Alesis Nitro Mesh E-Kit

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| NOVEMBER 2018 WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM

GEAR REVIEW

i th a recent re-vamping of its

e-kit lineup, we have seen

Alesis raise its game with the

new ﬂ agship Strike and Strike

Pro kits, in addition to expanding its entry-level

range with the smaller Surge and Command

Mesh kits. The Nitro Mesh is the most

affordable member of the Alesis family, which

has now been treated to a few upgrades of

its own, whilst managing to preserve its low

price point.

Build

The compact eight-piece kit is almost identical

to the previous Nitro package except for the

addition of brand new mesh snare and tom

pads. The all-black 8" pads have an extremely

shallow proﬁ le and feature a plastic rim,

enabling adjustable tension of the mesh heads.

Also of note are the newly-designed bass drum

and hi-hat pedals which, being slightly wider

than the original models, allow for a sturdier

feel. New brushed steel pedal boards add a

classy touch.

The budget package is made up of a rubber

kick drum pad, dual-zone 8" mesh snare, three

single-zone 8" mesh tom pads and three

single-zone 10" cymbal pads (one of which has

choke functionality for use as a crash). These

pads plug into the module via an included

25-pin loom cable and there is also room to

expand with a fourth tom pad and cymbal (the

tom pad is dual-zone capable, the cymbal is

single-zone but chokeable) using additional

jack inputs. Other connectivity includes

mini-jack headphone out and aux input, plus

USB and 5-pin MIDI.

The Nitro Mesh’s aluminium frame is

considerably smaller than others in the Alesis

range and it also features much slimmer tubes.

This helps to keep the whole setup extremely

lightweight and also results in a smaller

footprint. The rack slots together with ease and

feels suitably robust considering its small size.

The uniform black colour – from the trigger

pads to the mesh heads, frame and even

cymbal arms – affords the kit a pleasing and

sleek overall aesthetic. As the L-rods position

horizontally through the bottom of the pads

£339.99 Alesis’ entry-level e-kit gets an upgrade

ALESIS NITRO

MESH E-KIT

WORDS: TOM BRADLEY

"BUILDING THE KIT FROM SCRATCH

TAKES VERY LITTLE TIME AND

WE’RE DELIGHTED WITH HOW

COMPACT THE KIT IS ONCE THE

MINI FOUR-POST RACK IS ERECTED”

Also try…

YAMAHA

DTX400K

We say: “There is a lot

on offer here for the

price, and with

connectivity to

Yamaha’s Touch

app it could be the

start of something

much bigger!”

ROLAND TD-1KV

We say: “The TD-1’s

ﬂ exible pedal

positioning,

upgradeability and solid

construction mean that,

unlike other budget

setups, you’re unlikely

to damage or outgrow

this kit in a hurry.”

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

The module is small, simple

to use and features 60

sequenced playalong tracks

FOUR POSTER

The small four-post

aluminium rack is

seriously lightweight

RHY287.gear_alesis.indd 90 10/8/18 4:54 PM

Summary of content (2 pages)

PAGE 1
GEAR REVIEW ALESIS NITRO MESH E-KIT £339.99 Alesis’ entry-level e-kit gets an upgrade WORDS: TOM BRADLEY W ith a recent re-vamping of its e-kit lineup, we have seen Alesis raise its game with the new flagship Strike and Strike Pro kits, in addition to expanding its entry-level range with the smaller Surge and Command Mesh kits. The Nitro Mesh is the most affordable member of the Alesis family, which has now been treated to a few upgrades of its own, whilst managing to preserve its low price point.
PAGE 2
IN THE ZONE All pads are single-zone except for the dual-zone snare pad ALL IN The kit comes with everything you need to get started SMALL FOOTPRINT Compact and ideal for squeezing into tight practice spots rather than vertically, once the snare and toms are in place there is no noticeable hardware on display. The small curved module plays host to 40 kits, which break down into 24 factory presets and 16 empty slots.