Instrument Review - Siel MDP-40 a.k.a. Suzuki RPM-40 a.k.a. Keytek MDP-40

Late last year I reviewed the Suzuki Keyman PK-37 - an instance when a Japanese company outsourced manufacturing of their product to an Italian synthesizer manufacturer, of all companies.  While the PK-37 was a line unique to Suzuki, with odd designs and features (with the PK-37 not resembling any of its brothers or sisters), there were other instruments that were just re-branded.  While this is not all that unusual, the Siel/Suzuki partnership was kind of weird and the instrument we will look at today is the Siel MDP-40, also known as the Suzuki RPM-40, which was a simple drum machine.

What I find strange about this unit, which I will discuss in a little more detail below, is that this unit does not appear to be a costly machine and while it does offer some features useful for professional musicians, the quality (in both build and sound) is something lacking, which brings to question just who this machine was designed for in the first place.

Build

My first impression when holding this thing was that it was incredibly light.  The plastic looks of medium quality and appears to be the same type found in their synth lines of the time.  The buttons are sufficiently sized for a normal human finger to press but pressing some of them down they were either too responsive resulting in some double taps or not responsive enough causing the beat to be a bit off.  This may be chalked up to age but I will assume not.  The one dial on this thing - a volume potentiometer - is very firm and hard to turn but may be the sturdiest part of this synth.  There were no crackles when adjusted.

Cosmetics

The cosmetics of this machine aren't terrible.  The Siel and Suzuki differ slightly, with the Siel closely resembling the scheme of their other synths of the time, like the DK-70, with colored bars on the buttons.  What I found particularly odd is that while many companies that make different types of units (drum machine/synth/sequencer/etc.) try to keep things uniform, like the mid-eighties Korg DDD-1, DDD-5, or Super Section, this one has some similarities.  While Siel used the color bars on the buttons, the buttons are larger plastic square buttons with rounded edges while their synths used smaller rectangular rubber buttons.  This may seem minor but for some aesthetics are everything.  This was my main complaint regarding the aesthetics of the Seiko DS-250, where that keyboard had a completely different design from the earlier models or the add-ons.

I do like the graphics on the buttons.  The Siel features large pictograms so that a user can quickly identify the sound while the Suzuki has it split with the name.  Again, this is minor being that the instrument is small and will be close to the user to begin with.  The features are also clearly labeled.

And for some reason on the far left is printed "A.C. DESIGN."


Sound

This is where I scratch my head.  When a company releases a standalone drum machine you kind of expect to have slightly enhanced quality but this sounds like they ported some low-bit samples from a home keyboard line.  The sounds aren't terrible and can be quite useful and fun.  Their dated sounds can make great accents with a nice punchy attitude.  The kick, snare, rimshot, and cowbell are good, the hi-hats, cymbals, and shaker decent, the tom is alright, and the hand claps being borderline dreadful.

I will also say that the preset rhythms are kind of mediocre.  While they are not overdone like plenty of Casio rhythms, they don't really feel all too inspiring.  While that is a lot to ask from a cheap eighties digital synth, considering this was an independent drum machine I would have expected something a little more.

Features

This thing is pretty spartan when it comes to features.  It has 40 different preset rhythms (20 presets with 2 versions), hence the 40 in its moniker, tempo control, basic MIDI function, and manual drum play.  The couple things I like about this are that it offers a "swing" option and hand clap variations to the presets and that it provides 2 different breaks that allows for a break to be played and then transition to the second preset of the chosen option. It also appears two more sounds are only accessible through MIDI (a low kick and low hi-hat).

Overall

Overall, I would only recommend this if you like cheap early eighties digital sounds.  This unit is small and strange but because of its uncommon availability the price can be a little ridiculous.  It would be like paying a premium just to get some Casio preset rhythms.  Most of the rhythms are throwaways and some of the sounds can only be accessed through the basic-at-best MIDI function.  The clunky plastic buttons are reasonably placed and sized but just don't feel like a natural fit for a drum machine.

While I tend to dislike circuit-bending (because most people poorly execute it), this would be a great unit to mess around with.  The guts are pretty spacious and the entire left side is ideal for dials or switches.  Slap on some wood sides and some additional effects and this thing could be a gritty beast.  Without any modification this drum machine is just a lo-fi simpleton, or as another review called it, a "monster of mediocrity."

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