GOOD: Trigger is dead on (much better than my Roland TD-7). And with 16 triggers (two derived from the hat pedal, down & up!) there's plenty of room for my acoustics + triggers, or a Large full electronic set... As with anything, you need to SPEND TIME playing with the pads until you find the velocity curves that fit your style, (the DMPro has plenty to choose from). Good work on false-triggering with Group Crosstalk matrix (calculated from you playing, not preprogrammed or threshold values) and the Noise Suppression input (good for acoustics, put a trigger on your rack (or other mount) and the DMPro removes that noise). Well, I did mention my last experience was with a TD-7.

The Sounds are great (well, out of the >1,000, you've got to find some you like), and if you've got a PC and a Flash Card, you can dump any samples you want into it. It is geared for a studio-setup, with no sequence recorder, though it will play sequences you dump into it (just like sounds). Sound Diver is included (lets you edit anything inside the DMPro) and speeds creating new sounds. Oh yeah...ENVELOPES, ENVELOPES, ENVELOPES!!! That's 3... Amp, Pitch, & Filter....and they don't need to stay assigned to those parameters...a Matrix lets you control most parameters with any incoming MIDI controller or the Aux pedal or the Hat pedal or the Envelopes...you get the point. Drums like talking drums, Udus, and timpani can be created from almost any sound (or sample) for drums that aren't so dead & mechanical (each envelope has delay-attack-decay-sustain-release). MIDI implementation is one of the best...

Effects: Has that Alesis reverb (sometimes sounds like a QS synth, or should I say a Sound Blaster?)but that can be tweaked, and the OverDrive, Delay, and Flange/Chorus/Resonator make up for it.

All the software included finishes off the DMPro's place in a studio (microLogic AV for getting those sequences, Cool Edit to create samples, Sound Diver to bypass the LCD menus, and Freeloader to get your Samples & Sequences into the unit). Oh, and with 64 poly, you can run some bass lines through this thing to boot.

BAD: No sequencer inside. Unfortunately, the Delay is Mono (no Ping-Pongs!) but Alesis probably forsaw this and added 4 Aux outs, so when you're tired of the effects, add your own. Also, for something tagged as "The Best!" it doesn't offer multizone trigger detection, like the ddrum5 and V-drums do. That'd make those snares so much nicer.

Point is, I highly recommend that a potential buyer demand that the unit be plugged in and the chips (version) be determined BEFORE shelling out the cash! Insist on the latest or be ready to work real hard on the trigger setup.

For live drummers, the unit works well our Berringer (sp?) soundboard, but on stage "presence" is a big problem. We solved this by playing the module through two Fender 100W self powered monitors (one is a slave).

I agree with others who have praised the sounds, but have one major criticism: Snare drum rimshots are pathetic. The 12" piccolo snare, tuned to the head breaking state and then struck with purpose is NOT among the sounds on this Alesis. That this is the pulse of most Christian contemporary music has forced me to consider a miked drum of that variety.

The rest of the unit is a dream! Great kicks, toms, cymbals, bells and gongs...even timpani. I use a different "kit" on almost every song. As for ease of use, I was an acoustic drummer who had never played e-drums before. The stuff came in on a Thursday and I was ready to play that Sunday. But, I did read the manual!