Alesis DM5 Drum Machines
The Alesis DM5 needs a bit of personal tweaking and took a couple of months. I changed the settings and eventually got what I wanted. It's like any other music instrument; you have to learn it. With me playing nearly 60 songs a night, and at least 6 days a week.
I've had no problems. As I have read the manual more; my sounds only get better. I have used all 12 of the inputs both for the mesh head and cymbals. There's also the 3 foot pedals and the bass drum is daisy chained to allow a double bass. Also, included is a BP-80 double tube trigger.
Of course, you need to personalize your unit, and adjust it to make it completely reliable. As a novice, this kit will set up in an hour and be ready to play. However if you're a professional like myself this will make an excellent kit. I've used up to 10 different settings on my kit during shows, and I can easily switch them in 10 seconds tops.
This is excellent considering my band has no dead time. The DM5 is rack mounted and it has a 4 space rack. It allows a stereo EQ, Data, and effects to be near my hi-hat. Of course, most of you must be thinking 'those should be included' you should recall what most guitar players play with. I bought this kit used, and it had the 1.0 version.
The polyphony needs adjustments and certainly is not the best. With work you can obtain 32nd note rolls. For live performances, the stereo is amazing. I love to play the stereo into the mixing board, mix in the chorus and some reverberation. Add that to the EQ mix so it adapts to the venue and it's a perfect sound for our band's ambience.
The features are long so I'll let other people talk about them. I love the displays because they are easy to read. I name my kits, and then they tell me what I need to know when I'm playing. The feel of any set is part the triggers and the rest is the set itself. I've built the mesh head triggers and the response I've received is wonderful.
Not to mention the dynamic range is the best of any set I've played. However, adjustments are necessary to reduce cross talk. The DM5 is diverse. This is excellent for my band considering we play all different styles of music.
Also, the effects on this set are built into the sounds. One thing I would like changed is to have the reverberation built in. However, it is not difficult if you know where the connection for the EQ and reverberation are.
Of course different drummers have different opinions. I am a professional drummer with over 40 years experience, and a live stage performer.
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