One of the largest benefits of moving into a larger place next year is that I will finally have room for a drum kit. Until then, I have decided to soothe my percussive desires with a drum machine. However, I know very little about them.
Can anyone point me toward a good drum machine? Note that I am not a professional–more of a serious dabbler. It will mostly be used for guitar and other instrument practice at home, and the occasional live performance; however, I would also view the crafting of cool beats as an end unto itself.
While I’m at it, what is the best PC-based drum machine software?
Although I really can’t comment on the physical drum machines, (roland made some good ones, I hear) I can tell you that a program called ‘Fruity Loops’ is well worth the dough. Think of it as drum machine software that can create more than just beats.
I may be mistaken, but I think that Darude guy that made that ‘sandstorm’ song used it.
As someone who plays a lot and who has sold musical instruments and equipment for many years, I would strongly recommend the Alesis SR-16. In the last 10 years drum machines used for the purpose of sounding like real drums, (as opposed to sounding like old synth drum machines and things) really haven’t evolved much, and the SR-16 is still the best available as far as sound quality, versatility, and ease of use. The best part is, they are all over e-bay for less than $125.
Sorry I can’t really help you on the software programs, I haven’t looked into the recent plethora of drummer progs.
As far as software goes, Fruity Loops is a good suggestion -there’s a demo version so you can try before you buy. There’s another one called Battery by a fantastic company called Native Instruments - it’s what I use, but I’m not sure it’s immeasurably better than Fruity Loops - don’t know if there’s a demo of Battery. I believe both Battery and Fruity Loops come with sample sets of decent quality, but you can load third party sounds into them - and there’s tons of sample discs out there (some quite expensive).
Frankly, I wouldn’t waste your time with any hardware drum module if you’re serious about this - the samples are going to be tiny compared to what you’ll be able to load into any software (keep in mind you’ll need a speedy computer with at least 128 megs o’ RAM). One other advantage of software: you can load in loops played by real drummers. With loops you’ll get authentic articulations and “human feel” that are very difficult to achieve with one-hit samples.
I have a small one (4 pads, many sounds and themes) I might be willing to sell. E-mail me, my address is (don’t use the one listed in my profile) cs302b@yahoo.com
out of curiosity I downloaded the Fruity Loops Demo and had a blast with it this weekend. It sounds good and it’s WAY easier to program than a stand alone drum machine. I’m hooked. I just might have to pry open my wallet and spring for the full version.
Whilst there are many good reasons to go the software route, I too have an Alesis SR-16, and would highly recommend one, especially for creating guitar accompaniment stuff. Some of the sounds are fantastic. You also then get the immeasurable pleasure of something that makes louder sounds the harder you hit it, which 'puters just don’t do.
Well, not after the first few sledgehammer blows anyway.
Another vote for the Alesis SR-16. i am a drummer but also play guitar and bass. being a drummer I was pretty picky about my drum machine for recording. I love the sr-16 but haven’t seen it in any music catalogues lately. Do they still sell it?
For computer you should check out acid pro by sonic foundry. It works with drum loops that sound even better than a drummer machine because they are live drums recorded! If you want to hear a sample of the drum sound you can check out some of my home recordings at http://www.mp3.com/quijibo
Several years ago I worked for an Alesis dealer and they were one of the strongest manufacturers of digital recording gear. I no longer sell their equipment but I have heard that they have suffered some severe financial difficulty in the last couple of years. I have a feeling that soon enough Alesis will be up and running under new management, but at the moment, I don’t believe that the SR-16 is available from retail stores.
I have seen them as low as 80 bucks on e-bay recently, which makes me think that I should buy another one just to have. I have yet to see anything that even approaches it on the market.
I doubt we’ll see anything superior any time soon…it would be near impossible to create at a price point competitive with the used SR-16s out there.