Re: inexpensive drum software/machine
I dusted my SR16 off immediately after my reply and MIDI'd it to my PC to control BFD 2.
I'm working now on recording the SR16's patterns as BFD Groove files.
I "outgrew" the SR16 years ago from a programming standpoint, as it can't do certain things I wanted it to (change tempo in a given part of a Song, etc) and the step-editing was a PITA (can't go Back, only Forward - WTF!?), but there's so much variety to the preset patterns. Tempo changes alter the feel/mood entirely. Ignore the "recommended" tempos for each preset and play around with them.
I got about 5 songs using the same presets and different kits and different tempos, and unless you're really scrutinizing the drums, I don't think you'd really notice they're the same pattern.
The machine is that versatile.
I thought about getting an 18, but I'm sticking with BFD for now. If the SR18 had a way to dump its patterns out to PC as standard MIDI files, I'd probably get one.