clintmartin
Max Output Level: -36.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3893
- Joined: 2009/10/11 12:16:43
- Location: Fort Smith, AR
- Status: offline
Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
I'm beginning to think about buying an electric drumset. This http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DM10StuK alesis looks like a good trade off of quality vs. price. The Roland drums would be my choice if budget wasn't an issue. What do you have? I have one of these borrowed http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SPD30 that I may be able to buy and then add a mesh snare and hihat later. I do have the Kick and hihat foot controllers now, but the Octapad is small.
|
Living Room Rocker
Max Output Level: -77 dBFS
- Total Posts : 675
- Joined: 2009/09/16 22:10:24
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/08 12:28:13
(permalink)
I would go for the Alesis DM10, a full kit with room for expansion (inputs 11 & 12) for under $1000. That's a pretty good deal not to mention the dual and triple zone pads for drums and cymbals, respectively. I bought an Ion kit a long time ago just for something to use as MIDI triggers for a more "real" playing feel. It doesn't have multi-trigger heads and I never used the module sounds. So, even if the DM10 module's sounds aren't as good as Roland's, using your favorite drum synth/rompler will do the trick just fine.
If I were going to get the Roland Octapad it would be an addition to another kit.
Just my 2¢.
Kind regards,
Living Room Rocker
|
jih64 
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 797
- Joined: 2014/01/30 20:59:40
- Location: Studio One 3
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/08 16:19:43
(permalink)
The DM10 is a fine kit, does the job well, it's sounds are ok, nothing really wrong with them, but I didn't buy it for it's inbuilt sounds, I use BFD 1, 2, and 3, or sometimes AD or AD2, but not often, BFD is just better. Anyway, if your like me and not a drummer, the DM10 will serve you well.
|
clintmartin
Max Output Level: -36.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3893
- Joined: 2009/10/11 12:16:43
- Location: Fort Smith, AR
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/08 17:27:48
(permalink)
Yeah, I'm not worried about the sounds. I have EZD2 and AD2 for that. The Octapad works great, but I would like something more realistic.
|
johnnyV
Max Output Level: -48.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2677
- Joined: 2010/02/22 11:46:33
- Location: Here, in my chair
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/08 21:21:30
(permalink)
If you are a drummer then until you get up over $2,000 there's no huge improvement in "realism" of the sounds generated either with the brain or triggered samples. But there will be a more musical (real) performance recorded. With the basic kits ,they are about the same thing as an octapad, something to hit that bounces back, But the big difference is that you can play it like a kit with all 4 limbs. So if you are not a drummer, stick with an Octapad type trigger.
I bought the Yamaha DTX 400 as it was the best buy of the starter kits @ $500.
The sound in the brain are actually very good, They are almost identical the the Birch kit found in Session drummer. I also find the sounds respond better to how hard you play than triggering samples, but I still use Session drummer for my drums.
I had a chance to play the flagship Roland kit, wow, now that is real, Every little nuance is captured and the skins are very nice to play. But It was $5,000.
But if you can play a full kit of drums, having even a basic kit to whack on will speed up the process of laying down a better drum track. I used to enter my drums on a keyboard in a few passes, Kick, then snare etc. Now I do it all at once and the accents and fills make musical sense. So the performance is much improved as you can play the part more accurately than with you fingers.
To get true sonic realism will cost you a lot more.
Sonar X3e Studio - Waiting for Professional Scarlett 6i6Yamaha Gear= 01v - NSM 10 - DTX 400 - MG82cx Roland Gear= A 49- GR 50 - TR 505 - Boss pedalsTascam Gear= DR 40 - US1641 -Mackie Gear= Mix 8 - SRM 350's i5 Z97 3.2GHZ quad 16 Gig RAM W 8.1 home buildTaylor mini GS - G& L Tribute Tele - 72 Fender Princeton - TC BH 250 - Mooer and Outlaw Pedals Korg 05/RW
|
RobertB
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11256
- Joined: 2005/11/19 23:40:50
- Location: Fort Worth, Texas
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/09 20:17:01
(permalink)
I'd get the DM-10, if it's an either/or situation. You've got the itch now, and you won't really be happy until you do  . I have the DM-6 Kit. It has rubber heads, which aren't bad, but they don't have the feel of the mylar heads on the DM-10 kit. I also have added an Alesis Control Pad to supplement the basic kit. Like Jeff above, I wasn't interested in the built-in sounds. It's main purpose is to function as a controller. The built-in sounds are good for monitoring while tracking, though.  The kit is way more fun than the pad alone.
My Soundclick Page SONAR Professional, X3eStudio,W7 64bit, AMD Athlon IIx4 2.8Ghz, 4GB RAM, 64bit, AKAI EIE Pro, Nektar Impact LX61,Alesis DM6,Alesis ControlPad,Yamaha MG10/2,Alesis M1Mk2 monitors,Samson Servo300,assorted guitars,Lava Lamp Shimozu-Kushiari or Bob
|
jih64
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 797
- Joined: 2014/01/30 20:59:40
- Location: Studio One 3
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/10 01:17:33
(permalink)
Yes, and that, the 'fun' part, the enjoyment factor shouldn't be overlooked. If you have played drums before, you can keep a beat, do a few rolls, fills etc, go for it, you'll get things done quicker, with far more enjoyment and satisfaction, it will sound better, more 'realistic' even if you aren't a fantastic drummer. It's far easier to get the 'feel' of things doing it for real than trying to program the 'feel' with different velocities and timings etc. I just lay down my track as best I can, go into the midi editor, tidy things up that need to be tidied up, then if there are rolls or fills whatever that I would like to add that I couldn't actually play in at the time, (I'm not a drummer, guitars are my main thing) I just go and record them, learn, practice how to play what I want to play, then cut and shut those pieces with the main track. I'm happy, my drumming parts won't win any awards, but they do the job just fine for me, so I am happy, and I got much more enjoyment and satisfaction out of it than I would have with my head stuck in the midi editor.
|
denverdrummer
Max Output Level: -85 dBFS
- Total Posts : 278
- Joined: 2011/01/10 12:15:24
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/17 17:23:00
(permalink)
Alesis makes a great product for the money. The DM10 module is the same module that Pearl OEM's for their Pearl REDBox module for their ePro live kits. I love Roland V-drums, but for a price of a TD-30 kit, I could by a fully tripped out DW Collectors kit with exotic veneer finish. I've never under stood the fact that you can get an awesome workstation keyboard for between 2000-4000 dollars, but to get really decent electronic drums, you jump into the 6000 range. It's not a good deal, unless that is all you are ever going to play, or you have endless amounts of money to spend.
Alesis packed alot of value into the DM series for a reasonable price. I'm not going to say the DM kits are the best out there. They are not, but dollar for dollar they are the best value on the market. The only suggestion I would make if you buy the DM10 is to buy some mesh screen heads, as the Mylar heads are pretty loud. (sounds like a Remo practice pad if you're familiar with those).
I am really interested in seeing Alesis' Sample Pad pro. It's got some great features for a really decent price (around $300). I like the Octapad, but from a performance standpoint, I've never liked the pad layout of the octapad. You lose sense of what sounds are where. Back in the 80's on the analog octapads, people used to use sticky notes to put on the pads to remind them what they were sampling. The Sample Pad pro setup is in a 3x3 layout so it's much easier from a playing standpoint and easier to remember what sounds are mapped where.
Win 10 Pro 64 bit, Dell Inspiron 15, core i7, 16GB RAM, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, Mackie MR5 Mark 1 speakers
|
clintmartin
Max Output Level: -36.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3893
- Joined: 2009/10/11 12:16:43
- Location: Fort Smith, AR
- Status: offline
|
gustabo
Max Output Level: -49.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2591
- Joined: 2009/01/05 17:32:38
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/18 19:15:15
(permalink)
I have a DM10 set and it's A LOT easier to play a drum part on that than it is on my MPD26!
Especially tom fills, snare rolls and intricate hi-hat work.
I vote for the DM10, great value for the money!
The only mod that I did was get a 12" pad and snare stand for my snare.
Cakewalk by Bandlab - Win10 Pro x64 - StudioCat Platinum Studio DAW - 32 GB Ram - MOTU UltraLite-mk3
M-Audio Keystation 88ES - Akai MPD26 (hot-rodded) - Alesis DM10 - a few guitars, a few amps
Novation Launch Control - Korg nanoKONTROL2 - PreSonus FaderPort - DAW Remote HD on iPad
Adam A7X - Behritone C50A
PreSonus Monitor Station v2 (controlling the mons)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sonarusergroup/
|
Jim Roseberry
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 9871
- Joined: 2004/03/23 11:34:51
- Location: Ohio
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/19 10:13:06
(permalink)
☄ Helpfulby pentimentosound 2016/09/05 17:29:36
I've had just about every type of e-drum controller over the past 20+ years DrumKat, TrapKat, SPD30, Yamaha DTX, and Roland V-drums, etc. In super tight space, the old DrumKat with kick and hi-hat pedals was pretty decent. I used mine for over 10 years... Funny thing, if your sticking is pretty good, because the really close proximity of the pads... you can end up over-playing fills/etc. Pad sensitivity on the DrumKat could be manually adjusted... and adjacent pads were pretty resistant to false-triggering. The DrumKat is my favorite of the small "self-contained" controllers; Better feel than the SPD30 and two more pads (if you split the "Ears"). The TrapKat would have been absolutely perfect for me... but there were just too many dead spots. Sensitivity was inconsistent across the many different pads (even after manual adjustment). The Yamaha DTX rubber pads were solid and sensitivity was pretty good... but the trigger interface "Drum Brain" itself was limiting. This caused the pads to appear lacking in sensitivity... and adjacent pads would easily false-trigger. If you plug those same pads into a Roland V-drum Brain, they work much better. Roland V-drum "mesh" pads have sensitivity (and feel) that's FAR better than any of the rubber pads. Pair those with one of the more advanced V-drum Brains (TD-10, TD-12, TD-20, TD-30)... and you have the best e-drum controller money can buy. Great sensitivity (you can do the lightest/tightest buzz-roll and not miss a single stroke), adjacent pads are resistant to false-triggering, the snare and ride pads sense actual stick position on the head and can transmit that via MIDI CC (this is way beyond separate zones), and unlike rubber pads... the mesh pads "give" when you hit them hard (just like a real drum-head). As has been mentioned, the only downside to V-drums is the cost. The decision to purchase a $3000+ set of V-drums is tough: If you have the space and gear, you can buy a really nice acoustic drum-kit for the same cost. A good player on a pro-level drum-kit (recorded well) will always sound best. For as great as technology is (and just how far it's come), with the great flexibility we're afforded with current generation DAWs, sometimes it's actually quicker/easier to just play/record the real thing.
|
Living Room Rocker
Max Output Level: -77 dBFS
- Total Posts : 675
- Joined: 2009/09/16 22:10:24
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/19 12:10:35
(permalink)
Right on! Thanks for the excellent rundown on e-drums, Jim. Much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Living Room Rocker
Kind regards, Living Room Rocker
|
clintmartin
Max Output Level: -36.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3893
- Joined: 2009/10/11 12:16:43
- Location: Fort Smith, AR
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2014/11/19 17:04:26
(permalink)
Yeah, I'm not going to get real drums. I don't have the space, mics, a good room, or to be honest, enough talent to do them justice (engineering wise). Roland would be my first choice if I had the budget. I appreciate the detailed post Jim. The actual performance of the triggers themselves is what most "real" drummers complain about. So that kind of info is nice to hear about. I believe I will have a dedicated room again in the near future, so I have time to do my research...for now I'll keep using this Octapad that my old drummer left here. I tried to get him to buy the separate mesh snare, hihat and cymbal for it, but I guess he knew he wasn't going to need it.
|
Moradbipbip
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 13
- Joined: 2015/12/14 21:14:47
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2016/09/05 15:44:51
(permalink)
Good info on this feed. My challenge is that some accents are hard to program and take me hours to still not get it quite right so im shopping for solutions. Im wondering if i purchased an Alesis Sample pad, and played it, providing i played it accurately, would Sonar put the notes where i played it, or just put the notes in the same spot in step sequencer, that isnt working thus wasting my time and money. Im not a drummer so im wondering if any MIDI keyboard controller work or ive even wondered if my crusty old Alesis SR16 drum machine do the trick? Thanks
|
Maarkr
Max Output Level: -81 dBFS
- Total Posts : 488
- Joined: 2011/12/10 09:35:33
- Location: Maine
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2016/09/05 22:10:38
(permalink)
☄ Helpfulby Moradbipbip 2016/09/13 20:10:25
yeah, depends if you want to be a drummer or hit drum notes into midi... I grew up drumming, now have an older Alesis kit and a DTX kit, and also an Alesis sample pad. For me, I play keys for our band unless the drummer can't make it, then I switch. My DAW and recording studio is in a different room, so I use the sample pad to enter midi for fills and 'real drum rolls, etc'. For straight stuff, I just use AD2 midi dragged into the track.
I'd just say if you want to work on real drumming skills and save your hearing then go with e-drums. If you are just dropping beats into midi for your song projects, you can get by with a pad, unless you're dong some wild metal or dubstep stuff.
Maarkr Studio: SPALT Lifetime/BL Cakewalk, Studio One 3.5, UAD, Z3ta+2, IKM, NI, Waves, iZotope, Melda, Reaper i7 3770/Giga Z77 mobo, Win10 Pro-64 w16Gb, MOTU Ultralite MK4, Yamaha HS80M wSub, Live: PX-5S, FA-06, Roland Lucina, Epi Les Paul, Ibanez Bass, Amps, e-drums, Zoom R-16... Latest album release, NEW! Counry Classic at http://genemaarkr.bandcamp.com/
|
thepianist65
Max Output Level: -78 dBFS
- Total Posts : 644
- Joined: 2004/07/30 15:09:51
- Location: Boston, MA
- Status: offline
Re: Alesis DM10? Or keep Octapad?
2016/09/06 09:51:55
(permalink)
|