Alesis Samplepad Pro

After some tweaking I finally got the sensitivity where I wanted. When playing at my home studio I really don't want to bang the pads like when playing them live so the sensitivity was sub-part sometimes. Meaning that it didn't register all my hits that clearly were ones since I have an Electronic Drumset as well and it's much much more sensitive when it comes to hits. The preset sounds are not that great, but with a memory card you can add 10 more or just use it as a MIDI Controller and you have all the sounds in the world. When you go live, just take those sounds with you on a memory card and voilá - you're CPU free in a live situation which is always nice and reduces the amount of stress one might have when you need to get your stuff done in ungodly short amount of times sometimes. This thing I can trust - just turn it on, plug in audio L+R, choose a kit, set the volume and start playing. Master clock can also be used if needed which is great with a lot of electronic controllers and synths + drum machines we are using in live situations. Maybe even more than we should. :)

I also like the extra trigger inputs for a kick, hi-hat, and two more pads which I do own and after testing the whole setup it felt like I was playing a drum set standing up. Also learning a song or a set is as easy as it gets since you can just stick audio in with a click and backing tracks or the in-ear mix you are going to use, just play along and listen it afterwards. Instant feedback, faster learning.

sample pads are becoming a powerful part of a percussionists arsenal, offering a massive range of sounds all packed into a tiny box. The Alesis samplepad pro is an affordable option that allows you to take your first steps into the world of sample pads.

to date I have owned it approximately a month. when I first received the pad I encountered some quality issues by the fantastic team at thomann quickly resolved them.

the pad has some fantastic features including "mute groups" that allow for realistic play similar to that of a hihat for example. the sound quality in particular of the 200 pre loaded sample sounds is truly magnificent. the range of sample sounds included travels all the way from afro cuban to modern electronic.

a feature that makes the alesis samplepad pro truly versatile is its compatibility with a simple SD card. you can quickly and easly transfer audio files from an SD card straight to the pad. I have in cooperated my singers vocals into the pad to allow me loop her voice during gigs.

the only negatives I have to say about the alesis samplepad pro is the quality of its built in loop interface. you can loop an individual pad which is very effective but the options for the loops play back like bpm are poor.

Over all a very good product, opens up a vast new range of possibilities and is worth the money

I bought the Alesis Samplepad to trigger home made loops or effects during live performances with various bands. I needed something that isnt hooked to any computer or laptop in order to do this and I got exactly what I needed. Very easy to work with your own sounds via the SD card (which of course is not provided).
The time in which the sounds from the SD card are loaded when you switch banks are not the smallest, but it didnt prove a problem during life performances between songs. If you have to change banks during a song...well, that can prove to be tricky (3 to 8 seconds depending on the size of your files)
All in all, its easy to work with, easy to navigate through the menu and its well built. The pads feel good when hit with a drum stick, if you wanna hit them with hands or fingers, you might have to make sure that you turn their sensitivity high from the menu

PROs: This product is really great if you want to try out sampling-MIDI-DAW opportunities. It has the possibility to play virtual instruments (with a notebook, DAW, sound card of course), upload sample packs to memory card, plug in additional drum pads, switches, pedals, etc. It is really great to test if bringing electronis in to your play is the route you want to take. If yes, you should sell this and buy a better product (see cons below), if not, sell it, and you lost only minimal money.

CONs: The top two pad is not playable, it is just good for programmed stuff like all mute, etc. The remaining six is okay, but you have to tweak with the sensitivity. Loading samples is awful slow, you don't want to change it in the middle of a song. One of the knobs in front shows wear after light usage less than one year.

SUM: To see if bringing electronics to drumming, this is perfect, it is really versatile, and you can do everything what more expensive stuff provide - in a less perfect way.

I don't even have this thing a year and I really wouldn't recommend it. Save up another 200 bucks and and get more expensive ones on the market.

It doesn't feel like its all durable and heavy duty and the buttons make it so awkward to carry in a bag as they stick out either side.

The Cross talk is horrendous, I have installed the updates, I have turned down sensitivity, I have muted pads....You have to be very careful what sounds you put next to each other...I'm hitting top left and the lights for bottom right are coming on. I hit the top right and it might play a sound or another light might come on...depends.

So I used it about 3 times while playing small gigs as a kit to break up playing the Cajon. I just can't rely on it anymore....three gigs...

The internal sounds are OK but compared with sounds I load on they are so low and bad quality. I just use it now with my acoustic kit with a side snare pad for claps and effects. I have a pad over my floor tom for effects and a bass drum pad. I don't play the actual unit itself anymore....pointless.

It could be amazing and has potential to be amazing with all the features but its not as I can't trust it.

It's like GPS navigation - works perfectly if you know how to use it.

What I mean is it has options for each pad that can be set. First thing to do in my opinion would be setting pad sensitivity. I like max sensitivity on two top pads and three bottom pads, and one level less than max on a middle line of pads. Setting pad sensitivity to max allows to have nice dynamic range and natural feel of soft and hard hits.

Setting up patches saves a lot of time. This device works a bit slowly, changing sound patches takes few seconds, navigation is not perfect, so it is better to set up device at home or on rehearsals time because there won't be enough time to do it on stage. But it doesn't take forever... it's just slower than Roland similar devices.

You can load your own sound samples from sd card (you can convert your sound samples into alesis sound sample with a alesis software). Loading samples from sd card takes a bit longer that loading factory sounds but once it's loaded you can use it without a worry. This device allows you to sound unique.

It has 4 more inputs which allows you to have external kick, hi-hat and 2 pads more. So it can be used like a drums. It's useful for elektro music drummers or situations where stage and room is small.

the output sound and sensitivity on the pads is quite good. The only big problem is that there seems to be a bug that sometimes you hit a certain pad and another one (usually opposite from it) also sounds simultaneously. All models have this as other musicians have stated this same experience.

I do not recommend this to play live as it is slow changing from set to set.

I do recommend it for those of you who just want to practice at home with a decent samplepad. the hitting sounds are quite loud so I recommend playing with ANC headphones as it really helps. All in all, for the current price point, it is a decent purchase.