The DMX is a digital drum machine that can be programmed. It was made by Oberheim and first sold in 1980 for US$2,895 (equal to $11,300 in 2025). The company sold the DMX until the mid-1980s.

The Oberheim DMX was the second digital drum machine to be sold as a product, after the Linn LM-1 Drum Computer in 1980. Many musicians used the DMX during the 1980s, and it helped shape the sound of new wave, synth-pop, and hip hop music.

Background

After the Linn LM-1 became successful, other companies started creating drum machines to compete with its ease of use and realistic sounds. The DMX included sampled sounds from real drums, individual tuning controls for each drum, and a swing function. It also had features like rolls, flams, and timing changes to make the drum sounds more like those played by real drummers.

The DMX had 24 drum sounds made from 11 original samples and could play up to 8 sounds at the same time, with one sound per card. It had eight separate outputs for processing sounds and could store up to 100 sequences and 50 songs. A special feature was its ability to connect with Oberheim’s Parallel Buss system, which was used before MIDI to synchronize equipment. Later models added MIDI ports, and other companies made MIDI interfaces for the DMX.

Drum and percussion sounds were stored in EPROM chips on removable voice cards. The sound format used 8-bit PCM with μ-law companding, which improved sound quality to about 12 bits when converted to analog. This method was also used by other early drum machines, such as those made by Linn Electronics, E-mu Systems, and Sequential Circuits.

The DMX’s realistic drum sounds made it popular among artists and producers in the early hip-hop scene. It appears on many early hip-hop recordings and is still used in dancehall reggae music. Artists who used the DMX include New Order on their 1983 song "Blue Monday" and The Police on "Every Breath You Take" (only the kick drum). Some artists named themselves after the drum machine, such as DMX Krew, Davy DMX, and the rapper DMX.

Oberheim DX

The Oberheim DX was introduced in 1983 as a simpler version of the DMX. It had a list price of US$1,395. The DX looked and felt similar to the DMX, but it had fewer features. It included 18 sounds instead of 24, allowed 6 sounds to play at the same time instead of 8, had a 4-digit, 7-segment display instead of a 16-character alphanumeric display, and used fake plastic wood instead of real walnut. The DX kept the DMX feature of removable/replaceable voice cards on EPROMs. The DXa model included MIDI support when it was made. Like the DMX, the DX was widely used by early hip hop artists and was also often used in dancehall reggae music. Later, the DX could be upgraded with an optional "Stretch" expansion, which added four new sounds and extra features.