Hi
Since there is no many reviews about the Alesis e-practice pad and no topic dedicated to it, (and that it was offered to me for my birthday last week
- man i love my woman !), i thought it was time to share my thoughts about it.
The Pros :
- the incorporated metronome with 6 different sounds
- the "training" functions
- the 65 possible sounds of the pad (including bass, cymbal, ride, tom and some percussions sounds !)
- the feel of the pad (not to much rebound but good to strengthen our wrists)
- the possibility to mount it on a cymbal/snare stand
- the portability with batteries
- the bonus accessories (a "kick" and "hi-hat" triggers and a pair of sticks)
- the record function that enables to hear your sessions
- the sensitivity of the pad for dynamics
The Cons :
- you can't hear the sounds until you plug a headphone or an ampli (the little speaker just plays the metronome)
- not really quiet (but much more than a remo practice pad)
- a jog wheel would have been better to set the tempo value
- a lighted LCD would also be cool because it is sometimes difficult to see the icons in a certain position or in a barely enlightened room
- the "game" function is a cool feature but difficult to play with accuracy because of the little fluidity of the moving icons.
- the price : maybe too expensive for me but much less than Roland's practice pad.
Conclusion :
I enjoy very much this tool that changes us from practice pads that enables us to work on our technique but are not very interesting in term of sound.
With this product, you can here your dynamics on a wider range than on a classic pad and you have the very good feel you are playing on a snare or hi-hat instead of rubber.
The major lack is the absence of rudiment tutorial in the training functions : i think it could have been incorporated easily as there is a similar function with some patterns that you must follow in tempo, speeding up or slowing down. Sure you can work on your 40 rudiments with the metronome but to hear it or follow it in the same time as the e-practice pad would have been a very cool feature (in fact, i thought it was included in this pad).
But less but not least, you can add this pad on your electronic set (i add it on the "aux in" input of my DM10 or on the "aux in" input of my ampli for more volume) and you are like a child with a new toy !
You just can use the stock sounds of the practice pad but they are not redundant with the DM10 sounds and quite good (especially snare and bass sounds).
You have also a very good metronome with all time signatures you want (the DM10 metronome is just 4/4)
Just a doubt about the longevity of the rubber which is more flexible than typical DM5 pads. Time will tell.
Anyway good stuff here because you can play drums anywhere (i was in holidays miles away from my drums so it was perfect) thanks to the bass and hi-hat triggers possibilities. You can also add a real cymbal pad on a cymbal stand with a control pedal to have a wonderful mini e-kit (snare, hi-hat + bass)
PS : sorry if my english writing is not perfect since it is not my original language
