Alesis DM10 X Kit Reviews
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Customer Reviewsfrom Saint Helens, OR March 4, 2013Music Background: Pro musician, hobbyist recording engineer. Love it!I've been a bassist for 30 years. I live in the country and don't get a lot of visitors and decided that I'd pick up this set to learn to play, and to have a kit on hand JUST in case one of my drummer friends stop by! I was also looking at it to possibly record with as I get better. A drummer friend DID stop by and was very sceptical about an electronic kit, as he's a purist and would NEVER play an electonic kit. Long story short.....I had to peel him off of the kit after an hour or so! Like me, he was truly impressed with the feel, rebound, and definately the sound of the module. I like it because it's easy to use. I'm still working out some of the triggering response times, and overlap triggering, but that's 1/2 of the fun for me. I LOVE electronics!GREAT kit, in my opinion and I'm not sorry at all that I bought it. Not sorry one bit. from Roseville Ca January 23, 2013Music Background: engineer/musician/songwriter Awsome Set!!Really nice set for studio work. Cymbals take a little tweaking; other than that, they're great.from Belle Mead, NJ USA January 20, 2013Music Background: Hobbyist AWESOME KIT...WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY AND MORE!!After playing an acoustic kit for my entire life as a recreational drummer, toying with various Yamaha, Roland, etc electronic kits in music stores periodically and researching many kits for a long time, I finally decided on the DM10X kit and I couldn't be happier with it. I've had it for approximately 6 weeks now and purchased it because of it's very reasonable price, more realistic/larger drum pads, adjustable head tunability and the independent snare stand (huge bonus!) which was very important for me since I'm transitioning to an electronic kit for the first time. The kit itself came well-packaged, went together easily and the fit and finish are excellent. It feels sturdy, high quality and doesn't loosen up or move around while playing. The most amazing thing about this kit is the module's incredibly realistic drum sounds, capabilities and staggering number of adjustable parameters which I have to imagine will satisfy even the most finicky of musicians and is probably more than I'll ever need. I've been so busy enjoying the amazing sounds of all the 100 preset kits that I've barely scratched the surface in terms of what the module is actually capable of which will take a long time since I primarily play on the weekends but I'm looking forward to it. You'll need many hours of reading and experimenting to go through the manual thoroughly and discover the full potential of this kit. In reading many online reviews, one of the biggest knocks on this kit is the loudness of the mylar heads but I don't find it to be a problem. I live in a townhouse and have the drums set up against a shared wall and haven't had any complaints so far. My wife does occasionally complain about the "tapping" noise she hears downstairs and for under $100 you can convert to mesh heads so it's something I will consider in the future. Some reviewers have complained about the unrealistic feel of the drum heads which, IMO, is relatively close to the real thing but keep in mind no electronic kit will feel exactly like the original so expect a different feel and to have to adjust accordingly. The heads can be tuned with the included standard drum key for adjustable tension and feel but it's very limited so don't expect the same level of tunability as an acoustic kit. Some users have also criticized the limited cymbal placement/positioning possibilities but, given the inclusion of boom stands for all three of them, I haven't struggled with placing the cymbals in a comfortable position and can actually have them in the exact same spot as my acoustic kit. The only exception is that I like to play with my ride low and directly over the floor tom which you can't do with the Alesis kit because the factory cables are only long enough to place it over the 2nd small tom. It's not a huge issue at all as I've already become comfortable with playing it there and have actually come to appreciate having a crash cymbal over my floor toms. I would imagine that you could purchase longer aftermarket cables if you had a real problem with it. Sweetwater lived up to their outstanding reviews with great customer service and a friendly support staff. I dealt with Scott and he answered all my questions and was very helpful. In closing, this kit might not have all the small (and probably unnecessary) bells and whistles of a kit costing 4-5X as much but once you actually play it and hear what the module is capable of you won't miss anything at all. I highly recommend this kit to anybody looking for a high-quality, great sounding electronic drum set.from York, Pa December 1, 2012Music Background: Have been playing percussion to varying degrees for fifty plus years Alexis DM 10X Digital Drum KitGreat set. The DM 10 module is a "step-up" from the DM 5 I was using. My sales representitive was and is very helpful. The sale price at Sweetwater made my decision to buy an easy one.from Bradenton, Fl. USA November 28, 2012Music Background: Pro musician , retail musical equip.sales, retired Why pay more?I write this review, not as a newbie, or novice, but as someone who has spent many years, performing both live venues, and recording. This is a terriffic instrument, and is capable of doing almost anything you ask of it. The overall quality is quite good, and I say this as someone who also spent a number of years in the music equipment retail trade, with some very established names. I have used this set for about 2 months now and I am still in the discovery stage. I must admit, as this is only my second set of electronics, that After setting them up, and opening the owners manual, I was very frustrated, with the instructions. I even considered, sending them back. I called my sales engineer, Patrick at sweetwater, and we agreed to give it a go ,and so my technique to understanding the DM 10 module was read the manual, push a button and see what happened! It worked, and I am now at the point, where I feel confident enough to gig with these. The sizes of the drum heads, are what I liked most about the set. I found out, as I played, that there needed to be more room on the rack, because of the number and size of the individual pads. There was not enough room between the module and hihat on the standard 24 inch bar. Also cymbal boom arm placement was not optimal. I solved the problem, by replacing the 2 front 30 inch rack bars, with 2 36 inch curved ones, which are readily available on Ebay. I used the two original 30 inchers that were on the front, for my side bars, which were only 24 inch, and now have plenty of room for the hihat and moule on my left, and the two 12 inch toms on my right. If you purchase a loger boom arm, for the far right cymbal holdr, you can just about make everything perfect. I also purchased a better quality snare stand, as the one that comes with the set is a little too light for my tastes, and doesn't come up quite high enough for me. I am not tall, 5'4''. So, for about $200.in up grades, I made this work for me. I can not say enough, about the realism of sound, and the "Dynamic Articulation" feature will just blow you away! Fair warning, there are many parameters you can adjust, to your liking, so give your self plenty of learning time and read,read,read the manual. I have not played any sets with mesh pads, but as I live in a single family home, the mylar head noise is not a problem for me. I recommend a good set of headphones, as the sound of these drums will only be as good as the phones, you hear them thru. In ending, these are a great value, both in overall quality and technology.I researched many sets for a long time. You will not be dissappointed with the Alesis DM 10X.from Cincinnati, OH USA January 27, 2012Music Background: Musician/Recording Engineer Alesis DM10 X -- Great ValueThe DM10 X is a lot of value stuffed into a small, reasonably well-engineered package. The sound itself is competitive with the highest end e-drums out there as far as I am concerned. The kit is well-engineered with enough setup flexibility to satisfy most needs. Biggest problem is squeezing the drum unit in next to the high-hat; the left-had tube should be another 4" longer. I ended up mounting my drum unit on a mic stand! The assembly instructions are a bit obtuse in some spots, but you will figure it out eventually. The cable bundle is a bit messy and some of them are simply not long enough, depending of course on how you set the kit up. The trigger inputs are not completely labeled for the kit, you have to experiemnt to find out where crash2 and tom4 need to be plugged in but that's part of the fun of new gear. There has been a lot of complaining about how any of these new Alesis kits don't come with the triggering set up properly, but mine was pretty good; the only trigger problem I encounted was getting the ride cymbal 'bell' to be reliable. Overall, very pleased.from New York December 9, 2011Music Background: Owner/Operator Atlas Sound Lab This Is All Pro! Not A Bedroom KitPutting aside the bigger RealHead toms (10's & 12's) this kit has a great "Acoustic" feel to it. Alesis finally took the snare drum off the rack, which in my opinion rules! Two 14" crashes and a 16" triple zone ride also set this kit apart from the "bedroom" style DM10. Quick release clamps so you don't have to dismantle the rack to remove something is cool.Let's face it ... If you're a drummer ... A few bucks more than the DM10 is WELL WORTH IT! Just a SUPER VALUE for the price. The Sweetwater experience, as always ... effortless. Nathan Malone (ext 1304) fielded my call with professionalism & class. Not that I care about that stuff ... I'm a foulmouthed pig who runs a studio ... but, it would seem he knew I was calling ... heck, I think he had it loaded up on the truck before we hung up ... arrived in 2 days. AWESOME. So to conclude my little ditty ... EXCELLENT drum kit for the price. This is a "players" electronic kit that won't kill your bank account. It IS NOT a video game controller :-) If you're a player YOU WILL enjoy this kit. |