[usagi]

The computer that was running my drum program died. I'm thinking about buying a cheap ($100-200) drum machine. Would this be something that I could program drums for recording on? They just need to sound decent not incredible. Would I need any additional hardware for a drum machine to program it and then record it to digital 8 track?

[Leec]

AFAIK...

If you want to simply record the entire drum part (song) onto 1 track, no. Just line-out of the drum machine into the line-in of the 8-track.

If you want separate parts of the kit on different tracks, you'll need either a drum machine with multiple outs (don't know of such a machine, and if one exists, it'll probably be more pricey) or the patience of a saint to program only the snare, then record on 1 track, then only kicks, then record on 1 track...

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

A Drum Module is probably a better bet if you only have a synth/controller.

You can hit the keys to enter the pattern, but have it played back through the drum module, ie: an Alesis DM5. Use the multiple outs & go into a mixer, or store the performance as a sequence with each drum on a separate track, then record the audio from them one track at a time.