The Mini Pops were a number of early analog
drum machines from the Japanese musical equipment company
Korg during the late 1960s and the 1970s.
The machines were based around a number of preset rhythm patterns,
such as
waltz,
samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
,
rhumba
Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also co ...
,
bossa nova
Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...
,
tango,
slow rock
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cur ...
,
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
, and
rock 1 and 2.
Models
Minipops 3
Released 1967, and features four drum sounds.
Minipops 5
Released in 1966.
Minipops 7
The Mini-Pops 7 released in 1966, featured 15 drums sounds and 20 patterns. It was the most used of all, French musician
Jean-Michel Jarre, used it throughout his breakthrough album, ''
Oxygene''. Some rhythms was achieved by overlaying two of the presets in a manner not intended by the machine's original design.
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
used it on his album ''
Syro
''Syro'' () is the sixth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released on 19 September 2014 on Warp. It was James's first album under the Aphex Twin name since ''Drukqs'' (2001).
Th ...
'', and in homage named his single "
minipops 67 20.2. Echo and the Bunnymen also used the Mini-Pops 7 drum machine at the beginning of their career.
Équinoxe Part V, VI and VII featured the ''Rock 1'' pattern.
A variant of this instrument was sold in the US under the
Univox brand, as the ''Univox SR-95''. This featured slightly different "Beguine" and "Slow Rock" rhythms, and was missing the
rimshot of the Mini-Pops 7.
Minipops 20 S
Released 1967. The S denoted stereo
Minipops 35
Released 1976. Features 6 drum sounds and 9 patterns.
Minipops 120
Released 1976. Features 6 drum sounds and 16 patterns. This was also sold in the United States under the
Univox brand.
Minipops Junior
Released 1972. Features 10 preset rhythms.
also has a footswitch to stop and start the rhythms.
Gallery
File:Korg Mini-Pops 5.jpg, Korg Mini-Pops 5
File:Korg Mini-Pops 7.jpg, Korg Mini-Pops 7
File:Korg Mini-Pops SR-120 Desktop.jpg, Korg Mini-Pops SR-120 Desktop
File:Korg Mini-Pops SR-120 Portable.jpg, Korg Mini-Pops SR-120 Portable
References
{{korg
Drum machines
Korg synthesizers
Musical instruments invented in the 1960s
Musical instruments invented in the 1970s