Akai xr 20 drum machine

Hey, I noticed there's not alot of topics on the Internet rgarding any secrets, or hacks for the akai xr 20 unit.

I wanted to know if anyone has any secrets or tips to share.

from what I read... after a short while of owning this... people said it started to collect dust because it doesn't sample or anything like that.

I know what your talking bout, I just came from wiping dust off of it an hour ago, but I'm just surprised I can't find no hacks or mods.

Mc_mic wrote:I know what your talking bout, I just came from wiping dust off of it an hour ago, but I'm just surprised I can't find no hacks or mods.

maybe look into the alesis newer drum machine that is similar... I forget the name of it but it is one of their more recent ones from a short while before the akai one was released. I gave a feeling they are both identical internally and maybe people have modded that unit.

I know the unit your talking about and never thought to check mods for that unit.

Ye a lot of the companies are all owned by the same people
akai, alesis, numark, ion...
And they re use the same boards and just change the design

Mc_mic wrote:I know the unit your talking about and never thought to check mods for that unit.

Ye a lot of the companies are all owned by the same people
akai, alesis, numark, ion...
And they re use the same boards and just change the design

that is correct.. akai lately has been getting a bad name because of recycling alesis gear.

the new RPM8 studio monitors are to the millimeter a total repackaging of an old discontinued pair of alesis monitors.
the mpc5000 is apparently the same thing as... one of alesis's workstation keyboards or so I heard around here. (the micron maybe??)
the new akai maniakai keyboard is the same as that other alesis keyboard... forget the one.

and the list goes on...

Personally, I would maybe run that drum machine through other gear like guitar pedals if you have some lying around.... or other synths like maybe an electribe or something. some of those have a sound input that lets you run it through the fx of the unit. also you could try and overdrive it into a guitar amp and check that result... who knows what kinds of sounds you could make.

Hey have you ever used the midi function on this?

I have an akai mpk 49 and an m audio fast track pro. I wanted to know if I can record beats I make on the xr 20 using the midi out. So far I have been recording using RCA to 1/4 inch wires

Mc_mic wrote:Hey have you ever used the midi function on this?

I have an akai mpk 49 and an m audio fast track pro. I wanted to know if I can record beats I make on the xr 20 using the midi out. So far I have been recording using RCA to 1/4 inch wires

well you probably know this already... but midi cables dont transmit sound at all.

the only thing midi cables do are things like syncing two machines together so the BPM clocks are the same... for example, if you push play on one machine it will automatically start the other. also midi can be used to transmit notes from a keyboard.

So basically, you can hook your mpk up the the xr20 and use it's keys to play your cr's notes... but you still need the RCA outs hooked up to hear the xr 20.

Thanks for the advice, I always thought midi cables could be used to record the note patterns of the device so you could edit it on the computer afterwords

So the akai is exactly the same as the Alesis sr 18
wen u power it up holding the rec button it enters upgrade mode and says midi baud
wen u power up holding the system settings button it tells you the version number, which it should say 1.02 which was the latest version upgrade they made for the alesis sr 18

if there are any modders with knowledge in firmwares they should definately take the opportunity to mod and hack this unit

sr18 that was exactly the one I was thinking of.