To hear your rhythmic masterpieces, you’ll need to hook the Nitro up to an external amplifier or use headphones. Each drum has editable parameters such as volume, pan, reverb, basic EQ and pitch. You also get 60 built-in play along tracks (you can turn off the drums) and a metronome to hone your timing and skills. They’re not brilliant, but definitely usable as this video from Alesis clearly shows. You get 385 drum, cymbal and percussion sounds and 40 kits – 15 of which are user editable. The sounds built into the Alesis Nitro Mesh module are pretty extensive.

The whole thing hangs off a sturdy four post aluminum rack. This is a five-piece kit meaning you get a proper bass drum tower, a snare, three toms, three 10” cymbals: hi-hat, chokeable crash and a ride. The drum pads are all 8” diameter and the snare is dual-zone meaning you can have a rimshot/snare configuration on the same drum – a welcome addition at this price point. Mesh heads are far superior to rubber variants: they feel more natural and are much quieter when hit – likely to be a primary consideration for potential buyers. The absolute standout point with the Alesis Mesh Nitro is that whilst it is a budget kit, it does come with mesh heads on all the drums except the kick. The Alesis SR16 drum machine is legendary and still widely used today – but how does the Nitro Mesh budget electronic drum kit measure up? This was a gamechanger as it heralded the arrival of the first 16-bit multi-effects unit for under $1000.Īnd the company is no stranger to drumming technology. They emerged on the marketplace with an almighty thump with their Midiverb effects unit. Best Bang for Buck: Alesis Nitro Mesh KitĪlesis has been around since 1980. Collectively, these factors put the Surge in pole position in this review.Ĭheck out the Alesis Surge Mesh Kit on AmazonĢ. What you get is a really attractive looking kit with decent sounds and all mesh pads. It’s not perfect but at this price point nothing is. The Alesis Surge Mesh kit is our winner in this review.

Typical at this price point but hi-hat response is limited.

Additional trigger inputs for extra cymbal and tom pads.

Chain driven kick drum is large enough to take a double bass drum pedal.Larger, all mesh drums make for more a more responsive (and quieter) experience.Really nice looking kit with decent sounds considering the price.In line with the other kits in this review, a USB MIDI connection for use with computers is provided, as well as old school MIDI In and Out jacks for hooking up to a drum machine for example. It’ll even give you an accuracy score at the end! The Surge module, essentially the same as the one supplied with the Nitro, is also home to a wealth of learning features including 60 backing tracks and metronome – really useful for brushing up and enhancing your timing. There are 40 (24 preset + 16 user) kits built from 385 drum and percussion sounds. In the cymbal department, the ride and crash are chokeableĪesthetically, the Surge Mesh looks the business with its 4-post chrome rack which is both solid and quick to set-up. Dual-zone drums mean you can have two sounds on one drum and mesh is just more fun to play. This is a real advantage in a budget electronic drum set.

No prizes for guessing that ALL drums are mesh – including the kick drum. Strapped for time? The Alesis Surge Mesh Kit is our overall winner.Ĭompared to its Nitro stablemate, the Surge mesh kit has a larger 10” dual-zone snare, three 8” dual-zone toms and a kick tower pad with pedal. If this is you it’s your lucky day! There is a lot of dross out there but we’ve scoured the marketplace and shortlisted six of the best budget electronic drum sets around. You may also need something that’ll fit snugly into a small corner of a bedroom without taking up too much room. And because all of the kits listed here are fully adjustable and compact, they’re ideal for parents looking to buy an electronic drum set for their kids.Īt the budget end of things, one of the biggest reasons for considering an electronic drum kit will be so you can play quietly bashing away in your bedroom without annoying the neighbors or the other members of the family. All the kits in this review are primarily aimed at beginners or perhaps ex-tub thumpers coming back to drumming after a long hiatus – commonly known as a mid-life crisis. Let’s get that proviso out of the way nice and early.īut buying a budget electronic drum kit doesn’t mean you can’t get something that has half decent sounds that’s really fun to play as you learn your craft. None of these sub-$600 kits are going to set the world alight compared to their more expensive peers and don’t go into this thinking they’re going to sound like an acoustic kit. The top end kits can easily set you back a couple of grand and it’s important to remember this when we’re foraging around at the budget end of the spectrum.

Superior drummer sounds weak