Alesis DM8 USB Kit Electronic Drum Set

Easily and affordably record and upload your drumming sessions with a simple USB plug-and-play interface and a selection of quality sound effects.

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Product Description

zZounds is an
authorized Alesis dealer

Out of the box and onto the stage. Compact, quiet, quick to set up, with true, natural sound, the DM8 USB Kit brings Alesis quality to drummers and studios. Whether you need quiet practice, tracking quickly into software, or fast on-stage setup, the DM8 USB Kit is a perfect choice.

True Sound

The DM8 USB Kit features the barrier-shattering DM8 high-definition drum module with Dynamic Articulation(tm). Our latest drum module in a line now spanning 20 years, the DM8 builds on the success of the top-of-the-line DM10. The DM8 shares the DM10's essential architecture, including playback of genuine recordings of real drums and cymbals and advanced Dynamic Articulation multi-samples.

You'll find the Alesis DM8 to be packed with over 750 first-call studio and live drums and cymbals, dozens of play-along tracks, and an advanced metronome for practice and performance. The DM8 features professional audio and trigger inputs and outputs including USB MIDI for expansive flexibility and connection to a wide range of sounds and controllers.

It's an ultra-compact module, which means integrating components of the DM8 USB Kit - or the entire setup - into acoustic drum setups and percussion rigs is easy and comfortable. Imagine adding electronic, percussion and rare, ethnic sounds without giving up the organic, primal power of an acoustic set.

Never before has so much power been offered in a drum module this compact, at such an affordable price.

Quiet Down

Whether you want to practice late night, or just keep the studio noise down, the rubberized pads of the DM8 USB Kit keep the acoustic noise down, while still giving you the ability to crank it up!

The DM8 USB Kit features a dual-zone snare, three toms, and a rugged kick pad. You can use virtually any single or double kick pedal for the pedal feel you prefer. The snare and tom pads mount on standard 10.5mm L-rods with low-slip, knurled mounting surfaces. The DM8 USB Kit comes with a compact 8-inch Hi-Hat with continuous-control pedal, a 12-inch Crash with choke, and a large 14-inch dual-zone Ride.

Great Looks

Everyone knows it can be tough to be seen on stage when you're a drummer. You're in the back, usually with no lights. And forget about being able to dance. That's why our designers took great pains to make the DM8 USB Kit look as great as it feels and sounds. You'll notice the sleek lines of the DM8, bathed in Raw Aluminum painted finish, which just might match your MacBook Pro, iPad, iPod, or iPhone.

Compact Configuration

Drummers know that hardware can make or break a kit. But what's ideal for tour - oversized, overweight stands - aren't necessary in the studio, where space can be at a premium. That's why we designed the DM8 USB Kit's DMRack to take up minimal space yet offer stability, durability, and total position flexibility.

This rugged, four-post rack features 1 1/2-inch metal tubes for universal compatibility and sturdiness. The clamps on the DMRack adjust with large wingscrews for easy, tool-less adjustments with no drumkey needed. Mini-boom cymbal arms help get your cymbals right where you want them.

Set On Up

Besides size and noise, one of the requests we hear the most from drummers is that they hate building a rack from scratch. That's why the DMRack comes pre-assembled in the box. We love to listen to what drummers have to say, and we're happy to help save time and effort getting the kit from the boxes to read-to-play!

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Features

- DM8 high-definition drum module with over 750 Dynamic Articulation sounds
- Low-noise, natural-feeling rubber pads: dual-zone Snare with rimshot and three Toms with natural feel
- Large Kick works with single and double pedals (sold separately)
- Large dual-zone Ride with bell and bow, Crash with choke, and Hi-Hat with continuous-control pedal
- DMRack with four-post design, wingbolt-adjustable clamps, and mini-boom cymbal arms
- DMRack comes preassembled for quick setup
- Premium instrument library multi-sampled from real drums and cymbals
- Play along with tracks and record yourself with the three-part sequencer
- Mix input for practicing with external music players
- USB-enabled for tracking and programming with virtually all music software

Includes:
- One DM8 drum module
- One snare pad
- Three tom pads
- One kick pad
- One hi-hat cymbal
- One crash cymbal
- One ride cymbal
- One continuous hi-hat control pedal
- One DMRack with clamps and cymbal arms
- One cable snake
- One drum key
- One power supply
- One DM8 user manual
- One setup guide

Note: Some assembly required. zZounds is an authorized dealer of Alesis products.

Kick pedal not included.

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Alesis Warranty

Alesis Warranty

If you have additional warranty questions, please call the manufacturer at 401-658-5760

zZounds is an
authorized Alesis dealer

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Customer Reviews

4 out of 5 (2 ratings) Rate and Review This Product

Read 2 Alesis DM8 USB Kit Electronic Drum Set Reviews

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us. "Great sounding and looking kit, with really bad QC."

Sound: The DM8 brain has some nice sounds, but also a lot of novelty stuff I probably won't ever use. The verbs are way overdone on most presets, but the depth of editing is pretty good. After some tweaking for my personal tastes, there are a lot of usable patches. I am mostly just sending the midi data to a DAW and then using better software samples for recording. For live performance, the DM8 sounds are perfectly adequate (after tweaking). Feature: This kit comes very complete for most drummers. The frame and hardware are pretty good quality and it feels very solid. I may add another cymbal and drum pad, but that is definitely not necessary, just a personal preference. I was a little disappointed that the hi-hat needs to be struck with the stick to be triggered rather than just using the pedal in the acoustic way, but I should have thought that through better. I may upgrade to one of the actual two-piece hi-hats and use the Alesis pad for a chinese crash. Ease of Use: Very easy to set up and get going. The module is pretty intuitive, except for some of the deeper editing functions. Tons of open user presets available. The factory presets could be better organized though, so I nicked it a point for that. Instead of grouping them together like "ethnic" "jazz" "rock", they are seemingly in random sequence as you scroll through with the wheel. Quality: I was really happy with the kit and invested a lot of time to tweak the sounds to get them where I wanted. Then I started to really play it for several nights in a row. The first thing that happened was that one of the tom pads came off. I moved it from the slanted top rack position to the horizontal floor tom position, but it still came off the base during playing. The second thing to happen was that the dual-zone crash started playing both sounds no matter if I hit the bow or the bell. I adjusted the cross talk and sensitivity which helped for a while, but then the bell was just triggering all on its own and wouldn't stop until I unplugged it. Then I re-calibrated the module to the factory settings and it would just go off on its own without even hitting it. Value: I am giving this rating based on the playing experience, not the QC issue I had. If the next kit has the same problems, I will revisit this and lower the rating significantly. Compared to other non-Roland kits out there, the DM8 is a very good value. IMHO Roland is way overpriced. Manufacturer Support: Alesis has a forum, but not much participation from the DM-series owners. Maybe that's a good thing because most people go to a forum to complain about something. I called zzounds to see if they could get Alesis to just replace the two bad triggers, but the only recourse was to break it all down again, figure out the puzzle box of how to get everything back in to the original packaging and ship it back for replacement. The Wow Factor: The kit is very pro-looking. The rack is top notch, the hardware too. The DM-series cymbal pads are very cool looking, full circles with a glossy black plastic non-impact area. They are gimbaled too, so they have a nice natural sway to them when you strike them. The overall look is very sexy compared to some of the toy-like kits out there. Overall: I have to knock this done several notches for the hassle factor of having to return it. Multiple pad failures is not a good sign. I still hope that the next one I get is not a "Monday" kit. If not, then it may be time to embrace the dark side of Roland gear.

Style of Music: Rock, Blues

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zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us. "Fun kit"

Sound: Well first off all, it depends on the headphones. I used skull candy buds at first and they have deep bass, but not too clear. I got some JVC RX700 headphones and it made the sounds a lot clearer with decent bass. As far as the stock sounds go, they aren't too bad. I wish there were more and maybe some better sounding. Seems hard to find good tom sounds. Crash also needs to be louder. In the end, the sounds can be tweaked for pitch, volume, etc so it might just take some fine tuning. Feature: Came with basically everything you need besides headphones (even came with drum sticks). As I mentioned, there is a ton of tweaking you can do to the system. Maybe some more sounds. Ease of Use: Read the manual! At first I was constantly getting a small sound from the kick when not in use. It wasn't until I read the manual that I found out the threshold needed to go up 2 points. No more problem. IMO it should ship on 6 instead of 2 because that was all that it needed. I haven't figured out a way to save this setting and the manual says it restarts when you restart the module. Remember to calibrate the hi-hat. I read reviews where people say it didn't work out of the box. Mine didn't either and I was disappointed, but once I calibrated it no more problem. Pretty easy to set up, doesn't really take any instructions. Rack comes mostly assembled except two legs. Quality: It seems to be decently well made, but not the best. I have beaten it pretty hard and it has stood up to it. No loose parts of blemishes. I've recently had a problem where the bell on the ride will start ringing, I think I have it under control with the sensitivity settings. Still shouldn't be doing that in my opinion though. Value: I would say it is good for the money. Decent quality. I like how the snare head not only looks different from the toms, but feels different from the toms also. Probably would not use for a show though. Has the option to upgrade to their real feel heads and their surge cymbals which are basically real cymbals that and coated to stay quite. The Wow Factor: Looks better than other kits around this price for sure. I like the glossy finish to the cymbals where the rubber is not. Like I said I like how the snare is a different color than the toms. Overall: I would love an acoustic set, but not at the moment. I played on my DM8 and then played on my friend's acoustic set and it was pretty easy to transition to an acoustic set. Besides the kick being a little loud, it is pretty quite which is nice.

Style of Music: Alternative

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