Alesis Nitro Max Kit Electric Drum Set with Quiet Mesh Pads, 10" Dual-Zone Snare, Bluetooth, 440+ Authentic Sounds, Drumeo, USB MIDI, Kick Pedal

When I bought this, I had my doubts, I mean it is pricy. But all of that went away when I played it. This thing is a blast, it is awesome and really great, you get a lot of bang for your buck. I have had no issues with it, though you will need a 35mm audio jack to play with it and probably an adapter ( 2 male 35mm stereo jacks to 1 female) but other than that it is awesome. It functions great, the sounds are really great, The brain is a bit confusing, but overall it is a great starting place to any drummer NOTE: No matter what any advertising says, IT IS NOT QUIET! it is a lot quieter than real drums, but you are still hitting drums at full force, it is decently loud, loud enough people can hear me play through 2 pairs of walls

Short Story For the money, this is a solid choice, but spend a little more to buy a snare stand. For this 5'11" 200lb guy, this is always going to feel small and cramped. The addition of a snare stand and tweaking the layout makes it workable. Long Story I started playing drums about 14 years ago on an acoustic kit and never really got beyond beginner stage - one bad teacher sent me off on an "I'll learn on my own" path that amounted to about what you would expect. I sold the kit when I moved into my last house and didn't have a good place to play that wouldn't bother my neighbors. Ever since, I've always wanted to get back into it. I've looked at the electronic kits through the years and never pulled the trigger (no pun intended - sorta) because I knew it was a compromise from what I had before. And let's be honest, this Alesis kit IS a compromise. I have a small house with hardwood floors and close neighbors so an acoustic set is not in my future. I knew an e-kit was my only choice and I'm somewhat frugal so the Nitro Max ultimately won out over a number of other brands (Fesley, Simmons, Donner). As others have stated, the assembly instructions are awful - black and white illustrations of black hardware is worthless although you can mostly figure it out. What threw me was the clamps that slide into a grooved channel and it's not immediately obvious they rotate 360 degrees by turning them somewhat forcefully. Once assembled, I kept moving the snare this way and that, raising and lowering, trying to find a comfortable playing position. A quick search and I found this to be a common complaint. The solution was a cheap snare stand that could accommodate 10-14" snares (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085HLRMCY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title). That has made a huge difference. Not only does this let me raise the snare up to a comfortable height, but I can move it around the kit. Finally, it helps to reduce the wobble in the kit (more on this later). UPDATE: I play pretty hard and typically bury the beater. As I began playing more, the kick pad just kept walking away from me - to the point that I would have to drag it back mid-song. I bought a neoprene pad to put underneath in hopes of giving it more to dig into but it didn't work. Suddenly it dawned on me the unused snare bracket could be used to stop the kick - note the second pic. While this definitely contributes to a much more wobbly kit, it's better than the alternative. I also ended up swapping the positions for the snare and module which let me open up my playing position even more. This set will always feel a little cramped, but you can tweak things enough to where it's an okay compromise. Let's talk about the rack. The tighter "footprint" the more stable the rack will be. I could bring the side legs in tighter and increase the stability of the rack, but it would be too small to play comfortably. This would work well for kids, but not this old guy. Playing the kit, it wobbles - not a lot and doesn't impact my playing, but it's there. Finally, once you've added toms, snares, and cables, this isn't collapsing into a compact little unit that is easily stowed. The kick pad isn't bad, but the hard rubber bounces far more than a regular kick drum so I've really had to be mindful of my strikes to avoid double beats. Theoretically I can add a double kick to the setup but need to find a pedal with beaters that are close together to hit the small Alesis pad. I don't like the hi-hat pedal. Its spring is soft and you have to be mindful of foot pressure to trigger effectively. Its design forces me to put my whole foot on top of the pedal rather than using my toes or ball of my foot. That will take me a while to get used to. As for the module and the pre-programmed kits, the module does the job and while you can get by with the basics included in the quick start guide, you should really download the full manual. I found I needed to adjust the sensitivity of the different drums as the toms were far too sensitive and the snare not enough. I don't love any of the pre-programmed kits - they all sound fairly electronic-y - but that a minor nit. I do love the bluetooth feature and the various utilities to help me develop good habits. This wasn't a love at first sight or play for me. For the first day or two, I was certain I was returning it. Once I got it to work for my needs, I feel pretty good about the purchase. Had I spent twice as much on the Fesley, would I have gotten a much better kit but twice the set? Probably not. This is a good value and a good start or restart as it were.

I got this so I can play quietly, whenever I want. I highly recommend getting the expansion pack for the extra cymbal and tom. This kit is very very well packaged. Tons of cardboard and plastic to throw out. The instructions aren't the best. The rack is fairly cheap and wobbly, but works ok. The snare bounces a bit, but really doesn't affect my drumming experience. I'm 6'3" and i was worried about playability given my long arms but I can play it. I placed things as far away as I can when setting it up. I had a difficult time getting my double bass pedals connected to the kick pad, I had to modify my kick pedal mount, and the beaters have to be as close to the center of the pad as possible to work. Now I got it pretty good, but the whole kickpad moves, So ill have to figure out how to keep it from moving. (keep in mind that a single kickpedal, like what comes with the kit will work fine, but you still may find the kickpad moving). Maybe I can put something heavy on it, or affix it to the floor? Anyway, I really enjoy the feel of the drums, you get that feel and bounce just like real drums. With my headphones on, its loud and sounds really close to real acoustic drums and cymbals. It really is quite remarkable. I haven't ran it out to my PA system yet (or "drum amp"), Someday soon. Im sure it sounds like on the headphones. It is nice to not be straddling a snare stand, some people say they prefer using a snare stand to the bouncy mount, but I don't see that I need to at all. Most of the included kits and alternate "voices" are ridiculous, number 01 is the best, most realistic kit. You can change the EQ bands, lows, mids, highs, which is nice. It's easy to change the sound of any drum or cymbal, but it's def limited, and not much realistic choices. I was excited about the Dark Mahogany kit you can get online, but keep in mind the module must be connected to your computer to work, it doesn't "install" the kit unto the module so you can use it anytime NOT connected to the computer. Bummer for me, because I don't have a computer in my jam room, lol. Ill get a laptop I guess for this purpose. The footprint of this kit is WAY smaller than my old acoustic kit which is nice, great for small spaces. It's great for beginners, or advanced players, kids or adults. It's not 100% quiet, my wife could hear the tapping and thumping noises from the other side of the house, but hey, there is going to be a little noise, but it's pretty darn quiet. I guess what i'm saying is that if you think playing at 2am when others are sleeping and the house is dead quiet isn't qoing to bother anyone,, it MIGHT. I might look for another kickpad (bigger and more stable). And the rack could be beefier. Ok, thats it! all my thoughts on it. I do not regret buying this kit! I'm playing everyday now, and I'm not bothering anyone.

Setup was a straightforward process, though I highly recommend following along with the setup video on the Alesis support site. Once assembled, the rack is a bit more wobbly than I would like, but none of the pads appear to be moving or sagging after a week's hard playing (I'm a heavy hitter), so I'm chalking it up as something to keep an eye on, but no immediate concern. The kit itself is very attractive. The white drum heads resemble acoustic drums, and the red trim is nice. The 10" snare is roomy enough for me to swing at without having to aim every stroke, and the 8" toms are large enough for me to hit without having to look at them constantly. All of the pads have great responses; 16th note, single stroke rolls at 150bpm on each pad didn't produce a single missed trigger, and the velocity map in my VST software showed the impacts accurately changing velocity with each change in my impact force, which means I can hear subtle differences in my strokes, just like I would on an acoustic drum. The Alesis drum module does include a Bluetooth feature that allows you to listen to an external music source (it does NOT do audio out, however), which worked seamlessly, however, the drum samples included in the Nitro drum module are not the greatest, and I'd wager that the tom and cymbal sounds are synthesized, not recorded from acoustic instruments. However, if you have access to a Mac or Windows computer it doesn't really matter since Alesis includes a free copy of BFD Player and the Dark Mahogany sound pack, a great piece of Virtual Studio Technology (VST) software, which replaces the Alesis module's sounds with studio recorded samples of real, acoustic drums. All in all, I've been extremely satisfied with what the Alesis Nitro Max delivers, especially considering the price. The real bass drum pedal is a plus, as well as the open and half open triggers on the high hat pedal. I especially loved the versatility of the cymbal mounts, which can be positioned just about anywhere (if you're a tinkerer who likes to adjust your drums every day, you'll love this). I'm a beginner who (I think) is in the process of transitioning to an intermediate player, and at this point in my development I need a kit that accurately reproduces what I'm playing. So far, the Alesis Nitro Max has fit the bill perfectly. I would strongly recommend that anyone searching for a versatile and solid sounding kit for beginning or intermediate players take a long, hard look at this drum set.

I have had this set for about 6 months. I love it. I have some minor complaints but overall what a great fun set. I have been playing (new drummer at 58) about 2 hours a day on this thing and feel like i could jump onstage at anytime and jam. I did the Mesora for initial training (free for 3 months i think) and Songsterr for sheet music. I dont feel the high hat goes loud enough to overcome the hitting of the stick on the high hat and ride. with earphones on, its fine, but through a monitor it has to be turned up pretty loud to overcome it. The actual drum sounds are ok, not great. The adjustments are easy to use once you get it figured out. The instructions are meh, i watched a youtube video to set it up. It took about 40 minutes or so.I bought a snare stand which let me position the snare better. It just didnt seem to want to go exactly where it felt comfortable. The actual stand is pretty sturdy for a frame and it looks pretty cool. I did find on ebay some spare stand parts specifically for this model and ordered that and added another section to spread it out a little more. So I added about 100 dollars to make it more sturdy and spaced out. The bluetooth is excellent and recconnects quickly everytime. The high hat pedal is ok (not really) but i am constantly readjusting my foot to open and close it after 6 months. Halfway is still iffey. The chain driven kick pedal and kick pad are excellent for the price i think. When no one is home i get to turn up the music and jam, when they are home I put headphones on and shut the door. I may have been a rock star if these had come out 40 years ago lol. I have been playing full songs note for note (give or take a few misssed ones) within the first week. Highly recommend due to price, durability, looks and fun. Helped me finally do something i have wanted to do my whole life.

I think this is probably the best budget kit available on Amazon. This kit has several HUGE advantages and very few relatively minor issues as far as I was able to notice. Pros: 1) High quality construction 2) Very good drum module with many features 3) A metronome with 3 different sounds to select from - this is HUGE plus! It is also very robust, you do not need to buy any external metronome. 4) Bluetooth connectivity works like a charm! 5) The module has a holder for phone or tablet, very convenient 6) The module allows you to change/assign midi codes for each item in the kit - this is HUGE! 7) The module has USB-B midi port, you can use to connect your iPad and leverage on midi integration. This is very useful for games and learning (among other things). 8) Additional parts are available for purchasing 9) The drums module acts as mixer for your drums and whatever external stereo audio source you may want to use (I usually use Youtube on iPad). In other words, no need to buy separate mixer unless you want to connect microphones or more than one audio source. Cons: 1) Included assembly instruction guide is useless. It is impossible to understand anything there. I suggest to watch youtube video "Alesis Nitro Max Mesh Kit setup guide", it should help, but please allocate at least one hour for assembly. 2) The kit does not include audio and USB adapters/cables to connect your headphones and tablets (I will list all the additional cables you need below) 3) The module does not have standard midi ports, it only offers midi connectivity via USB. Note, only midi can be sent via USB, no audio. For audio connectivity you need to use bluetooth or 3.5mm audio cable. 4) Tom-2 has incorrect midi code, you will need to change it in the settings of the module from 45 (low tom) to 47 (low-mid tom) 5) User manual for the module is not included, you need to download it from the manufacturer web site 6) Audio sound is relatively weak, you may need to buy mini preamp... I am still testing a few options here. This is optional though. 7) The electric kit is not completely silent though, people around will hear you hitting toms with sticks. You can buy dumpers for your drumsticks, but dumpers can reduce the noise, not eliminate it. Expansion Pack: I highly suggest to purchase expansion pack from the Alesis, it is called Alesis Drums Nitro Max Expansion Pack. Headphones: You have probably purchased this kit to practice silently using headphones. If you want to teach your child, you may need two pairs of headphones that can be connected to each other, so you can hear your child playing. I picked OneOdio Over Ear Headphone, Wired version. Headphones come with two cords, black (3.5), and red (1/4). You only need the red cord. However, you will need to also buy 1/4 Female Stereo to 2 X 1/4 Male Mono Y Splitter since the module has two 1/4 female mono jacks for left and right channels. For midi connectivity with iPad (mine has lighting connector and headphones jack) you may need: 1) USB A Male to USB B Male Cable 2) Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter 3) I like to use mobile application X Drum - 3D & AR, it has very good midi integration (make sure to change midi code for tom 2 as listed above) For iPad audio connectivity: 1) Bluetooth can be used 2) Instead I am using 3.5mm stereo male to male Audio Cable to connect module with iPad through iPad headphones jack. My summary and conclusion: I like this kit, and to my opinion it worths its price.

Nice kit. My 16 year old daughter was able to assemble it on her own without any help. The drum pads are pretty quiet. The symbols are a little louder, but not a big deal. If you're in a room with the door closed, you probably can't hear them outside. Has quite a few different sounds. Overall I think it is a really nice drum kit for the price.

We brought this drum set because my kid has begged for drums for years . He is taking lessons and really loving it. The drum set was fine when we first got it. Unfortunately only two months after purchasing, the module stopped working entirely. We searched online for ways to troubleshoot to no success. There is a 1 year warranty so I thought “no problem”. I tried to reach out to technical support but there is no way to talk to anyone over the phone. So I sent them an email. They responded right away after a little back and forth they agreed the module needed to be replaced. Then they stopped replying to my emails. That was over a week ago. This is not the way to treat someone that just spent over $400 on your brand. The worst part is my kid can’t practice for his lessons like he wants to. Get it together Alesis/InMusic. Update : I increased my review to 3 stars. We did get a replacement module about 2 weeks after my last review and this one has been fine for the last four months. There are lots of tones/drums which a nice feature and there are some nice tools for practicing. For parents I would still recommend lessons for teaching technique. After rigorous play from a preteen, the system is hanging in there. It’s a big space saver and it is nowhere near as loud as an acoustic set which is what I wanted. I do wish it was more sturdy. There are times either the snare drum falls off or on of brackets gets loose and the set falls over. Overall I am happy but not sure if the set is designed to last.