It wasn’t supposed to be used for anything but storage.
In my house I have a large room in my basement that is mostly used for boxes. There’s a ton of old photo albums, fishing gear, and a random collection of USB cables. I had the bright idea to turn the concrete floor and cement walls into something other than a dark dingy space.
Recently I tried out the Alesis Nitro Pro drum set and cleared enough space to add a PA system, a couple of guitars, and two or three family members. We formed “a band” (air quotes intentional) and rocked out, but I learned a lot about myself during this season.
Alesis Nitro Pro lessons learned
One is that I really need a click track. The Alesis Nitro Pro has what seems like a million options for a simple metronome, a cymbal click, and various other remedial aids. If you ever want to know the one main difference between professional music and amateur bands it is probably related to a click track when they record — amateur bands are not very good at keeping time.
With that issue resolved, I found that the kit was easy to play, sounded realistic, and withstood some mild abuse from yours truly. The quality of the sound seems directly proportional to the system you use for sound — in my case, it was a high-end PA system with massive speakers. I felt like I was flying around on the kit and producing Coldplay-like sounds.
I also learned I am not remotely ready for Coldplay or even the middle school cover band version. Drums and all percussion have one huge detriment to them in that just about anyone can pound on toms and crash a cymbal, but not everyone can do that like the drummer in The Police. Two of my family members are actual professional, paid musicians so we hacked away on a few songs, including a couple Jimmy Eat World songs.
Alesis Nitro Pro drum set ultimate perk
Here’s my ultimate compliment to the Alesis kit: It made me a little better at drums. It wasn’t just the click track. I loved being able to quickly choose a drum kit sound, including a few options that were more electronic and some that made me sound like Led Zeppelin.
Another neat trick is that you can record just about anything. I recorded myself playing the Alesis Nitro Pro for an entire song with just the hi-hat and snare, then we played the song live with me adding fills and cymbal crashes. It was a total blast even if the weakest link was me.
A few other things to mention: The setup is easy and fast, even if it took me a few minutes to make sure the kit was stable on the floor. I had to add a carpet sample to the concrete floor to make sure the kick and the high-hat stayed put. If you use a carpeted room you’ll be fine.
The price for the Alesis Nitro Pro is not astronomical. I was expecting the entire kit to cost north of $1,000 but it’s actually only $599. The toms have a great feel like real drums and produce some sound on their own, but those who were not in my fake band appreciate how I could lower the volume or practice by myself with headphones.
Final thoughts on the Alesis Nitro Pro
Are they right for you? I would say it is likely — the price point is about right for someone who is learning drums. (If you are an experienced drummer, you may be ready for a more expensive kit.) I’m not sure if this is even possible with a live kit like this, but I do like how a drum machine has a quantize feature that automatically corrects notes as you play them.
No matter — the click track solved that. For $599, this Alesis Nitro Pro drum set was a fun diversion from my real job.