Item Reviews for: Alesis SR16 Classic Electronic Drum Machine  -  ALE SR16 LIST
Alesis SR16 Classic Electronic Drum Machine
review title:

Pretty solid machine although my power button fell off.

By: Mf71014      Submitted: 3/25/2024

Product Rating




verified
Product Rating Product Review Pretty solid machine although my power button fell off. Also takes a bit of time to understand
review title:

Easy to Use Drum machine

By: Big O 419      Submitted: 2/28/2024

Product Rating




verified
Product Review I'm not the easiest person to use a new electronic item but this was and is fun! Great tracks preloaded and again - Easy to Use! Very pleased and AMS is the business I've used for over 30 years- just the best!
review title:

It's a incredible drum machine Easy to manage

By: Mickey      Submitted: 12/8/2023

Product Rating




verified
Product Review Easy and beautiful drum machine. Easy to program and enjoy the preset patterns and making my own. Also great sounding machine. Way to go AMS
review title:

Easy to use right out of the box

By: Jeff      Submitted: 11/6/2023

Product Rating




verified
Product Review This machine is easy to use and has great factory presets…. And it’s price is an excellent value
review title:

Easy To Use

By: Al E.      Submitted: 11/6/2023

Product Rating




verified
Product Review Bought this to replace a Boss DR770 that conked out. Drum sounds are not as high quality as the Boss but beats and fills are good and the unit is easy to program. Being a drummer it’s easier to actually play what I need rather than program it but many times this machine comes in very handy. Useful for recording and live work (I’m a keyboardist/vocalist too).
review title:

Great sounding, simple to use

By: Taco      Submitted: 4/8/2023

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review The Alesis SR16 is a wonderful tool for practicing, recording and performing. Great drum sounds,easy-to-use, lots of simple options. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to program some great beats, very musical and fun to use live and in the studio. I started using these in the late 80s, creative musical tool!
review title:

This drum machine is awsome!!!

By: Keith      Submitted: 12/27/2022

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I love this drum machine, granted I had to sit down and read the book eventually but right out of the box I was able to start messing around and mix matching drums. It's really simple once you get into it. I wish I could make it go faster on bpm but that's just me.
review title:

Unit should be very stable in order to make a sure contact

By: AC      Submitted: 12/19/2022

Product Rating




verified
Product Review Unit should be very stable in order to make a sure contact
review title:

Very limitted!

By: Manny V      Submitted: 10/27/2022

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I have an older 670 that is 5 times better than this, sorry alesis but this to me is worthless.
review title:

Great drum machine

By: Madmanmilby      Submitted: 3/7/2022

Product Rating




3 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review Got mine plugged it in an bam Rocking the room so easy to use
review title:

Classic Drum Machine

By: Rick in GA      Submitted: 11/12/2021

Product Rating




4 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review The Alesis SR16 has been around a long time for a reason. Good classic drum sounds and easy to program rhythms.
review title:

Still great after 30 years

By: JP      Submitted: 6/5/2021

Product Rating




5 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I purchased an SR-16 back when they first were introduced. As studio equipment moved along I sold it in order to upgrade things in my studio. Now some 30 years later I purchased a new unit and it has been like running into an old friend. I now mainly use it for live jams with fellow players. When used with 2 foot switches it becomes an instrument in itself. Buy one. Learn to use it. You won't be disappointed.
review title:

Industry standard

By: William      Submitted: 5/20/2021

Product Rating




5 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review Very intuitive and user friendly with good sound quality. There is good reason Alesis has been making this same model for over 30 years. I reccomend American Musical Supply as your source to purchase. They are the best company in the business in all aspects of the buying experience.
review title:

Great value for versatility

By: Ken H      Submitted: 2/26/2021

Product Rating




10 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I have never used a drum machine before, but not only is this extremely intuitive and fun, but also incredibly affordable. 10/10
review title:

Easy to program.

By: David Buller      Submitted: 1/8/2021

Product Rating




6 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review Still the industry standard for drum machines. Realistic drum sounds perfect for recording and as a practice tool.
review title:

Plug it in and start jammin’!

By: PolkaGoldenVoice      Submitted: 12/22/2020

Product Rating




5 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I was looking for this product for a few months but the original price was more than I wanted to pay. I received an email from American Musical Supply which advertised the Alesis SR16 at a reduced price so I jumped on it! I am very happy with this purchase as the unit performs very well with authentic drum sounds.
review title:

Realistic drum sounds

By: Jim S.      Submitted: 12/9/2020

Product Rating




4 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review Very impressed with ease of use, realistic drum sounds and overall quality for such a great price. Even when just using the presets, the fill ins are good.
review title:

Easy to use.

By: David Buller      Submitted: 11/6/2020

Product Rating




6 people found this review helpful.

Product Review A must have for a home studio. Easy to use professional results.
review title:

Easy to work with.

By: Chance'Um Music      Submitted: 10/5/2020

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.

Product Review I can work with the preprograms. It's compact and easy to carry with me. I just purchased it but owned one previously and sold it to a friend. I regret selling my other one so purchased this new one.
review title:

Nearly perfect

By: Cody      Submitted: 8/11/2020

Product Rating




verified
Product Review It isn’t the easiest in the world to program but, when you do, there’s almost nothing it can’t do! Excellent drum sounds and the “perfect” live drummer! Lol. Small footprint and lightweight as well.
review title:

Cumbersome

By: El Doctor Boca-Dientes      Submitted: 7/28/2020

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I ordered this to be able to get the ideas out of my head, and create some recordings. It was just too convoluted a process to stepwrite my own drum parts. Instead of using a format like a piano roll, you have to imagine each beat on its own instead of seeing it in relation to the rest of the pattern. If you have an Android, get Drum Sequencer. It suites my needs, and, when it doesn't, I use the drum machine on my Zoom R8 recorder.
review title:

Read the manual

By: Juan F Anguiano      Submitted: 7/3/2020

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review Incredibly easy to get started right out of the box. I haven’t started to scratch the surface and I already love it. Great price for the features.
review title:

Exelent

By: Caesarjlo      Submitted: 5/29/2020

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review This is the most amazing drum machine ever, I don't know what it took me so long to buy one.
review title:

Great sounds many functions and patterns. I love this!

By: CLoUd10sTuDiOs      Submitted: 4/12/2020

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review The drum machine is easy to use. Has many great functions. The patterns sound awesome.
review title:

Great product

By: CW      Submitted: 1/7/2020

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I had one of these for many years and finally gave out.Glad they still make this model.Everything you need in one but.Great sound !
review title:

Great machine for the money..

By: Steven Friedrich      Submitted: 12/10/2019

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I have an sr18 and got this one to carry around..I actually use this machine more now. It's super simple to operate..I gave it 4 stars because it isn't battery operable like it's big brother...
review title:

Great realistic sounds

By: Andy      Submitted: 11/6/2019

Product Rating




5 people found this review helpful.

Product Review Absolutely love this thing. I was sad i couldn't afford an actual alesis set but the sounds and simplicity of this thing is amazing
review title:

Easy to use

By: Ko      Submitted: 10/26/2019

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.

Product Review Very helpful while noodling and writing. As and added plus makes a great metronome
review title:

Simple to use, awesome sounds!

By: Steeleman      Submitted: 7/15/2019

Product Rating





Product Review Very easy to use, great realistic sound with the technology to step write songs without a PHD!
review title:

well worth the money andi love this thing

By: blaine cumbow      Submitted: 12/29/2018

Product Rating




3 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review love it great right out of box.so many differ way of having drum set ups.
review title:

It's what I needed in my home studio. Great addition

By: Marvin      Submitted: 9/5/2018

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I can operate this machine with ease. I needed to be able to program drum patterns while practicing new grooves on my guitar. Makes it easier to write songs. Perfect for me.
review title:

Love it

By: Michael N      Submitted: 7/14/2018

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review The best bang for the buck you can get
review title:

Documentation almost useless

By: Lee Taylor      Submitted: 4/6/2018

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review After 3 days of struggle we managed to program an entire song. Much more difficult to use that a Zoom RT 223. The manual was misleading and vague. The online videos stopped running when we played them. We got it working by accident.
review title:

Awesome

By: Dennis Dubitsky      Submitted: 4/3/2018

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review Love it
review title:

Great product.

By: Adrain Paul, WTM Productions      Submitted: 3/29/2018

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review Great product. I love it.
review title:

Long live the SR-16!!

By: Robert      Submitted: 12/13/2017

Product Rating




3 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review This is the most useful drum machine I have ever owned (This is my third) First one lost it fire, second one given to my church, third one I use for recording at my home. By far the most user friendly one out there, since it is the same unit that came out in the 90's and they haven't changed a thing. Still rock solid and very useful across many different ways of using it. Built i sounds are really good and it will drive any midi sound library out there. Worth its weight in gold. Alesis got it right and haven't changed it or fixed it because it ain't broke!! all has and will always be a good solid writing, performing, machine!! Simply put the best!! no bells no whisles just the goods you need.
review title:

This is fun...

By: Jerry Kelley      Submitted: 11/11/2017

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review First AMS Is the bomb..... This drum machine is amazing.. it’s very simple to operate, and you can begin to make drum beats quickly... I love it, and I will use it daily.
review title:

just the tool needed for my pursuits

By: guitarman      Submitted: 11/10/2017

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I bought this Alesis machine for practicing my guitar playing, live performances and possibly do some songwriting.The sound is great and it is reasonably easy to operate. I am old school and not into MIDI yet, so expansion to that world is still an option.
review title:

Not what I thought it would be. Very disappointed.

By: Ray      Submitted: 9/21/2017

Product Rating




verified
Product Review This machine doesn't have a 3/4 preset. I had a Zoom rt223 that makes this seem like amateur hour. Disappointed. Would not waste my money again. Your keyboard has better samples.
review title:

Very good product. Easy to operate

By: STEVENSOUNDGOOD      Submitted: 9/1/2017

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I love this drum machine it has different drums and styles and it's very easy to use
review title:

Love it!!

By: JC      Submitted: 8/13/2017

Product Rating




verified
Product Review Great machine!!!
review title:

Great sounding machine

By: Steven      Submitted: 8/11/2016

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review This machine has the most natural drum sounds I've found. Great patterns and dynamic sounds make this the best product for all around use. Great for recording and live applications. I love this machine!
review title:

Let the beat go on

By: bigall      Submitted: 2/9/2016

Product Rating




verified
Product Review This little thing works excellent highly recommend completely satisfied thinking about buying another one so long for now.
review title:

Useful for practicing and Recording

By: Kimberly Smith      Submitted: 12/21/2015

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I am very happy with my purchase of the Alesis SR-16. There is a 'if you can't wait' section in the manual that guides the user through a quick tutorial to using the machine. After hooking up output cables and power, I had mine drumming away in about 20 minutes. The real challenge came when I started to delve into the midi applications. The goal was to record the midi notes from the preset pattern on the Alesis into my DAW (Sonar 5), edit it and then have the Alesis play the edited drum map. Took about 2 days to figure it all out as I am fairly new to midi. I made a preset Drum Map with the notes I wanted to use in Sonar. Then I programmed the Alesis to use the notes with the corresponding pads 1-12. The manual helps somewhat but there was a lot of head scratching and searching the web for forums concerning the process. Success, I can record a preset pattern from the Alesis and use it as is or edit it. I can also create a drum map in the DAW and play it on the Alesis.
review title:

WOW this is a great product

By: Shawn Jesseman      Submitted: 3/19/2015

Product Rating




2 people found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review I was seriously surprised at : A) how easy this machine is to use and, B.) the quality of the drum sounds. You can tell that these are REAL drum sounds and not computerized beats. I am blown away by how inexpensive this machine is for the quality and ease that it offers. Alesis really is an awesome company. Would definitely recommend.
review title:

Good product and worth the money

By: Randy      Submitted: 2/13/2015

Product Rating




verified
Product Review I like it but would love it if they would and more percussion sounds to it and more natural drum sounds. Find a way to record with multiple timing.
review title:

smashing good deal

By: Charlie      Submitted: 11/24/2014

Product Rating




1 person found this review helpful.
verified
Product Review perfect, easy to use and setup, ideal, classic, just what expected AND AMS is super fast with shipping and great packaging!!!
review title:

A Must Have For Practice Or Recording

By: Grandpa Charlie      Submitted: 10/16/2014

Product Rating




verified
Product Review The Alesis SR 16 recently arrived in my home studio. I have already laid down some great drum tracks in Ableton Live with it. I'm looking forward to learning about everything this drum machine is capable of.
review title:

By: Jimmy Johnson from Scotia, NY      Submitted: 1/16/2014

Product Rating














1 person found this review helpful.
verified
review title:

Great Product

By: Scott from Boyne City      Submitted: 7/28/2013

Product Rating














verified
Your general opinion of this product. I Got this to Help me at a Local Retirement Community that i Play at. it works awesome , compact easy to use. adds allot to my music, and has the folks dancing to the Beat... seems to be very Dependable. the ability to control with foot switch, makes it very nice for me great tone nice looking good value
review title:

DRum Machine

By: Garin from Ohio      Submitted: 3/18/2013

Product Rating















Short term use, so far very dependable. It should ship with a footswitch. Very nice. Your general opinion of this product. I'd buy it again. Well worth the money. It's black
review title:

bells and whistle

By: patricia from ohio      Submitted: 1/6/2012

Product Rating









yes,very dependable,has palyed with it every day since christmas he love the the sound,work for small spaces when you can't get the real set in oh yell,if not he wouldn't have got it
review title:

Great drum machine

By: fnaguitarplayer from WV, US      Submitted: 11/22/2011

Product Rating









Has a great sound, but i reccomend running through a compressor and equilizer and you can make it sound real (compressor i use is Alesis 3630, EQ is behringer ultragraph pro). Wish it had more snare sounds though, and a better rimshot would be great. Yes it is well worth the $150 for it!
review title:

Fantastic machine!

By: Steve Walker from South Jordan, UT      Submitted: 4/13/2010

Product Rating









supe This has a great arsenal of drum sounds. Worth the money just for the library
review title:

great for jamming by yourself

By: lovemystrat from Upstate NY      Submitted: 1/8/2010

Product Rating








1 person found this review helpful.

Bass, snare & toms sound great... some of the others sound too electronic Yes... cheaper than buying a drum set
review title:

We make the beats!

By: Drum-stick-Nick from Minnneeeesssoooota      Submitted: 5/18/2009

Product Rating









Very dependable, I've been using this machine for several years and have had no problems. Makes beats, lots of sound/drum choices, what more do you expect for such a great price? Sounds like an inexpensive drum machine, but if you know what you're doing with your mixers & recording equipment, this becomes irrelevant. Your general opinion of this product. Generally speaking: a great buy. It has lasted way beyond what I've expected and done everything I've needed. Great price! for what I paid and what this thing does, AMS has a great value here! Well... It ain't the prettiest but if you're worried about that; you beats will suffer!
review title:

Anynoe who breaks it needs to learn the difference

By: AMS Customer from USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product.

QUALITY:
The SR 16 is by far the best DM I've used to date. It need a better head phone system because the outputs are stereo nad I hate only one earpiece sounding.

FEATURES:
I found out how to break it down into 100 increments and apply a killer closed roll. My bass player didn't believe it was a machine.

EASE OF USE:
Take the time to learn the programming and its time well spent.

VALUE:
Well worth the money, but I didn't care for the cymbal sounds and it need a better brush sound, both swish and batter.

SOUND:
Great sound and ease of programming.

STYLE:
Progressive

MUSIC EXPERIENCE:
40 years playing set.

OVERALL:
The best one so far from Alesis, (not including the DM5). Waiting for the XR 16.
review title:

being user friendly makes it the best.

By: AMS Customer from USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product. THIS IS THE BEST DRUM MACHINE I HAVE OWNED.
review title:

A Longstanding workhourse

By: AMS Customer from USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product.

QUALITY:
This unit is super tough! I've had mine for years and it has never failed. It's a rock.

FEATURES:
This is the one fair to middling area. It comes so close to being a perfect machine, but if you can tap or keep a beat and just want to jam away, it is not very comfortable to bang on those little pads. Unfortunately there isn't any other way. Also it would just be nice to hook up a couple of foot pedals so you can tap with your feet as well. If that was available, this could be a really versatile unit.

EASE OF USE:
I mastered all the main functions in an hour.

VALUE:
This is a fair price for what you get.

SOUND:
The sound quality is the best feature...not only are the sounds totally realistic, the volume is flexible enough to respond accurately to the degree of touch.
review title:

SR-16 will give back what you put into it.

By: AMS Customer from USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product. This little device is awesome! Once you learn how to program it, the possibilities are limitted by your imagination. The only caveat is that, in order to obtain the most significant effect from this machine, you will need to put as much effort arrangeing the drum for EACH song you play as you do arrangeing for your main instrument. This might be tedious to some. I have yet to try it out in public, but home recordings of it backing me have drawn favorable reviews from fellow musicians. Remember, the SR-16 will do wonderful things, BUT YOU HAVE TO PROGRAM IT. If you use the "canned" patterns, it will sound like you are using "canned" patterns. Programming it is not difficult. I prefer to set up the patterns measure-by-measure. Down to the point of adding or subtracting a singular percussion instance (i.e. kick drum, high-hat, snare etc.) at a time.
review title:

Sound samples are some of the best

By: AMS Customer from USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product. The Drum Sound samples are some of the best I've heard on a drum machine in this price range. You can program it to sound like a real drummer is playing.
review title:

A nice price for the live samples

By: AMS Customer from USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product. I've worked this into a rig with a Korg ElectribeR and a Roland MC303 and program the high hat and ride sounds with the Alesis. The kicks are pretty weak with too much reverb, and the programming is very limited but includes step and quantize features. At $150 it's a great value if you're looking to supplement more equipment but I wouldn't start here.
review title:

Sounds great, easy to use std beats, programming..

By: AMS Customer from USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product. I loved the realistic drum sounds and it's easy to work with the standard beats with it. Programming is a bore for someone as impatient as me but that is not the fault of the machine, they're all like that. Maybe drummers find it easier?
review title:

Sounds good, Made like crap

By: Carlos from NY, NY, USA      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product. This thing sounds pretty good but i have had it for 5 months and it is broken...i only used it 2x's a week for ~3-4 hours (intermittently). Needless to say i am angry and disappointed because the unit turns on but immediately shuts off when i hit the tom trigger...Have to see how the customer support is now, I guess...
review title:

The Best Bang For The Buck.

By: Dr, Madlab from Nyack, NY      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating








1 person found this review helpful.

Your general opinion of this product.

QUALITY:
I bought one used 8 years ago, have used to to death, transporting it from studio to studio. I recorded 5 albums with it and countless remixes. It just broke down last week, and I'm ordering another one.

FEATURES:
Everything does what it's supposed to do. I wish it had 2 more outs that could be used to isolate drums, but that is by no means a complaint

EASE OF USE:
Super stoopid EZ!

VALUE:
Absolutely the best bang for the buck.

SOUND:
Sounds are good, but could be better. I have a secret that makes it sounds monsterous.

STYLE:
Hip Hop, Pop, Rock.

MUSIC EXPERIENCE:
20 years producing, playing touring etc

OVERALL:
I highly recommend this machine to anyone. Get your hands on an Alesis DMPro Brain, and you'll have everything your drum head could possibly need.
review title:

It go boom real good!

By: Tim Wellman from WV      Submitted: 2/5/2008

Product Rating









Your general opinion of this product.

QUALITY:
These things have been around forever, mine is from 1999 and still works flawlessly.

FEATURES:
The auto fill buttons are nice for semi-programming... I love the pads, though, especially when multi-track recording... lay down a basic track, the record other tracks using the pads... gives the whole mix a very 'human' feel

EASE OF USE:
It's very easy to use, but can become complicated when you go beyond the basics. But then again, all drum machines have that problem/benefit

VALUE:
As has been mentioned over and over, the sr-16 is THE drum machine... it's been on more albums, sits in more studios, and has been responsible for more good beats than all other druma machines combined. It's cheap, it's well-made, it has great sounds, and it has very usable sounds (not worthless sounds here, just real drums). When most professionals who have been around for a while dream of drum machines, the visual image is of an s