Alesis Intros Sample Rack Percussion Module

Alesis-SampleRack

2014 NAMM Show: Alesis today introduced the Sample Rack – a rackmount percussion module that lets you use onboard sounds or load your own sounds.

Here are the details:

Features:

  • Percussion Module With Onboard Sound Storage
  • Play onboard sounds or load your own via the SD card slot
  • 10 ready-to-play kits with over 200 drum and cymbal sounds
  • Efficient single rackspace (1U) design
  • 8 trigger inputs plus true kick and hi-hat inputs
  • Save sounds on SD card (up to 20 Kits), accessible via USB
  • LCD display and software utility for complete control
  • 1/4″ stereo outputs (L, R); 1/4″ headphone output
  • 1/8″ stereo aux input with level control; MIDI In & Out

Details on pricing and availability are to come.

18 thoughts on “Alesis Intros Sample Rack Percussion Module

  1. hooking a mpd32 to this is first to come to mind, but are the sample parameters and such controllable by midi cc? with some nifty routing a lower price range fx unit could be squeezed into the same lil padded bag rack as this and a little furman, making a nice somewhat portable ‘mpc’ setup with room for a laptop.

  2. After the initial reaction to Roland’s little box, this seems much more sensible.

    If the built-in sounds are good, and if it lets you assign samples to velocity ranges, and the price is right, this would be a useful box.

    Coupled with their new pad box, Alesis is offering useful (though not ground-breaking) products.

    1. Alesis once gave us the Andromeda analog polysynth and the Ion VA. What happened?
      A black single-unit slab with cursor buttons, 3 knobs, and a tiny screen?
      This looks like the sort of thing you’d stick in your budget home studio rack between some second-hand EMU rompler and a Roland JV-880 back in the mid-90’s. Even if it is filled with great sounds, it lacks sex appeal. In a world where plugins thrive alongside knobby, backlit pad hardware, Alesis releases this? What’s next, a card upgrade with orchestral sounds and ethnic world beats?

  3. I definitely want this, depending on the price. I play the Zendrum and really dislike using a laptop to play with. Having a dedicated rack device is what I’ve been looking for.

  4. I minimal but functional interface means they keep the price down, and still allow you to edit on the gig. The “software utility” means there’ll be a bigger GUI if it is connected to a computer.

    The TEN trigger inputs (including kick & hat), plus the inclusion of MIDI i/o and an audio input, these are all pretty nice touches. The biggy for both this, the pad rig, and the roland thing is the SD card slot.

    Yes, it is not a synth with colorful knobs and such. That will take some getting used to.

  5. This is just a mashup product of the Alesis D4, but with the sampling brain of the Akai MPX-8.
    Of which I owned for about a week and promptly sold. (It sucked)

    Now only if Akai would produce a sampler for us keyboard players again, with looping and ADSR, cross-fading, etc… I would be absolutely thrilled. BRING BACK THE S-SERIES, AKAI/Alesis/M-Audio/Ion mega-company!

  6. I just got myself a Roland S-550, mainly for Drum and Percussion Samples.Punchy 12-Bit Engine and Fairlight Style Editing via Monochrome Screen. Dont need these crude half-baked cheap Boxes of today anymore. With a floppy Emulator, it will last for the next 30 Years. But nice try Alesis anyway.

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