Last Updated on July 29, 2021 by Danny
Alesis has slowly carved itself a place in the electronic drum market over the years. They have been offering high-quality drums at affordable rates. The Alesis Forge can be anyone’s ideal starter electronic kit who want a drum with good features but don’t want to spend a lot of money. The kit has everything you need to play, including drumsticks! Read on to know if the kit is suitable for you.
Alesis Forge Review
The Alesis Forge is a 8-piece drum kit that includes three cymbals. The Forge kit comes with everything a drummer might need, this includes cymbals, drum module, hi-hat controller, bass drum, bass drum pedal, and even drumsticks.
This kit is quite an upgrade from the cheaper Alesis alternative and features a setup that is both compact and sturdy. The kit has great connectivity options and an amazing drum module.
The only drawback of the kit is that it features rubber heads, these rubber heads however are better than most rubber heads. The drum is thus a great option for someone who is comfortable with rubber heads and doesn’t want to spend too much money on the kit.
- Great connectivity options, including USB and MIDI
- Drum module is easy to use and settings can be modified without an hassle
- A large sound library filled with high quality sounds
- You can add your own sounds samples and create your own custom kits
- Includes a kick drum tower and a bass drum pedal
- Bigger snare compared to similarly priced drum sets.
- Uses rubber pads, so feel is not as good as mesh pads
- Toms are only 8 inches
- The snare does not respond very good on the rims
- Hi-hat isn’t as loud as you might want it to be
Key Features & Their Performance
Drum Module
While this kit does cost considerably less than other electronic kits, it isn’t exactly low quality. The drum module is known as the Advanced Drum Module and is actually quite good, it has quite a big sound library that is filled with amazing sound samples.
It has 600 different sounds, each of which sounds rich and deep. You have up to 70 different drum kits in the drum module, 50 which come preloaded and 20 that can be custom made by you.
The module also includes about 60 different sound tracks with which you can play along, this will be a great feature for anyone who wants to practice.
It also has a metronome, so you can be sure that you don’t ever miss your timings. The drum module features a backlit screen which enables you to alter settings with ease. With all these amazing features it surely does live up to its name.
Dynamic & comfortable rubber pads
Rubber pads are usually not very quiet, don’t feel that great, don’t trigger naturally, and simply most people do not enjoy playing on them.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that not all rubber pads are bad. The pads that come with Alesis Forge are actually pretty good. While they are still made of rubber, they actually respond naturally and feel as good as a rubber pad could possibly feel.
The rubber pads can be properly arranged and you can comfortably play on them. The natural feel and good comfort level ensure that each drumming session always remains pleasant and enjoyable.
Recording & Connectivity
The Forge can actually record you in realtime. This will enable you to make your own soundtracks to share with others or to critique yourself. The drum module is however limited in storage and can only store about five tracks.
However, you could insert a USB to expand capacity and store up to 99 songs. It’s critical that all the samples must be lower than 15 MB and is formatted in WAV.
The forge is compatible with both Apple and Windows OS. As long as you have Mac OS 10.7 or newer or Windows 7 or newer, you will have no compatibility issue. The kit also provides a varied variety of outputs.
It has a MIDI output and input, an aux input, stereo main outputs, and even a USB output. Thus whether you want to simply plug in your headphones and listen to yourself play or want to mix your soundtrack using music software on your computer, the Forge has all the connectivity options you need.
Add your Own Customized Samples
In addition to the 600 different sound samples that the kit comes with, you can also load your own sound samples into the drum module. All you have to do is insert a USB into the module and insert your sample into the library.
This quite simply opens a world of possibilities for you. You can add any sound you can dream of, from the sound of car keys being rattled to the sound of a gong begin stricken. You are only limited by your creativity.
This is not a feature that is common in low-end electronic drum kits, so the Alesis Forge quite easily knocks it out of the park in regards to this.
Alesis Forge Kit Assembly
Who is this Kit for?
This kit would be most suitable for a beginner or an intermediate drummer who wants to buy their first electronic drum kit. The kit includes everything that you need, including bass drum pedal and drumsticks, so as a beginner you don’t have to worry about buying them separately. It also has a play-along feature that enables you to practice comfortably.
Intermediate players might also feel comfortable with this kit due to its ability to load custom samples and great connectivity options. The metronome included in the kit also helps improve timing for players of all levels.
Alternatives to Alesis Forge
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The Roland TD1K is a similarly priced alternative to the forge. Similar to the Forge the TD1-KV includes a drum module, five drums, and three cymbals. The TD1-KV however features a snare mesh drum, so it’ll feel better and be quieter than the rubber pads in the Forge. The kit however cannot import custom sound samples and has a beater-less bass drum pedal which simply just doesn’t feel that good.
The Alesis Command is a possible alternative from Alesis itself. It features the exact same sound module as the Forge but with a few extra features. The main difference between the Forge and the Command is that the Command features mesh pads, so they will feel more realistic and will be quieter than the rubber pads in the Forge. If you are willing to spend a little more money, the Command will let you experience the bliss of mesh pads.
The Alesis Nitro is a cheaper alternative to the Forge. The biggest difference between these two drum sets is that the Nitro kit’s drum module has only 40 inbuilt kits and 385 sound samples, the Forge’s drum module however has 70 different sound kits and over 600 sound samples. The Forge kit also features multi-zone cymbals and snare drum, something that the Nitro lacks. The Nitro kit also doesn’t have the ability to load your own custom samples.
My Final Opinion
The Alesis Forge is an impressive drum kit that offers great features at an affordable price point. The kit allows you to add your own custom samples and includes a bass drum pad, something that is quite uncommon at its price point. The kit is thus a great option for beginners and intermediate drummers.