Drum Machine vs Drum Module

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Sweetnighter

Sweetnighter

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I want to record some rock- and jazz-electronica, and i'm looking into drum machines/drum modules. Why would I choose one over the other? From my understanding, a drum machine has sounds and a sequencer all built in, whereas a drum module simply has the sounds and requires some kind of MIDI control via a sequencer or a keyboard. Am I correct? If so, what are the benefits of one over the other? Finally, what are your suggestions for cheap drum machines/modules in the $300 or less range?
 
I don't know if this belongs here or in the drum section :confused: ... sorry 'bout that :cool:
 
Some modules are designed especially for use with external triggers (i.e. Those designed for Electronic Drum sets or Acoustic drum triggers), but both types are usually full of sounds that can be triggered via MIDI. Wheter or not you need some sort of sequencing capability is dependent on how you plan to use it. Obviously, if you want it playing in the background, you will need some sort of sequencer (either the built-in sequencer, or an external one). If you plan on playing all the parts live, then a simple sound module might be better (i.e Novation DrumStation).

Seeing as you mentioned Electronica in the description of the sound your after, I'll recommend the venerable Alesis SR-16. It has a good balance of Electronic/Acoustic sounds (None of the Acoustic sounds are dead on recreations but pretty good for the technology). It has a sequencer, MIDI I/O, 4 1/4" outputs, and optional footswitch control. Only thing I don't like about the SR-16 is the lack of a headphone output (Not a problem if you plan to mostly have it plugged into a mixer).
 
Wow, really? The Alesis Sr-16? Thats one of the cheapest ones I've seen. Is it really good?
 
It is cheap, because it has been in production for a very long time. With very little revision since the original, which to me only seems to serve as a testament to how good it is. It is a classic, by now. And will probably be refered to as legendary some day. Like I said if you are going for Super authentic acoustic drums, SR-16 is probably not your best bet. But it does electronica in spades, with excellent programibilty (you can tweak the pitch of each drum, it's pan settings, volume etc.), then save custom drum kits. And I really like the trigger pads. The sequencer is a little quirky in the way you program, but once you have created a couple of basic patterns, you'll be creating complex stuff in no time. Basically you can save patterns (It comes preloaded with a bunch covering many genres), then you can arrange the patterns into songs (You don't have to use patterns, you can sequence an entire song if you like, but it uses more memory). And then you can use the footswitches to control start/stop, pattern selection, fills etc. (Each Pattern is made up of 2 independent patterns, and 2 independant fills). I've had mine for about 7 years now, and I still turn too it quite often (Especially if I'm looking for a really fat kick drum). The 4 outputs is nice too. I set mine up to have a kick on one, snare on another, and all the rest of the kit as a stereo pair, so I can process the kick and snare seperately through my mixer.
 
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