What's a decent, simple drum machine for laying down demos?

Sorry if this has been asked before--feel free to link me if it has.

I'm just looking for a drum machine I can use into my multi-track to record song ideas for my band. Doesn't have to be too fancy, but definitely better than the crappy MIDI drums on my computer or old Yamaha keyboard. Would like to keep it in the rough ballpark of $100, but would be willing to spend a little more if needed.

Thanks.

Really, you'd be better off using software like this if you already have an audio interface but for hardware in that price range.... Alesis SR-16. If you've got a couple more bucks to throw at it, I suggest springing for the recent model revision, the SR-18. If you really can't come up with more than $100 than try the Zoom MRT3B.

Korg ER-1 if you're not looking for "realistic" drums ...

Any drum machine has SOME learning curve to make it do what you want it to do. I personally like the BOSS machines, but I've always heard good things about using the ZOOM's- I've never tried using them. If you can use software- why not download the FREE version of ACID from Sony and then grab some free drum loops from the web? Loops will probably sound better than whatever MIDI soundset you are using (because I assume it is a General MIDI set on your soundcard?) and they are pretty easy to edit in ACID.

Thanks a lot guys. Software isn't a bad option--I just would have to key everything in manually as I don't have any kind of keyboard or drum pads or anything. Not sure how much of a challenge that is. And yeah, all I have is my cheesy Windows drum sounds from my sound card. That Drums EX link above looks pretty cool, especially for the $20 special. Mind you, I'm not looking to publish any of this music, it's just to distribute some original ideas to the rest of my band so they have an idea what I have in mind. Gotta say though, some of the higher end stuff with the built-in bass tracks (Alesis 18; Boss 880, etc) look pretty damn sweet, but probably overkill for me. Anyway, thanks again.

A used Alesis SR16 would do it.

My favorite drum machine is my Electro Harmonix DRM-15 Digital Rhythm Matrix.

Thats the beauty of loops and ACID- just "paint" the loop on the track where you want it, use different loops for different sections, etc...

Check out :

http://www.dooleydrums.com/free_drum_loops.php

For some free drum loop sets- drop those onto the ACID timeline and cut them up however you want.

ACID XPRESS:

http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/

FREE!

-B

Drum machines have a much higher learning curve than software. I started out on the Linndrum and then went through several Yamaha machines. It took me several years to master the technique of creating individual patterns from scrtach, and then assembling patterns in lists to form songs. My son just intuitively does this in software with practically no learning curve.

I'm not sure what he's using currently.

Zoom MRT3

http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-MRT3-Micro-Rhythm-Machine/dp/B000P42PB8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1266606315&sr=8-3

Dude, thanks for the heads up. I just pulled the trigger on that No Brainer Deal.

I'm a big fan of Zooms drum machines myself. I use the Rythumtrak 234 myself. The soon to be released Korg Kaosillator Pro could also be great choice for drum machine, groove machine etc. I plan to get one to use myself. Lol. I have the basic kaosillator but isnt so well wuited to live use for me except for a few synth textures. The Pro will fix those shortcomings and go well with my kaospad3. But for just drum and bass machine the Zooms cant be beat imo for sounds, ease of use and versatility.

I'd like to hear how you like it (before the sale is over:lol:). Anyone else tried it?

bought!

thanks for the heads up!

I can vouch for the Steven Slate drums. I have used most of the software drums and I think these are as good or better than most of them. They are geared towards rock but you can mess them up with effects if you are so inclined.

P.S. I paid $100.00 for them when I got them (that sucks)

Cant say enough about the Akai XR20. I just bought mine and I havent been this productive or had as much fun making music in a very long time. Demo one out at GC when you get a chance, you wont be disappointed.

Also ordered the Steve Slate drums, seemed too good to pass up.

Regarding an actual drum machine, I've been looking into a few mentioned here. Problem is, most of them don't have a very quick/intuitive/visual step-editing mode.

I have two books full of drum sheet music I'd like to input. Visual step-editing would be great. Batteries too. And MIDI. Any recommendations on something around $100?

Bidding on a DR-550...that's the one I remember having a visual step editor on it. Hopefully it'll be easy enough to transfer over MIDI all the patterns/songs I input by hand. Then I'll use the Steve samples to customize them... no battery though....

BTW, anyone know of any drum machines capable of doing convincing jazz drums?

I don't think it's so much an issue about the quality of the samples in most drum machines so much as it is the playing technique. "Jazz" drums usually implies brushwork or subtle nuances that are hard to emulate by playing a little drum machine. IMO if you are doing recording at home, using ACID and some widely available Jazz drum loop sets are really the way to go-

If you are looking for portability and all that, you might:

a. Find a jazz drummer with an electronic drum kit and capture his perfomances via MIDI- then chop them up into sections or patterns and store them as MIDI files that your sequencer or drum machine can read- I think most sequncers can handle this- I'm not sure which drum machines can import standard MIDI files.

OR

b. purchase some jazz drum MIDI files online- and do the same thing.

I think some of the NEWER machines have more authenticity in this area- like the Boss DR-880- but your mileage may vary...

So far, I am quite satisfied. The only beef I have is the download time. It took me about 5 hours.

Also, the process of unzipping the files, and un zipping the zipped files inside the zipped files, was a little frustrating.

Then, there is the normal go-to-NI-and-activate-your-product-routine (no biggie, as I've got a ton of legit NI stuff anyway).

Lastly, there's the Kontakt searching-and-populating-the-database routine.

So, after a long download, some frustrating un-zipping, running install packages, activation and DB population, I was good to go.

The first thing I did was Jam to Led Zeps "Trampled Underfoot" with the drum track (10) routed to Kontakt in my DAW, and the Old Led Zep Drums preset loaded. That, and a nice Clavi emulation from my Kurz and I was having a freakin ball.

I may write more as I get to play with it more.

Here are some examples of Steven Slate drums straight from midi file with no editing or mixing or effects.

this is the tail end of "The Wizard" using the Classic Vintage kit

Here is the tail end of "Limelight" using the Absolute Rock Kit. Again from midi file, noe editing , effects or mixing

Last but not least, here is the tail end of "Whole lotta Love" using the Old Zep Kit. again, no mixing, editing or effects

I just listened to the demos on his website. That Zeppelin kick nails it. I might have to give him $20.

Well, I was outbid on the Dr-550, but it's just as well. After a bit more research, looking far and wide, I settled on a DR-5. Just one won for $70, so I'm excited, and have already read about a third of the manual. Covered most of my wants:

-- MIDI IN/OUT

-- step-editing ease

-- batteries

-- under $100

The 4-track sequencer is a bonus, as are the other features like doing chords, 36 MIDI-assignable pads, and an array of rompler instruments.

There were 8 out of 35 reviewers at the HC user reviews that specifically gave a thumbs-up for this little machine doing jazz pretty well. Well, we'll see...