Simmons SDS6
Not a drum machine at all — a sequencer brain that made Simmons pads sing in time.
Overview
Here's the thing collectors learn fast about the SDS6: it doesn't make a sound. It's an eight-channel programmable drum sequencer, and Simmons built it to sit at the center of a rack of pads and modules, not to replace them. Electronic music magazines of the mid-eighties classified it alongside the Korg MR 16 as one of two products that "aren't really drum machines at all," each representing one of the two key elements that make up a drum machine — a sequencer and a sound unit respectively. That framing is the most useful thing anyone can know before buying one, because it sets expectations: you're getting the brain, not the voice.
The feature set, as described in the period press, is genuinely deep for its moment. The SDS6 offers programmable dynamics and stores 250 patterns per sequence, and it's MIDI-equipped — a meaningful detail for a Simmons product of this generation, since MIDI compatibility was still a fresh arrival in the company's lineup. The LED pattern display was singled out as marvellous and much-copied, which is the kind of detail that tells you Simmons got the interface right when a lot of competitors were still making you count button presses in the dark.
Price is where the enthusiasm cools. When Ealing Broadway's Turnkey Shop advertised the Simmons range in late 1984, the SDS6 MIDI Sequencer listed at £1,250 excluding VAT — and that was the shop's promotional pricing, appearing alongside an SDS7 standard kit at £1,875 (Studio-Sound, October 1984, p.16). That's a real jump, and buyers should treat any single figure as a snapshot rather than gospel — pricing on this era of Simmons gear moved around with VAT treatment, dealer discounting, and the passage of time. What's consistent across the sources is the verdict: it's a custom sequencer that makes an awful lot of sense for existing Simmons owners.
And that's the honest summary. If you already own Simmons pads and modules, the SDS6 is the missing piece that turns a pile of triggers into a programmable rhythm section. If you don't, it's an expensive box that won't do anything on its own. The magazine reviewers understood this — the recommendation was never "buy this as your first drum machine," it was "this makes sense for the Simmons faithful."
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