Alesis Sample Pad Pro Review

Alesis Sample Pad Pro Review

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The Alesis Sample Pad Pro is a versatile 8-pad percussion and sample-triggering instrument. If you are looking to expand your setup to incorporate electronic drums then this is a great value pad that offers limitless sound potential.

Alesis Sample Pad Pro

Key Features

  • Complete electronic percussion rig
  • 8 Expressive single-zone pads
  • 200+ Sounds included
  • SD card storage for sound expansion
  • 4 External trigger Inputs
  • USB and MIDI connectivity

Scores

Sounds
4
Features
4.5
Build Quality
4
Playability
4.2
Value
4.6
Overall
4

80/100

Alesis is truly at the forefront of electronic drumming innovation. The company has successfully produced some of the best value for money electronic drum sets and sample pads in recent years!

The Alesis Sample Pad Pro boasts 8 single trigger pads and contains over 200 impressive drum and percussion samples pre-loaded into it. It also has built-in SD storage allowing you to expand your sounds and creativity.

This advanced electronic percussion pad boasts all the same features of its competitors, but with a far more attractive price tag. It’s really fun to play and the interface is easy to navigate.

In this Alesis Sample Pad Pro review I’ll be taking an in-depth look at the sounds, features, build quality and playability of this electronic drum pad to determine if it’s a winner!

Alesis Sample Pad Pro Ratings

Sounds

4
4/5

Features

4.5
4.5/5

Build Quality

4
4/5

Playability

4.2
4.2/5

Value

4.6
4.6/5

Sounds

The Alesis Sample Pad Pro comes pre-loaded with over 200 individual drum and percussion sounds that are versatile and realistic sounding. These sounds are definitely a good platform to get started with into the world of hybrid drumming.

But what’s really great about the Alesis Sample Pad is that it has the functionality to play any bespoke or custom samples you wish to play. The unit has an SD card slot that can read cards of up to 32GB max.

This means it is fully expandable and you can add your own sounds and loops, so the sound potential is limitless for whatever music you desire to create and play.

The on-board sounds are somewhat useful, in particular for beginners. But experienced drummers will benefit more from being able to load and trigger quality drum samples and loops, in particular in a live performance environment.

Included with the Alesis drum pad you receive 10 full drum kits and a wide range of processed electronic drum sounds, synth pads, impact sounds and even tuned percussion.

The sounds are also fully adjustable within the interface, allowing you to alter the pitch, sensitivity, reverb, velocity, panning and more.

Features

The Alesis Sample Pad Pro is packed with great features that makes it a very attractive electronic drum pad for gigging drummers. It’s perfect for adding electronic drums to an existing acoustic drum set.

In addition to being able to load your own sounds with the built in SD card storage; the Alesis drum pad has numerous expansion options on-board.

The Sample Pad has 8 dual-zone and velocity sensitive pads, as well as 4 additional trigger inputs, enabling you to hook up a kick trigger and hi hat trigger in addition to 2 external pads. This allows you to expand the rig into a full electronic kit.

This is particularly useful for modern live performances. Live drummers are learning to adapt to keep up with changing times. Drum triggering is experiencing a revival in modern music, and drummers are required to use sample pads to replicate sounds that appear on a record.

The Alesis Sample Pad Pro also has USB and MIDI connectivity as well as stereo outs. It also has an output for headphones and aux input for quiet individual practice.

Build Quality

My initial impression of the unit itself is that it is surprisingly lightweight and compact. It’s a very capable piece of kit considering its size. It’s also very portable, which is exactly what you want if you’re a gigging drummer.

I like the design of the Sample Pad Pro. It’s finished in black with blue LED lights that come to life as you play the trigger pads. The layout is clean and boasts a modern and clutter-free design, without an overwhelming number of dials and knobs.

Everything feels sturdy enough, but I would argue that more expensive competitors electronic drum pads such as the Roland SPD-SX feel better made. The pads on the Alesis Sample Pad don’t offer the same premium quality feel unfortunately. But this is a more affordable product.

Overall however I think the design is attractive as well as being functional. The design of the menu interface is clean and it’s simple to use. Loading new samples and changing sounds is a breeze, and so is assigning new pads.

Playability

You can really do anything with the Alesis Sample Pad Pro. It boasts a huge array of features and it’s super versatile. Each of the 8 rubber isolated pads are fun to play and highly expressive.

They are all dual-trigger sensors, which means you have a total of 16 sounds from the Alesis drum pad alone, before you insert any additional electronic pads or drum triggers.

Overall I found the pads trigger accurately and they offer a good level of sensitivity. But the unit itself feels a little lightweight, and there isn’t the greatest playing response. It does feel somewhat hollow and clunky.

However despite this, the pads all work as expected and they respond well to varying playing dynamics. Another thing to note is that I also found it easy to load sounds onto the unit and to assign these sounds to individual pads.

Value

The Alesis Sample Pad Pro is significantly more affordable than the rest of the competition. It offers unbeatable value for money considering its range of features and expansion options that open up creative opportunities for drummers of all styles.

I can confirm in this Alesis Sample Pad Pro review that the unit costs less than half of its rival competitors offerings including the Roland SPD-SX and the Yamaha DTX M12.

Verdict

The Alesis Sample Pad Pro offers enormous creative freedom. It’s a very capable piece of kit that’s incredibly versatile and also super easy to use. It’s flexibility, ease of use and performance make it an excellent candidate for the price-conscious drummer.

This electronic drum pad has tons of expansion options to meet your needs as a performer. Best of all, its affordable price tag makes it within reach for most drummers who want to incorporate electronics within an acoustic drum setup.

What Comes In The Alesis Sample Pad Pro Box?

  • Alesis Sample Pad Pro
  • Built in SD storage
  • Power unit
  • 2-Year warranty

Alesis Sample Pad Pro At A Glance

Pros

  • 8 Illuminated dual-trigger sensor pads
  • Built in SD card storage
  • Affordable and capable drum pad
  • Fully expandable with 4 External trigger inputs

Cons

  • Lacks premium quality build
  • Known issue of cross-talk between pads
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