SR18 REVIEWED ON GUITARGEARHEADS.COM
The Alesis SR18
By: Gary Allen
Here’s a question for you -- "What sets a professional
guitar player apart from a non-professional?" The answer is not as cut and
dry as it may seem. There are actually many factors that propel one guitar
player to the studio and big stage while another seems to be held back to small
local clubs. The difference can range from playing technique, understanding of
music theory and chord structure, and no small amount of pure luck of being in
the right place at the right time. However, I believe there is one factor that
is often overlooked and is extremely important to not only professional guitar
players, but to all professional musicians regardless of the instrument they
play. A great sense of timing is paramount, and can make all the difference
between a good musician and a great instrumentalist.
I have played many clubs, and seen many other bands play. I have seen great
guitar players with incredible technique and skill, but their timing was off
enough to throw the entire bands sound into chaos. At the other end of the
spectrum, I have heard players who lacked the finer technical skills, but their
timing was tight and focused. Given the choice, I would rather listen to a less
pyrotechnic musician who added to the energy of the bands overall sound, than a
proficient player who can not stay with the beat.
Many teachers will tell you to practice with a metronome to hone your timing
efficiency. They are absolutely correct; although I would also point out that I
find metronomes to be a considerable bore. To make this process for fun,
interesting, and even more realistic, I suggest the use of a drum machine.
Alesis recently sent me their new SR18 drum machine for review, and I decided
to approach this review from an angle that I have not seen any other reviewer
consider. I chose to review the SR18 from the viewpoint of a powerful timing
tool; a tool which I believe has the ability to positively impact a musician’s
sense of timing greatly.
The SR18 Drum Machine by
Alesis
Alesis has been a leader in drum machine technology for many years. In fact the
first few drum machines that I had the opportunity to use were Alesis models
including the very popular SR16 which has enjoyed an unprecedented 18 year life
span, and is still available today. The SR18 is the next generation, and has
some key features that make it an even more compelling practice tool.
Out of the box, the SR18 has a contemporary look with rounded side edges that
break from the traditional square look of most equipment. Don’t let this
compact space saving design fool you. Even though it is smaller than most past
drum machines, it holds enough features to satisfy even the pickiest user. The
large blue back lit screen gives you a snapshot look at your settings including
patch, tempo, Drums and Bass On/off status, as well as other pertinent
information. The screen is easy to read and also provides visual feedback
during any editing processes you may undertake. A large scroll wheel allows you
to quickly browse through patches, as well as perform quick edits of parameters
and other configurable features. The wheel moves very smoothly and the finger
indent makes it both precise and comfortable to use.
Below the screen and scroll wheel you will find a fairly extensive control
panel. This is where all the functionality of the SR18 comes into play. This is
where you will do almost all of the work from setting up to record your own
rhythms, setting tempo via the “tap/tempo” button, and simply engaging the
different aspects that the SR18 has available in each patch, just to name a
few.
Below the control section, you will find twelve large pressure sensitive pads
that work as triggers for drum and percussion sounds that you will use for
recording your own rhythm patterns. These velocity sensitive pads give defined
dynamic control to your sound.
The hookup section of the SR18 holds quite a few options, offering additional
versatility for particular needs. The outputs can be either stereo or mono,
while the “AUX L/R” output allows you to send your drum sounds and percussion
sounds to separate tracks of your recording setup. Having these parts recorded
on separate tracks can be extremely important when it comes time to do your mix
down since it provides for independent processing of the isolated sound, (such
as volume, EQ, etc.), if desired.
My favorite option on the back panel in the instrument input. Just plug in your
instrument and its signal is added to the output of the SR18. This adds to the
versatility of the SR18 as a practice tool. I was able to plug in my guitar and
play to the patterns using nothing but a set of headphones plugged directly
into the headphone output of the SR18. In this configuration, there is no need
for an external amplifier, making this a great option for those who do a lot of
traveling, and want to practice while on the road.
Also on the back panel you will find a volume control, power switch, MIDI
in/out, and two ¼” jacks for footswitches to turn the SR18 patterns
on/off, and inserting fills while playing a song. The footswitches do not come
with the SR18, and must be purchased separately. Rounding out the back panel is
a “Kensington Lock” slot to secure the unit to a table or desk, which will keep
your drummer and bass player from stealing it!
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Features at a glance:
• Large, 32MB sound set with percussion bank and bass synth
• Over 500 drum and percussion sounds and 50 bass sounds
• Built-in Alesis effects: reverbs, EQs, and compression
• Pattern Play Mode enables different patterns to be triggered from the pads
directly
• Programmable Drum Roll function
• Mute/Solo Function: mute drums, bass, and percussion or individual pads
• Flexible wall (adapter included) and battery powering (six AA, not included)
• Backlit LCD
• 100 preset patterns, 100 user locations
• 12 velocity sensitive pads
• Tap tempo for instant beats exactly as you want them
The Sound Test
For the first part of my testing, I set up the SR18 through my Mackie Onyx
mixing board. I spent about an hour just working through the different presets
to get an idea of the different rhythms available. I found the variety of
selections quite diverse, yet well arranged by the musical styles for which
they would work best. This makes it easy for a player to find styles that fit
their musical preference.
To make things really interesting, Alesis has taken each preset and basically
divided it into three sections. You have the basic drum rhythm that you would
expect, but also bass guitar and percussion instrument sounds. These have all
been integrated together to give the feel of a full rhythm section, but there
is a very welcome twist. You have the ability to turn on or off any single
section within a preset with the push of a button. For example, you may like
the drum and percussion pattern within a preset, but the bass groove is just
not doing it for you. A simple tap on the “BASS” button mutes the bass guitar
part and allows you to utilize just the drums and percussion parts within the
given preset. In essence, this gives the ability for each preset to have
several options for optimum versatility.
When it comes right down to it, the basic setup and features are pretty
straight forward. I was selecting presets, changing tempos, turning on/off instruments
within the patches, and tapping out simple drum grooves on the instrument pads
without cracking the cover on the manual. I found the instrument sounds of the
SR18 to be of exceptional quality. As a past drummer, I especially appreciate
Alesis' exclusive “Dynamic Articulation™” which gives the SR18 a more lifelike
impression and breaks from the stale mechanical feel of early drum machines.
The ability to add EQ, reverb and compression is a really nice touch, and the
addition of bass guitar were welcome additions, although this is where you will
need to learn to do a little editing to make sure the bass is playing in the
key that you will be practicing in. It is not a hard task, but you will
probably need to refer to the manual for instructions until you get the hang of
it. This feature makes the SR18 an even better practice tool in my opinion
because you are playing to a more realistic sound. Not to get down on
metronomes, but when you actually play with a band, you will not be playing to
a simple clicking sound, but rather with a compliment of instruments, and I
believe that your practice should reflect this whenever possible.
Speaking of practicing, I plugged my guitar into the instrument input of the
SR18, and choose a preset to play to. My guitar sound came through just as if
it was a part of the mix. The acoustic worked best since I like it to be very
clean. For the electric I found that I needed to add effects pedals before the
SR18 input to get the sound I desired. Unplugging from the mixing board, and
just using the “headphone out” worked equally well for quieter practice.
Even with the many styles and patterns that come pre-programmed in the SR18,
you are likely to run into a situation where none of them fit the particular
song you want to practice. In this case, you can use the drum pads to build and
record your own user presets. This process can go anywhere from fairly simple
to in-depth and intensive. As a person who has never programmed a drum machine,
I ventured into the manual to see if I could figure out how to build my own
user preset.
Referring to the manual instructions, I recorded some simple patterns for a
song including an intro, a verse, a chorus, and a bridge section. I stored
these patterns in the “user pattern” section. The nice part is that the
recording process loops so that you can overdub more drums into the pattern. I
will admit that I can play a beat using a drum set without much effort, but
trying to recreate that beat on small finger pads was just not something that I
was capable of doing all at once - so expect to practice a little before you
nail down the beat patterns you are trying to achieve. After I had recorded the
first pattern, I was able to do the others without the help of the manual.
Now that I had the above elements recorded and stored, it was just a simple
process of arranging them in the order of my choice using the “song step edit
mode”. Each transition you make in the order of your song is a step. If you go
from a verse to a fill to a chorus, it would be considered three steps. Each
separate song you create allows you 254 steps, which should be more than enough
for almost any application. My simple song only took 22 steps to create,
including fills that I selected from the list already programmed into the SR18.
Once I had the song arranged, it was a simple task of selecting the preset I
had stored it in and hitting play.
Overall, I found this process to be amazingly easy, and my song turned out
great even in its basic simplicity. For those more inclined to do intensive
programming, the SR18 allows you to edit a single instrument, or even just a
single beat. This process is much more tedious, but the results can be well
worth the time spent.
Pro’s – Great sound, Added bass guitar rhythms, Great Variety of styles
and beats
Con’s – No RCA outputs for connecting to an amplifier or mixing console
for practice
Street Price - $264.00
Closing Thoughts
In today’s rapidly changing music scene, versatility is a vital element for any
musician. The more musical styles with which a player can easily adapt, the
better overall player he/she will become. Using a drum machine like the SR18
gives you the options to practice within a broad spectrum of genres while at
the same time hone the important aspect of timing. It also has the definitive
benefit of real drum and bass sounds, which allows you to practice in as close
to real world conditions as possible without having an actual drummer and bass
player present. This also serves to make your practice more interesting and
less monotonous in comparison to the droning click of a metronome.
I can’t promise that the SR18 is going to make you the next stadium sellout star,
but it can be a very important stepping stone in the incredible journey we all
take as musicians on every level. I highly recommend the SR18 as a great
practice tool not only for guitar players, but for any and all musicians
looking to improve their timing. I would recommend a metronome be kept in your
instrument case for times where it is more convenient than a drum machine, but
given the choice. I would personally use the SR18 as often as circumstances
allow. I wholeheartedly give the SR18 the GuitarGearHeads.com exclusive “Rig
Ready Award” for 2009.
Gary Allen
Copyright © 2009 Allen
& Halberg Publishing, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
GuitarGearHeads.com is a Registered Trademark
of Allen & Halberg Publishing, Inc.
