Alesis Nitro Mesh Kit - Electronic Drum Set with Quiet Mesh Pads, USB MIDI, Kick Pedal and Rubber Kick Drum, 40 Kits, 385 Sounds, Drum Lessons

I'm a beginner. I know nothing about drums but I thought they are cool so I did some research. Reviews & videos mention this set as being good for beginners for the price. I'll probably never be very good. But I'm 2 weeks in and I think this kit is really cool.I had no plan on how to learn to play. When you register the kit on the website (DO IT), it offers you a free month of Melodics (computer or laptop needed, I recommend a laptop set up directly in front of the drum set). I went ahead and signed up. Melodics is absolutely amazing, it has guided training and lessons.This kit does not come with the drum throne or headphones, you'll need to purchase those separately, but they come in a separate bundle. You'll also need a usb-a to usb-b cable to connect the kit to the computer to use melodics most efficiently.My only other suggestion is, I think there's the same kit, but with the 10-inch snare. You might want to get that one instead, but I'm doing just fine with the 8-inch snare in this kit.

I have had this product for four weeks and overall I'm very much enjoying it. I am a beginner, as I am sure many reading this will be. It was easy to assemble, sounds great, and was easy to learn the way the sound module works.Pros:- Nice stick rebound on the pads- Very compact- Affordable- Great sound- Easy to assemble- Low noise. (The mesh heads are great)- Aux input allows the drummer to play along to external music source.Cons-- For the "Nitro Mesh" kit only, I have one single _major_ complaint: The 8" diameter snare drum is ANNOYING!!..It is annoying not so much because it is only 8 inches in diameter .. but because it is only 8 inches __AND__ it has a very tall rim around it, made even taller by a rubber rim protector. This forces you to hold the sticks at a much higher elevation, and at a steeper angle, in order to avoid striking the rim. You can remove the rubberized rim protector and this will help very modestly-- I tried this and it proved to me that the bigger snare would help immensely! Indeed, most drum sets have a rather large snare drum head (especially compared to an 8" one), and the rim is absolutely not as recessed as the 8" unit provided with the Nitro Mesh kit.... SO!...This resulted in me buying a 10" dual zone snare off of Ebay that is used with the "Alesis Surge Mesh" or DM10 (i paid just under $100). That extra 2" along with a rim that stands significantly less proud makes an incredible difference!It is not for me to say if this is a big enough issue to suggest you, the reader of this review, to buy a "Alesis Surge" or do what I did and upgrade my "Nitro" kit with a larger snare head. I can only tell you that the upgrade to the 10" snare was VERY much worth it to me. The upgrade made holding the sticks more comfortable, and I don't think I've accidentally struck the rim once since the upgrade.The photos show that the rim of the 8" (black counter hoop) are 5/8 of an inch tall from the surface of the pad, and the 10" upgrade pad has a rim that is under 7/16" of an inch tall.

Despite some very confusing directions, I was able to get the kit from box to playing in about 40 mins. Before I go any further, though: I'm an absolute novice. I know nothing about drums. A month later, I can play some basic stuff thanks in part to the training features in the module. The menus can be a bit of a faff to navigate due to the screen setup but you get the hang of it pretty easily with some exposure and taking the time to intentionally fiddle with it. The actual physical setup sits kinda low for me (I'm 5'11) and isn't as configurable as I'd like due to pre-measured cables, but this doesn't really detract from the playability as there IS a reasonable amount of wiggle room for how you angle your drum heads and the height and orientation of your cymbals, and you can more than likely make it work for you. I've been beating the absolute crap out of the pads since receiving the item and both the solid cymbal pads and mesh drum heads are holding up splendidly with very, very slight wear on the ride cymbal. I'd describe it as more of a breaking in than a deterioration, though.Overall this feels like a relatively sturdy and responsive entry level item and I've been chuffed to bits with it. A word of warning, though. While it's got great sound quality, the volume IS as whisper-quiet as other reviews have said without either an amp or headphones with independent volume control. Not a deal breaker, but caveat emptor.TL;DR - Get yourself some good headphones with volume control and put this one in your cart if you wanna get your feet wet. This is the one, chief.