Alesis SR 16 Drum Machine?

[rsimper]

Anyone used one? Pros? Cons? Comments? Useful?

[bnjp]

Yeah, I've used one. It's an older machine and not as user-friendly as some of the new ones. I thought it was difficult to get good patterns, unless you knew how to play the drums. I had a list of about 20 songs that I knew I was going to be doing and I had a friend play the patterns for me. It does have touch sensitive pads so if you hit it harder, it sounds like your hitting a drum harder. I used it with a foot pedal to start and stop it, but you have to change songs by hand.

Also, I was using set looped patterns and when you changed the pattern you had to remember what tempo that song needed and change it too. In other words, the tempo stayed the same as the last pattern. I wished you could have programmed the tempo into the memory for that pattern. So in essence you had to play the song, choose "pattern" then 17", then "Tempo" then "132". or whatever. I had to get a helper to change the pattern and tempo and I just started and stopped it with the foot pedal.

I played with a Boss DR770 in a music store once and really like it. It's more expensive.

[kenliu]

I have both the Alesis SR-16 and the Boss DR-770. I haven't used either very extensively (and neither live, only for recording/sequencing). The Alesis is a classic and is pretty inexpensive these days. However, it has been around since the 80s and is somewhat dated.

The Boss unit has IMO much better sounds, but costs a lot more. I think the samples are more realistic and more useful. It also has better preset patterns. I also feel that the pads have a better feel than the Alesis.

As far as the user interface is concerned, I think the Boss unit is much more user friendly. It is a pain to program anything on the Alesis unit.

You may want to check out the Boss DR-670, it has the same sounds as the 770, but is less expensive. It can be battery powered, which is a cool feature. I have also heard good things about the Zoom units, but haven't tried one.

FWIW, my Boss unit is sitting next to my computer and the Alesis has been in the box for a long time.

What are you thinking of using the drum machine for?

Ken

[rsimper]

At this point I was mainly thinking of using it for practice, recording, and just screwing around with my friends...thats why I was not looking at all to intricate or extravagent of a system. Ill check out that Boss one though, but this world is pretty new to me. Ive always been pretty much a straight guitar kind of guy. Even putting a basic drum beat over what I play on a computer program like Acid sounds weird to me. Thanks for the suggestions and if anything else comes to mind, let me know!

[RickC]

Rsimper,

My friend and I have used the Alesis since it came on the market. if you are looking for something to use that is simple and can just play different patterns and maybe a few fills with a foot switch then this is much, much, much easier than the Boss 770. We just bought the Boss 770 because we were kind of burnt out on the patterns on the alesis, which there are quite a few, but it has been a nightmare making the transistion neither one of us are drummers or computer programers so needless to say we still rely on the Alesis. Don't get me wrong, in the right hands I'm sure it is an incredible machine but for us pickers we gotta keep it simple. If your mind is still set on the Boss 770 let me know before my buddy throws it out the window, I'm sure he'll give you a good deal on it.

Rick

[kenliu]

Originally posted by [email protected]
Rsimper,

We just bought the Boss 770 because we were kind of burnt out on the patterns on the alesis, which there are quite a few, but it has been a nightmare making the transistion neither one of us are drummers or computer programers so needless to say we still rely on the Alesis.

What exactly are you having trouble with on the Boss? I find it to be very easy to use. I have both units so maybe I could offer some assistance.

[RickC]

Hi Kenliu,

I would love some assistance, The thing that's bugging us most is the fact that you cannot, well as far as WE know, just play a pattern and stomp on the foot switch to throw in a Fill like the Alesis. Maybe this can be done but not as easy in my opinion. Any tips you can give would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
Rick

[kenliu]

Actually, that's easy to do. What you need is a stereo Y-cable (the same one that you would use to split a Fishman Stereo Blender BTW) and plug it into the footswitch jack. Then you can hook up two footswitches. The first one (tip) is used for start/stop, and the second one (ring) is used for one of several functions, including fills and even one of the pads. You can assign the function by accessing the "Utility" menu and accessing page 8 of the menu. If you set it on "RWD" you'll be able to insert a fill any time.

RTFM. Read The Fine Manual.
There's a lot of good info in there.

The Boss unit is very powerful. As far as I know, it can do everything that the Alesis can do (and much more), except for setting the tempo by tapping the second footswitch.

Anything else?

Ken

[RickC]

Thanks Ken,

My partner is the Drum man so I'll pass this info along to him, I have enough trouble just playing guitar so I stay away from that stuff but I'm sure your info will help him

Thanks Again
Rick