Alesis SamplePad Percussion Multi Pad Reviews

Good pad

Used to trigger drum-module via MIDI and play few samples from card. All works. Its a little hard / unsensitive on pads, noisy but works OK. I use Millenium MPS-850 Mesh head Kick Pad with good results.

Good pad for extra sounds but can't be used as a mini-drum kit

I like the build quality, the interface, and the sensitivity of the pads. However, one crucial drawback is that you can not play two sounds simultaneously. For instance, you can't play a hi-hat sound and a snare sound assigned to two different zones at the same time.

Of course, that's exactly what drummers need to do all of the time. So it's kind of a little disappointing. Actually, if you do manage to hit and hear two sounds at once it just means, you simply didn't play them quite together;))

But if you just need to add some fun electronic sounds to your set up without spending a ton of cash, this is a good option.

A good addition to the drum set

We bought this Pad as an addition to the Alesis Crimson drums. It simply expanded the set of percussion instruments. Unfortunately, we were unable to register the device on their website despite multiple tries and emails to Alesis. It seems that Alesis does not have the customer support service at all. The device itself works pretty well, MIDI functions, pads, sockets - all well working after a year+. It's OK, we would buy this again as an entry multi-pad.

Provides a nice little dedicated percussion area on my e kit

Personally I prefer that rather than assigning sounds to tom rims.

The pads trigger well , but wish they were made with a little softer rubber.

Went for the sample version as worth the extra for the additional functionality.

Currently using the outputs into a mixer, rather than the midi connection to my drum module.

Not a lot of internal sounds when compared to the more expensive Alesis, Roland and Yamaha offerings but significantly cheaper, and with the SD card slot it will provide all I need.

Alesis Sample Pad

Good functional piece of kit to have along with your drum kit. Size is also good in that you can attach it to a cymbal stand and have it close to your hi-hats.

Good for live

I bought this for one purpose and it was to play live bass booms when performing. And it does that exactly. To load your own sample onto an SD card and get them to actually work can be a hassle, but there are plenty of forums around to help. It is strong and can take a beating

Very Good Sample Pad

I bought this to use as a drum kit sample pad. It's very versatile and does what it's intended to do.

You can mount it on a stand, the quality is okay for the price and i'd recommend it for anyone looking for a cheap sample pad.

Used it on live shows and never let me down.

Recommended.

good for the price

nice design

it is solid but plastic you have to be careful (you can smash it with your drumsticks over time)

works fine and it is easier than i thought to add your sounds.

it's fine if you're just hitting single notes you can even roll but I do not suggest this to be your all in one drum kit since the only problem that Alesis Sample pad has is that polyphony doesn't work 100%

there is 10 % chance that when you hit 2 pads simultaneously you will only hear one sound

and after a research i did this is normal for these units

So

this machine is good for

1. practice

2. it is perfect to add a realistic feel to your recordings if you are using VST drums (use a MIDI cable)

3. live (a good addition to an acoustic kit)

Better than it looks

I haven't had the pleasure of playing with its bigger sibling, the Samplepad Pro, but this little gadget has all the functionality I need. It is a great little device. For the price, you will never get another electronic drumpad that does the following:

- triggers wave files uploaded by the user

- uses external memory (SD card slot)

- allows velosity and pannng control (a bit woolly but working, with added reverb for good measure)

- has a MIDI-out implementation and a kick out switch/trigger.

A few negative points:

- I find it a bit daunting if I want to change settings in a live situation

- The overall design is a bit plasticky. In fact, it looks like a toy. A toy from the 80s, and not in the cool retro sense. In its defence I'll say it is stronger than it looks.

- No MIDI in.

All in all, having played with it for more than a year now, I'm very happy with it.

Nice try but falls short little bit everywhere

For its price, it's better than nothing, but not much.

The sound quality is not that good and sounds really synthetic. The onboard memory is waaayyy too small to fit anything really useful, so unless you are looking for an affordable way to just add a couple of short sound effects, then yes, this may suffice for you.

Also the latency using MIDI is pretty much unusable at least for me, and the midi signal triggering is not consistent.

The build quality is surprisingly good for the money. Can not recommend, though.

Good for simple things and not so good for more complex things.

If all you need is to play a few samples together with an acoustic drum kit this will fit the bill. But there is one thing so bad about this unit that it makes it pretty much useless for me. I bought it to use as a small stand alone electric drum kit and as a trigger for my Nord Drum module. The big problem is this: IT WILL NOT START PLAYBACK OF 2 SOUNDS AT THE SAME TIME. If you hit 2 pads at the exact same time only one of them will sound. This is very annoying if you use it as a kick/snare/hihat type set. Otherwise a good product. I use a snare drum stand to hold it and an external kick drum trigger. But buyers be aware of the above mentioned problem!

A slightly disappointing experience

I bought this to use as a practice pad and as a special effects pad to supplement an acustic drum set. I have a kick pad for a digital drum set that I hook up to the SamplePad for practicing rudiments, technique etc.

The SamplePad has a memory card slot which can be used to add custom samples and apart from the device being a bit picky with the sound formats this functionality works well. The sound quality, from a layman's point of view, is perfectly adequate, both for custom and built in sounds.

Handling the SamplePad is a bit fudgy and it takes a little while to get used to but once you've figured it out it is not a problem.

The quality of the device is average, the unit itself is plastic but seems to be able to take a beating. The big draw-down seems to be the software - it does not do well with fast strokes as some are missed and every now and then the unit does some sort of a reset - not sure if this is due to excessively hard hitting, static build up or a heat issue. Regardless I', not able to use it for practicing technique and/or speed.

The lasting impression, using it as a special effects add-on, is that I don't trust it, even though I have not had a problem with it in that application...

Value For money!

The Alesis SamplePad is value for money, but it does come with some issues. The build quality is pretty good, but, the volume knob fell off after about a month, and the little rubber legs underneath, have all gone now. None of these are major issues though. I use this for triggering small samples and for extra percussion (cow bell, snare sounds, bass sounds, hand claps), and it works brilliantly for that. However, if you want to run longer sample, or loops you'll have to invest in something more expensive. This is ideal, if you are on a tight budget.

Alesis SamplePad.

I Was Looking For Alternative Percussive Sounds To Bring Into The Music I Was Making With My Band And This Was A Fairly Cheap Way Of Doing It Compered To Other Makes Of Sample Pads (Roland Etc.). The Power Pack Transformer With The Pad Was Not Of Good Quality And Burnt Out Within Days.

reliable, simple and cheap!

The Alesis sample pad works perfectly well with your own samples on an SD card, it is a good budget alternative to the Roland sample pads on the market, and for the price is well worth adding to your onstage line up to fill out your live sound.