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The Alesis Performace Pad, a versatile piece of kit suitable for various uses. Eight velocity-sensitive drum pads and a built-in electronic drum machine which sounds like the classic DM5 module. There are foot-switch inputs for a bass drum pedal, HiHat pedal, and a Line-level input to connect a CD Player, iPod, computer, or other audio device.

So, powering up the module you are presented with the display for the unit which i have to say is rarther navigateable. Plenty of pre-set kits are at your disposal and immediately i’m blasting out some beats. You can assign the various on-board percussion sounds to any of the eight pads. Now this usually takes a bit of time and a lot of patience, however I whipped out the manual (unusual, yes) and within a couple of seconds i found the step-by-step instructions and was pleasently surprised at how easy it was to assign the sounds to the individual pads and also manipulate the sounds as far as volume/velocity.

I have to say, if you’re a drummer thats after a percussion set up but dont want to carry the extra equipment or simply dont have the room to accomodate djembe’s conga’s and other various world instruments then this is what you need. Set it up on a stand next to your kit and your away.

So, you’ve heard my opinion, now lets see what the details are:

• 8 natural feeling, velocity-sensitive drum pads with Dynamic Articulation™
• Built-in professional drum machine so you can record and play back your own beats
• 50 Preset / 50 User drum kits with 233 sounds assignable to any pad
• Built-in rhythm patterns to complement your playing
• Large LCD display with easy-to-navigate interface
• Dynamic Articulation stereo samples with reverb and ambience for realistic playing
• 2 foot-switch inputs for external kick and HiHat (sold separately)
• Stereo input to play along with your CD or MP3 player
• MIDI output to play external MIDI devices
• High-quality 24-bit stereo and headphone outputs
• Lightweight, durable enclosure

Alesis Performance Pad : Buy Now from PlayRecord.Net

Electronic drum kits are readily available now at affordable prices. No longer does the consumer have to pay extortionate prices for an electronic drum kit that comes close to sounding like the real deal.

I’ve recently road tested one of the more affordable electronic drum kits, the Alesis DM5 Pro. Having played the standard DM5 for a good while with no problems at all, I was keen to get my hands on the new ‘Pro’ kit.

Buy the Alesis DM5 Pro

Standard rrp on this kit is around £465, nearly £100 less than the retail of the it’s competitors; Traps E400 and Yamaha DTXplorer. However, you will find the kit at the best price on PlayRecord.Net.

Out of the box, setting up the kit was a breeze. Not once did I need to look at the instructions to figure how to put the rack together. Once tightened the rack stands solid and feels comfortable as far as reach goes. I then fitted the toms to the kit, firmly locked in with a couple of turns of the screws with no wobble on the tom arms..superb. The wiring is neatly all together with just enough length for each trigger it reflects the all-togetherness of the kit.

So the kit was all together within an hour and I was ready to plug it in and start enjoying. Note: there’s no bass drum pedal supplied with these kits, so I used a Ludwig. If you’ve used the DM5 kit you’ll be familiar with the brain straight away, I turned it on and let rip.

First off, the pads now have rims and actual drums skins on. The general feel is very close to the feel of an acoustic kit, which is great. All the tom pads are 8 inches and I appreciate the way that this forces accuracy around the kit. The snare has dual triggers, using the rim as the second trigger. By default the rim trigger is not set to the standard “rim click” sound that I desired but with a quick tweak of the DM5 brain it was soon sorted. The new cymbals are designed well and they don’t miss a beat, they’re extremely quiet and sit nice and firm in position. Bass drum pad, held upright with a floor plate and two legs on a 45 degree angle. On the bottom if the plate is some velcro, when I eventually managed to move the bass pad I noticed that i’d actually pulled the carpet tile up to - that’s how much it stays in place.

So i’m playing the kit and the first thing that comes to mind is that unlike a few of its competitors, the pads don’t miss a beat. Buzz rolls, any roll, you play it and you’ll hear it. The sensitivity is great, giving a very dynamic feel to the kit.

After a good play of the kit i can only find one thing that i would change, that’s the hi-hat pedal switch. It’s simply to big and chunky. You really need to take your foot of it to get the open hat sound, and this is an unnatural feel compared to the rest of the kit. In my opinion, I would buy a replacement standard DM5 hi-hat switch pedal and use that.

So, overall i’m very impressed. Price is great, the feel is like an acoustic kit and its reliable. Apart from the hi-hat switch i’ve nothing to grumble about. Just remember to get yourself a decent bass drum pedal and some headphones and start rocking out.