drum machines, your opinion please...

[Mitchmusicman]

Guys, I have a small humble home studio and I'm looking for your thoughts on makes and models of drum machines. I seems like there are a million out there. Many of those sound so bad. My budget is about $400. Is that realistic? I thank you all in advance for your wise counsel... Mitch

[Even]

I use an Alesis SR-16 and I love it. Cut and dry drums and perc sounds. Gives one the option of selecting a gang of different "sets" or recording "environments". I had a Boss Dr Rythem and it drove me nuts. It had bass lines, keyboard sounds... too much fluff not enough Drum.
Alesis SR-16... less than $200

[c9-2001]

Boss Dr.770

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Mitch of Music:

I'll have to go with C9 and the Boss Dr.770.

I bought the 770 to replace my Alesis SR-16. The SR 16 is older technology or older samples or older something.

The 770 has bright wild patterns and, of course, you can program it. Programming eats up a lot of time so I usually use the presets and many of those have an A/B switchover which is pretty cool.

There are also different "rooms" of ambience you can choose, plus a gaggle of other features. The best feature is the "sound quality."

And, the price is within your budget. Call all of the 800 numbers and then call Full Compass -- they usually have the best price on most gear.

Happy Spring


Green Hornet

[sponge bob]

I'd have to say I'd go with the Alesis SR16. Easy to program, good sounds, syncs up easy to software sequencers, bla bla bla... and cheap- under 200 us. I personally don't dig the boss boxes. My taste. I used my SR16 for many years with out any probs whatsoever. Crap, I even had an HR16 at one time!
Keep an eye out for a used one, and then you've really got a deal.

Good luck,
Sponge Bob

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Coral Reef Bob of Sponges:]

I don't think the 770 Boss is any more difficult to program; if you listen to the 770 you will find it has much better sound than the Alesis SR 16.

However, the Alesis SR 16 can do good stuff. So, if it's a matter of money, yes, you'll get a better price on the Alesis because it is older -- same unit for several years and, to my knowledge, no improvement on the patches.

The SR 16 has no ambience selection. Just the same sounds which you can run through a reverb box but drums usually do not require much reverb -- they are vibrant.

I hear Alesis is making new Digital processing monitors; is Alesis now a new company or what? Heard they were kind of going bust but have not heard if anyone bought them....etc.

Happy Spring


Green Hornet

[c9-2001]

just save your money and get a used MPC2000xl
on ebay you can get them from 800 and up
hit up a pawn shop you'll get one even cheaper

i'll sell you my 770.. i don't use it. i hasn't even been plugged up for 2 months.. i liked it..
its about 9 months old now.. $280...

[jake-owa]

I've owned an SR-16, Boss dr-5, 550 and a yamaha qy-70. Of the four the Yamaha had the best sounds and to top it off records at the highest note resolution and that's just scratching the surface. The Alesis has a very signature sound, I can always pick one out in a song. I liked the pedal pattern advance though that was fun to jam with.

My ears are soo tired of drum module cymbals though. that's why I use all real cymbals now.

[Disco_Dave]

I have a Boss 770 and find it very usable, the sound quality is indeed very good and it has an excellent range of sounds and ambiences. I find I can get pretty much the sound I want from it for all my different style songs.

Having said that I am still thinking of getting a 2nd hand drum kit. But thats more because i've always wanted one than because I NEED one! Isn't that often the way with music gear!

[MISTERQCUE]

BOSS Dr Groove DR202 !!!!

[Cratinus]

I "SKEPTICALLY" CHECKED OUT THE ZOOM 323 THE OTHER DAY.
I ONLY DID SO BECAUSE I OWN THEIR "SAMPLETRAK" UNIT (WHICH I FIND TO BE AN INDESPENSIBLE LITTLE UNIT).
THE LITTLE 323 DRUM MACHINE SOUNDS REALLY GOOD!! I WAS
VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE SAMPLES!! I DON'T
KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE TECHNICAL SPECS OF THE UNIT TO COMMENT ON THEM,...BUT I'D RECOMMEND YOU AT LEAST GIVE IT A LISTEN IF YOU HAVE THE CHANCE. CHEERS!

P.S. IF THE BOSS 770 IS HALF AS GOOD AS THE 660 WAS,..IT IS A FINE UNIT, INDEED.
P.S.S. WOULD SOMEBODY TELL THE DUMBELLS WHO DESIGN THESE THINGS TO PLEASE PUT A BACKLIT DISPLAY ON THEM!!!!

[Disco_Dave]

Good Call.....I need my glasses on to read the display on my dr 770. and no, I am not old!

[DaveO]

The DR 770 is a great unit. The only thing I think Boss screwed up going from the 660 to the 770 is that they took away one of the indivudual outs. The DR660 had two but the DR700 only has one. Not a big deal for me right now since I only have two ins/outs, but assuming I buy a new soundcard and had multiple ins, it would be nice to be able to have both the snare and the kick on separate tracks. With the 770 i'd have to choose.

However, the sound quality of most of the acoustic instruments in the 770 is awesome. It also has gobs more memory for storing custom kits and all your user-defined patterns.

[miccontrol]

I had the Zoom and it was a blast. Comes with some pretty nice bass sounds as well. I also had the SR-16 to which was more realistic sounding. I agree with c9-2001 though, skip the basic drum machine and swoop on an MPC or even an ASR-X which you can find on ebay between 250 and 600. You will be ALOT happier and you can take your music way farther. But then again, its always nice to have a lil beat machine around. Its a mad, mad world out there~

Peace,
B

[Mitchmusicman]

I haven't had the pleasure of using any of these yet. Is the Boss 770 easier to use then the more upscale model you refered to? I am a quick study but I don't want a piece of gear that requires rocket science :-) Mitch

[miccontrol]

Its not rocket science but they will take more time to learn than a drum machine, but the overall outcome will have you tappin' your toes. The thing with the MPC series or the ASR-X is that they can be used as drum machines but offer many more features that basic drum machines dont like sampling for one. First off, what type of music are you going to be doing?

Peace,
B

[HogansHiro]

I sold my drum machine after I discovered sampling.
my two cents worth.

[Mitchmusicman]

I will be recording mostly rock and roll (all types), some high school jazz band ensemble, lots of acoustic, some church ensemble worship music, no hip-hop or rap.

Are there other units to consider along with the MPC200xl and thg ASR-X? The MPC is running about $800 on eBay. Is that a good value? Thanks guys... Mitch

[GT]

I have SR-16, and a Zoom 123, I like the Zoom much more!!

GT

[musac]

for another hundred u could get a used emu mp-7.

For something new in that range i'd get the korg electribe(i think s ) sampler drum machine.New they go for 399

but if u can wait till u saved enough definitely the mpc 2000

[miccontrol]

Originally posted by musac
for another hundred u could get a used emu mp-7.

For something new in that range i'd get the korg electribe(i think s ) sampler drum machine.New they go for 399

but if u can wait till u saved enough definitely the mpc 2000

Personally, I dont like the Electribes (just my opinion though). MP-7, yeah. I would still get the MPC or ASR-X. I acually have a Korg ES-1 that my buddy got as a gift. He thought you could just plug it in and get crackin'. Well, it sat in its box for about 1 year and I just copped it off him last night for next to nothin. I may find a use for it but as far as a "drum machine" module it kinda sucks (the layout for bangin' on the pads just doesn't feel right). To each is own though.
Lots of choices!
Peace,
B

[musac]

never used the korg i just read the reviews gave it to an option to him for somethin new out the box in his price range. i haven't used the asr-x either is it a nice unit

[miccontrol]

Thats cool man, we gotta give him all the info we can. I was just saying that the layout on the Korgs as far as drum machine styles goes is kinda lame. The ASR-X is a pretty dope machine. The sequencer on the older black one is kinda shakey but I think they fixed it somewhat on the newer turbo (red). The sounds on it are great and the layout for hittin' the pads up is cool too. Right now I have a Ensoniq EPS 16+ keyboard and am adding the Akai MPD-16 to it so I can play it somewhat MPC style. Putting out beats on the keyboard just doesnt do it for me but we'll see how it goes. I wonder if we've confused Mitchmusicman!?

Peace to all!!,
B

[PhilMckracken]

They say if it aint broke, don't fix it. That is basically the philosophy for the MPC as far as I and many others are concerned. The technology is all you need for drums, the layout just seems to work best and as far as easy to use, can't imagine anything easier in this day and age. Plus you get a great sequencer and sampler right along with your drum machine and you can switch the sounds as you see fit, sample new ones, but new ones, whatever. The fact is, with all the CD ROMs available, the MPC is every drum machine and more.

[imanogre]

Does anyone have an opinion on the Alesis DM-Pro?