AlesisSamplePad Pro - Percussion and Sample-Triggering Instrument With 8 Velocity Sensitive Drum Pads, 200+ Built-in Sounds

Purchased this used, and its condition reflects that to be sure. However, its functionality is excellent! Despite being used and a little banged up, the triggers still work excellently and respond to pressure well. It's a super reliable device. Would recommend it to others, and would trust a purchase from this same vendor again.

There is a little crosstalk, and if I were performing with it I'd probably need to upgrade, but all I'm using it for is to trigger MIDI in Reaper, where it's easy enough to clean up an extra hit.For that it's not bad at all. I can run a song in Reaper, map a cymbal or something, and record some hits while it's playing, on a new track, which was what I needed to do. The provided self-generated sounds are fine but really not too useful if you have better sounds in your plugins or in a program like Superior Drummer 3.This controller works well for MIDI and is easy enough to map. No comment on using it standalone.This controller is designed to be hit with sticks and won't work well if you hit it with your hands. With sticks you'll get enough crosstalk that it would ruin your day if you couldn't erase the extra hits later. But as an alternative to hitting keyboard keys to try and create human-edged beats, which is impossible imo, this is a very good tool to have.It's smallish. I have the Gibraltar stand which is a bit overkill but nice. Good value if you aren't gigging with it.

Although the on board sounds aren't very good the pad does what it needs to do, just get some good samples, and your set

Okay here is the skinny. I do enjoy this machine from Alesis. I like the memory card feature, the number of pads, & the different adjustable parameters for each pad. I personally think the quality of the sound bank is good.Now the reasons I give it only 3 stars are this:1. This unit has to have one of the dumbest power switches (on/off) I have ever encountered & I have a lot of equipment. It's 2016 for heavens sake. No excuse for this unit to have a switch like this. Sometimes you have to play with it to get it on (never had much problem turning it on but turning it off has been a different story).Others have complained about the switch too. Maybe it has been revamped since i bought it, since it was hot off the assembly line but I don't have any word on that. I know others have complained about the power switch also.2. The output volume of this unit is extremely weak. I cannot get the sound loud enough when i hook the output to a dj mixer. In order for me to get the sound at a good level, The gain for the channel the Alesis is plugged into has to be maxed out. The gain on music channels has to be turned down pretty low and the master out has to be turned up close to all the way to get the total output back to normal level. I am looking into purchasing a line preamp just for this so I can have a "normal" output level signal if I have to plug into a music system that isn't mine. Also the signal to noise ratio could be better.3. The last issue is cross talk. If the sensitivity of a pad is set too high & you strike an adjacent pad hard enough there is a chance the pad with high sensitivity will trigger also. I've had it happen numerous times. Depends on your style of playing. As of now I think I have found the right settings for my pads & haven't had a problem recently. When I first got it though, I had lots of false triggers.Despite these things, I do like the unit overall once I got use to it & figured out the nuances. I've learned to work around the issues. I know my review of the issues might deter you but dont knock it til you try it. Atleast you know the issues going in.

I've had this for around a year now. Use it live exclusively. So far, I've had ZERO problems. IT's been a very solid piece of gear. I downloaded all the Alesis sounds onto the card, but mostly I use the built in sounds. I don't need a ton of samples these days, but I do need things like handclap. I could get tamborine/cowbell setups, but our mixer is out of inputs, so I use these electronic versions. Nice that it has built in reverb!I've yet to use an external trigger, but I"m thinking about it. I could use a small pad, right honey?Pros: good clean sounds, small size fits anywhere. Pads are nice. Solid construction and dependable performance. .Cons: I'd like a brighter view screen for outdoor shows. Not a big con, but I thought I'd mention it. Once in a while, the SD card pops loose, and I have to push it back in. This happens when casing / uncasing it, User error, but if it were inset somehow where one couldn't accidentally hit it, it would be better.Wish list. Make the same item with two more bar shaped pads along the bottom with a couple of more inputs, and you could built an entire drum set with this. Would be cool if it came in a roundish shape.