Author Topic: Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?  (Read 2987 times)

Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?
« on: March 02, 2010, 12:58:20 PM »
Well, even though I just got the D4 and sorted out its versioning etc, I came across a local shop who has a DMpro up for $160. I got the D4 for less than that and could off it for about the same. So the price difference would be negligible.

I've read the varying opinions of this module, seems there is quite a bit of beef with its user interface and after skimming the manual its easy to see why. But it also offers a boatload of added functionality compared to the D4 and if set up right, can do most of what I think I'll need for the near future, ie 16 trigger inputs, CV hats, dual zone pads/cymbals, chokes, full MIDI implementation, etc.

So just looking for some real world feedback on whether or not I should go for it.. If I could I would just pick it up and have both for a few weeks and pick which one I like better then sell one. But cant really do that atm. Any words of wisdom would help!  :)
« Last Edit: March 02, 2010, 01:00:19 PM by sprackleor »

Re: Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2010, 06:44:41 PM »
I paid under $160 for my DMPro (as the result of a dying LCD...but so far it's still working, just dim in a rarely needed area--half of the 2nd digit of kit numbers)

and I am a very happy camper.  I was unsatisfied until I read the manual.  It took reading through that to get things set up properly for me.  But now I have a pretty basic idea of how to fix any issues I might have with it, edit sounds to my liking (or to fit my needs), and I think pretty much use all of the features the module has to offer.  (Though I'm still a little lost on effects, I'll need to give that section another look)

but I have come to the decision that if I ever found another DM Pro, I would buy it.  Just to have a back up.  That's how much I like the module.

Unfortunately, I've never used a D4 so I can't advise in particular against that.  I can however say that my DM Pro is FAR less buggy than my DM5, it also has an amazing (to me) feature set.

If you're willing to deal with the learning curve, I say go for it.  I really don't think it's as complex as people make it out to seem. Granted I've only ever used Alesis modules (DM5 and DM Pro)

if you get the Pro and don't like it, I'll totally buy it from you ;)

Re: Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2010, 11:41:00 PM »
Well, I pulled the trigger and picked up the DMPro after looking at it and checking the firmware version (2.0 yes). Thing is basically new, the guy said it was owned by a corp and probably has under 10 hours on the clock. So I'll be messing with it this weekend and decide which one is staying.

Re: Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2010, 01:39:06 AM »
I'd suggest you find a way to keep them both.

Quality 'electronic drum' sounds are becoming more and more difficult to find as the market has shifted focus in the last twenty years away from electronic drums to acoustic drum emulators  :'(  The more acoustic drum sounds from the DMPro aren't anything special but I found them to be interesting. The electronic drum sounds are real gems to my ears*.

Play around with it, but I'm sure you'll like the DMPro (if you are happy with the D4, you definately love the DMPro) and for $160, I cannot imagine finding anything better.

* one caveat -- I don't currently own a DMPro and the last time I played around with one was probably 10 years ago, so my memory of the DMPro may be coloured/biased. And I'll also make you an offer if you want to sell :)

Online Hellfire

Re: Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2010, 09:00:45 AM »
Well, I pulled the trigger and picked up the DMPro after looking at it and checking the firmware version (2.0 yes). Thing is basically new, the guy said it was owned by a corp and probably has under 10 hours on the clock. So I'll be messing with it this weekend and decide which one is staying.
I don't know how big of an edrum kit you plan on having but, keeping the D4 might be a good idea. Lets say you run out of inputs on your DMPro. You can always use the D4 as a trigger expander for the DMPro. Just hook the midi out of the D4 to the Midi in of the DMPro and now you have that many more trigger inputs to your DMPro. ;) Just something to keep in mind as you go.

One more thing. If you ever decide to go the VST route, you can always use your D4 and DMPro as TMIs (Trigger Midi Interfaces).

Re: Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2010, 01:59:32 AM »
I don't know how big of an edrum kit you plan on having but, keeping the D4 might be a good idea. Lets say you run out of inputs on your DMPro. You can always use the D4 as a trigger expander for the DMPro. Just hook the midi out of the D4 to the Midi in of the DMPro and now you have that many more trigger inputs to your DMPro. ;) Just something to keep in mind as you go.

One more thing. If you ever decide to go the VST route, you can always use your D4 and DMPro as TMIs (Trigger Midi Interfaces).

I havent had a chance to hook it up yet as I've been stuck doing other things this weekend but I'm pretty familiar with VST's, I have SD and AD. Currently using AD almost exclusively and rarely use SD which I'll prob sell to a friend for pennies.
 
Reasons for going to the DMPro is it is basically a wash as far as $ and gives me a lot more flexibilty around trigger parameters and MIDI routing and the option of doing CC hats although that does look pretty 'wonky' lol. I'm hoping that if the basic functionality is in place that AD will be able to sort the rest.

Online Hellfire

Re: Should I ditch the D4 for a DMpro?
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2010, 11:58:37 AM »
I don't know how big of an edrum kit you plan on having but, keeping the D4 might be a good idea. Lets say you run out of inputs on your DMPro. You can always use the D4 as a trigger expander for the DMPro. Just hook the midi out of the D4 to the Midi in of the DMPro and now you have that many more trigger inputs to your DMPro. ;) Just something to keep in mind as you go.

One more thing. If you ever decide to go the VST route, you can always use your D4 and DMPro as TMIs (Trigger Midi Interfaces).

I havent had a chance to hook it up yet as I've been stuck doing other things this weekend but I'm pretty familiar with VST's, I have SD and AD. Currently using AD almost exclusively and rarely use SD which I'll prob sell to a friend for pennies.
 
Reasons for going to the DMPro is it is basically a wash as far as $ and gives me a lot more flexibilty around trigger parameters and MIDI routing and the option of doing CC hats although that does look pretty 'wonky' lol. I'm hoping that if the basic functionality is in place that AD will be able to sort the rest.
I guess I should have never used the term "wonky".... Oh well, if you are using it for VST (and the DMPro transmits the CC#4) you should be fine when it comes to the hi-hat. My "wonky" statement pertains to the internal functionality of the DMPro. Hi-hat sounds mainly.