Alesis Nitro Max Review 

2 things: 1: if you have access to a Nitro Max and a Titan 50 at the same price, then go Titan. at normal pricing Alesis seems to be cheaper in most music stores 2: Alesis confirmed to me that the OG Nitro expansion pack is compatible with the MAX. The say BFD Player (if you own a nitro max) comes with the Dark Mahogany sound pack other people don't get for free. And they claim no tom rims are better because it lowers volume. I'd rather them personally but that's their view on it.

Most of the time, it seems influencers SAY they’re giving a fair review, but they’re really just trying to sell a product. This review seemed legitimately honest to me. You told us Alesis sent you the kit for review, then you pointed out all the underwhelming issues about it. That’s refreshing. 👍🏻 FWIW, my wife bought me this kit for Xmas. So far, I like it, but coming from an acoustic kit I’ll say there are some noticeable limitations with the Alesis. For me, the most notable one is the hi hat pedal is not as sensitive and nuanced as I’d like, ALL the cymbal pads SHOULD BE chokable in my opinion, and there should be a dedicated ride cymbal pad with a bell zone.

Love those ground breaking grammy nominated song they include 😊

I am a guitar player but I really liked drums. Your video convinced me to seriously consider picking up this electronic drum kit!

the sounds are getting better! I actually like the rimless toms-the look is quite unique

At last a more critical review for this set. Many of the others I came across seem to be payed off. I mean for me it's all too late after all as I already have this set but fortunately I'm quite happy with it. I also have a few remarks regarding the set and the review: 1. You didn't mention that for a beginner (that's me) 90 days of drumeo worth what - 90$ or so? - is a nice add-on. So are the other ones. And BFD has an additional set you normally have to pay for. The bonus content is a really nice touch for me 2. I haven't had any problems with the snare arm, however the whole rack seems a bit unstable. I managed to tighten the screws and it holds together, could be a bit more sturdy though. 3. The rack is too small for me. I'm 187 cm tall (6f1in) and I was having trouble placing all the elements so that they didn't interfere with each other and were easily accessible for me. Also the rack could be higher, the snare is pretty low. Then again it's a feature of most E-kits, I guess. 4. There are many sets to choose from on the module and many sounds for each set but for me it wasn't really easy to put together a set that would sound right. I mean until I got into advanced settings but still... But that's probably me. 5. The hi-hat pedal is definitely not responsive enough, sometimes I just can't feel it right. Also the bass drum kick is double kicking on me - I guess my technique is still lousy and I have to try your solution for it too. 6. Last but not least - I really couldn't find anything priced 400$ that could beat that set. At least not where I live which is central Europe. All the cheaper sets didn't have the kick tower and the module was considerably weaker. I'm well aware of the aggressive marketing Alesis introduced for this model but as a beginner I'm really happy with it and I believe it has a very good value for the price.

I have an Alesis Crimson II SE kit and use a cheap bicycle phone mount that fits on my drum rack and works great

Hint: The Max module is dual zone. The pads aren't. I thought as much when I noticed that the cables had stereo jacks - I plugged one of my Roland dual zone pads into the 1st tom and it's two different sounds - the rim and the center! Alesis very sneaky - they're probably going to re release this kit in 2024 as the Max 2 with dual zone pads. 🤣So this module can be used with almost any dual zone pads. I haven't tested all the cymbals yet, I tested one crash and it was single zone, and so was the ride . (I have 3 crashes and a ride) So this is very interesting. 😊👍🏻

Your tips are great! For a new drummer this really helped me. I got this kit two weeks ago and love it. When I told the dude which kit I wanted he was ticked he had to pull it out of the back and tried to sell me a Mesh instead. Gotta move that old product! I've seen comments about the snare arm on other reviews as well. Fortunately it didn't happen for me. As a totally new drummer, hooking it into BFD and getting that all setup has been my main headache. Downloading the included Dark Mahogany set was not the best for someone used to downloads being on the app itself. Even though BFD has the Max on its list, my set doesn't seem to want to trigger the sounds most of the time. I could have a faulty USB in the back of the module.

All good to know. I am glad you brought up the point about it not being good for double bass too. Thanks for the in depth review!

the background looks fucking fenomenal. what an upgrade

I'm pretty excited, Justin! And thankful you make these videos. After years and years and years of posting comments on your page, I am getting ready to buy an e-kit from Sweetwater. It's going to be the Yamaha DTX6-whatever whatever whatever (I can't remember all the numbers and/or letters that go after this particular e-kit) Hot damn, hot damn, hot diggity dang, I'm buying an e-kit! And I don't have to settle for some crap-ass Alesis/Donner/Simmons junk kit. ❤😂😊

With the kick tower, you can easily replace it with like a $60 Yamaha pedal. It works perfectly fine or something a little bigger. It will let you do a double bass pedal.

If you hit the ride with the shoulder of your stick, you can much more easily trigger the bell sound with almost no extra force.

I ended up getting this a few weeks ago to replace an old simmons kit that I used to play at church. It was a medeli rebranded kit of some kind with rubber pads and some similar sounds, and boy is the upgrade noticable. Sure it's a low end module, but the menus and other interface elements are simple to navigate and memorize which is good since I am blind, and more advanced systems can be difficult for me to get around. I got the expantion pack with mine, though it did take some adjusting to get the tom 4 pad installed and set in a position that is cumfertable for me to play. I'm also going to take the kit with me pretty soon when I go to school, and I bought a yamaha KU-100 beaterless kick unit to replace the tower for that set up so I don't get in trouble for playing in the dorm building too loudly. I do have a bit of an issue where the rack seams to lean and feel a little bit unstable, but not so much that it effects playability. I am using 5 inch bed rizers to increase the hight.

Thank you for being honest 🍁

Great review, as always. Thank you!

Cant wait to watch! I love Alesis 😄

I actually like the no-rim toms. For a tiny, 8" tom with a rim, you almost always end up hitting the rim on accident.

Always professionally done Justin my favorite RU-vid channel

You should do a review about the new jobeky triggers, specifically the multi point, and 3 cone 4 spoke triggers. I’ve seen absolutely nothing about them online, and I would interested to see how to they hold up compared to other aftermarket triggers

Here’s one thing I learned about the choke Alesis cymbals on a Roland Module, I have been able to assign 2 diff instruments to the choke cymbals ( you just can’t choke anything but the one you place on the back, the second will trigger right where the choke sensor is)

I actually like the lack of rim on the toms as I have the old Nitro kit and found that with 8" pads and that super high rim that I was whacking them constantly and ruining my sticks or just making noise etc. It kinda made the experience less than I felt it could have been. It also made playing harder because I had to really be precise where I was hitting the pad. I think these new pads would be more enjoyable for beginner e-drum players. I don't use mine anymore, but keep them in case I end up wanting or needing a pad for another sound, or I have a trigger break I can use as temporary back up.

As all, a musician, a tech nerd, AND a mechanic, DO NOT @2:13 "really crank down" the fasteners. This is ONLY going to lead to premature wear, stripping the threads, and or otherwise putting too much strain on the fastener it's self. It is only plastic. Further, the cymbals fasteners + felts are made in such a way to absorb impact, and part of that is them "flopping" out of the way. You don't want them rigid, this just stores all the kinetic energy from the stick, and doesn't give it anywhere to give. This will lead to premature cracking in the materials where you strike them. If you REALLY feel like it is too floppy, you need to add more felt pads before "really cranking it down". That is the absolute worst thing you could do if you intend to keep this kit around for a while. This also applies to a REAL drum set too, as in, the ones where the hardware is literally made of metals and the cymbals are literally made of metals. Even there, you don't over tighten ANYTHING. I've had to replace a loooooooot of cymbals far before I should have strictly because over-tightening. In fact, it's even worse on a real cymbal because they are made in such a way that the vibration smoothly travels around the circumference, but when over-tightened, this vibration is abruptly interrupted and the energy goes straight into either the fastener or the bell of the cymbal, effectively muting it as well. I've been drumming for over 15 years now, and one lesson I learn is in the world of drumming, the only thing you want tight is your rhythm.. and maybe your snare head(also bad for it but sounds nice.) Don't over-stress these things, guys.

Love this channel!

I used to have a ddrum dd5 e kit years ago and it had the same problem with the bar for the snare coming loose. What I did was I got a piece of paper and folded it down small to where it was thicker but it was able to slide in the with the bar so when you tightened it it stayed in place.

This is a hit and miss. They changed the rims because they were huge and people were hitting them…good. But they knew people were having trouble with the double bass pickup and didn’t do anything to change it.

I can’t believe you can buy all that for $400 that’s amazingly good value how ever you look at it . Would I buy one ? if I was skint yes I certainly would ! Also if your little darlings decide they wanna be ringo for the next couple of hours before there bored and moved onto the next thing they can weasel out of you then I wouldn’t feel to heart broken if I’d bought them this it’s certainly a very good starting point . 👍

That display was used in a myriad of other modules and I suspect the software is also the same, just customized with sounds.

The reason the Alesis Nitro style racks wobble, is firstly the weight of the kit, they weigh half as much as my Roland TD11KV. (but even that wobbles, but not as much) The second reason is because the T pieces on the kit that are on the vertical legs have positioning pieces that slide into the grooves on the crossbars - these are not a TIGHT FIT, hence the wobble that's virtually inescapable from. (there's too much play) IF you set it up pedantically, like I do - with a spirit level to see that the crossbars are 100% level, it should be a lot better. Also, be aware that the rubber boots on the vertical legs are not always pushed on properly, check that before assembling the kit and apply firm pressure to make sure they're in properly. (pushing down while it's on the ground works) After about a week or so, re - tighten everything, it takes a while before it settles down. The reason Alesis put the grooves in the cross peices, is to prevent the pads and the bars from sagging or moving - its a great idea, but the fit should have been more snug. I watched every single vdo on RU-vid about the Max, for about 2 weeks before I bought mine on Wednesday, and it's a great kit. You have to work on the sounds though, like most modules there are literally hundreds of sounds on them that you will never use. I also have a TD11KV, and I knew not to expect a mid speck Roland kit for $400 - that's not gonna happen! I have already built about 4 custom (user) kits and let me tell you this kit is giving my Roland a run for it's money. I'm super impressed, but if you don't know what sounds good and how to manipulate the sounds to create your own - you're pretty stuck, (like almost all kits) but for a lot of people the stock kits would be fine. I have already added a second crash from some old nitro spares I have using the spare trigger inputs, and will probably add a third too. 😊👍🏻

Trust me when I tell you, the old school DM six that I have feels a lot more cramped. The sounds on this particular kit are a lot better than the ones that I have on the DM6, but they’re still not great.

Thank you for your in-depth review.

I do like the new sound from the module, but I do think that the old module sounds are more timeless since I personally have played a lot of drum sets that are Medeli rebranded kits that have similar sounds as the serge, nitro, and others. This does retain some sounds from the older version.

Just bought the alesis pro max after having the previous alesis drum kit. hopefully the snare drum doesn't come off like you say as it was a previous issue I had myself with my old kit, which ended up being the reason it broke. i might consider getting a snare stand...otherwise very nice revie

I got this set for my 7 year old daughter and I feel like it was a good buy at the price point it was at the time. Locally, I was able to get it at a bit off MSRP. Great review and amazing tip on the kick threshold. I did notice the micro hits and I told her to ignore it, but now it's fixed, thanks for that. Documentation isn't wonderful and as a non-drummer dad I have 0 experience with these things. It was hard enough to become a youtube drum tech to set it up :D Great review!

A careful assembly of the rack makes a huge difference in the final result and the rack becomes much more solid. First insert the rubber feet correctly so that the pillars are straight and aligned in relation to the ground. Then use a spirit level (preferably laser) and a square to align the pillars and horizontal bars, tightening the screws alternately and little by little. The result is a much more solid rack than just taking it out of the box, eye aligning everything and tightening the screws. The difference is day and night. The snare bar does not need to be diagonal, it can be aligned with the top bar and tied to the top bar. The snare bar will not wobble even a millimeter and the snare will stay in the same position as with the snare bar positioned diagonally. And for even more solid rack, fill the 4 pillars with 1 or 2 KG of sand or lead little balls.

Justin, another outstanding review, as usual. Hey, how about doing a review on the Simmons Titan 70?

For the choke they put dots on the rubber over where the censor is

I had things coming loose on their Alesis strike flagship. I sent them back because I couldn’t play them with everything coming loose all the time, especially the floor toms on the lower part of the rack.

Roland rules

Geez this kit sounds 10 x better than the other nitro modules.

Here’s one major thing to remember about EDrums #1 Roland is by far the best, However almost ALL of the Roland Modukes will work with damn near all the various companies pads and cymbals save for Yamaha… I for instance started with a Alused Alesis Nitro Mesh kit, upgraded the module to a used Roland to-07 and am working on replacing the cymbals and have replaced the Hihat with a Roland VH-11 and the Ride with a Roland CR-12 and the snare of with a Roland 6” dual zone Tom pad I forget which one… now I just run the midi out into my Mac Mini M2 and use Modo Drums

How many sounds does an open hi-hat? not quiet-loud, but half-open and more open?

As of today 11/10/23 Simmons titan 50 and Alesis nitromax 8pcs drum set kit both on sale for $399. On Guitar center I went today. Simmons Titan 50 on sale till 11/15/23 don't know about Alesis. Incase :) Thanks for the great review:)

I donu... the rack seems so unstable and bouncy when you are playing. Very good review. Thank you!

this thing is too good to be true. regardless, they can take my money, I'll be ordering one very soon.

Seems like they took steps forward but also back. One of these days they'll get it right.

The Bluetooth bug with the volume is there in my Nitro max too. Guess it's a common issue.

It’s not a terrible kit. I actually REALLY like the pads surprisingly. Sadly the one zone cymbals are a bust. But the rack made me wanna toss it out the window…..smh….unfortunately I’m bringing it back today. If the rack was actually sturdy I would keep it for a play around or travel kit. Decent sounds for the price. Perfect for the kids though. Great price also. 🤷🏽‍♂️ I was jamming 🤷🏽‍♂️ and even though the pads were single zone I plugged them in to the TD 17 just to see what would happen….it wasn’t 100% (didn’t mess with settings but that may have made a difference) buuuut it worked

For a beginner who doesn't want to upgrade his drums soon, which one would be better, Alesis Command or Alesis Nitro Max?

Behringer is working on a remake of the Pearl Syncussion SY-1 drum synth for Eurorack. ( eurorack is what is awesome about just getting an eDRUMin, i mean if you're into Analog Percussion Synthesis ....but you can still MIDI in, from your module, for an "Analog Hybrid" ) so many good tunes were recorded at the dawn of electronic drums, and that's what that sound is all about....analog tweak.

“If you don’t want to play on your phone there’s a bunch of award winning built in songs” Proceeds to play nokia ringtones

I bought the expansion pack of nitro mesh and amazon warehouse which is cheaper! Worked well and replaced one tom to use the dual zone as splash.

5:04 didn't happen to me, I think it's just yours, or I just got lucky

Lemon drums review?

about the tray, I agree 100% i upgraded from td17 to a td27 and not having that stupid place on the module to put my phone on was so annoying.

Hi! So i've been looking for begginner e drums for quite a while and all though i've heard mixed things about alesis' kick tower and double pedals I've found this the best, since I live in europe and dont have access to the simmons titan series. I have also heard you saying that these are not the kits for metalheads so I wanted to ask if there would be something better for begginer metalheads at this price range. Thanks a lot!

Great review. Thankyou. I'm considering buying these for my daughter who is just starting to learn drums. Which would you recommend between a new nitro max and a used crimson II se?

Dm10 owner here. Was 600 when I got it. It has all the defects the dm10 is known for but the worst is the drum rack because it wiggles. Has Alesis actually fixed the triggering and crosstalk issues the DM10 has?

Which snare stand is best for this E-Kit? The snare pad is only 10 inch so most of the stands are too big i guess.

Anyone tried putting a different bass drum on it so that you can play double bass? Like a Yamaha KP65 which I know works on the Nitro Mesh. I wonder if the same will apply here.

Others have said this but I own those old style Alesis 8" toms and the rim height feels so exaggerated. I feel it's super easy to strike the rim on accident with them. I don't feel they really add anything and actually prefer the look of them without rims. I'm perfectly fine with an edrum looking like an edrum and not an acoustic kit though, lol.

Hi Justin , Thanks for the honest review ....I am a beginner drummer looking to buy the first professional kit for playing live and practise ...Can you please share your opinion on carlsbro csd 500

Great video man! I bought this kit but ended up returning it and stepping up to the Simmons Titan 70 (night and day in my opinion.) The short and flimsy rack on the Nitro Max just ended up being a deal breaker for me. Plus, I’m not really a drummer so this could have been a skill issue, but I got CRAZY double triggering on the kick drum.

I have the same issue with the snare arm on the nitro mesh kit.

So these are worn with headphones?? Any tips if the doorbell rings ?

this guy looks like eminem

Will you be doing a review on the simmons titan 70?

I have been renting an Alesis Nitro for a while - I like to have fun with it and my 7-year old son is learning - and we want to get our own kit, and this one seems to be a great deal. Question: on the Nitro, I notice that if I want to hit the rim and the snare at the same time, it won't play both rim and snare sounds. I assume the module can't handle both sounds at the same time. Any idea if this newer module is any different?

I am determined to buy one these. Because of the enourmous tax and the economic crisis in my country this kit is worth 2 months of national minimum wage salary, so I want to do my research properly before I invest. I live in an apartmant building so the kit being quiet is very important to me. Do you think that this kit is quiter than most or got any tips so I can reduce the noise a bit ? Thank you.

Hey i was wondering if you know of any better options for a hihat replacment for this kit i have the goedrum controler but i was wondering if there any options that have the bottom cymbal that work for this kit please and thank you. Love your videos!!

How about a comparison to the Roland TD-02K for the same price?

You didn’t mention anything about the Hi-hat. Could you give us your opinion on the hi-hat for this kit? Thanks.

With a budget of $500 can you recommend an electronic set for a beginner/intermediate player? Thanks

So between the Alesis Max and the Simmons 50 which one would you choose ???

Hi does it come with the cables as well to set up the drums module? Or do we have to buy those separately ?

Hi and thank you for the channel, very informative. I am a drummer and I have a drummer friend who hates electronic drums because, "the cymbals always suck." How would I respond to this? I'm looking at buying an EFNote 051 kit.

Hey Justin please review the new DWE drum set

EmNDrums

This kit in my country is the same price as the YAMAHA DTX452K. That being said, is it still worth for the mesh pads?

Does the bluetooth still filter in your music and play along with the drums in your headphones if you're using midi out to a drum software program?

Is there any way to adjust individual part sounds? For some reason the kick is way louder than the rest: snare, hi hat, crash etc…

info whats the mic your using please? and recommend sound amp?

It’s a Great kit. I am having the same issue with the snare always coming loose. Would any snare stand work? Or do you have to buy a specific stand.

Which electric drum set would be good enough with double pedals?

The nitro max expanded is on sale for 450 right now. I really want the extra tom and ride. Is there a better option for under like 700?

Hi, would you say the titan 50 is worth buying even if its ~50 cad more expensive than the alesis

Has there been any talk about strike pro se or and any updates for the module ?

If I don't use the sounds from the module what drum kit is better, in your opinion.?

I heard that you have to use TRS headphones to get louder sound. TRUE?

Alesis or Roland $400 kit? I don't know shit about drumming but would like to play around and see where it goes.

Would you recommend this over the Alesis Surge SE?

Hey man what headphones are you using for the kit?

Which has the better module? Nitro Max or Surge?

Do you think I could take the nitro max parts and fix them to a turbo mesh frame (for space reasons)

Edrums in 2023 just shouldnt sound this bad. 😂

I got an offer of a brand new Roland td-25 for 270$. Which one has better sound quality, the Alesis nitro max or Roland td-25?

I hit my cymbal hard but it doesn’t give the bell sound

Can you bluetooth this kit to a sound system if you don't have a drum amp?

Why is that hi hat so high? right on up there with the cymbals