Alesis SR-16 Drum Machine

Very user friendly which makes it wonderful to sit around & try out song ideas on. All settings are automatically saved, so you can just unplug it & throw it in the closet when you get sick of playing with it.

You can assign any drum to any pad, & tweak the pitch of each individually (very useful for me). Once I did that I found the pads to be very easy to play. You can't alter the decay or effects on the sounds, but with enough tweaking I created a pretty heavy sounding drumset.

I am doing Gothic Rock, so I have no problem with how 80's many of the sounds are. The samples seem to be about 20% Rock, 30% Rap & Dance, & the rest are just the same samples with weird reverbs (usually too much). If you've mastered Finger-Foo like me, you'll have no problems with the pads size or velocity (actually, I just set the touch respose to zero most of the time). If I could alter the FX & decay on the sounds I'd give this thing a 10 in every category. If you have a good drum module, this would be a great sequencer to drive it with (midi in, out/thru).

So far I've dropped it, tripped on the cord & unplugged it, & or left it on by accident...no problem. I have five entire songs in it, some with up to 30 different parts, & I've yet to see a memory failure. From what experience I've had I would gig with it (you could save half a set into it), but not before backing up the data on an audio tape.

N/A

If it were stolen I'd surely buy it again (especially at the peanuts price they go for). I've had it for about a year. In fact, I got it based on what I had read on this page. Right now I use it to drive the sounds in my Yamaha PSR-530, which gives me the ability to edit & add FX. If you are into Gothic Rock or Rap, I think you'll be very happy with this baby. Now, if ALESIS would just come out with a sequel, one with on-board FX, in-depth editing, bigger memory, & a headphone jack, I'd run out & buy 2 the day it came out! I hope you're listening ALESIS...

Very user friendly which makes it wonderful to sit around & try out song ideas on. All settings are automatically saved, so you can just unplug it & throw it in the closet when you get sick of playing with it.

You can assign any drum to any pad, & tweak the pitch of each individually (very useful for me). Once I did that I found the pads to be very easy to play. You can't alter the decay or effects on the sounds, but with enough tweaking I created a pretty heavy sounding drumset.

I am doing Gothic Rock, so I have no problem with how 80's many of the sounds are. The samples seem to be about 20% Rock, 30% Rap & Dance, & the rest are just the same samples with weird reverbs (usually too much). If you've mastered Finger-Foo like me, you'll have no problems with the pads size or velocity (actually, I just set the touch respose to zero most of the time). If I could alter the FX & decay on the sounds I'd give this thing a 10 in every category. If you have a good drum module, this would be a great sequencer to drive it with (midi in, out/thru).

So far I've dropped it, tripped on the cord & unplugged it, & or left it on by accident...no problem. I have five entire songs in it, some with up to 30 different parts, & I've yet to see a memory failure. From what experience I've had I would gig with it (you could save half a set into it), but not before backing up the data on an audio tape.

N/A

If it were stolen I'd surely buy it again (especially at the peanuts price they go for). I've had it for about a year. In fact, I got it based on what I had read on this page. Right now I use it to drive the sounds in my Yamaha PSR-530, which gives me the ability to edit & add FX. If you are into Gothic Rock or Rap, I think you'll be very happy with this baby. Now, if ALESIS would just come out with a sequel, one with on-board FX, in-depth editing, bigger memory, & a headphone jack, I'd run out & buy 2 the day it came out! I hope you're listening ALESIS...

once you get the hang of it, programming in is very easy... i program via the step editor, 'cuz i have no idea how anyone can play a decent rythm on such small pads... the big problem is that you can't erase in step mode, which i feel is stupid. i mean, if nothing else, i'm sure everyone is going to accidently hit the wrong drum some where while programming 4 measures worth of 16th notes, y'know? And what if you do something and play it back and don't like it?

The pressure sensitive pads are nice, the swing works once you figure out how to use it, i've never had trouble with too many voices, to the polyphony is good, but the midi has this annoying habit of setting itself to song zero... also, it should just have a small built-in reverb thing instead of wasting samples by taking a sample and applying room reverb and then hall reverb...

256 drum sounds it says, but i swear a lot of them sound EXACTLY alike... and i'm not referring to the ones where there's a drum sound, then the same one w/ room reverb, then the same one w/ hall reverb... (i have a friend with the Alesis SQ-8 "synth" and it seems to me that Alesis has this technology to include a s**tload of sounds/samples on their things, but they're not creative enough to give you as many *useful* sounds to work with...) there is an astonishing lack of "techno" style drums for a drum machine, it's like it's marketed towards rock bands, which is s**tty 'cuz rock bands avoid using drum machines!!!

i'm really nervous about using this for a gig, 'cuz it always resets to song zero, and that's just lame... even with the "Midi Program Change OFF" i have this problem... however, a good thing is that you never have to save anything. Once it's programmed, it's there until you erase it, which is pretty rad... if you lose power, you don't lose anything you've done...

never dealt w/ 'em myself, but my friend w/ the SQ8 spent a few months calling and e-mailing them and never got a response...

this is a rock and roll drum machine. maybe a jazz musician would find it useful, but i don't know, i'm not a jazz musician. As for the rest of us, doing ELECTRONIC music this DRUM MACHINE is next to useless... i'm kicking myself in the ass for buying it, and if it was stolen or something, i'd kick myself in the ass for not selling it before hand... right now i'm keeping it, but i think in the end i'm going to end up selling it... my advice to ppl looking to buy it, DON'T GET SUCKERED IN BY THE REALLY LOW PRICE. Unless your doing rock music and you want a 200 dollar metronome, this is a piece of crap for a drum machine.

Software Version 1.04: Presets patterns/songs are by in large rather appauling, following up on a cliche sense of the sound of many genres (The "techno" and "new-age" patterns were rather amusing). While the sounds are fixed memory samples, editing beats and patterns is rather straightforward. The step-record feature is well laid-out, and most features are easy to recall without a manual once you go through it once or twice.

Effects are fixed in the samples (booo!), and the polyphony (at sixteen voices) is generally enough (considering the length of the samples) for almost any composition. It is non-expandable beyond sysex dumps of the operating system, patterns, and songs. It has an annoying habit of setting syncing to its own clock-tick (even if internal is off, and external is on) which means that you should be sure your master clock device is operating or the SR-16 does its own thing. Keys are semi-velocity sensitive (eight possible velocities? fine, but bizaare), and sequencer is adequate since it controls the internal drum machine only. The pedal "fill" feature is very cool, and justifies my buying this unit over most other models despite its drawbacks.

Instruments are more or less conventional, non-editable, and work for music that doesn't deviate from the "norm". Sounds aimed more at rock and jazz styles, although perhaps still cliche-ish in that realm. Expressiveness is adequate, considering its price. The pedal "fill" is decent, and syncs well without sounding "out of place".

It has not given me any problems as of yet. Although if you run low on memory, it becomes difficult to carry out even normal menu operations, but I have only once run into this when loading it up with patterns and songs found online. It seems rather hard to fill the memory unless you do an awful lot of programming.

Have yet to deal with Alesis to this day.

I compose primarily new-age electronica, so this machine was probably not the best choice for me considering I like to develop new sounds and rhythms from scratch. Considering my budget at the time, and the fact that I was in absolute need of a rhythm machine, it was an appropriate purchase. In the future I would be more inclined to purchase a sampling rhythm machine when my budget allows (ie. The Akai models MPC-60 and MPC-3000).

The machine comes with 233 preset sounds, a lot of which are the same instruments but with an effect(reverb, delay). The preset sounds that are usable are dope, however I have no use for alot of the sounds, since I do mostly hip hop. THE PRESET BEATS ARE CRAP!!! I bought my box used so it didn't come with a manual, but Alesis hooked me up. I downloaded a manual online and printed it at work. After reading the manual and getting use to the way the SR-16 edits, I found the machine a breeze to operate, cut and paste, loop patters, add fills, double patters, and drop beats real time. I've "phucked around" with some other drum machines, which retail for alot more $$$ and have found the Alesis SR-16 THE EASIEST to make/edit beats with!
Overall I give it an 8 here because THE PRESET PATTERNS SUCK and the instruments are rather limited, but I'D EASILY GIVE IT A 10 as far as creating/editing beats.

No built in effects, thats a rip, but what do you expect for $100? You can however create your own drumset (by selecting certain drums from a preset) then tweak them, by ajusting panning, volume, and tone. The metronome is nice for keeping beat, when composing a song. It has swing and quantize options, but I haven gotten around to those yet. I don't really care for the velocity sensitive pads since you have to beat the hell out of them to hear em. Luckily Alesis was on their game and allowed you to set any pad at a fixed volume, or a range of volumes (velocity sensative). There is plenty of memory in this bad boy! 50 patterns to save to, with both A & B patterns and A & B fills for each pattern. 100 songs to save to. Overall kinda light on the options, but everything you need is there. FUNDAMENTALY SOUND!

The sound of the instruments I actually use are great, however out of 233 presets I only use about 150. The one thing really lacking on this machine, is the ability to add effects. All the sounds are "pre-effected", and sometimes that can be a real pain in the......butt, again for $100 what should I expect? It does have velocity sensative pads, but I only use them on ocassion. The pads could be a little bigger since I have bigs hands and sometimes, wind up mashing more than one pad at a time. For the most part the sounds are good, and keeping me playing for hours on end.

Hmmm I bought mine used, everything still works, and it looks kinda beat up. So I'm impressed!

Never called em, but they have the manual on-line and thats a plus!

Overall I give this machine an 8.5 just because I don't use everything this machine has to offer. Espically since I DON'T WASTE MY TIME ON THAT GARBAGE SOUNDING MIDI CRAP. This machine is a remarkable value, has phat drums, and THE BEST song editing I've seen on any machine under 1K. If it were ruined I'd definately buy another, unless I had 2K to spend on a real machine. You definately get your moneys' worth out of the machine. I've been mess'N around for 7 years. I currently run a Mackie 1202 w/ 4 Mic's hooked up, Techniques Tables, Gemini 24 second sampler, and whatever gear my homies decide to bring over. My SR-16 is running neck and neck with my Mackie 1202 and my Mic, as the best bang for my buck!
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/3554

I am using the newest software version. The preset drum kits and drum patterns are AWSOME. You could sit down and record with this puppy right away. It took me a while to figur out how to record, but once you do, you won't want to stop. You cannot edit the presets, but you can copy them to the user bank then do what you want with them. It is EXTREMELY easy to use, although reading the manual is necessary is yu want to get everthing out of this machine.

The velocity sensitive pads are a nice touch; althogh sometimes you can get "double taps" when they are not wanted. The only built in effect is reverb, which you cannot control :(. You can store drum patterns on a cassette and the drum machine will recogize the patters. THere's MIDI, but I'm not into that stuff...

The sounds are VERY, VERY realistic. The open high hat(there's about 25) is unbelievable...you can hear different rattles, etc. All in all, there are about 230 drums(and other things). Every one sounds GREAT. It is very easy to program your own kits(which contain up to 12 percussion's of your choice). Works well for all music since you can easilsy record your own patterns. I was amazed the day I got it, and still am every time I plug it in. It reacts well to velocity...

Everything is fine, except for the volume wheel. It gets scratchy and jumpy on the low end, but it doesn't bother me. It may just be my SR-16...or maybe not...that's why it gets an 8...

Gonna call em about the wheel...

Love it, love it. I've recorded basic patterns on a real drum then on my SR-16. People thought the SR-16 was the real drums! They are so realistic it's awe inspiring...GO GET ONE!

(Software version 1.02). The SR16 is a great sounding drum machine. Patches are easy to edit, and most of the presets sound pretty decent. The manual is helpful, but confusing about some points (it is also downloadable from the Alesis web page, a BIG PLUS!) However, I do have a few gripes. First of all, the reverbs are not editable. Second, there are not any names assigned to the drum kits (it would make picking them much easier), and there are not any printouts of the drums and their numbers (you have to scroll through to see names and numbers). However, considering the price of the unite, these are forgivable. Keep in mind that this is my first drum machine -- I bought it to use the presets until I learned how to program it (which is what many drum machine newbies do).

I am not sure what the polyphony is (see below reviews). The button action is kind of cheap feeling (not as nice as the boss's). Touch response is also not very noticeable. Effects are built in and are not editable (make sure you like the reverb settings). Overall, this machine is pretty easy to use. A cool feature is the abillity to break into a fill anywhere in the song (the fill will be different depending on when you start it). This gives the machine a "real" feel and sound. Sounds can be routed through four different outputs. No battery capability. Midi capable. Very portable and lightweight.

Sounds are definately realistic. My only problem is finding drum sounds that fit my needs. I like simple drum sounds, but many of the sounds contain too much reverb for my tastes. There are only 3 or 4 (out of 40 somthing)preset drum kits that I actually like. I also wish the preset songs were a little better (I will eventually get better at programming my own, but until then, the presets will have to do). I would say that the presets sound too techno/hard-rockish. However, if you program it, it will sound good for just about anything. As I mentioned above, it does not react very well to velocity.

I use it for home recording -- I like to perform with real drummers. However, this machine is definately road worthy. The only problem is that the volume knob is a little "scratchy". Other than that, just don't drop it.

Never dealt with alesis, but they have a lot of support on the web.

For the price, this is a great drum machine. It it were lost/stolen/broken, I would go with a BOss DR5 or 660 (which have more features and better sound IMHO). It was definately worth $160, but I would not pay more for it. I love its sounds, but I hate most of the presets (but not a big deal since I program it now). The reason I bought this instead of the others was price (the bosses sell for around $250 used), but I would definately spend more and get something better next time. I wish it had more control over sounds/reverb. This machine is beginning to grow on me, though.

Good sounding box. 50 preset patterns, 215 different drum sounds. You can make your own kits, and patterns. The SR-16 makes a great Sound Module, but it doesn't transmit constant time. example: I'm working in 110bpm, and the sr16 is waffling at 109.8 - 110.2 (i'm getting this info from my sequencer) Midi documentation stinks, there isn't anything, that talks about how kits are assigned without lots of interpretation. The drum machine itself is easy to use, just set tempo, and hit start. The sounds are driving this rating.

It has 10 instruments it can play, they can be programmed to correspond with GM, or any other drum kit you are using. Midi docs stink. It doesn't keep accurate time, but is a great sound mod. Velocity sensative input pads are nice.

Sounds are great. Alesis did a great job. The drums are full, and the cymbols ring. with 215 different drums, it can cover all types of percussion.

I have had this machine for 7 years, and it hasn't failed me. It has fallen on the floor, or had things fall on it, and it just keeps playing.

Never talked to Alesis, but the have a great web page. You can even download a new manual if you lost your old one. I wish all companies did that.

I'd probably by a D5 for sounds next time, or for a rhythm machine maybe the Dr.Rhythm. The fact that it can't keep solid time as a controller really pisses me off, IF they could fix that, I'd buy it again.

This is a dedicated drum machine. Only drum sounds and patterns. It comes with 233 sampled sounds (16 bits). 50 of them are kicks, 60 snares, hats, cymbals, toms and some Latin percussion. The quality of the sounds is superb, and you've got plenty of room to choice from. It also have 100 patterns, 100 fills and 100 preset patterns, I think. The reggae ones are cool. Fool proof, anyone can use it just taking a glance at the manual.

Midi in and out. (trhu programmable using the midi out). 4 outputs, useful for separating kick-snare-sterero pair. Twelve keys. Each key have a six layer velocity response, although the sounds respond to velocity via midi. You can edit wich midi note will play each sound. The internal pattern mode has a cool swing quantization.

Very cool sounds. If you hit harder, the pitch of the drum sound changes pretty realistically. Good for rock, pop. Not so good for those into hard electronic music, because most of its sounds are sampled from real drums. No onboard effects (never seen a drum machine with them). Not too much editing of the sounds, just some pitch.

It's a strong machine, I've used it live and it is great (anyway, always make backups). Never had a problem. Small and easy to move (slightly bigger than size of a VHS videocassette, and not much heavier).

If you want to kick your drummer and still use good realistic drums, buy one.