Alesis DM5

The default preset kits out of the box suck badly. I can't figure out why Alesis would choose those default kits. There are plenty of good drum sounds in the unit, and it's pretty much a must to customise the preset kits. Compare to the utterly crappy sounds you get with Roland modules, I think the DM5 is streets ahead. Editing kits is easy, and the manual is easy too.

16 note polyphony has not been a problem for me. I sometimes wish there were assignable FX on board. There are no expansion capabilities either, but that's OK for the price of the unit.

The snares & hats in the Random list of patches sound *very* realistic compared to other modules. Playing 16th notes on the hats can sound very mechanical on a lot of modules, but the hats in the random set on the DM5 have a much more natural sound. The techno sounds are a little dated by today's standards, but I like the acoustic sounds. Dynamics are good.

The legendary lock-up problem. Well, from my experience, I have found that the unit will lock up if I send a GM sequence to the unit which tries to play notes that the DM5 doesn't support. My other gripe is that the data wheel on the unit is very hard to use. It tends to skip all over the place when I'm trying to make a selection.

Like many others, I've never delt with tech support. I guess that's a plus for the unit.

This unit doesn't have the versatility to be your only drum module, but it is a valuable addition to any home studio. If I were to replace this unit, I'd probably move up to the DMpro. I've been playing around 12 years, and this unit is no replacement for the real thing, but it's useful for sequencing music.

All the pre set sounds are great, and it is very easy to change sounds a to use.

All the features a fine. I really couldn't ask for any more than what I've got.
The only features I seem to be having trouble with are changing banks via a Midi footcontroller (I have a Digitech control seven) and using a hi-hat controller (Roland) both these 2 things I have had lots of trouble doing and nothing in the manual seems to explain it very well

The sounds are incredible using my acoustic drum kit with triggers through a big P.A has blown away everybody that has listerned to it

Apart from the 2 problems I listed above it has never let me down

I live in Australia so there is a lot less support here than in some other countries. In my experience anybody I've apoken to that a dealers of Alesis DM5 are either to stupid to know how they work or just don't give a fuck about helping people that need help and aren't buying at that very moment.

This unit is great value, however just because of my changing needs I would get something a little bit better with sequence functions and maybe some sort of sample functions also.

Very easy to use, a lot of good thought went into getting as much intuitiveness out of an LCD/button interface. I gave up on Roland and other stuff long ago because their UI blows. Alesis did a fine job.

I'm a drummer and have no need for an electronic beatbox. A friend of mine has the D4 and I really liked the authenticity of the acoustic sounds. I don't always judge an instrument on its sounds, I like to dig in and tweak to my liking, and if the road is bumpy then it loses points. It was easy to tweak the sounds on the DM5.

The manual is great and explains the box really well. It's nice to see a manual written for real drummers and beatbox fanatics alike.

Really good variability with the sounds; you can adjust pitch, volume, panning, and output assignment.

The REALLY cool feature is "note follow"; if you're in any menu, just play the pad (or key) and the note changes, it's like context-sensitive menus. Then momentarily switch note follow OFF while you're adjusting the parameter so that mistriggered pads don't change the menu on you. Very cool.

The other nice bit is that the buttons and wheels can be manipulated with your sticks, not just your fingers. I keep my DM5 in a rack at arm's length and this is handy.

It has twelve trigger inputs for pad or mic sources and the flexibility is the best I've seen, you can really dial in the parameters so that you can minimize mistriggers. Anybody who still uses Simmons or rubber based/piezo pad triggers will appreciate this feature. My friend triggered his D4 using mics on his live kit. Worked great!

No effects; don't miss 'em, I use my own. That's why they give you two stereo output pairs, DUH! I use the main pair as stereo and the aux outputs as independent sends to my effects. Cymbals get lost in reverb, so I prefer 'em dry. If I want to process the latin percussion or toms, then I can route 'em out separate outputs.

I never have problems with the polyphony. 16 voices is enough. I don't hear cymbals cutting out when I play. Also there are *GROUPS* that you can assign sounds to, IE I group all the hihat sounds so that they always use one voice, because 1) a real drummer only uses one hihat and 2) the hihat sounds much more realistic this way. Most everything else is multi group, yet I still don't hear sounds cutting off.

I don't miss the effects or an on-board sequencer - I want to pay good money for the sounds, not for the kitchen sink. Actually I'm *glad* that the sequencer *isn't* included in keyboards and modules more, because that's a waste of my money when a desktop computer does a better job.

I do wish it had memory for more kits (only 20) but that's easily solved with MIDI dumps.

I bought this box for acoustic kits, not for beatboxes. I've found that the hardest thing to get sounding right are the hihats and cymbals. Lots of modules cutoff the previous voice when you repeatedly hit the same note and this sounds so fake on crash cymbals. Not true with this box. You can set up a note so that it triggers a new voice for every new trigger or reuses the same voice. Since I was going for authenticity, this feature meant a lot for me.

Another bonus is that some of the snares, kick, toms, and cymbals have dynamic timbre, IE the timbre changes depending on how hard or soft you hit it. Very cool for snares.

These sounds are very useable for any music that uses a real kit. It's a little short in the orchestral sounds (wish it had stuff like hand cymbals, suspended cymbals with mallets, or gongs). I'm no judge on the electronic beatbox sounds at all. All I can say is that having seen the tweakability of stuff like the 808 or 909 beatboxes, you're better off with the real thing because the DM5 isn't as tweakable as those.

Mine has never crashed. I've read a lot of comments about units locking up and I have to stress that noisy AC or a bad wallwart will cause these problems. I never liked wallwarts, they break too easily (I power my DM5 with a Juice Goose 12-paq). Also noisy AC out of that plug in the wall will send any computer to neverneverland, folks. Same is true for any power strips. I've opened up power strips and have found subpar quality, and I know my house wiring because I studied it in college (I'm an EE). Also if you have large appliances sharing the circuit (refridgerators, ACs, washer, dryer, etc) these things will cause the AC level to drop when they kick in, and ooops there goes the computer.

Don't always blame Alesis, Roland, or any company for the crashing problems.

Haven't needed them since I bought it five years ago.

I have a electronic drum kit with a hodgepodge of various pads and triggers. I use an Acupad for the snare, it uses a real drumhead plus there's a rim trigger for rimshots or sidesticks. The toms and kick are Simmons and will be replaced with Acupads, and I have a Roland pad in the shape of a triangle with four triggers; the rubber pad and three edge triggers. The Roland pad is my ride cymbal (pad), bell ride (left edge), crash cymbal (top edge), and cowbell/percussion (right edge). I rigged a DW kick trigger pedal for my hihat, I put in a couple of microswitches under the pedal that close when I push the pedal all the way down. The 2nd switch is for the mid-closed hat when I let up just a little bit. These switches simply route the Simmons pad to any of three outputs; closed, mid, and open hihat. The kick pad triggers a foot closed hat. It's all set up like a traditional kit and it works great.

I was using a Kurzweil 1000PX for a while and got tired of the sounds, it wasn't very flexible and the sounds weren't that good. The DM5 gave me an incredible realism to the sound that I haven't found anywhere else. The sounds are nice, warm, crisp, and it fits into any style of music I play. I write a lot of songs and the Alesis sounds so natural and it fits in the mix very well.

Very easy to see what going on with all midi events. Editing nice and
straight forward.

Works well for progressive rock\folk\composition. As said, no reverb. For this I use the Fostex DE-1 which has a nice plate reverb and an LA Audio compressor. Needs working on but the results can be excellent.

Very dependable. I've also not seen this locking up problem but personally know someone that has so may have been a bad batch.

Would buy another if lost as my material has been written using it. Alesis gear always has a quality feel to it.

the present sounds are more aimed at preeqed and electronic sounding then real drums. I own the Alesis D4 & Roland TD10 for drum modules besides my D5. I use the D5 for my main sets because i seek the rather electronic sampled sound.

If you are seeking real sounding drums from an electronic unit then get the roland TD10 sound mod.

I would say it is real drums preeqed and effected. If you ever owned a alesis D4, it is setup just like that unit. the only thing i noticed as the value nob was really too sensitive in changing sounds or values. but that is me being nit picky.

The polyphony is 16 voice. you can pan your sounds 7 degrees either direction left or right. midi controllable. has 127 degrees of midi volume control. 21 memory locations. The nice part there is a ROM chip with all the original sounds stored so you can restore them should you want to resell it with origianl sounds and still have the factory built sounds. midi in out and thru. 18 bit sounds.540 sounds into a single rack space, many recorded in true stereo and with ambient effects.

the sounds are not 'real' drum sounds as much as already eq'd and effected drum samples. some so effected they are not worth it. such as a bassdrum that is sampled with a guitar so when you play the bassdrum you are stuck with a limited note bassdrum. dynamically if you are looking for drumset to play on stage, i would suggest the roland TD10 sets because the dynamics are real. this is electronic still.

there are no onboard effects to the unit except for already sampled drums in effects.

it does react in dynamics to your playing for some sounds can be triggered with new sounds at velocities.

with drums . . .no need for aftertouch.

i have never taken this unit on a gig set but i use it in the studio as my main drum mod. it has never locked up on me unlike its bigger brother dm5pro. it can handle the midi inputs well. just like any other instrument once it hits the top polyphony it cuts off the sounds triggered later. 16 note poly (wish for 32 but little minor)

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if i were to loose this instrument i would have to replace it!! and yes i would.

i have been recording sequenced industrial music for 9 years.

(scale 1 to 10 next to instrument) i own the roland d70(8), jd8000(4), td10 w/prokit(10), jv2080 w expan techno(9), alesis d4(7), d5(7), nanoverbs(9), midiverb(7), adats(1), korg o1rw(10), oberhiem m1000(8), mackie hdr24/96(10), 8bus(10), 1604lvzpro(10), 1604(10), line6 pod(10), epiphone nighthawk guitar(3), digitech tsr24 fx processor(-1).

The Dm5 is extremely easy to use, i had never used a drum modual before and it was very easy to understand , anything that was questionable the manual explained.

The Dm5 has in my opinion , lots of cool sounds to use . Alot of them sound very real , and some very fake ,(Depending on what your going for I think you'll find it ) The only problem I have with the features is the lack of any effects at all . The Dm5 has drums and effects with reverb and flanger but there is no way to edit the effects on them , this is why I asume they have the Dm Pro .

Like I said before the sounds on the dm5 are really good , for dance type music they have the 808 and 909's and there is alot of really good sounds , but are far as the preset kits , theyre all pretty bad in my opinion . The dm5 holds 21 kits , and 12 trigger inputs so that is alot of sounds , but the kit presets have alot to be desired. The last thing is that the cymbals dont sound very good at all , i didnt really care for any of them , The Yamaha DTX (I think that's it) have very real , nice sounding cymbals in that modual though.

So far I have only used this live a few times , i had no problems at all , backing it up would probably be a good idea , but for now it works fine .

I think for someone who is beginning to trigger there set or adding electronic pads , or even doing studio work , it is a good investment . I just would of like to atleast been able to change the reverb setting but over all I'd buy it again definatetly.

Software version 1.00

I just want to comment on this one factor, as it seems there is a wide range of opinions. My unit is totally solid, and has not locked up at all in normal use. This is a recently made unit so it may have had some bug fixes, even though the software revision says 1.00 However, those that do have random troubles might suspect the power supply. Inside the DM5 the power supply filter caps are, in my opinion too small and leave it susceptable to line glitches. I have found that a AC line glitch will cause the DM5 to reset easily than my other gear. A possible way around this is to change the wall wart to a slightly higher voltage, like 10% or so. This might provide more headroom for line fluctuations.

very easy to use you have to be dumb not to understand the manual

it has no built in effects and no expantion capabilities
but its easy to use

it has some bad ass sounds you can use all the kits for any type of music some of the sounds sound the same but most drum modules have that

i dont do gigs but i use it for my studio
so far i can depend on it

never dealt with them

i would buy it again i use it for hip hop music and its got the 808 and the 909 im using it on most of my album i like this unit better than the d4

The DM5 is extrememly easy to use. After working with a Roland TDK7 for over a year, it was great to get the DM5. I only use it for percussion effects and ethnic instruments as I have incorporated the unit with my acoustic kit.

This is the second DM5 that I have purchased. Initially, I bought the unit in an attempt to build an electronic drum kit to replace my acoustic kit. Very dumb thing to do...I ultimately returned the unit as it constantly locked up when playing fast fills or crescendos on multiple pads. I was very disappointed and ultimately bought a Roland TDK7 kit. It was great, but still not adequate to replace my acoustic kit. The second time around, I bought to unit just as an add-on to my acoustic kit and in this arena, it has responded wonderfully. Since there are no effects, I have added a Yamaha reverb unit to make the sounds a little more realistic. Mixed with my acoustic drums, no one else in the band can tell that my timbales, cross sticks, cowbells, and tambourine are electronic. Audience and other musicians constantly ask about the DM5 and comment on how "real" the percussion sounds from are.

Electronic drums and cymbals do not have the dynamic range, nuance capability, or expressiveness necessary to play all styles of music. The DM5 as well as any other electronic drum kit seems to lend itself almost exclusively to contemporary rock or dance music. I have tried everything electronic drum module produced since the early 80's and one just has to get used to the fact that an electronic drum set is a different instrument from an acoustic kit. Just as with guitars, one must use the right tool for the job. I would probably never use any of the so-called real drum sounds in this unit or any other. Give me my Fibes, my Sennheisers, and my Sabians any day; however, the percussion and ethnic instrument choices are very good to great. I have saved a small fortune in outboard percussion as well as not having to carry two-hundred additional instruments besides my kit. With just three ACUPADs, one dual zone and two single zones, I can use the DM5 with my acoustic kit to get the sounds necessary for almost any style, quickly and efficiently.

As I said earlier, the DM5 does not do everything perfectly; however, it performs great for the particular applications that I am currently using the unit for. I am using it on the gig without a backup, but it is not the center of my universer and I can get through most gigs without it.

I have never had to deal with the company. I always buy electronics from retailers that have a liberal return (refund) policy in order to make sure that I don't have to box up an item and ship to "God knows where".

I would definitely buy one to replace this one if lost or stolen.
Additionally, I use the DM5 patched to a Yamaha REV100 reverb, off to a Mackie, then to my QSC USA 900 amp, and finally to my JBL MR905 monitor. This particular combination sounds great. As far as general likes and dislikes, I particularly like the ease of editing and set up, and the cost is very reasonable. The sounds that I use are extremely musical and blend very nicely with my acoustic kit.

sounds are great for it's time. a breaze to use and workes equaly good with mesh pads, acoustic triggers and homeade practice pad ones too!! no auto-train for beginners either.

polyphony SUCKS! i get cutoffs all the time even with high decay rates and the PRESETS! that seems really cheep to me. (good thing i've got a nice e-mu sampler to controll with it:) i also wish you could send different notes/triggers do different MIDI channels instead of the way it's got a global MIDI channel. NO HI-HAT NUANCE, how un-pro!

feel of all types of pads is great. sounds are decent but not too real. good hip-hop/dance type stuff. again, POLYPHONY SUCKS, OK trigger to MIDI converter though.

actually it has crashed on me a few times, did Microsuck help Alesis with the software? only when editing parameters though. if i don't touch it after it's set it's cool.

still havn't found out how to see the OS version.

wish i had an overpriced TD-10 instead, but still pretty happy.