Doctor Beat :)

[talk show host]

Hey..I don't play drums..so be nice I'm getting a BR-8 next weekend at this huge Roland/Boss sale where they're discounting a whole heap of stuff. Anyway, I don't know how to play drums..but I understand timing and theory etc so I figure I'll get myself a drum machine and lay down drum tracks for my songs on my own. Unfortunately, I know nothing about what a drum machine can do, so I don't know how much I need to shell out to get one that suits my purpose.

I don't need any super fancy techno sounding drum beats, or any samba thumps or drums that sound like rockets taking off. I just need something that will give me a standard drumkit sound, where I can define the time signature and speed, and beats per bar for all the things on the kit, and something I can program to do all the changes within a song etc.

Any advice/suggestions?

 

[Capt. Snazzy]

Ahhh, the beautiful sounds of a drum machine

Alesis SR-16, several years old but still one of the best for normal drum sounds in my book. I use the heck out of mine, the only complaint i have with it is that about half of the 233 samples it uses are already sampled with reverb or flange or something, so that kind of limits the creative possibilities of applying your own effects.
I've also heard great things about the Boss Dr. Rhythm 550, 660 and 770, but be prepared to dig deep for those guys.
the sr-16 runs about 199 new, but you can find one used online (ebay) for 80-150 or so. the Dr.... series starts at around 340-something and goes to about 500 for the 770 (list price, i'm sure you can find it for less).
anyway, drum machines are great, they will do everything you said you needed one to do and way way more.
Have fun.........