A fully editable, USB-compatible e-kit from Alesis...
Alesis have been a name associated with the wonderful world of electronic percussion for quite some time. To this day many studios will somewhere contain one of their fantastic DM5 rack-mountable percussion modules, and when they brought out the DM10 e-kit a couple of years ago it was a true return to form for the company. Since the DM10’s launch, Alesis seem to have been very busy people, with new kits and associated products (monitoring systems, performance pads etc.) being released regularly. Here we have the company’s newest range of e-kit, the DM8 USB kit, for our perusal.
In detail
Upon opening the large box that the kit comes in, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that most of the sleek, lightweight, black rack system that houses the DM8 was already preassembled, leaving just two of the upright legs to be added to make things complete. Moulded black plastic clamps are used to hold the rack together, as well as to house all of the various clamps and arms. Once put together, the whole thing was more than solid enough to hold everything in place, giving an air of confidence that nothing was going to move at all once set. The supplied pads consist of three rubber single-zone pads for toms, along with a dual-zone snare pad, all of which attaches to the rack via L-shaped knurled rods, minimising any chance of unwanted movement under the heaviest of onslaughts. Cymbals-wise, the kit comes with an 8” hi-hat pad, 12” crash cymbal and 14” ride cymbal, all of which are constructed from highly polished black plastic with rubber playing surfaces covering roughly a third of each pad. These are attached to the rack via boom arms with clamps, which gives lots of adjustability for comfortable positioning, something that can sometimes be difficult to achieve with e-kits, particularly when the cymbal arms are integrated into the upright posts of the rack (especially if they are not full boom arms). The final component to attach to the rack system is the DM8 module, which is positioned to the left-hand side of the hi-hat. This is easily moved, though, and unlike some e-kits the wiring loom is plenty long enough to reach anywhere on the rack should you wish to position the module elsewhere. Rounding out the package is a stand-alone kick pad, which is designed to accommodate most single and double pedals, along with a solid hi-hat controller, both of which remain in place due to their weighty construction and their chunky, sharply spiked spurs. Wiring up the pads to the module is very quick and easy, with all cables labelled clearly at the pad end and attaching to the brain via a serial connector (very similar to the ones used on many e-kits available at present). All in all, the kit was very simple to set up, with clear, precise instructions helping to ensure that the whole kit was constructed correctly.
The DM8 brain
The highly useful DM8 module contains over 750 sounds, with 100 preconfigured kits and 100 user-programmable kits, with the sounds produced being very realistic. Many functions of the module are borrowed from Alesis’s flagship DM10 module, including the use of dual layering: each sound consists of two layers (A and B), which are both individually editable and combine to offer full, fat sounds. Editing-wise, the DM8, like its older sibling, is exceptional – all sounds are tunable either in semitone increments or less, trigger settings (velocity curves, sensitivity, crosstalk, threshold etc.) are all highly editable, ensuring that with a little time you can get the kit to respond exactly as your playing determines, and there are a host of various effects, including reverb, delay, compression, chorus and vibrato, to add to your sounds. Add to this a comprehensive metronome, 75 songs for you to play along to and an input for connecting an MP3 and you have a very good module indeed. But there’s more: the DM8 also features a USB interface, so that by simply connecting it to your PC orMAC you can periodically update the brain, or trigger sounds from external sound libraries. You can also record yourself directly into your PC or MAC. All of this makes the DM8 a very useful studio tool and practice aid, and will help to keep it sounding modern for some time to come.
In Use
I really enjoyed my time with this kit, finding it easy and comfortable to play. The rubber pads were fairly quiet, and while these types of pads don’t offer the same response as normal drum heads, they certainly weren’t unpleasant to play. Although there was a hint of crosstalk and double triggering to begin with, a mere five minutes of editing and things were responding perfectly to my playing style – every stroke, ghost note and roll were perfectly articulated. The inclusion of a dual-zone snare pad offering a more realistic playing experience is a big plus point, as is the dual-zone (bell/bow) ride, while the crash pad (featuring a choke function on the edge of the rubber section) and the hi-hat pad are both perfectly functional and quiet when played. If playing through headphones you won’t annoy any noise-sensitive neighbours. The hi-hat controller offers continual function, meaning that gradually changing pressure on the pedal leads to subtle changes in the sound (same as you would get from a regular hi-hat pedal), while the kick pad feels comfortable and very sturdy to play, with no hint of the creeping movement that you sometimes get with stand-alone units such as this. Added to this is the superb-sounding DM8 module, with its easy-to-use numerous functions. Overall, this is a very impressive kit for an impressive price.
Conclusion
Over the last few issues I’ve been fortunate enough to get to review some fantastic e-kits – from top-of-the-range, all-singing, all-dancing wonder technologies to some basic, simple-to-use starter outfits, all of which had many upbeats (and a few downbeats), but I have to say that the DM8 can be counted among the better kits I’ve played. The full range of features, along with the ease of use, means, in my opinion at least, that the DM8 is a well designed and made piece of technology that would benefit a wide spectrum of players. From the novice drummer just starting out who needs something quiet for practice purposes, through to the more experienced player looking to get into home recording, this kit has a lot to offer, including great value for money.
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