Alesis Performance Drum Pad Best Deal
I recently had the oppportunity to compare the Alesis Performance Pad against four other drum pad machines: Roland's SPD-S and Octapod, Yamaha's DTX-Multi-12, and DD-65.
I ended up choosing the DTX because it has the most sensitive pads. The others I had to bash away on to get notes, and it was a constant frustration to have hits ignored over and over again. The Performance Pad came close, however--it's pretty sensitive to drumsticks.
The biggest disappointment with the Performance Pad is the sounds--they sound like circa 1995 drum sounds. but I believe this has been addressed in the PP Pro.) Not a big deal for practice/learning, but making a recording... well, I'll figure something out if I decide to use it.
The PP was made as cheaply as possible. The LCD is monochrome?tag=thebestdiscount-20/reflective with several fixed text messages. It can be hard to read at certain angles and if you go too far it's totally unreadable. The PP has many editing tools, but I find them frustrating to use given the poor quality of the LCD. No backlight either.
Compared against the others: the Octapad has a much better display but isn't as intuitive to use. The Multi-12 has more pads and better drum sounds, plus "fingertip touch" sensitivity--you don't need Bamm-Bamm to be your drummer. The SPD-S is overkill if you don't plan on sampling, and has the same pad insensitivity issues as most of the others.
I really want to like the DD-65, it seems like a decent machine for beginners but it too suffers from numb pads. Given the way the pads are isolated from one another it seems to me they could crank the sensitivity way up and never have problems with crosstalk.
(Crosstalk refers to a situation where hitting one pad activates nearby pads. This is a potential problem for most electronic drum pads, but on the DD-65 the pads are far apart and set at different heights, making crosstalk almost impossible.)
If the lack of quality drum sounds bugs you, you could always attach it to a computer via MIDI and have the computer generate the sounds. This may not be that easy, since the PP uses channel 1 to transmit and i don't even know if you can change this to channel 10 (the traditional channel for MIDI drum kits).
Would I recommend this? Try it out, just make sure you hang onto the receipt. Amazon makes comparing equipment pretty easy since they take care of all of the return shipping stuff.
Read the full review. Alesis Performance Drum Pad
Alesis Performance Drum Pad Price
| List Price: | $399.00 |
| Price: | $199.00
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| You Save: | $200.00 (50%) |
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Alesis Performance Drum Pad Overview
With its eight velocity-sensitive drum pads and a built-in electronic drum machine, the Alesis Performance Pad enables you to create and record your own beats from scratch or play along with the built-in patterns. The Performance Pad includes foot-switch inputs for a bass drum pedal, hi-hat pedal, and a Line-level input to connect a CD Player, iPod, computer, or other audio device so that percussionists can play along with nearly any recorded mix.
The 24-bit, high-quality headphone output on the Performance Pad insures a no-compromise playback experience without disturbing others. Connection to keyboards and sound modules is made simple thanks to the integrated MIDI output.
Alesis exclusive Dynamic Articulation technology is included to add nuance to the feel of every drum hit. In addition, there are industry-standard mounting holes on the bottom for easy attachment to an existing drum kit rack.
The Performance Pad brings together quality feel and legendary drum sounds for the perfect all-in-one percussion station (see larger image). |
8 natural feeling, velocity-sensitive drum pads (see larger image). |
2 inputs for external, optional kick and hi-hat pedals (see larger image). |
Key Features
- 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
Dynamic Articulation
Discerning ears will notice that each sound is actually a series of different samples; multiple dynamic-level samples and articulations are all built in so as you play harder and softer, the drum or cymbal changes its timbre, not just its volume. This engineered realism is known as Dynamic Articulation, an Alesis exclusive.
This results in sounds that respond accurately not only to dynamic changes, but also with the appropriate timbral and color changes you'd expect from their acoustic counterparts. You can play with or without reverb for different room sounds and enjoy a wide variety of rimshots, rim clicks and different stick-placement sounds on the cymbals. The Random Sample feature also ensures you don't get the same sound twice for further creative realism.
Specifications
- 2 Outputs (1 stereo pair)
- 16/24-bit Sample/DAC Resolution
- 12 simultaneous sounds accessible via Pads
- 120 simultaneous sounds accessible via MIDI
- 16-voice polyphony
- 7-position user-programmable panning
- 8 loudness levels via pads, 127 levels via MIDI
- Timing resolution:96ppq
- 1-128 beats per-pattern time signature range
- Tempo range: 20-255bpm
- Notes/Patterns/Songs: 12,000/400 (200 user, 200 preset)/100
- Kits:50 user, 50 preset
- MIDI Program Change Response: Kit
- Sync: MIDI Clock/Song Position Pointer
- Footswitch Jacks/Functions: 2- Kick and HiHat control
- Other Features: Sound stacking, step editing, stereo samples with reverb and ambience
- Dynamic Articulation: Modulates tone
Alesis Performance Drum Pad Feature
- 8 natural feeling, velocity-sensitive drum pads with Dynamic Articulation(TM)
- 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
- 2 foot-switch inputs for external kick and HiHat (sold separately)
- High-quality 24-bit stereo and headphone outputs
If you need fair product feature about Alesis Performance Drum Pad you can click here and you see full information product feature for Alesis Performance Drum Pad.
Alesis Performance Drum Pad Detail
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 19 x 1.8 inches ; 5 pounds
- Shipping Weight: 12.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
- Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
- ASIN: B000YYNM0M
- Item model number: Performance Pad