fun and easiest to use. Take the classic sounds of the vintage machines, merge the capabilites and hybrid nature of Maschine, and add the absolute ease of use and playability of the Electribe, and you have Spark. When I first started using it, I didn't even look at the computer screen to navigate to sounds or to adjust the FX or sequencer. It operates very much like the Electribe except with EVERY vintage sound you need for drums. If you don't have hours to devote to learning software, you do want a basic sequencer with great pads, and if you also want a drum machine that has the best vintage sound library, Spark will suit your needs.
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See Also: Beat Boxes , Arturia , Arturia DJ Groove Production , Arturia Virtual Instruments: Drum & Rhythm

Arturia Spark

Today's Payment: $176.33
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