Alesis PerformancePad

Hitting the pads is the easy part - but why is there no MIDI input? I can record to a sequencer but can't play back to the pad. Duh?

This is a great machine but it's been crippled by some marketing guys. It could have been a classic! I say again, why no MIDI input??? If Alesis don't do it somebody else will...it's like the rt-123 in reverse! On the rt-123 I couldn't save anything = useless for anything except novelty and toytown.

Sounds are fine.

I wouldn't use it in real life because it's like a hammer shaft without a head. Why do you do this Alesis?????? Why not make proper tools? You used to...

Never bothered them. I'm sure they're very kind.

if it were lost I'd be a little confused but I'm sure I could find something else to hit.

Basic setup & usage is pretty easy, but due to design flaws, some things can't be done at all. Example: if two pads are hit repeatedly, one of them will often not be triggered. This can occur when playing a basic hi-hat/snare pattern. The only ways to get around this are (a) modify your technique to avoid hitting two pads at the same time, or (b) use the pattern recording feature to build patterns in layers.

Since the PerformancePad has 8 pads, I had looked forward to using it in place of a full drum set for casual recording. Due to the design, the external kick and hi-hat trigger inputs require that pads be assigned: one for the kick drum, one for open hi-hat, one for closed hi-hat. Instead of 7 pads being available for snare/toms/cymbals/other sounds, you now only have 5.

The manual is loaded with errors, I think it was originally written for one of their other drum machines. Example: in Compose mode, to erase one sound, the instructions say to 'press and hold the pad corresponding the the voice'. The pads on this unit are designed to be hit with a drum stick and can't be 'pressed'.

The manual refers in at least 3 places to two separate stereo outputs, with the ability to assign a voice to either output, anywhere in the stereo field of that output. It doesn't tell you how to do this, except for a basic Pan function, and the hookup diagram shows two separate MONO outputs. I'm waiting for a response from tech support on this, if the manual is correct I will post a correction.

The manual also refers to using the unit as a sound module, but there is no MIDI in!

On the plus side, the buttons & screens are set up pretty well and are reasonably intuitive.

For the price, the feature set is pretty good, or would be if they worked as expected. 8 velocity-sensitive pads, 16-voice polyphony, 8 velocity levels per pad, 50 user & 50 preset kits, 233 sounds, the ability to change pan, tuning, volume of individual sounds. Besides playing in real time, you can create patterns and songs. Alesis has built in several features for 'live performance' playing, such as the ability to easily switch between primary and secondary versions of each pattern, with an additional fill pattern available for each.

I take off 3 points because of the problems mentioned in the 'Ease of Use' topic.

The first thing I noticed was the nice bounce given by the pads. I was upgrading from a Yamaha DD-65 (80% toy, 20% instrument) which had mushy pads.

No complaints about the sounds. They might not be sufficient for a professional studio, but they sound good to me, and the ability to edit them is a plus. I was worried that they might be too pre-processed, with a lot of reverb, etc, but there are enough usable sounds that this has not been a problem. There is a feature called "dynamic articulation" but I haven't been able to tell the difference in these sounds, and it is not something that can be adjusted.

I haven't had this long enough to assign a rating. It looks & feels well-built and solid. The problems I have with the unit are design-related and not manufacturing defects. One small problem: the plug on the included AC adapter is loose in the jack and can come out easily, but it seems that every piece of gear I've bought lately has this problem. The manufacturers are probably using the same (cheap low-quality Chinese) source for their jacks & plugs.

I've made a few phone calls and got through to a tech without too much of a wait. My emails have always been answered within a few days. I give their tech support guys credit .... they have to apologize for this unit with its poorly-designed features and inaccurate manual.

I'm one of these "too old to rock and roll, to young to die" types that decided to put together a modest, just-for-fun, non-computer recording setup around the EXCELLENT Tascam DP-20CF. In the past I've tried using conventional drum machines to assemble drum tracks but found it tedious and time-consuming. An acoustic set with mics and mixers is not an option, and a pro-quality electronic set is way too expensive, as is the Roland SPD-20. The Yamaha DD-65 was too toy-like and limited. I bought the PerformancePad instead of the ControlPad because of the built-in sound module.

I was going to return it because of all the limitations, but decided to keep it as it is currently the only unit in this price range that fits my needs.

If it didn't have the flaws mentioned in the 'Ease of Use' section I would give it a much higher rating.