Well for starters, when I first used it, I was surprised that the velocity-sensitive pads actually changed the sound as well as the volume, making for a more 'realistic' feel if you want to simulate what you would be playing on a drum set for home recording purposes. I was surprised. There are (like all drum machines) plenty of sounds in there that you will never use. I use it to sound like the actual drum parts I would be playing along to my guitar parts if there were two of me, so I stick to the 'real' drums and have no use for the bongos and techno hits and such. There is a decent palette to work with - even two generic organ sounding chords (a Major 7th and a Minor 7th) which you can tune to different notes, but no bass. Hey its a hundred bucks, right? A tip for if you want to use it as a recording substitute for micing a drumset: use the 'dry' sounds and add room reverb through an effect send to an external processor if you have one (or even in-line if you don't have an effect send). Do this rather than using the sounds with built in fake reverbs in the actual sound. This way it will blend in with the other reverbs on other instruments in your mix so it all sounds like they are actually in the same room, rather than your guitar and bass and vocal all having one sound to their reflection and your drums having an entirely different one.

Pretty irritating to get a new toy and not be able to plug it in. Most Zoom stuff I have got in the past had an adaptor with it but nope. Other than that, it has the option for a stop/start footswitch to connect so you can use it live. Not something I am interested in as this is just a studio piece for me, but someone may want to use it for live I guess. Nice that it's there though.

On the upside: When I first got it hooked up I had already programmed 2 drum kits and written a 8 bar pattern within about a half an hour. It's dead simple to learn. On the downside: Step recording is kind of irritating because of the way the display works. Hard to visualize where you are in a pattern. Bah. I just record it in realtime anyways. Also, there is no quick way to jump to a specific pattern or sound or drum kit, you just have to hold down the + or - button and cycle through every number between where you are and where you are going. Not terrible, but slows things down a bit waiting to get from 03 to 51 or whatever.

I wouldn't go bashing this thing around, or stuffing it at the bottom of a box full of gear and piling stuff on top of it. It's plastic. Hard plastic but plastic all the same.

There's some really nice sounds in it and it's so cheap that just the programmability and touch sensitive pads are worth it. I'm sure that the higher end drum machines are easier to use, but for a bare bones get-the-job-done drum machine it's impressive for the price.

I haven't needed Zoom for this guy, but have for other Zoom stuff that has passed through my hands over the years and they are pretty accomodating and easy to deal with.

I love little boxes that do lots of things. I don't think drum machines get you any girls but that's why we have guitars. Drum machines aren't inherently sexy as lots of people think it's just 'faking it' but if you use it as part of a recording setup to make a nice sounding demo CD then it will pull its weight in the final mix. On its own though its isn't much of a groupie magnet. Nevertheless, I wanted it, and I am glad I own one. I had been eying this thing for a long time (2+ years actually) before I finaly ordered one.

formerly active, now just a hobbyist

ambient experimental grungey rock stuff

this was my first drum machine. SOunds are excellent for a machine at this price. I have since moved up to an MV8000...

never tested its full potential, but it has a midi out which allows it to be controlled by an external sequencer.

Excellent. The pads are real sturdy. You can easily carry it around in a bag and practice where ever theres an outlet. However, you can also use AA batteries. Ive never used batteries so I dont know how long they will last.

I seriously think this product is underpriced for the sounds it produce. I wouldnt recommend this instrument for modern hiphop/ rap tho. Maybe old school or miami bass music.

Never needed them, and I doubt you will...

If I didnt have a Roland MV8000, I would def go back to this machine.

Hobbyist

Rap, HIphop

excellent sound quality convience user friendly leds are outstanding fast efficient for recording or live highly recommend for the price & facility!

believe for recording like i do its all you need to bring it on. click trax, kit edit, plenty of styles & pad sounds whatever style you might want to play.

maybe shell could a little tougher, otherwise cosmetically & the lighted pads & ease of operationjust take care of it like you would your other instruments.

absolutely amazing for the features! other seem tio fall short.

not yet

outstanding!

pop, soul jazz, fusion.

Sounds are the best you can get for this cheap. For best quality, run this through a mixer to bring out the cymbals and bass

A bundle of pre-programmed patterns. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding something to fit your style. And, of course, you can program your own if you can't find anything suitable.

Pretty easy to use, though it can be a little itimidating at first. I'd normally just dig right in to using things, but I did have to skim the manual for this one. Selecting patterns can be a little time consuming. By pressing '+' and then '-' and vice versa, while holding both buttons down simultaneously, will help speed up the selection process moving forward and backwards down the selection list.

The shell is made out of hard plastic so I don't think it would take a drop on concrete too well...

For this price, I was pretty amazed at what this thing can do

Haven't had to deal with support yet...

The picture showed a silver-colored exterior, however, mine came in black. I'm pretty glad it did!

Active Musician

Gospel, New Age, Jazz

Good sound quality, however, only moderately expressive.

Few if any accessories included. I'm running thru board or amp, so only input cable required. Would be nice to include AC Adapter.

Worked right out of the box. I'm using batteries - one of the batteries leaked and the whole thing shut down. Took it apart, cleaned it out, and (believe it or not) it seems to be working fine. This is a "light duty unit" - not heavy duty or "road worthy".

In spite of short comings, it's well worth the money (under $100). For solo/small group use it is pretty neat, and comes in very handy. I'd buy another one.

None required to date.

I saw it and liked it right away. It's a cute little unit that will fit in about anywhere. Main "pad" buttons are good sized, however, some functions are pretty small. It weighs next to nothing, but needs to be tied down in a rack, etc. so that it won't fall.

Hobbyist - Play guitar, bass, keyboards, drums (little), and engineering.

Rock (60's and 70's), Easy Listening, Country (a little), Church

The sound of the MRT-3 is great for it to be so small.

It has nice features, needs more sfx, but the current work.

The product is made to be durable, I like the silver-like finish on it. I don't have to worry about something breaking because it's quality PRODUCT, WELL MADE.

The MRT-3 is well worth the price compared to other items.

I haven't talked to the company, but I'm sure the company is fridendly.

It's a conversation piece. People are always walking up asking, whats that? It's so cute. Yeah, this product has caught the attention of many people, and along with it many girls .

Dance and Hip Hop

The Zoom MRT3 is a pretty good drum machine for its price. I actually got it for less than $100 including shipping. The unit sounds good and has quite a few drum sounds with some special effects but there are a few drawbacks. The unit does not have any bass in it which is helpful in other drum machines. There is no jog dial or numbered keypad to choose the sounds so you have to hold down a + or - button until the number you want comes around on the display. That is time consuming. Also, there are no options to add delay, reverb or chorus to an instrument although it does have pan and level control. In short, I was making drum patterns with this unit within twenty minutes and it's pretty easy to use, the price is great, it takes batteries so you can carry it around as well which I cannot do with my old Boss 660 Drum Machine. In that sense it does have an advantage of battery use and it is small in size and can fit into my CD carry case that I wear around my neck. In light of the fact that this unit uses batteries, I wish Zoom hadn't made the machine pads light up when a rhythm is played using those pads, and the other buttons on the unit light up as well when in use. I think it's sucking up battery power to make all those lights work. The batteries will last you 15 - 20 hours though. You're getting a great deal for $94 and if you've never had a drum machine, you will hardly notice the shortcomings. It's good for beginners or those who don't want to carry around their expensive machine while on the go. Although it has some drawbacks which I mentioned earlier, what do you expect for the price of less than $100? It's a cute little machine, and it suits my purpose so I consider it a great value.

Hip Hop/R&B

Excellent sound quality. Many of the snares have reverbs in the sample, which makes the machine more flexible, but it would have been nice to have the sounds dry as well.

It's quite easy to select a preset pattern or write your own. No effects to work with though.

Doesn't get much easier than this.

It's small, it's mostly plastic. Treat it nicely and it will last forever.

Nothing touches it for this price point.

I haven't had to make use of support.

When I heard the demo online, I knew I had to have it.

Recording Engineer/Producer

Most anything

The samples on this little thing are amazing.. They are so clean and crisp. All those who own it, take a look in the manual at the specs and you'll see that the drum sounds were sampled at a rate above 44.1 khz. The sound responds very well to the touch too. They did an amazing drop with the "bend down" kit.. It's one that's hard to explain, and you just have to play it. It works very well with my style of playing... I mostly do just about all forms of Jazz, Blues, and classic hip hop. However I wouldn't suggest this to anyone who wants to do rap... The rap kits aren't bad, but rap is a style that is constantly changing and so are the kits. It works well when mixed with other gear too.. I also have the Zoom MRS-4 digital 4 track that goes with this drum machine and it works quite well. In my set up I have a Yamaha keyboard, Yamaha guitar, Studio Monitors, Decent Mic, Zoom MRS-4, and the Zoom MRT-3. One tip I would suggest to anyone is use a footswitch with this baby... If you're used to playing a live kit, you'll love the ability to use a footswitch to control differnt pads.. I use a footswitch to control the bass drum.. It really makes your real time recordings sound better.

I have to give it a 9 on features because I think they could have at least included 2 extra things... Although the samples are quite good, the unit has absolutely no effects at all.. They should have at least added some basic reverb and so forth. Plus there is no way to store your data. A smart media card would have been nice or at least a bulk dump feature using midi. Other than that I think the features are killer (especially for the price)

It's not made of steel.. The plastic case isn't bad.. I really don't see how anyone could break it.. You'd have to be a person who's fairly rough with their gear to break this thing.. Plus it's a drum machine.. The pads were meant to be pounded on.. They're built to last.. The unit is very reliable.. I haven't had any problems with it at all...

To sum it up.. THE BEST! There is NO drum machine on the market for under $100 (new) that does what this little thing can do.. Good job Zoom. When I got mine it was when they were all going for $119 but even at that price it's a steal.

I only had one question for them since I bought it and they took care of it rather quickly.

Cosmetically this thing looks great.... It seems that since the release of the original Korg Triton, everyone is making gear in this silverish color. The layout was very well thought out. A dial would have been nice though. It's small compact and the to use the term portable would be an understatement :) It's quite attractive.. Not ready to marry the thing yet (already got a wife), but as a mistress goes, this little drum machine will do just fine... :)

All types of Jazz, and Blues. Every now and then I'll play around with techno, rap, and hip hop

There isn't a rhythm drum track machine out there that can touch this product at this price IMHO! Drum and cymbal sounds are truly realistic and better than some units costing MUCH more $$$!

No accessoies included. Bought a 9v 300ma wall wart to save on batteries, and a midi cable for connection to digital multitrack recorder.

have had it only a couple of days but looks and feels to be made quite well. (Japan) Very pleased with it's compact size!

WORTH EVERY PENNY!

N/A

Excellent!

Hobbyist

Blues and rock

Too bad the sounds are very compressed, really "clean".

Good pads.

Really easy to use, too bad it's so fragile.

I owned two that I acquired in a year and they both broke down. Really not well made at all.

It should be cheaper as they don't last long.

I didn't deal with them yet...

They look great though.

Recording artist

Indie pop

The samples are pretty decent and you can change the pitch of each piece in the kit to pretty much anything you want. If your ear is that good you could tune the entire kit to whatever key you're playing in.

What's there is pretty good but there isn't enough variety. Now, if each preset had a seperate bank for different time signatures that would really help. Of all the presets, less than ten are in 3/4 time, Maybe closer to five. It would also be nice to cut and paste different parts of different presets.

Just read the manual! Don't just stick it in a drawer somewhere because you'll need it. But it's not hard if you can follow directions. All the pads are multi-function and that can be frustrating

I had one of these for a little less than a year and then one of the buttons wouldn't work. After mashing it pretty good I took a chance on taking it apart (don't do this unless your experienced in electronic curcuitry, as you'll void the warranty) and discovered that the triggers are all closed units and the only way to service the contacts is to remove it from the curcuit board. This isn't the simplest of tasks since it's soldered in place.

If you don't have the problem I did I think it's worth what I paid for it.

The only thing I have to go on here is I sent then an email with a question and the reply was prompt.

One useful feature is you can vary the swing to match your rythme style.

Home recording enthusiast

Variety

The sound is one of the better mechines in this price range. I use both keys and accoustic guitar so the various kits is very handy. I wouuld have had a foot pad pattern selector to get more quickly to a pattern in live on the fly giging.

lacks a bass part but is rarely missed. useful is a tap to tempo function not found on other machines.

my kid sister could work it with out a manuel.

well made for the studio and jam sessions a road musician better take a back up.

most bang for the buck and sound is far better than Bxss or Rxllxnd.

they got their hands into all kinds of gear I doubt they want to hear from the end users.

every aspireing musician should have one for practical music study. if you got no friend to drum for you only have to punch this thing once.

active musician

Alternative

it doesn't keep accurate time on many of the settings. I thought it was just me, but I used a computer to analyse the beats and it was off by 1/4 in some places!!! unacceptable!

it needs better snares and the beat you have to play on is weak

Many different drum kits to choose from. For recording it is great because you can MIDI to a multi track recorder. I havn't used it live but for recording I found using an effects processor to interface the unit makes it quite fun.

I was surprised the power adapter was sold seperately.

A fine quality machine.

Definitely the best sellling drum machine out there.

I rate it 10 because I havn't needed any support. That is the kind of product you want to buy!

I simply love it. It is my little buddy.

All Styles

It's cheap when you look at all the other drum machines. No effects, but I like that, don't need them, I use my digital studio for that.

drum machine with pro sounds, plus a sequencer.