Opinions of the Alesis D4?
Eric D. Larson
Does anyone have any opinions on this unit? For $350 it seems like a good buy
and it has quite a few sounds. Are there any similar units that might be
better for around the $300-$500 range? I have a VFX which doesn't have very
good drums at all, but should make a good master/controler synth.
Thanks much!
______
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(__ _ ` _ (oo) ( Moo? )
(____/ )_/ (__ /-------\/ --'\______/
______________ Eric D. Larson / | ||
(______________) lar...@rpi.edu * ||----||
^^ ^^
Jonathan Loh
>getting the D4. Does anyone have any opinions on this unit?
i've had a D4 now for almost a couple of years; picked it up when they
first came out. it's laid out fairly simply and easy to navigate and
change parameters for all your instruments. as far as i know, it's got
the most bang for the buck as far as a wide selection of sounds go.
notice i said _wide_, not good. the sounds, i believe are at 22k(at
best) and definitely sound a bit thin overall. i use it only for three
things...hi-hat, crash/ride, and miscellaneous hand held percussion.
it affords one the luxury of having 10-15 different hi-hat sounds and
a combination of another 30 crash/ride sounds, while leaving a few
notes open for those cowbells and other percussion. i don't care
much for the kicks or snares, and the toms are very mediocre as well.
but having 10-15 hi-hat sounds in one keygroup or bank allows you to
program a very realistic hat part, as opposed to the standard 3-hat
assignment of closed, half-open and open hat.
--
Jonathan
jl...@lenti.med.umn.edu or
jl...@futon.sfsu.edu Listed in order of preference
**** Please quote from this message when responding --- Thanks!
Garry Simmons
an E-mu Procussion. You can do a lot more editing/creation with it when
you get sick of the factory presets. I considered the D4, but I already
have trigger inputs on my DrumKAT and a lot of the presets are just the
same sample with different effects. I've got plenty of reverbs, and like
to program my own, so I tend to use dry patches and effect them with my
outboard gear... FWIW, I believe I paid ~$525 for my Procussion from
Sweetwater Sound.
Hope this helps,
Garry
sim...@ittc.wec.com
Doug Wellington USGS
lar...@aix02.ecs.rpi.edu (Eric D. Larson) writes...
>Hi, I need to buy a drum module/machine and was thinking of getting the D4.
>Does anyone have any opinions on this unit? For $350 it seems like a good buy
>and it has quite a few sounds. Are there any similar units that might be
>better for around the $300-$500 range? I have a VFX which doesn't have very
>good drums at all, but should make a good master/controler synth.
Well, if you need the drum *machine* part, don't get the D4, it has no
sequencing capabilities. For a drum module for that price, it is great!
The D4 shines when it comes to MIDI triggers, as well. I have seen devices
which just do trigger to MIDI that cost this much, and the D4 has 500 sounds
besides! I have a little pad rigged up with a bunch of piezos wired up and
plugged in the back of my D4. It's a great way to sequence drum tracks, and
if you're a drummer, you just tape the piezos to your drum heads or rims and
you can add lots to your sound. About the sounds - give them a listen. Some
people think that they're too plain. I dunno, I like 'em myself! I wish
that there were more cymbal sounds though...
There are two other drum modules that you should check out, but both are
more expensive. If you want GREAT sounds, and plenty of editing capabilities,
check out the E-Mu Procussion. Great box! Also, check out Yamaha's new TMX
Drum Trigger Module. It has 12 trigger inputs (like the D4) and 245 sounds.
I may buy one of those other two, but I'll keep the D4 just for the trigger
inputs, if not for the good sounds. (And besides, it's amazing what a
little reverb or flange can do for a drum sound!) BTW, the D4 has four
outputs, so you can route any sound to any of the four, and run one particular
effect on that output. I like flange on the snare and 'verb on the kick...
Again, the above three items are just tone modules, with two having
trigger inputs. Now for drum machine thoughts:
The drum machine that I own is a Yamaha RY30. This is an absolutely
monstrous drum machine! Great sounds, great editing flexibility, real-time
control over pitch, pan, decay, filter... I got the Peter Erskine add-in
card which has jazz sounds - brush sweeps, brush taps, and also a nice
tasty collection of jazzy patterns. There are a total of eight cards that
contain additional waves (samples), additional voices (combinations of
samples), patterns and demo songs. As far as I remember, the only other
drum machine with the ability to add cards is the top-of-the-line Roland
which retails for something like $1200! (Ouch!) You could also save
your money for a sampler...
The RY30 really is like a synthesizer. You can layer two sounds, edit
all kinds of parameters (filter, decay, pitch, pan, etc) and send the
sounds to any of four outputs.
Another thing I like about the RY30 is that you can use it as a
sub-controller. You can assign notes to different MIDI channels, so
the RY30 can control a bunch of other stuff. The only complaint that
I've ever heard about the RY30 is that it has a resolution of "only"
24 parts per quarter note. (That's the MIDI standard for resolution.)
My use for the RY30 is to create basic patterns, then if I want some
wild syncopation, I'll let Cakewalk control it, which is great because
Cakewalk controls everything else... :-) Oh yeah, street price on
the RY30 should be less than $450.
Let me know if I can answer any questions...
-Doug
Music Supply and Repair Service
2710 N. Paseo Tierra Verde
Tucson, AZ 85749
(602) 760-0425
Jan Erlandsen
In article <246m7r$1...@usenet.rpi.edu>,
lar...@aix02.ecs.rpi.edu (Eric D. Larson) writes...
>Hi, I need to buy a drum module/machine and was thinking of getting the D4.
>Does anyone have any opinions on this unit? For $350 it seems like a good buy
>and it has quite a few sounds. Are there any similar units that might be
>better for around the $300-$500 range? I have a VFX which doesn't have very
>good drums at all, but should make a good master/controler synth.
I haven't owned too many drum machines in my life (one KORG little thing which
I don't remember the name on, and Roland 505), but since a lot of modern
synthesizers includes drum sounds, I dare to say the D4 has the most beautiful
and living drum sounds I've ever experienced in a machine!
Clean, brilliant and not too characteristic (don't you just hate those "smack"
M1-drums in every modern production by now!?) sounds that vary with velocity!
And the feature of 12 trigger inputs is just a dream! My living conditions have
never allowed me to get myself a real drum set (I probably would have
otherwise), but with the D4 and a few home made "pads" and a pair of drumsticks
I can really live my drum tracks! Geez, it's fun to play physically, the
weating tends to make the music more groovy, heavy, funky, fine tuned or
whatever...
Now, after that commercial break, back to mother earth:
Well, as somebody already said, the D4 is not a drum machine; it's a drum sound
box with triggers, or a trig->MIDI box with built in sounds if you like.
But, if you already have a sequencer and like the possibility of trigging, I
can strongly recommend the D4. Try it out first, though!
Good luck!
Jan "Electrosonic Cowboy" Erlandsen
Brian Bishop
: Hi, I need to buy a drum module/machine and was thinking of getting the D4.
: Does anyone have any opinions on this unit? For $350 it seems like a good buy
: and it has quite a few sounds. Are there any similar units that might be
: better for around the $300-$500 range? I have a VFX which doesn't have very
: good drums at all, but should make a good master/controler synth.
: Thanks much!
: ______
First off, $350 seems a little high to me. I paid around that much a year
ago, so it probably can be had for less now. This is just speculation,
of course.
The D4 has a nice basic set of sounds. It's not the be-all, end-all drum
machine for anything. Its biggest selling point is the trigger inputs, which
are a lot of fun. A friend and I went to Radio Shack and bought a few piezo
speakers and wired us up a usable electronic drumkit with some duct tape for
a total cost of around $7, including the duct tape. We used padded shipping
envelopes for the pads!
If you don't care about the triggers, you might check out the other Alesis
machines (HR-16, HR-16B, SR-16) and maybe the Boss DR-550 and listen to how
they sound, since they all have different samples (I'm not sure what the
overlap is in the Alesis units). If you want to stretch your price range a
little, check out the Emu ProCussion, which is in the $500-$600 price range.
I think the ProCussion has the best sounds of all of those, but it also has
no sequencing on-board (but the sounds are very programmable). The samples
on the ProCussion have a very in-your-face kind of sound that I like. It also
includs some basses and other freaky sounds.
I would also like to put in a plug for the Roland R-8, it's expensive ($800
range) but it's got on-board sequencing (which can be handy) a great set
of sounds, and a ROM card slot for loading more. I sold mine several years ago
and I still miss it (sniff).
If you're one of the mighty horde of people who want to do techno stuff then
the D4 is definitely not for you. It has a few good sounds in that vein, but
that's not its main focus. I've heard good things about the Boss DR-660 in that
regard, but I haven't had a chance to check it out.
Finally there's another school of thought which says that you should forget
about drum machines altogether and just buy a sampler. This is obviously the
most expensive approach of all, but if you're headed in that direction anyway
you might be better off putting your drum machine money towards a sampler. You
could probably get a used 12-bit sampler for this purpose, unless you're really
into sparkling snares and sizzling high-hats. This affords you the utmost in
flexibility since you can sample anything into your drumkit.
--
Brian Bishop ... gau...@fnma.com <=- OR -=> br...@grebyn.com
Now I guess I'll have to tell 'em / That I got no cerebellum
All the girls are in love with me / I'm a teenage lobotomy - The Ramones
Daniel Barrett
>Hi, I need to buy a drum module/machine and was thinking of getting the D4.
>Does anyone have any opinions on this unit?
I *highly* recommend that you check out the Boss DR-660 too. The
sounds are fabulous if you want to record realistic sounding drumming. I
just finished my first piece with this box and was astounded by the results.
I played the pads directly into the sequencer, using almost no quantization
at all (just in 2-3 small spots to tighten things up), and it is very
difficult to tell that it's not a live drummer playing the part.
The hi-hat sounds are only fair, but the rest of the cymbals, as
well as the snares and basses, are excellent.
Dan
//////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
| Dan Barrett -- Dept of Computer Science, Lederle Graduate Research Center |
| University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 -- bar...@cs.umass.edu |
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////////
Gregory Winer
I have another related question Re: the D4...Is it possible to
set up different MIDI kit maps to the triggers. I was under
the impression that once you've got you midi trigger map set up,
that it's the only one you can set up. I was thinking of
using it to trigger samples of my keyboard, but I have several
different kits with different maps. This could be a major
drawback, IMHO.
--
Gregory Winer
an...@po.cwru.edu
Ab Wilson
>In article <246m7r$1...@usenet.rpi.edu>,
> lar...@aix02.ecs.rpi.edu (Eric D. Larson) writes...
>>Hi, I need to buy a drum module/machine and was thinking of getting the D4.
>>Does anyone have any opinions on this unit? For $350 it seems like a good buy
>>and it has quite a few sounds. Are there any similar units that might be
>>better for around the $300-$500 range? I have a VFX which doesn't have very
>>good drums at all, but should make a good master/controler synth.
Take a look at the Yamaha RM50.
Ab.
--
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| Disclaimer: | Strange but true: |
| ``It was not me, it | "Virginia Bottomley" is |
| was the other three'' | an anagram for: |
| --- Rick (The Young Ones: Nasty)| "I'm an evil Tory bigot".|
+-------------------------------------+--------------------------+
| Ab Wilson <n...@planet.bt.co.uk> | The Object Design Co Ltd |
+-------------------------------------+--------------------------+
GCS/MU d--- p-- c+ l m- s+++/- !g w+++ t r- x++
Brian Bishop
:
: I have another related question Re: the D4...Is it possible to
I'm pretty sure that each drumkit can have its own trigger map.
Dan Tarradellas
The D4 is an incrediblty little guy. For the money it absolutle cant be beat. Two sets of stereo outs and built in Rvrbs are great. The triggers are fun too. You can buy trigger pads from Roland fo $10 each ! just wire them to any cable.
I love the usnit and use it mostly for kicks and snares and some other stuff.
Cymbals are OK but I always record 'real' symbals no matter what,.
Now for a real awsome machine, my other one t
is a R8-M The module has slots for waveform cards. Just go and listen to the
Jazz brush card and the dance Rlnd, 808 rap card and you'll see what I mean.
I personally dont like the EMU Procussion.
Also the great thing about these two is that they are easy to use. I like to make music and not spend my life editing.
dan-
Brian Bishop
:
: I'm pretty sure that each drumkit can have its own trigger map.
Yes, that's correct. I checked it on my D4.