Alesis SR18

The Alesis SR18 drum machine is really simple to understand and to use.
I'm the kind of person who thinks "Hey, I'm a musician not a programmer"
If you are like me then probably you feel extremely irritated when using an instrument in which one whatever you need to do you have to access a menu and "program" something.
Well good news! that's not the case with the Alesis SR18!
This drum machine is intuitive and easy to use, man I can compare this with the Boss Dr.880 which I ended up selling because you need more time understanding it than playing.
The Alesis SR18 offers a variety of rhythms, rock, funk, latin, it is actually missing metal, I was surprised, but ok, it offers you the possibility to play your own rhythms and save them.
A cool feature in the SR18 that some other drum machines are not offering, is that it has as well bass and percussions, which you can mute at your own taste.
Example, wanna play drums? then mute the drums on the SR18 and play along with the SR18 bass and percussions.
Wanna play bass? no problem, mute the bass in the SR18 and so you play the bass yourself while jamming with the SR18 drums and percussion.
The SR18 comes with a variety of basses, drum kits, from acoustic to electronic, there will be something to fit your needs. Drums are sounding powerful and realistic, electronic drum sounds are also high quality.
I'm using the SR18 in a wide variety, to practice bass, and as well I use it with my Roland FA08, or to play along with my Meinl Congas. It is a very versatile drum machine that allows you to create and have fun without breaking your head.
Another good reason why I chose the SR18 is because of portability, it can be used with AA batteries.
I recently bought a Yamaha Reface DX (you know, those mini pianos) and so I thought that it would make a great duo with the Alesis SR18, especially when going outdoors or to countryside house. All this and a little speaker can easily fit into a backpack.
UPDATE = You can connect via midi cable your SR18 to some other keyboard or pad, I connected my SR18 to my Roland Octapad, and so practically my Octapad got an expansion pack, now I can enjoy my Alesis SR18 drum kits on my Octapad.
As usual from Thomann fast dispatch, fast delivery, around 10 days to Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Danke Thomann team!

So you've read in the Internets how better is Alesis SR16 (predecessor) and now being scared, and therefore have some doubts to buy SR18? Well, I was the same. :-)

What I really like:
1. Each pattern/song has own default tempo!

2. Sounds are really great, not "nintendo'ish" and sounds much more like human is playing. Especially, if you record the pattern with the real drum kit (electric).

3. Percussion mode.

4. Tempo and switching knob. This this was simply missing in the SR16!

5. Awesome effects for the drums.

6. Possibility to connect another instrument through (I play also bass).

7. Glowing display is just great when your gig is in the dark.


What I don't like very much (but survivable):
1. Playing pads. They are by no means better than in previous model SR16. Now they are fixed and does not canceling previous sound and does not sound triple-piano silent (PPP) when you really hitting them, like in SR16. However, you still have challenge to let it sound real.

2. MIDI channels are somewhat oddly set. When I connect my Roland V-Drums TD-20 Pro, they trigger "who knows what", but what I do expect. For that reason I had to create my own MIDI setup only for this machine. But once you've done it, it works fine.

3. You don't have much drums to use in the current set. I cannot squeeze several crash cymbals, bell, ride, toms etc. But it is enough for the rhythm and simple fills.

Myths, you could hear in the Internet:
1. Myth: Switching fills between patterns is unpredictable. Reality: They do work just like in SR16 with no differences.

2. Myth: Is very difficult to use for gigs and live play. Reality: Just like SR16, except you can much faster switch between patterns and they even do remember their default tempos!

3. Myth: It is very difficult to handle. Reality: It is as same as SR16, except it just has more features, therefore more things needs to be known. Hint: read the documentation. :-)

4. Myth: It is too expensive for its value. Reality: In fact, if you compare to other machines within its class, the prices of other devices are much higher, while feature-wise they are not as SR-18.

Verdict:
1. Totally worth its price.

2. Awesome for gigs.

3. Easily replaces your lousy drummer. :-P

I was an SR-16 user from the 90s. I did a ton of songwriting demos and self produced CDs using the SR-16. It's not a real drummer, but if you know how to use it, it's a damned good replacement when there's no drummers around. So, when my SR-16 blew out on me, I replaced it with this baby. It's an upgrade - it's just as easy to use, but sounds better. I haven't gotten into using it live yet, but I will. So far, it's better than its predecessor and I am all good with that.
PROs: When you get the basics of it, it does what its supposed to do and can be used for pro recordings and live shows.
CONS: it's not Steve Gadd... but if you don't expect it to be and use it for what it is, it's excellent. The bass stuff in there is icing. I've not used it yet as I also play bass, but the patches sound good.

I bought this as I was about to start gigging again with a few friends, mainly acoustic guitar but also a saxophone and electric bass, so some amplification was going to be needed, and if amplification is needed then so is some way of keeping time. We have been using this now for several months, running directly through the PA, and for us the main advantage is that the patterns and songs can be started and stopped using a footswitch – we use a Nux NMP-2 – IMO a super reliable switch box.
There is an abundance of patterns and kits available, although as anticipated we have ended up using only a few of them.
There are some quite important limitations to programming it, inevitably very old fashioned in that way, and I have found it quite tricky to get the beats in exactly the right places. I have not worked out if it is possible to extend recorded phrases. Possibly this is more a case of my being limited rather than the machine, time will tell.
On the plus side the sounds are really very good and there are so many of them to choose from. I can see that this machine will keep me busy for years. I have not yet tried triggering it with MIDI from a DAW, which is something to look forward to! Although it is plastic it is solidly built and will doubtless last a long time, even being gigged. It’s size is another plus point (very light and portable), I have it mounted on a microphone tablet holder, as is the fact that it can at a push be run on batteries, although I would not recommend doing this as they do seem to become exhausted rather too quickly for my liking.
Overall, I have to strongly recommend it because it does what our little group needs it to do and does it, so far, completely reliably.