where do I start?

[Rec Head]

Well I just playing bass again after some time off and I was thinking about getting a drum machine just to have something to play along with. As I was looking at drum machines I came across the roland SPD-6 drum pad. It seems pretty cool to hit it with sticks instead of just pressing buttons and the foot pedal option is nice. Anyway this thing doesn't do any sort of recording/sequencing and I mainly want to make beats to play along with. It only has midi out.

My question is this: are there similar instruments that are more capable? Price and ease of use are important. I could just record into the computer and make loops but I want simple and fast.

thanks
rob