Alesis DM5 Pro Kit Drum Set Review
Gone are those days when you will find a big dent in your bank credit after you have purchased an electric drum kit. The electronic drum kits are now available in very affordable price ranges. You no longer need to pay prices that are extortionate to have an electronic drum that sounds good and also having good deal of features. The Alesis DM5 Pro Kit comes in this category.
Alesis DM5 Pro Kit: An enhanced version of Alesis DM5
The Alesis DM5 Pro Kit is the successor of the Alesis DM5, which was an entry level electronic kit that had a rubber pad set-up, being harnessed to the Alesis’s long standing DM5 sound module. Alesis DM5 was not flawless, yet was a good value for your money. However, Alesis which believes in the fact that, improvements can always be made, improvised this model and manufactures the Alesis DM5 Pro Kit Electronic Drum Set. The pro kit retains the basic features of the DM5, and has included an impressive set of rack and pads.
The design tweaks made:
The rack sported by the original Alesis DM5 was a bit basic with a simple flat square design. Pro kit’s rack design is straightforward, having a look and performance that is better than its parent. The use of the curved front bar is one of the most significant single improvements that had been made. Though this change seems to be minor, it compliments the comfortable positioning of the pads that are attached to it, and overall even enhances the look of the kit. The reinforcing arms that runs between the curved bar and the feet uprights increase the stability over the standard DM5 kit. The middle part and the bottom rack bars are same as that of the original piece, where the bass drum pad and the pad were mounted initially. This kind of a set-up again contributes to the sleekness of the full kit. The kick pad and the pedal have been made as standalone units. The pads are supported by the straight legs and the pedal is attached in the usual clamping.
User friendly set-up:
Setting up the Alesis DM5 Pro Electric Drum Kit can be done in a breeze. Anyone who is familiar with the drums will not have to look at the instruction booklet even once. The instructions on how to put on the rack together is depicted very clearly in the booklet.
Once the racks are set up and put together tightly, the rack stands solid and would make you feel comfortable. Toms are then fitted into the racks, with just a couple of turns with the screws. You will not be able to notice any wobbles on the arms of the tom, which is superb. The wiring is done in a very neat manner with just the enough length for each trigger and this kind of a set-up reflects the uniformity of the whole kit.
Feels like and acoustic drum:
The pad, now comprise rims and also have the drum skins on them. When you start playing the kit, the immediate feel that you will get is similar to that of an acoustic drum which is an advantage for the kit. The snare possesses dual triggers, where the rim acts as the secondary trigger. You must take a note that the rim trigger is not set to the standard “rim click” sound by default. Once you do a quick tweak with the DM5 brain, it gets done.
At a single glance, you would tend to think that the pro kit is having mesh head, which is not true, the pads are made out of plastic heads. The drums consist of a cast plastic chassis, a very short shell and triple-flanged hoops, so they feel like real little instruments. The four legs allow the heads to be tensioned which ensures that the response can be tweaked according to your taste. At the heart of the set-up remains the venerable DM5 module.
New cymbals:
The Alesis DM5 Pro Kit Drum Set has new cymbals that are well designed. The new cymbals do not miss a beat and they are very quiet. They are placed in a nice firm position. The bass drum pad is held upright with a floor plate and two of its legs are place in 45 degree angle. Some Velcro is placed in the bottom of the plate, so that is stays properly in its place. Since the pads are having a great deal of sensitivity, they do not miss even a beat, whether it is buzz rolls or any rolls. With that kind of sensitivity, you will find that the kit is very dynamic.
MIDI capabilities:
The DM5’s proven trigger to MIDI capabilities are as useful now as they ever were in both studio and live or rehearsal situations. Hooked up to an external hardware sampler that is filled with your own sounds, the DM5 Pro might well come into its own in a way that the standard DM5 kit never quite did. The MIDI converter works ultra fast with 12 trigger inputs, 5 programmable parameters for each trigger.
Replace the hi-hat pedal:
The hi-hat pedal switch feels a bit too 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. We suggest you to buy a replacement standard DM5 hi-hat switch pedal.
Highlight features:
Alesis Professional DM5 module contains 540 sounds and 21 programmable drum sets recorded in 48kHz, true stereo, with ambient effects in a single rack space module. The Dynamic Articulation feature allows the drum sounds to change volume, tone, and pitch depending on how hard they are hit, exactly like the real instrument.
The package:
The DM5 Pro Kit from Alesis features a self-contained, 5-piece electronic drum set including a dual-zone snare, kick, 3 toms, with ride, crash and HiHat cymbal pads. Since there is no bass drum pedal supplied with this kit, you will have to find one from outside. All the necessary interconnect cables included.
Cost effective:
The Alesis DM5 Pro Kit is very competitively priced at less than over £100 than its potential competitors Traps E400 and the Yamaha DTXplorer. This is one of another main reasons why you could opt for this kit.
Alesis DM5 Pro Kit come with one year warranty for parts and labour.
Verdict:
The overall impression that Alesis DM5 Pro Kit is given is good. Having a very affordable cost, it gives you a feel of an acoustic drum when it is played. Except for the Hi-hat switch that is a bit bulky, we do not have nothing much considerable to complain about. The Alesis DM5 Pro Kit is a high quality, low cost solution for a complete electronic drum kit, with professional sound and familiar, comfortable playability. The flexibility of the DM5 Pro Kit functions insures that it performs equally well for recording or live gigs.
Alesis DM5 Pro Kit – Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Alesis |
| Model Name | Alesis DM5 Pro Kit |
| Drum type | Electronic |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) inches | 19″x1.75″x6″ |
| Weight | 4.5lbs |
| Colour theme | Black |
| Audio Outputs | Four Two stereo pairs |
| Trigger input jacks | 12 |
| User adjustable trigger parameters | 5 each |
| DAC Bit Resolution | 18 |
| Sample Rate | 48kHz |
| Sound types included | Stereo samples with reverb, ambience and dynamic articulation |
| Number of sounds | Over 500 |
| Polyphony | 16 voice |
| Panning | 7 position |
| User programmable panning | Yes |
| Velocity Response | 127 levels of loudness via MIDI or trigger inputs |
| Kits memory | 21 Memory locations with defaults permanently stored in ROM |
| MIDI jacks | In, Out or Thru |
| Headphone Jack | 1/4″ TRS with variable gain |
| Switchable Footswitch Jack | 1/4″ jack |
| Tuning Scheme | Coarse (chromatic) and Fine (cents) |
| Data Input | Data knob, front panel keypad |
| Power | 9 VAC external transformer, UL and CSA approved |
| Warranty | One year |
