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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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At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Pro version has been blessed with mesh heads. In fact, it hasn’t. Instead what we have are pads with plastic heads, that are otherwise similar to mesh head types. The ‘drums’ consist of a cast plastic chassis, a very short ‘shell’ and triple-flanged hoops, so they feel like real little instruments. What’s more, four lugs enable the heads to be tensioned, which ensures that the response can be tailored to taste.

The feel of the pads under the stick is very positive and a little less ‘boingy’ than some affordable mesh heads tend to be. Of course, nothing quite replicates the raw energy that you get from whacking an acoustic drum – and there’s nothing here to vibrate in sympathy with the head. But we like the tactility of the pads.

The cymbal pads are also changed for the Pro. And they put us in mind of Yamaha types – they’re simple, bell-shaped units that clearly make no attempt to ape the feel of real cymbals, but are still perfectly playable. The hi-hat is a budget solution – a straightforward cymbal pad allied to a plastic pedal, but it performs as well as any of these entry-level types do.

You obviously lose a great deal of subtlety with such things, but given the tasks to which the DM5 Pro is likely to be put, this is no real drawback.

Box of tricks

At the heart of the set-up remains the venerable DM5 module. Even last year we pointed out that it had been around an awfully long time – and it’s further from the cutting edge now than it was back then.

Having said that, it still holds its own in this rig. With 21 kits on offer here (comprising a total of 500-odd sounds), and simple editing, the brain will not bog you down with endless options. Neither will it confuse with pages of parameters to fiddle with. Sure, other, much newer modules leave it in the dust as far as realistic acoustic sounds and editing depth, but anything that is delivering significantly more than the DM5 will also set you back accordingly.

Where the unit scores extremely well is in its ease of operation. And given the welcome upgrade in terms of the pads and the rack, now more than ever it would suit the keen-but-cash-strapped studio rat who is looking to play beats in to a PC/Mac sequencer.

What’s more, the DM5’s proven trigger-to-MIDI capabilities are as useful now as they ever were in both studio and live/rehearsal situations. Hooked up to an external hardware sampler that is filled with your own sounds, the DM5 Pro might well come into its own in a way that the standard DM5 kit never quite did.