Alesis DM6 Kit Performance Electronic Drumset Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had my Alesis DM6 drumset up and running for a couple days and I must say I am pleasantly surprised. Up until now any electronic drumset in the $500 range was nothing more than a toy. Because I know that Alesis knows how to make great electronic drumsets I was hoping that their experience making higher end kits would trickle down to this brand new DM6 line. It did. This drumset is fabulous when you consider the price point and, in fact, has no real competition that I could find.
Pros:
- Everything is included. I've looked at a lot of drumsets and many don't include everything you need like bass drum pedals and more. This has everything you need to play right our of the box, even a pair of drum sticks. OK, a couple things not included you will need and that's a set of headphones and a throne (chair) to sit on.
- Sturdy, well made components. The natural rubber drum heads are quiet but have a very good feel and rebound to them. The rubber cymbals are not as quiet as the drum heads but do what they are supposed to do very nicely. All metal hi-hat and bass pedals. Wide diameter aluminum frame rails and compoents.
- Very realistic sounding drum samples.
- Dual zone snare. You can make the snare sound like a rimshot when you hit the rim. Or program it for a cowbell when you play "Don't Fear the Reaper". Or make it sound like any of the other drum sounds included.
- Ability to interface with your computer via USB. This opens up a world of options including MIDI and recording your performances on your favorite recording software. I don't know of any sub $500 kit of this quality that does that.
- MY FAVORITE THING is I just plug in my iPod into the DM6 module and I can play right along to my favorite songs.
- You can buy an ION Drum Rocker module (I was able to get one on eBay, not sold by Alesis) and use this kit for your Rockband drumset. You'll need 8 new cables too, so while there is extra expense, it's possible
Cons:
- Some kits, including mine, were delivered with firmware that was less than perfect. I, and others I have heard, would sometimes have problems with the snare drum triggering properly. I had to hit it harder than I thought I should to get it to trigger. A quick and easy firmware update totally fixed this problem but I know some people have problems updating thgings like this.
The Botton Line:
- Everything I've said in this review is under the caviat, "...for the price." If you are new to drumming this would be a great first set. But if you are and experienced drummer on a tight budget you will not be disappointed as long as you aren't expecting the DM6 to be a Roland Pro high end drum kit. The bottom line is this is the best $500 (street price) electronic drumset ever made.


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An excellent choice in electronic drum sets for price-conscious drummers and aspiring players, this Alesis DM6 Kit combines the compact DM6 drum-sound module with an electronic drum set with extremely realistic playing surfaces and rugged rack system. The DM6 drum module features a completely new sound-set with 108 quality drum, cymbal, and percussion instruments as well as a sequencer with play-along tracks, metronome, recorder, mix-in jack for playing along with your iPod, and more.

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