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A definite step up from the original, the new DM5 rack features a curved front bar for better ergonomics

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Alesis’s DM5 entry-level electronic kit is a rubber pad set-up harnessed to the company’s long-standing DM5 sound module. It’s not the last word in refinement by any means, but the rig nevertheless delivers decent value for money. Alesis clearly believed that improvements could and should be made however, and subsequently came up with this ‘Pro’ offering.

Still employing the trusty DM5 brain, this kit features a more impressive rack and pads. It certainly looks serious, so let’s see how Pro it goes…

Raising the bar

The standard DM5 kit sported a rack that wasn’t weedy as such, merely a bit basic. A simple flat, square design, it did the job but with little sense of style. And while the Pro rack is still very straightforward, it looks and performs better than the original.

The most significant single improvement is the use of a curved front bar – it might seem a minor point but it allows for more comfortable positioning of the pads attached to it, and it adds to the Pro’s appearance too. The use of reinforcing arms that run between the curved bar and feet uprights also increases stability over the standard DM5 kit. The Pro does away with the slightly cumbersome middle and bottom rack bars of its older sibling (on which the bass drum pad and pedal were mounted), and this again improves the sleekness of the set-up.

The kick pad and the pedal are now ‘standalone’ units, with the pad supported by straight legs and the pedal being attached to it in the usual clamping fashion. There’s just something familiar about the arrangement that feels right. You definitely need to mount the kit on a carpet (or similar) to prevent bass drum creep, but the whole thing is much more professional.

The feeling remains, however, that this is a set-up designed to be set and stay put, rather than be transferred regularly between venues. Everything’s nicely sturdy, but each of the many clamps is operated by a drum key – and there’s a higher degree of fiddling around necessary to put the package together than would be appropriate for a kit that moves between rehearsal space and stage a couple of times a week.

With a big enough vehicle, there’s no reason why you couldn’t carefully transport the DM5 Pro as a whole – with bits like leads and brain removed – but ‘careful’ would be the watchword here. And you wouldn’t want to risk it regularly.

Heading upmarket

While the rack is one of the important upgrades of the DM5 Pro, the pads that hang from it are another even more compelling reason to check out the kit. The originals were simple rubber slab affairs – perfectly well-made and capable within their limits, but not the most rewarding things to play, naturally.