Accompaniment Dilemma

[JimmyK]

Hi Everyone,

A little backround. In the 60's I bought a Hammond Auto-Vari. It was a simple analog unit. Ballads, Blues, Bossa etc., tempo adjustment and voila!
A few years ago I bought an SR-16. In speaking to Tech Support (Alesis) they were kind enough to send two (2) instructional DVD's, free. They were very gracious but candidly admitted that "my music" and their drums were not compatible. I agreed. I've called a few companies searching for Drum Loops???? or a simple electronic device for drum accompaniment only. Most of the people that I've spoken to have never even "heard" of Misty, Close to you, Shadow of your Smile etc.. Does anyone have suggestion/s? T
Thank You

[mr. beaumont]

Band in a Box and a laptop would be one way to roll...the real drums are quite convincing.

[spiral]

Auto-Vari drum machines rule. I bought one just so i could sample it. I love those things. Great all analog sound.

Is your issue with the SR-16 that it doesn't have the styles you want or you don't like the drum sounds? Most modern drum machines allow you to program your own rhythms, or import MIDI files, so it should be easy to play and save your own Bossa Nova, Jazz, etc. by emulating rhythms you like.

[JimmyK]

Spiral: Seems like I'm spoiled with the simplicity of the Auto-Vari. The drum sounds on the SR-16 for me, are cacophonous. When I'm playing Misty, I hear those soft brushes/cymbals in my mind, and Julie London singing. Remember her? A very simple sound. If you ever listened to Tony Mottola (sp?) play "That Rainy Day", that's my direction.

Mr. B: Unless I don't understand the Band in a Box, seems like it's overkill; I only would like some brushes/cymbals, in the backround. Ballad stuff. And, idealistically, control of the tempo. Is it possible to get a sampling of band in the box, before making the purchase? Please recommend.

Thank You both for your comments. jK

[spiral]

Originally Posted by JimmyK

Spiral: Seems like I'm spoiled with the simplicity of the Auto-Vari. The drum sounds on the SR-16 for me, are cacophonous. When I'm playing Misty, I hear those soft brushes/cymbals in my mind, and Julie London singing. Remember her? A very simple sound. If you ever listened to Tony Mottola (sp?) play "That Rainy Day", that's my direction.

I don't know Julie London. I grew up in the 80's.

I think i know what you are after. You want a preset analog rhythm machine. This will give you the simplicity of selecting premade beats, and an analog sound which is less harmonically rich--ie. less cacophonous than the samples. There are two ways i can think of to go about it.

1. Buy a drum machine and program your own beats. This is obviously more work since you have to learn how to use the machine, but will give you lots of flexibility. The drums are more "real" in that they are digital samples so are going to sound like real drums.

2. Buy a "rhythm machine". This is different than a modern drum machine. It typically means it only plays presets, and 99% of the time is all analog which is ultimately what i think you want. If you search that phrase on ebay you will find a ton. The Auto-Vari is one of them. Ace Tone, Maestro, Univox, and Korg are the big names. Here are a bunch of good ones, some with some great balance controls:

Vintage Univox SR-55 Electronic Analog Drum Machine Beatbox Rhythm SR55 - YouTube
Vintage Univox SR-95 Analog Drum Machine - YouTube
KORG MINI POPS 7 (UNIVOX SR-95) Combo Rhythm Part1 - YouTube
Maestro Rhythm Jester -KITARAKUU - - YouTube
Ace Tone FR-3 Drum Machine Caixa de Ritmes Vintage - YouTube

Let me know if that will work for you. I'm a big fan of those preset machines and use them in my own music.

[JimmyK]

Excellent Spiral! I'll investigate all. Many Thanks.