drum machines: zoom rt-223 vs. zoom mrt3b

kensington

New member
hi folks, I have a few drum machine questions. How do the zoom rt-223 and the mrt3b compare? (I've heard some rave about the mrt3, but next to nothing about the rt-223).

1. Do they have the same sound quality?

2. Does the rt-223 have as many fills as the mrt3b? (I noticed a long list
of fills in the back of the mrt3 manual, but not in the rt-223 manual.)

3. How do they generally compare?

Also, I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get a list of all the instruments in the Alesis sr16 drum machine...they don't list them in the manual. I know there won't be that many that have both zoom's to do such
a comparison....but thot I'd give it a shot....any input on either machine is appreciated. thanks, kk
 
Yo Kensington of Tashington Acres:

You really don't want the Alesis SR-16. It's a nice box but old technology.

Try the Boss 770; even better, would be the Boss 880.

I have both of these boxes. The 880 has programmable bass and guitar built right in to the patches. If you don't like the bass or guitar, just turn it off and use the patch.

Also, you can change keys of the bass/guitar if you want.

Suggest you go to a vendor or get a copy of the 880 or 770 manual and browse.

The sounds are excellent. There is probably something better or just as good; however, that equates to "mo money!"

Also, if you want to take the time, you can write your own drum sequence any way you want and save it for later. Amazing little boxes are there. [words of Yoda.]

Happy Spring
Green Hornet :D
 
The mrt doesn't sound as good as the other Zooms. The Alesis is vastly inferior to the Zoom models.
 
I second green hornet , i have the DR-880 and its amazing what i can get out of this thing.

Takes a while to learn its ins and outs but it covers so much it`s worth the few extra bucks it costs.

NOTE: the DR-880 sends out weird midi info through channel 3 and 10 when you save your sequences , this wrecked havoc with my v-synth so make sure you turn off midi exclusive recieve on anything the dr-880 will be connected to. Took Roland`s tech 3 days to recreate this. Apparently if there is something to break i`ll be the first to do it :rolleyes:
 
:D Yo Kensington:}

TASHINGTON ESTATES is where my brother's house is located and named by me. I used to call it Tashington Acres until he bought the adjoining lot to increase his property value. [which I advised long before he did it] Hence, I had to UPGRADE the name to TASHINGTON ESTATES.

Location: 8 miles due East of Saugatuck, Michigan in the Forest of Squirrles.


Green Hornet :confused: :eek: :D
 
hi folks, I have a few drum machine questions. How do the zoom rt-223 and the mrt3b compare? (I've heard some rave about the mrt3, but next to nothing about the rt-223).

1. Do they have the same sound quality?

2. Does the rt-223 have as many fills as the mrt3b? (I noticed a long list
of fills in the back of the mrt3 manual, but not in the rt-223 manual.)

3. How do they generally compare?

Also, I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get a list of all the instruments in the Alesis sr16 drum machine...they don't list them in the manual. I know there won't be that many that have both zoom's to do such
a comparison....but thot I'd give it a shot....any input on either machine is appreciated. thanks, kk

I own 3 Zoom units, the 123,223, and the 234. The sound quality is as good as it gets. You can create highly professional recordings using them. I have some others like Yamaha and Alesis. They aren't nearly as good in quality nor do they contain as many presets. The Yamaha's have good beats but they all suffer from poor quality preamps and can create allot of background noise. The Alesis is pretty primitive. It works but mines been collecting dust for a long time. Boss tend to be over priced for what you get and not all of them are exactly versatile.

The 223 has over 400 preset beats, the 123 has 300, the 234 has basically 100, but since things like drum tones and tracks can be changed, you can retune drums to make them sound different or you can select substitute one item for another. If you want to change the snare type, you can scroll through the list of 100 and pick and choose which one you want for that beat or swap it out for something else. Its actually pretty ingenious. I can tune my kick to match the bass noted for example, make it deeper/larger for low bass notes, or make its tuning pitch higher to sound like a smaller drum set.

The best part is its got a low distortion and noise level. That's very important recording so you don't have to deal with EQing that noise away and in the process kill the drum tones. The unit is easy to operate and the pads can easily be operated with the fingers to tap up your own beats.
 
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