Hilster from Littleton, MA USA
hilsterfr@gmail.com
Subject:
Great Drum Set Great Price
Quality:
Yes.All hardware appears to be of good quality, it actualy looks great, the pads are not of the best kind but they'll hold, the rack is solid and looks awsome except for the 5 dang freaking plastic clamps that came with it to hold the tons and snare. The surge cymbals are just amazing and look just fine.
Oh, I almost forgot, the DM10 drum heads are indeed very similar to acoustic drum heads.
Ps. A BIG THANKs to American Musical Costumer Service, you guys ROCK.
Ease of Use:
The DM10 module is user friendly; I'm not a genius and went through almost every single feature that it carries with no problems. ohhh, the manual, well, I’ll take a look at it tomorrow. My guess is you can save a lot of time by reading it if you're not familiar with edrums modules.
The DM10 has many tuning capabilities, if you buy this set you'll see for yourself.
Sound:
Cons: The pads and surge cymbals are just a bit loud and it can get pretty loud depending on how hard you hit them, but NOTHING compared to an acoustic drum set.
I didn't like some of the clamps for being made out of plastic, but they do hold very well.
Well, that's it for the negative part.
Value:
Yes, good value indeed when compared to Roland and yamaha edrums containing the same features and hardware.
Durability:
Yes, it appears to be durable, but only time will be able to tell the truth of it.
Do you own this product?:
Yes I proudly own it.
Date submitted:
02/22/2010
George S from Charleston SC, USA
pstam@knology.net
Subject:
Excellent Mid-Range Kit (with unsurpassable features to price ratio)
Quality:
The hardware is excellent, looks great, and is sturdy. The module is one of the best available. It isn’t the highest quality set out there: top of the line Yamaha and Roland kits easily beat it. But factor in the price, and you may have the best price/feature ratio for any kit out there.
Ease of Use:
The module is intuitive and easy to navigate. The screen is large and easy to read. There are many features that require an in depth knowledge of the module, but doing the basics is quite easy. This is my first e-kit, and I was able to do the basics without reading the manual. I did need to read the manual for some advanced functions.
Ease of recording has always been a huge plus for e-kits. Having no microphones to set up makes life much easier- just plug into your computer and go!
Sound:
Simply put, this drum set sounds great. Its only drawback is the acoustic sound.
I was thoroughly pleased with the drum module samples. Every kit really sounds authentic. The breadth and variety of sound samples are a huge plus for this set, especially when making custom drum kits. I encourage you to look at the DM10 Manual, which lists all of the samples.
I gave only four stars because of the acoustic noise the kit generates. The DM10 is probably one of the loudest e-kits available. This is inherent to the design. The kit’s cymbals and pads are basically sound dampened versions of real acoustic components. So, the kit plays really well, and it is the most natural feeling e-kit that I have played. However, it can be noisy. Make no mistake; it is much quieter than a typical acoustic set and great to practice on; just crank your headphone volume up. When buying, ask yourself if quietness or playability is more important. I chose the latter, so I chose this kit.
Value:
This is where this drum set really shines.
I was looking for a great mid-range set, and I could spend no more than $1500. I had to choose between the Alesis DM10, the Roland TD-4SX, the Roland TD-9S, the Yamaha DTXpress IV Special, or the Simmons SD9K. All of those kits were in the same price range, but the DM10 was in a league above the others. The Yamaha set had an inferior module; the Simmons set emphasized quantity over quality; the Roland sets either had an inferior module (TD-4SX) or inferior hardware (TD-9S). I wanted to get a Roland amidst great reviews, but I found that the Roland kits were overpriced (the TD-9SX, a comparable kit to the DM10, is over $1000 more!).
I encourage you to look at pictures of the above kits if you are deciding between them. I know not to judge a book by its cover, but the DM10 just looks so much better than the other kits. Looking deeper into the specs strengthens this initial impression, and I found that the DM10 is the best choice.
Durability:
I’ve owned the DM10 for a month now, and the kit is holding up very well. The rack is solid and sturdy; the components are very well built. The set seems like it will last a long time. I have gotten some small dents in the drum heads, but this is to be expected: the drum heads are actual mylar heads. A nice feature of the set is that these heads are completely replaceable, so no worries.
Do you own this product?:
Yes, I actually own this exact model (unlike another reviewer), I bought it from AMS.
Date submitted:
1/29/2010
Donald V. Prather - Grouse Mountain Studio from Cobb, Ca. USA
Quality:
If this unit is anything like the Alesis gear that I use alot in my studio and live it should be very dependable. If I ever did have problems Alesis was always there to help
Ease of Use:
Out of the box all you have to do is callibrate the Hi-Hate pedal which is simple and enjoy. Compared to the Alesis D-4 or D-5 Navigation of the menus is a little easier. The manual was good but lacked some midi note information I would have liked to have. The midi features are limited but do the basics. I think that the sequencer is also limited, as far as editing of the drum tracks, and the accompaniment feature was kind of a let down because of the note structure that was used,I would have liked to seen a sequencer more like the old Alesis MMT-8. For recording there are four outputs (main & Aux) so you can seperate the tracks but six outputs would have been much nicer.
Sound:
Tone is very good, the ability to layer sounds make the possibilties endless. Like the D-4 & D-5 there are some nice sound samples in the DM10.
Value:
Great value and a big thanks to AMS customer service who did a price match that was unreal.
Durability:
So far it seams very durable. The steel rack is solid and the plastic pad mounts are fine. The pads have real heads that are a nice feature. The cymbals are very cool and trigger pretty well.
Do you own this product?:
For about a month now
Matt from CO
Subject:
USB Pro Kit with a different Module.
Quality:
Parts made well:
Rack
Drum Trigger Shells
Module
Parts NOT made well:
Inner Trigger wiring is thin and soldered poorly.
Choke Strips are glazed over stickers that will fall off.
Kick Drum stand is will not stay in place even with spikes are in the carpet. I play hard mind you.
High-Hat pedal is better that the one that came with the USB Pro Kit but still a piece of junk.
And you will need some sort of metter tuning screws for the drum triggers because the one that come standard are weak.
Ease of Use:
If you are new to E-drums it can require a bit of reading but this module is soooo much easier to use than the Trigger IO. For those of us that do home recording like myself, then yes,.. the USB capabilities of this Module are great.
Sound:
I went to Winter NAMM 2010 and messed around with this a bit. Honestly guys, aside from the rack and module its the same as a USB Pro Kit. The sounds in the Module are un-compressed so they do sound pretty good. Very loud acoustically though, the downstairs tenants will complain.
Value:
Value I would say is a little off the mark, considering you can get a Roland TD-9 for a few hundred more. It looks a lot better on paper for the Alesis kits but the drum and cymbal triggers are mis-advertised. They certainly do NOT feel like real drums. They Feel more like a use up REMO practice pad. Trying to adjust the tension is laughable. There is either too much or not enough. The tuning posts will not hold for more than a few minutes when playing hard.
Durability:
Seems durable.. I Had a the ALESIS USB Pro Kit for about 3 month before I sold it and the only thing that started to break was the choke strips on the cymbals. They are glued on and started to fall off.
Do you own this product?:
Everything except the module. Did own the USB Pro KIT
Date submitted:
1/27/2010