What the? Drum machine, Sequencer, or Keyboard? Sampler?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bighand
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Bighand

New member
The last couple days, I've been reading here about these.
I'm not sure what fits my needs. Hope this forum may have more insight than the percussion. This would be a nice time to cross post if it were allowed.

I would think a drum machine would suffice, but, it appears a sequencer would do the same thing with added features. A keyboard with quality drum sounds would also give me good accompaniment for my next gear "woody."


Needs:
Quality drum sounds - upgradeable
Currently use Pro Acid(1year), but manipulating/building is making me lose interest - since I have to change tempo or my songs to match the beat. And, perhaps, I'm lazy.

I'd like to make my own drum loops
Easy data transfer (quality i/o for recording)

FYI - I'm not into Midi but wired for it.

What about a sampler? Could I use existing WAV drum sounds assigned to pads and create my own loop arrangements.
Geez not another option! Ahhhh!

Budget could go around $600. Maybe two of the above?

Bring on any questions.

Bighand [:D]
Beat newbie
 
Just to clarify the different terms.

SEQUENCER: Kind of like a multitrack recorder. It lets you record multiple tracks (anywhere from 4 - 32) of MIDI information (what note your playing, how loud it is, how long it is held and other info). It doesn't record the actual sound it just records information about it and when you play the sequence back it tells the sounds what to do. A sequencer cannot be used on it's own.

DRUM MACHINE, aka Groove Boxes: These are devices with a variety of drum sounds on board that will also usually have a sequencer. Some have more than just drum sounds, but the principle is the same. For the most part, these sounds are not upgradeable so you're stuck with what you get. These can also be used as controllers and are especially good IMHO for pounding out drum parts because you have pads as opposed to keys. These can be used on their own.

SAMPLER: A device that lets you take in a sound and play it on a keyboard or controller. You can use loops or single hits and, depending on the model, will give you some level of editing capabilities. Cannot be used on it's own.

CONTROLLER: Either a keyboard or drum pad that controls your sound source (in this example your sampler). It is what plays the sampler and also is what sends the information to the sequencer while recording. Cannot be used on it's own.

FYI, you can find all of the above in one unit, like the Korg Triton, Yamaha Motif, Akai MPC series, Roland MC-909 and more. Benefit here is that you don't have to use MIDI really at all and everything can be handled on one device. These are usually relatively expensive though and offer more features that you are looking for.

I'll make some recommendations based on your budget and requirments.
 
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i have an Ensoniq ASR-X with the urban dance card installed... this makes it an Ensoniq ASR-X pro.... marketing crap.

anyway, it is a drum machine and sampler with a built in sequencer. i don't prefer the sequencer. it also has drum loops.

the sounds are pretty darn good and the filters and fx are really well done.

if you want to hear what i've done with it click here and go to the audio sections page.
 
My recommendation for you would be a sampler/sequencer combination.

With the sequencer/sampler combo you would be able to download/import wav files into your PC, manipulate if necessary and then import and assign to a key (or range of keys) on the sampler. This is how you build your kit.

Once the kit is built you can use the sequencer to record you playing the kit, in one take or multiple takes if you like thus contructing your own loop.

DEVICES:

SOFTWARE

Would you rather stay in the PC realm? If so there is a lot of software that would easily accomodate this. With this setup you'd also need a controller keyboard/drum pad to input the notes into the PC unless you favor using a mouse. I can't really make recommendations on software, but I hear Cubase SX is really hard to beat for ease of use and functionality.

HARDWARE

SAMPLERS
For samplers Akai and Emu samplers are really good for drum sounds. Akai S series samplers (I use the S2000) can be found for dirt cheap (I picked up mine for $300). These will usually have SCSI ports for adding Zip drives to store all your samples on and allow you to interface with your PC.

Here's an Emu ESI-32 for $199.99, nice price!!

http://www.musicgoround.com/gear/inventorydetails.asp?id=65459

Here's an Akai S3000 sampler for $349.99.

http://www.musicgoround.com/gear/inventorydetails.asp?id=112221


Here's an Akai MPC2000 for $899.99

http://www.musicgoround.com/gear/inventorydetails.asp?id=91001

The Ensoniq ASR units are nice as well and have onboard sequencers. These are kind of like the Akai MPCs, but are a bit cheaper and would allow you to do eveything on one unit, although the sequencers don't get very good reviews.

Here's the Ensoniq ASR-10 for $447, it's a Canadian site.

http://www.songbirdmusic.com/ottasp/odetail.asp?id=4476

SEQUENCERS
If you get a standalone sampler (Akai or Emu) you'll need a conrtoller and sequencer. I would suggest a drum machine/groove box for this task. The Roland MC series is really hard to beat in this area for price, features and ease of use. These have their own sounds, sequencer and pads for playing.

Here is an Roland MC-303 for $199.99, great price.

http://www.musicgoround.com/gear/inventorydetails.asp?id=110634

Lots of excellent possibilities for you here. If it was me (and I too am a drummer) I'd go for the MC-303 and S3000 and that would fit your budget perfectly.

Hope this helps.

Stray
 
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Thanks Stray.
Funny, I bought a guitar from songbird music last year and I'm in
southern CA. Sounds like I'm in for laying down some big cash if I want new.

I came across this late this morning:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...ontent/g=home/s=articles/reports/doc_id=81995
It got me a little hopeful. Is this too elementary?

Hey cross-
That ASR-X pro looks serious. It appears discontinued though.
Wassup with that?

I appreciate your direction and insight.

[:D]
 
Ensoniq was purchased by EMU, and the ASR series was discontinued.
 
now i don't know what to get... an emu-esi32 or mc303??? which would be best for house guys? (funky & progressive house)
 
if someone can help me, i'll do anything.. i'll suck your dick, or even wipe your nose... i promise...
 
Chriss said:
I'm in love with you stray!!! now i'm gear horny...
Click to expand...

I feel like a gear pimp :)!! You like my bitches??? :)

That ESI-32 you found with the expansion is a great deal, I must have missed that one. Where do you live? MusicGoRound won't deliver outside of the country? If they won't I've heard of people setting up temporary PO boxes here and then having them forwarded to an overseas address, but I'm not sure exactly how that's done.

BTW, just checked MusicGoRound's site and they call themselves "the Worlds largest used instrument dealer" so they should live up to the reputation and ship outside the country.

Good luck on that.

Stray
 
Bighand said:
I came across this late this morning:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...ontent/g=home/s=articles/reports/doc_id=81995
It got me a little hopeful. Is this too elementary?
Click to expand...

The gear you listed above is usable for what you're trying to do. As matter of fact, the sequencer part of it (DR-202 drum machine) is perfect. The sampler part (Sp-303) leaves a bit to be desired though. That sampler is designed to be used with phrase loops as opposed to one-shots or single drum hits. You can still use it that way but the editing features look to be lacking in that area.

I had the SP-202, which is the predecessor of the SP-303 and was not too enthused with it. The new one adds the ability to import wav files from your PC using a SmartMedia reader, which is very nice.

Good luck.

Stray
 
stray411 said:
I feel like a gear pimp :)!! You like my bitches??? :)

That ESI-32 you found with the expansion is a great deal, I must have missed that one. Where do you live? MusicGoRound won't deliver outside of the country? If they won't I've heard of people setting up temporary PO boxes here and then having them forwarded to an overseas address, but I'm not sure exactly how that's done.

BTW, just checked MusicGoRound's site and they call themselves "the Worlds largest used instrument dealer" so they should live up to the reputation and ship outside the country.

Good luck on that.

Stray
Click to expand...

i live in denmark... problem is, it's hard to get a hold of any dealer... i've tried mailing them.. no reply yet :'(
I neeeeed an esi!!
What is the cheapest price you get on an a-mu esi sampler (any esi.. cheap is the factor...) with effects and *some* expanded memory?? help??
 
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