Contents
Alesis DM6 USB Compact Electronic Drum Set
Alesis has more than 20 years of experience in producing professional electronic percussion and drum set. Now, Alesis has come up with an affordable electronic drum kit.
The Alesis DM6 is a complete set that offers a unique drum experience. With its great pads, reliable hardware, and high quality construction, you’ve found a gem among the stones.
This may not be the best compact electronic drum set, but, in terms of its price, nothing can really beat it. However, it’s also not the kind of drum set that’s only for display and additional collection, as it can really play. So, below are some of the outstanding features of the very affordable Alesis DM6.
Compact with Quality Build
Alesis is known to produce affordable, yet, durable set of electronic drums. The drums, except the snare, are molded with plastic “shell” design and rubber heads.
The snare, on the other hand, comes with a playing surface on top of its plastic shell with rubber edge exposed. Since this is a dual-zone snare drum, the rim should be playable. And, indeed with this configuration, rim shots can be performed.
Thankfully, this drum set is lightweight, at around 46 lbs. It’s pretty and very easy to bring anywhere you go. But, it’s also very stable aluminum rack with thick tubing and very reliable clamps to keep all the pads in perfect position.
Exciting Instruments Included
This is an 8-piece arrangement like its more expensive brothers, Alesis Nitro and Forge.
Cheaper, but it’s equally powerful and usable. Inside the box you got the following:
- Four 8” Drums: (1) dual-zone pad; (3) single-zone tom pads
- Bass drum pad with pedal and kickstand included
- Three 12” Cymbals: ride, hi-hat, and crash
- Complete ProRack system with mounting hardware
- Hi-Hat Pedal
- Drum key and drumsticks
- DM6 Drum Sound Module
- Assembly instructions and quick start guide
Beginner-friendly Drum Module
The key to maximize every electronic drum set is the drum module included. The module features so much goodies you will never get bored of experimenting.
It has 10 preset kits and 5 user kits, which you can change and modify according to how you play it. It also has around 40 preset patterns, metronome and 108 different sounds you can play along.
Outstanding Performance Sound
This electronic drum set has a vast library of songs that can really blow your mind. You can choose from top-notch drums, cymbals and percussion sounds. Aside from the versatility, it really has amazing sounds, which just simply want to let you drum forever.
When playing Alesis DM6 USB Kit, you really don’t have problems for small performance and closed halls and rooms. It has really a very powerful sound quality. However, for bigger and more open areas, maybe you need amplifiers and more powerful speakers.
Perfect for Aspiring Drummers
This Alesis DM6 is highly recommendable for aspiring, yet serious drummers. It gives a more realistic feel, hence, making the whole set naturally playable. With its useful sound module dedicated drivers can really maximize this functionality.
Great Connectivity
One of the great features of any electronic drum sets is the ability to play silently using your headphones. You can go all night playing and creating your music without waking up your neighbors. You can also play and party harder by connecting it to external speakers.
You can find 1/8” headphone and stereo jacks and a USB output/USB-to-MIDI output to connect to your computer. Or, you can connect it with drum-module software to expand your composing abilities.
Alesis is compatible with Windows Vista, 7, 8, Windows 8.1 2GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo. It’s also compatible with Mac OS X 10.6-10.10, 1.6GHz Intel Core Duo, RAM 1GB (minimum). It’s also compatible with popular DAW available today.
You can also connect it to your smart devices, especially iPad. However, this will only work via an Apple USB Connector, which, unfortunately, is not included in the pack.
- More realistic response and better feel
- Versatile options for programming and set up is made easy
- Lightweight and very easy to carry wherever you go
- Great connectivity options for more integration
- Though the hi-hat pedal is not flimsy, it’s not that firm enough
- Many adjustable knobs, which may take time to familiarize
Just sharing my opinion, though…
If you are a serious drummer, you know your needs and the features you badly want in an electronic drum set, especially for practical use. Though this might be a great set, perhaps, you might need more.
For me, Alesis Forge Drum Kit is a better option, if you devote your time to drum. This is just my opinion. So, it shouldn’t influence your decisions on this matter.
Verdict
Not all electronic drums are made equal. Even if you are a serious player, but had a mediocre drum set, you’ll not be able to produce great sounds. But, the Alesis DM6 drum set is a set of great instruments for intermediate players.
So, is it also for beginning drummers?
Yes, it’s perfect. And, one feature that has made it a great choice for beginners is its connectivity. Hence, newbie can take advantage of this feature by easily edit/back up their music to any DAW or your computer.
