The Alesis Strike Pro is the flagship electronic drum kit from the brand, Alesis. It’s been one of the top contenders for several years when it comes to pro-quality electronics. More recently, Alesis released the Special Edition version, further adding to the quality of the kit.
We’re going to have a look at everything the Alesis Strike Pro has to offer and see exactly why it’s such a popular drum kit for many drummers. If you’re looking to buy a new e-kit, this may be your next purchase. So, pay close attention!
The most predominant feature of the whole kit is its size. It’s one of the biggest electronic kits that you can buy in a ready-made package. This is due to the large number of drums and cymbals, and the fact that the drum pads are attached to acoustic drum shells.
It’s an impressive kit to look at that also boasts many impressive electronic features. The set comes with the Alesis Strike Pro drum module. It’s a heavy-duty module that has dozens of useful features.
Here’s a complete rundown on all the components of the set:
14” snare drum pad
8, 10, 12, and 14” tom pads
20” kick drum pad
Three 14” crash cymbal pads
16” ride cymbal pad
14” hi-hat pad
Alesis Strike Pro Module
4-post steel rack
Snare drum stand
Cymbal arms
If you take a closer look at the drum pads and cymbals, you’ll see that the Alesis Strike Pro kit has some excellent attention to detail. The cymbal pads have several holes in them, giving you the feeling of a hammered cymbal. They feel much better to play on than standard cymbal pads.
The drum pads are all tuneable, meaning you can adjust the tensions of their lugs to make them feel tight or loose. This works the same as an acoustic kit, but it will only alter how the Alesis pads feel when you play them and not the sound.
The acoustic shells make no difference to how the kit sounds, but they make a huge difference to how it looks and feels. Having a large surface to play on will always feel more like playing an acoustic kit compared to thin electronic pads.
The hardware of the kit is one of the standout features. The Strike Pro has distinct black hardware that is used all over, looking incredibly sleek and smooth. The rims of all the drums are black as well as the rack that supports the kit.
The toms mount to the rack while the snare pad rests on its own stand. Thankfully, Alesis includes a snare stand with the kit so that you don’t need to buy one separately.
Overall, the hardware feels very stable and secure. Even though the kit is large, all the components stay tightly in place, stopping any unwanted movement from happening. This is something that commonly happens with mounted toms, so it’s great that the Strike toms don’t move much.
The Strike Pro module is very impressive. All electronic drum kits come with preset drum kits to get you playing as quickly as possible. These preset kits usually range through different styles and genres. On most electronic kits there are up to 50 preset drum sets.
The Strike Pro module has a whopping 136 kits for you to play around with. That will keep you busy for hours running through all of those to see what they sound like. On top of that, the module has over 1800 sampled sounds that you can make your own kits with.
You can also load your own sounds into the module and use the onboard sound editor to alter them.
The module is fairly easy to use, and it has a slider for each drum and cymbal on the kit. These sliders make it a smooth process when you’re doing some onboard mixing.
Alesis uses samples from professionally recorded drums to get all the sounds on the Strike Module. This leads the Strike Pro to have some fantastic preset drum kit sounds. The performance aspect of the kit is fairly good because of this.
Electronic drum kits still haven’t gotten to the place of competing on an equal playing field in terms of sound with acoustic kits yet, but the sounds on the Strike Pro module are very good compared to other competitor modules.
There’s still a bit of machine gunning here and there. This refers to when the notes don’t have any dynamic contrast when you play fast patterns on the pad. But it’s not very common to hear.
Overall, the performance of the kit is impressive. Especially considering the price range and everything you get with the Strike Pro SE.
Speaking of value, the price-to-value ratio of this kit is arguably the highest out of any electronic kit on the market. One would assume that an electronic kit that has 6 drums and 5 cymbals would cost $4000 or more.
The Alesis Strike Pro SE costs significantly less than that, giving you a proper bargain that shouldn’t be slept on. Add onto that the fact you get a highly capable drum module with professional features, and you’re getting more than your money’s worth when you buy the kit.
The high price-to-value ratio is one of the biggest selling points of this kit. Roland and Yamaha also have electronic drum sets that resemble acoustic ones. However, they’re not nearly as affordable as the Alesis Strike Pro SE.
There are two major differences along with a few small minor ones. The two major differences are the bass drum and hi-hat pads. The bass drum on the SE is a full-sized acoustic bass drum whereas the one on the standard Strike Pro is just a small kick drum pad.
The hi-hat pad on the SE is an updated version of the standard one. It’s a lot more responsive, allowing you to play more nuanced things on the hi-hat. It feels a lot better to play thanks to its responsiveness.
The mesh technology on the drum pads has also improved compared to the mesh heads on the standard Strike Pro. The construction of the pads is a bit different, giving you a better outcome in the end when you’re playing. The heads are also white on the SE whereas they’re black on the older Strike Pro.
All these differences make the Strike Pro SE the new and improved version. It’s quite hard to find an old Strike Pro, so you’re most probably going to be sticking with the SE if you decide to buy an Alesis Strike kit.
Although the Alesis Strike Pro SE is more affordable than the other similar electronic kits that it competes with, it still costs a lot more than most electronic kits. It’s a hefty investment that you’re going to make when you buy one of these kits.
All the added features and the size of the kit make it well worth what you pay for it. However, you could get a fantastic acoustic kit with a high-quality pair of cymbals for the same price.
So, it will only be worth it if you’re specifically looking for an electronic drum kit. If you need one to practice and keep the noise levels down, the Alesis Strike Pro SE is a great option to go with.
If you’re looking for any kit that you can get your hands on, you might want to look into getting an acoustic set before you spend a lot of money on a high-quality electronic one.
Unfortunately, the Alesis Strike Pro SE doesn’t come with a hi-hat stand. The only stand that it comes with is a snare stand for the snare drum pad. The hi-hat pad on this kit needs to be supported by a standard hi-hat stand. So, you need to buy one separately if you get this kit.
You can easily find some affordable hi-hat stands to choose from, so it’s not going to be a lot of extra money that you’re paying. Although, it would be nice if the kit came with one to begin with.
At the end of the day, electronic kits that use standard hi-hat stands are always better than ones that don’t. That’s something to be very grateful for with this Strike Pro SE kit!
The Alesis Strike Pro is just as quiet as most electronic drum kits. It’s an excellent solution for practicing and keeping the sound down. The fact that it feels and looks like an acoustic kit makes it so much better.
Just be aware that the bass drum is a bit louder on the SE than it is on the standard Alesis Strike Pro. This is because the SE bass drum is a full-sized shell, so you experience a bit of resonance when hitting it.
Other than that, there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to sound. Your neighbors will just hear some light tapping. If you close the doors and windows, they won’t hear it at all.
Roland, Yamaha, and Alesis are the leading companies in the electronic drum kit world. While Roland is seen as the company that produces the highest-quality drum sets available, Alesis is known to be the company that provides affordable electronic drums. Yamaha sits somewhere in the middle of the two.
So, Alesis drums are excellent for drummers who don’t want to spend big bucks on electronic drum sets. The Strike Pro is a classic example of an affordable high-quality set. Other drum kits on the market that resemble acoustic kits cost about $2000 more than it does.
The sounds on the Alesis Strike module aren’t the most ideal for studio recording. However, if you connect the module to a VST to get more authentic drum sounds, playing this kit in the studio will feel amazing.
It’s also great to get electronic sounds that are impossible to get with acoustic drums. Typically, people won’t record in a studio with an electronic kit. But the Strike Pro SE would work sufficiently if you needed to use it.
Live gigs are a better setting to put this kit in. It’s a great stage electronic drum kit thanks to the fact that it resembles an acoustic kit. You could use it with any band and it would work quite well.
It’s also great to use in venues with sound limitations. Sometimes, using an electronic kit with the volume down is better than playing an acoustic kit very quietly.
The Alesis Strike Pro SE is a wonderful kit that would benefit any drummer who decides to get it. Everything about it is high-quality from the shining purple finish to the sturdy construction.
If you’re looking for an electronic drum kit that resembles an acoustic one, this might be the kit for you. It’s certainly one of the biggest electronic drum kits on the market that you can buy without paying for any extra pads. It’s also the most affordable top-of-the-range kit that you can get.
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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