Alesis Nano Tracker

Advantages: cheap, easy to use
Disadvantages: no effects limited sound editing, dull sounds

...The Alesis SR-16 holds the title of the best selling drum machine of all time and some would say with good reason. The sound quality that this machine can produce is excellent but the drawback is that the 230 odd sounds contained within the unit are uniformly dull and uninspiring. If you need a workhorse set of drum sounds for backing tracks etc then the SR16 will do the job in style but i would not recommend it to anyone who has any kind of imagination in their music. The operating system is fairly straightforward but some of the pattern editing is fairly cryptic if you don't have a manual, apart from that it's pretty easy to figure out whats going on. The SR16 can has 150 somewhat dodgy preset patterns but you can create another 150 of your own to string together in the 100 available songs. Outputs consist of a stereo pair and an pair... Read review

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Advantages: Good value and flexible mixer, works well with PC. Cubase is a nice bonus.
Disadvantages: Knobs not sliders, no MP3 encoder with Cubase but these are minor details

.... This meant there was no way to record a band together live or even just drums on their own which require at least 3 or 4 separate mics. It's important that each instrument and vocal is recorded separately so that you can balance their relative volume levels after recording. FIREWIRE RULES OK! Having looked around the best solution for being able to record several tracks at the same time directly to the PC looked like the Alesis Firewire range. Firewire (or IEEE 1394 to give it it's technical name) is another way of connecting devices to a PC similar to USB but offering better data transfer performance. Most modern PCs now come with a firewire connection as standard but, if you have an older PC that doesn't, you can always get a firewire PCI expansion card for under £10. You may notice that the mixer has two firewire connections but... Read review

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Advantages: Ease of use, many interchangeable settings
Disadvantages: AXYZ dome

...Well the Alesis photon X25, is your standard 25 key midi interface, with a few more adjustable settings than most. Looks: With its sleek design, Led lights, an the AXYZ dome. This thing can be beautriful, but mainly by your own opinion. Im sure many would say it is quite some what ugly with the Organge LED's. But as with most things, these LED's are in actualy fact functional. Ease of Installation: After plugging in, all you have to do is dunk the CD into your drive, and follow the instuctions. If you wish to install Cubase LE, an included product with this, then your installation will be a little more complicated, but not a lot. Feel: The keys feel comfortable, however, at times they do not pick up the sound if you play very softly, but generally all is well. The sound changing knobs are well spread out, and the different... Read review

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