Why I Love The Alesis SR 16 Drum Machine

As far as drum machines come and go, there are few that were more popular or more successful than the Alesis SR 16. This was an international best seller, used by thousand of musicians around the world. The beats from this machine appeared in many hit records, and this drum machine was closely clutched to the hearts of many bedroom musicians.

So, why was this drum machine so iconic? Why was it so popular with so many composers and home studio enthusiasts? In this video, I take a look at a few of the reasons why I was always a big fan of this drum machine, and why I find it so useful.

The Alesis SR 16 was first released in 1990. In very short time, it appeared in countless recording across multiple genres. It could be heard in pop songs, rock, techno, electronic, dance, ambient, jazz, latin, heavy metal and so many more genres.

The sound quality of the samples within this device were (and still are) very clean and expressive. To this day, even 35 years later, it is still used by several musicians, both in a home studio setting, as well as in live gigs.

I bought mine second hand online. I got a really good deal for it. It is still in very good condition and still sounds amazing. As I mention in the video, one of the biggest selling points for the Alesis SR 16 was its versatility. It could be used in a countless number of genres, and was always ready to integrate into any song, no matter what the style was.

In this video I discuss a few reasons why I have always loved the Alesis SR 16 drum machine. Some of the reasons will be of no surprise to you, but I bet some of the reasons I mention may have never occurred to you.

Do you own the Alesis SR 16? What do you think of it? Do you still use it? Was it your first drum machine? Or do you think it was very overrated? Feel free to leave a comment!

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