SR-16 Drum Machine... I Can Barely Hear The Pads

[Joeybear]

I just bought an SR-16, and I'm getting acquainted with it; or at least I'm trying to. And although I have the manual sitting here, I can't seem to solve the following problem...

I'm trying to record some basic drum sounds onto my computer; using the main outs on the SR-16 into my computer's sound card.
My problem is that I can't hear the pads on the SR-16. Everything else sounds fine, (inlcluding the demo song) but I can't get any of the pads to produce enough volume when I press them. They're barely audible. I've looked over the manual a number of times, but can't find anything.
The unit is currently set to it's default parameters.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[EdWonbass]

I'm not sure how the SR16 is set up but try going into the utilitys menu and check the pad dynamics settings. My old HR16 has settings for soft, medium, loud, and fixed dynamics 1-7. Make sure the pad dynamics are not fixed at a low volume. Also check to see that the pads are routed to the outputs that you are using.
I hope this helps. If I can think of anything else I will post.

 

[Joeybear]

Ed,

Thanks for responding. You're absolutely right. As Murphy's Law would have it, I figured out the problem right after posting.

Specifically, on page 13 of the manual, there's instructions for setting pad velocity. My unit had all pads set to the lowest setting. Once I upped the fixed volume setting, everything's OK now.

For future reference, anyone else who who runs into this problem should start on page 8 (the start of section 4.1) and go from there.

I don't know if the low velocity setting is the default setting or not. If it is, I can only imagine how many other people went thru this when they first started using their SR-16's.
It's either a matter of Alesis playing a little CYA, or my unit is a repackaged return. In regards to the latter, I suspected that as soon as I opened it, which is why I'm mentioning it here.
But that's another story.

 

[MadAudio]

Haha, good cautionary tale! But I think once you start messing with it you'll find that the SR-16 is a very user-friendly drum machine. I've had mine for years, and still use it.

 

[Joeybear]

You're right Mad. I'm impressed with it too; despite my original post.
The drum sounds seem to be far more "old school" than a lot of other products; which is why I wanted it.

 

[MadAudio]

"Old school" is a very polite way of putting it. But it can also be used as a MIDI sequencer. I've used my SR-16 to trigger sounds from my DM-5 and my Korg X5D.