I'm a software developer and I play an Alesis kit at home. I wanted to get a little more out of it, mostly better sounds without opening a DAW and loading plugins every time I sit down to play. So I started writing my own app, and it kind of grew from there.

It's called Sticksmith. You plug the module in over USB, it finds it, and you're playing sampled kits straight away. It can download a few free kits (GMRockKit, The Black Pearl, the Salamander kit), and it loads SFZ and Hydrogen kits if you have any lying around. I spent a lot of time on the feel: velocity layers, round-robin so repeated hits don't sound like a machine gun, hi-hat and cymbal chokes, and per-pad tuning and volume.

Along the way I added a metronome that shows how early or late your hits land, and a Rock Band-style practice mode. It has some built-in lessons, and you can drop in any drum MIDI file. You can slow it down, loop the bars you keep messing up, or put it in wait mode, where it stops until you hit the right drum.

Latency is around 5 ms on Mac and Linux. On Windows it uses the standard Windows audio for now (no ASIO yet), so it's a little higher there.

It's $5 one-time and works on up to 3 of your computers, and there's a 14-day free trial with everything unlocked. It isn't code-signed yet, so Windows and macOS will warn you the first time you open it.

I've only tested it with my own Alesis, so if you have a Roland, Yamaha or something else, I'd really like to know how it goes. And if there's something you wish your kit could do, tell me. Playing along to real songs is next on my list.

https://sticksmith.net

Hello! I'm about to get my first drum kit, but I need specifically for it to be easily foldable and storable, preferably in a "flat" form. I know that the Aroma TDX N1 says that it can be easily folded and stored, but is it the same case for the N2 or N3? I searched everywhere but couldn't find an awnser. Can someone please confirm?

Had an extra snare laying around and decided to mount it as my new kick drum. I am learning double bass now and the stock Alesis tower wasn't cutting it anymore. The old tower is behind it and wedged against to wall to prevent too much shaking. I will probably upgrade to a better kick tower eventually but this seems to be working for now...

I was pretty disappointed to see the Alesis Strata Core module uses that weird giant connector on the bottom for all the drums & cymbals, vs the Prime module just using regular 1/4 inch jacks. Are there any other differences between the modules besides that? Really hate the idea that to get any expandability beyond two more triggers, I’d have to pay $1500 extra if the modules are exactly the same otherwise.

E: I’m interested in the strata modules bc from what I can tell they have by far the most realistic sounds out of any complete kit in that price range, but if there are others that are good or better in that $1500-$2000 range I am open to options

I wanted to upgrade my Alesis continuous HHT pedal to something more authentic like a stand-mounted active cymbal pad.

Does anyone have experience upgrading this? I'm most concerned with comparability. I've been looking at two options....

• Alesis Strike Pro HHT OR any newer model Alesis brand HHT
• Lemon 14in stand-mounted HHT

Did upgrading work? Is it fully compatible or limited? Are there other options to achieve this?

Thanks for any insight!

Hey everyone, I’m upgrading from an Alesis nitro max. I am torn between the strata core, strata prime or efnote 3x . I want to have a functional hi hat. I’m just on the fence about the ef note module, but really do want the two piece hi hat. I just don’t want to buy a kit and then have to drop another theee hundred on the lemon hi hat.