I’m going to pick that up just for Studio production. It looks incredibly useful on your desk And doesn’t take up too much space. Looks perfect just for writing drum parts.
Awesome. I wasn’t even aware of this cute little guy because I’d only looked into bigger units like the SPD and Strikepad. But if you’re going to only add it to a acoustic kit, something small like this is a brilliant choice! I’d probably mount a trigger to the snare so I could supplement it with something like a long reverby hit or tambourine.
GREAT JOB MAN, REALLY HELPED ME OUT!! Been agonizing over what to get n didn't want to spend $800 either. Watched other reviews on this but idk, yours just made sense. THANK YOU!! Am gonna pick one up...God bless you my friend.
I was unsure to buy one of those things cause I thought that it would be difficult to set all the sample/sound effects but after watch this GREAT explanation,I will absolutely buy it.
Thanks bro, I wanna pick one of these up along with a requisite floor and high hat set of foot pedals to make a tiny drumset. I like that I can sample my real drums (guitar player) and since I have a tiny one room apartment that barely fits the three of us in a band practice, a tiny drumset is necessary! I looked at the Kat lad, but for a few dollars more, this has so many more features. I love the lights, and I really dig the two smaller, raised, rim-shot style pads on the top as opposed to just four big flat rubber pads. I feel like it will add a different dynamic to the playing rather than the rather unnatural all drumstick tip alternative, maybe even add a tiny amount of veracity to cymbal strikes. Cheers.
Looking forward to adding mine to an existing drumkit setup in church to get those extra sounds that give the music more colors! Heard many great reviews and seems this has many musical possibilities...when playing live the minor humming sounds will dissipate and be unnoticable. Great informative video on Alesesis ample pad 4!!! 😝😄
I wish there was a sample pad exactly just like this, just higher quality, (Heard the quality control was awful) and with a midi in/out. The more expensive sample pads, like the Roland or Strike multipad, seem too overcomplicated, and have plenty of features that I don't need and I don't want to pay for.
This is a succint review and greatly helped me with my decision! I loved your calm demeanour and how you showed the equipment in action, it really added some authenticity. I think I'd prefer you'd started with the short in-action shot, but nevertheless once the video reached that point I was hooked.
Thanks for the in-depth review! Our worship team is looking for an inexpensive way to send a click track for our sets; I realize this is a weird use of a sample drum, but I'm curious if this unit can do the following: 1. Can the metronome have programmed presets (i.e. you'd set up four tempos and use a pad to advance/retreat through the presets) 2. Can any of the pads be set up as a tap tempo for the metronome?
Thanks for demo! - I am thinking of buying this, i play organ/keyboards in a church and think this might be a nice "add-on" to the keys, better to keep it low first, or may scare the pastor! :D, greetings and blessings, Levi
This is a great review and has really helped me to get to grips with mine. Quick question... How are you connecting it into your computer? I want to record some covers with this (MacBook Pro) and having no luck are being able to record using the sounds that are built into the module when connecting via USB. Does it have to run into the Mac via an audio interface? Will be using either Garageband or Audacity.
Hi and congrats on the video! 3 questions: - when you change preset - is it instant, fast or slow? - is it easy to change preset? - cand you edit the sample position/pad via pc? Thanks a lot!
Thanks Pedro! When you change presets, it is usually pretty instant if you are using the built in sounds. If you use sounds you have loaded onto a memory card, changing presets is not instantaneous, but it's not super slow either. It has to load each sample you have in the preset, and depending on your file sizes, that takes roughly 10-15 seconds. If you keep the same preset and just switch one "wild card" sample per song, it will only take maybe 3-5 seconds to load. Changing presets is very easy, just a matter of pressing the up and down arrow keys. I don't believe you can edit the sample pad position via PC - unless you are using your SamplePad in MIDI mode just triggering sounds on your pc in a program like Ableton.
That 10-15 seconds is total though, not per sample. Which I know it could be on the cusp during a fast paced set but I feel like you could typically spare 10 or so seconds between songs. If you're needing more than four sounds (or more if you split them up using the velocity sense) in a single song, then you probably do need something more robust than the SamplePad4
Thanks! The onboard metronome plays out both the left and right channels with no way to change it, so the only way to do this would be to make your backing tracks with a click track already in them in just the left or right channel, send the channel with click back to your monitoring system and the channel without your click to the house. Basically, you're just using the unit as a play/stop trigger in that case, which it would have no problem doing. But, if you're trying to use it like the spd-sx (I'm guessing) where the unit plays the backing track and also cues the metronome that's in the spd-sx, then no. Hope this helps and I wasn't too confusing!
@@WeTalkTone Thanks for the review. Does it have MIDI out/in? I have this concept that needs to be realised and I'm researching if this thing can help me with that: I need to send the metronome from the drum pad machine via midi and make this midi signal as master for other instuments in the band. The slave would be the keyboards and a guitar that would receive the midi signal as a slave and sync with the metronome. The metronome should only be heard in the monitoring of course. Any chance that would be possible with this Alesis thing? Cheers.
So sorry for the late reply! I found other samples right on the Alesia site. Just google “Alesia Sample Pad 4 samples” and you should find it. The ZIP file will give you hundreds of additional sounds!
I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Like loops? You can program to trigger whatever you’d like, although I’m not sure what the time limits are on them
I get what you are saying now - It wouldn’t be looping it, just playing back the file you lost to it. There is a 3mb file size limit per trigger, so as long as you’re able to get it below that it would work. Keep in mind it has to be in WAV format.
I’m very new to electronic drums, so I have a couple questions. Sorry if they are very basic. I’m still learning. I can have a repeating loop on one separate pad and a clapping noise on another one that I hit on my own right? Second question is, where can I find loops and noises that I want to incorporate into my band’s music? Alesis have any websites? Thanks so much for the help.
Hey Ethan. One more from me - have you encountered an issue where one of your triggers plays multiple assigned samples? I have two kits saved with four different sounds on each. When I start the unit it up they both load fine, but if I go back to kit 1 from kit 2, the first (top left) pad plays several samples instead of just the one I've assigned to it. Any thoughts why that may be? I tried a factory reset but have the same problem, I can't find a firmware download to try that, but the pad works fine and all other seven assigned samples have no issues so I'm baffled!
So sorry for just seeing this! Wow, no I have not heard of that happening or experienced that myself! I have not used mine in a while, but I definitely never experienced this. If you get it sorted out, let us know what you find!
Where did you get that first sound you used right before you explained out to convert it to wav format. I have a SamplePad Pro but haven't had much luck finding good sounds like that.
I found a few samples on iwantthatsound.com and then ran them through protools and edited them how I needed, either making a quicker fade or adding a reverb. The one you are asking about was found in their free pack.
hi man, how are you? Thanks for the video.....i have 2 questions (sorry my language) 1 - The Card SD may be Class 10? 2 - What convertion of WAV you use for the Samplepad may be read files, 16bits 44hz or 24bits 48hz i'm not sucefuly in put wav in samplepad 4.... i hope you help me, i buy this equipament a feel days and i'm bad this...
I think the sd card can be just about anything, so a class 10 should work I think. As far as the file format, I want to say 44/16 but I'm also not positive on that either since I just used the application to cover my files. If you download the application that I use in the video, it converts any audio file to be exactly what is needed by the Sample Pad
is there any buzzing on the sample pad? in other reviews i've seen, they said there was a lot of buzzing whenever you tried to record the device but i can't hear buzzing in this video
I would think the way it needs to be hit, that would be tough. It does have an external input (quarter inch) so you can hook up like a kick pedal from an electric drum kit and use that to trigger sounds
I just came upon this video. Been thinking of purchasing a new one. Are you still using your sample pad 4? If so, any thing else we should know about? Do you still recommend?
I definitely recommend it if you are looking for something of this size. However, have not been keeping up with what’s new, I just say that because this is holding up well and is fun and easy to use.
@@WeTalkTone Thank you very much. I ended up buying one. It just got delivered and I’ve played around with it a little. I’ll mainly be using this to trigger various percussion instruments in musical pits. I just played a show that needed timpani in 4 or 5 songs. Setting up full size timpani in a small pit is no fun. With this I’ll be able to load a couple tuned timpani notes and trigger them easily. I think this will also come in handy for Gong hits and misc sounds for special effects. (Door bells, gun shots, sirens, etc.). Thanks again.
I guess that depends on how "large" a set you're needing. With adding a kick pedal trigger to the external input, you could still set up a high-hat, snare, crash, and ride. I'm not sure who would want to use it as such, but for a rehearsal or small intimate set in a pinch, I suppose it could be done.
The motherboard of my 2 year old Roland spd just crapped out. This thing saved me. Way cheaper. If this dies on me at least it's not costing over $1200
Can a kick pedal be added to this... and can this be used to actually play simple drum patterns? Like kick, snare, hi-hat and cymbals type straight foreward rock beats..
You can’t add a pedal to this model, you can add 1 to the pro version of it, I own the pro and I use it when I’m recording/messing with sounds super late at night 👍
@@WeTalkTone Thank you for clearing that up .This Question is what brought me to your channel .Mine seems to be working fine so far, and I'm thinking about adding a bass pedal .
Any DAW will be able to add however much reverb you want. I use Pro Tools, but that sound was actually just like that when I got it, I had to put it through pro tools to actually cut the reverb tail shorter. Check out iwantthatsound.com
helo, i have a question. Can I use it as regular midi pad with my DAW - FL Studio? Do i need to store each sample to SD card, or i just drag and drop, like with my midi keyboard. thank you.
Yes, you should be able to use it as a Midi trigger. If you plan to always run it from your computer using samples in your DAW, then you won't need to load sounds onto the sd card.
hey man, the trigger on the back of the pad. If I connect a kick trigger to it and hook it up to a DAW will it be midi notes? I'm trying to have a sample multi pad that will also allow me to have a kick trigger (thats attached to my acoustic kit) all being connected to my computer. Is that how it works? thanks for reading
I just picked a used one up today at Guitar Center $110! Like new condition. I'm new to sampling & look for drum brush samples if anyone knows of a site.. thanks
If you go to the Alesis website they have a massive library that you can download, and they also have an audio sample conversion tool to make your own samples! 😁
Hi! Not sure if you're still picking up comments, but I've just bought my Samplepad 4 and having some issues with the card load. I can load sounds, but as soon as I switch kits or turn the unit off (or it indeed turns after after 10 minutes of not being used - another irritant) then I have to reload them all over again. Is there something I can do about this? Thank you
Yes, be sure to save the kit before turning it off! 1. Select the kit on the main screen that you have edited and would like to save. 2. Press and hold the Cursor Down and Cursor Right buttons for 2 seconds simultaneously to enter the Save menu. 3. Move the cursor to the SAVE KIT option by pressing the Cursor Up or Cursor Down buttons. 4. Press Cursor Right to enter the SAVE KIT submenu. 5. Press Cursor Up or Cursor Down to highlight "Yes" and then press Cursor Right to save the kit. 6. To exit the SAVE KIT submenu, press the Cursor Down button until Exit is highlighted, and then press the Cursor Right button. Alternatively, press and hold the Cursor Down and Cursor Right buttons to exit this menu.
Yes! The sample converter just makes it easier, but you can manually convert them using any online audio converter or a DAW. From their website: “The samples files must be 16-bit, mono or stereo .WAV files with a sample rate of 48K, 44.1K, 32K, 22.05K, or 11.025K.” You can find more info on file structure and naming on their FAQ page under “What format should my audio files be?: www.alesis.com/kb/article/1988#format
Can you answer this please...What does it mean when it says "Sound too large". which makes no sense...the sounds that i have put in that work are waves. And then i go to put something in and it says that? I don't get it. and sometimes what i'm trying to put in is smaller than what's in there, but yet it's too large? ugh!
Not at all! What you hear in the video is a clean feed being recorded with no noise filters or anything applied to clean it up. So blast your speakers when I’m playing some sounds from it and judge for yourself. Of course that’s not to say another unit might have humm. I’m sure that rumor has truth behind it and it’s very possible there quality control isn’t great, or they’ve improved upon the design and have fixed the problem.
It was clean for a couple years. Just played it for the first time in a while a few weeks ago and it had a hum. Maybe it just needs really clean power? Or making sure you’re on a different circuit than the rest of the system?
Gotcha. I want to say it’s something pretty long, like a few minutes maybe? I’m not sure where from but I think I heard something like that once. I’ve never done any tests on it, but I might try it sometime and let you know
You have to edit the kit, or create a new User Kit and change the Location "LOC" of a particular pad to be either Internal "INT" or read from your SD card "CARD"
Might be hard to get the right attack with your feet. They’re not just buttons you’re pressing. Imagine hitting a drum head with a drum stick. There is an input for a pedal (like an electric kick drum)
You can use an edrum kick pedal if connected to the external trigger jack, but I guess if you wanted to hit it with an actual kick pedal you could... not sure how well the pas would hold up after being beat repeatedly though
Unfortunately, you can’t change the temp of a file. The Can ‘O Tambos that I use provide the files for loops ranging from 60bpm to 120bpm, so if you need to change the tempo, you just scroll to the next file
The audio that you hear from it in the video is unprocessed - so your ears will be the best judgement of that. If there is a buzz, it’s not very noticeable.
If you can find the audio files to load on to it, I’m sure it will work great! I’ve used it as a hand drum before (just whacking it with my fingers and hands)
I bought this and it's crap. When I hit an upper pad, it also triggers the larger pad below. I can prevent this problem by reducing the sensitivity of the larger pads - by a lot. But doing that defeats the purpose of having velocity sensitivity in the main pads. Stay away form this garbage!
@@WeTalkTone I bought it brand new from Thomann. I also had bought the previous Alesis SamplePAD - which often failed to register hits. Just a terrible experience with Alesis, so I moved to more reliable solutions.
@@thechristinedemeo Roland SPD-SX, the larger 6 pads never fail and have excellent response and configurability. Worth saving the money for. I also use an external pedal with it.
Sorry but when you're doing a review about an instrument and 99% of your whole soundtrack is talking and just 1% is sound from the actual instrument than it doesn't really help...
Thanks for informations Alesis 👍
I’m going to pick that up just for Studio production. It looks incredibly useful on your desk And doesn’t take up too much space. Looks perfect just for writing drum parts.
Awesome. I wasn’t even aware of this cute little guy because I’d only looked into bigger units like the SPD and Strikepad. But if you’re going to only add it to a acoustic kit, something small like this is a brilliant choice! I’d probably mount a trigger to the snare so I could supplement it with something like a long reverby hit or tambourine.
GREAT JOB MAN, REALLY HELPED ME OUT!! Been agonizing over what to get n didn't want to spend $800 either. Watched other reviews on this but idk, yours just made sense. THANK YOU!! Am gonna pick one up...God bless you my friend.
That's awesome, glad I could help!! Hope you enjoy yours!
I make EDM Funk so adding my own samples to it would be so good. I’m actually going to buy one now!
Thanks earthling! 🤘👽🤘
I was unsure to buy one of those things cause I thought that it would be difficult to set all the sample/sound effects but after watch this GREAT explanation,I will absolutely buy it.
Glad I could offer that push in the right direction! Even if it takes a little bit of playing with and figuring out, it will be worth it!
Great job.....going to buy one for our worship team.
Super helpful review, just getting started with hybrid drums at our church. appreciate the samples! love that snare accent!
What's hybrid drums?
@@angeladanielle7711 a mixture of electric and acoustic drums
Thanks bro, I wanna pick one of these up along with a requisite floor and high hat set of foot pedals to make a tiny drumset. I like that I can sample my real drums (guitar player) and since I have a tiny one room apartment that barely fits the three of us in a band practice, a tiny drumset is necessary! I looked at the Kat lad, but for a few dollars more, this has so many more features. I love the lights, and I really dig the two smaller, raised, rim-shot style pads on the top as opposed to just four big flat rubber pads. I feel like it will add a different dynamic to the playing rather than the rather unnatural all drumstick tip alternative, maybe even add a tiny amount of veracity to cymbal strikes. Cheers.
instablaster...
GREAT review. Helped me make up my mind on purchasing this!
Looking forward to adding mine to an existing drumkit setup in church to get those extra sounds that give the music more colors! Heard many great reviews and seems this has many musical possibilities...when playing live the minor humming sounds will dissipate and be unnoticable. Great informative video on Alesesis ample pad 4!!! 😝😄
I wish there was a sample pad exactly just like this, just higher quality, (Heard the quality control was awful) and with a midi in/out.
The more expensive sample pads, like the Roland or Strike multipad, seem too overcomplicated, and have plenty of features that I don't need and I don't want to pay for.
Thanks for the review brother in Christ. I'm going to pick one up God bless 🙌
This is a succint review and greatly helped me with my decision! I loved your calm demeanour and how you showed the equipment in action, it really added some authenticity. I think I'd prefer you'd started with the short in-action shot, but nevertheless once the video reached that point I was hooked.
Thank you for the kind words!
Hi great job ! Question which one comes with the tambourine loops ? Orange or Blue edition ? Thanks
Thanks for the in-depth review! Our worship team is looking for an inexpensive way to send a click track for our sets; I realize this is a weird use of a sample drum, but I'm curious if this unit can do the following:
1. Can the metronome have programmed presets (i.e. you'd set up four tempos and use a pad to advance/retreat through the presets)
2. Can any of the pads be set up as a tap tempo for the metronome?
Could you make a video demonstrating the different ways you use this device along with a drum kit?
Very nice review. Thank you very much! ✌️😊
First seeing you in the video i thought... "Hmmm this guy gives off that Christian musician vibe"... Well done! 🥳
😂😂😂
Thanks for posting this! I’m considering this pad for the same context you use it for (worship). Think I’ll give it a shot!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Could I add a 30+ second sound that will just play after I hit it? Like a back track
Thanks for demo! - I am thinking of buying this, i play organ/keyboards in a church and think this might be a nice "add-on" to the keys, better to keep it low first, or may scare the pastor! :D, greetings and blessings, Levi
That sounds like a cool addition! Would you use it for percussive sounds or something else?
@@WeTalkTone maybe more for the perc.sounds AND to sample some nice "surprising" sounds from gospel worship!! 😊
Looks great but I’ve seen bad reviews for this. Is it crazy loud when you hit it?
I think for the price, it's a great buy. And it sounds about like a Rock Band (game) drumset, or rubber practice pads, or a rubber electronic kit
This is a great review and has really helped me to get to grips with mine.
Quick question... How are you connecting it into your computer?
I want to record some covers with this (MacBook Pro) and having no luck are being able to record using the sounds that are built into the module when connecting via USB. Does it have to run into the Mac via an audio interface? Will be using either Garageband or Audacity.
I believe you would have to run it into an interface for the onboard sounds unfortunately. USB will only send midi to your computer.
Great video bro!
Congrats :)
Hi and congrats on the video!
3 questions:
- when you change preset - is it instant, fast or slow?
- is it easy to change preset?
- cand you edit the sample position/pad via pc?
Thanks a lot!
Thanks Pedro! When you change presets, it is usually pretty instant if you are using the built in sounds. If you use sounds you have loaded onto a memory card, changing presets is not instantaneous, but it's not super slow either. It has to load each sample you have in the preset, and depending on your file sizes, that takes roughly 10-15 seconds. If you keep the same preset and just switch one "wild card" sample per song, it will only take maybe 3-5 seconds to load.
Changing presets is very easy, just a matter of pressing the up and down arrow keys.
I don't believe you can edit the sample pad position via PC - unless you are using your SamplePad in MIDI mode just triggering sounds on your pc in a program like Ableton.
@@WeTalkTone Thanks a lot.
Wow, that sounds realy slow for a real gig situation...
Sounded to sheap to be good... :(
That 10-15 seconds is total though, not per sample. Which I know it could be on the cusp during a fast paced set but I feel like you could typically spare 10 or so seconds between songs. If you're needing more than four sounds (or more if you split them up using the velocity sense) in a single song, then you probably do need something more robust than the SamplePad4
Thank you very much!
Hello! very good video Did you ever use it to record midi drums with daw?
I have not done that yet! Only used it in live applications, but in theory it would work perfectly for that.
Olá amigo. Obrigado pelo vídeo e sons gratuitos. Onde posso conseguir mais sons?
I would recommend using www.freesound.org and getting creative! You can pull any audio file into a DAW and cut it up and add reverb or any effect.
Nice review, dude. Do you know if this can be used for backing tracks with a metronome routed to headphones only like the SPD-SX?
Thanks! The onboard metronome plays out both the left and right channels with no way to change it, so the only way to do this would be to make your backing tracks with a click track already in them in just the left or right channel, send the channel with click back to your monitoring system and the channel without your click to the house. Basically, you're just using the unit as a play/stop trigger in that case, which it would have no problem doing. But, if you're trying to use it like the spd-sx (I'm guessing) where the unit plays the backing track and also cues the metronome that's in the spd-sx, then no. Hope this helps and I wasn't too confusing!
@@WeTalkTone Thanks for the review. Does it have MIDI out/in? I have this concept that needs to be realised and I'm researching if this thing can help me with that: I need to send the metronome from the drum pad machine via midi and make this midi signal as master for other instuments in the band. The slave would be the keyboards and a guitar that would receive the midi signal as a slave and sync with the metronome. The metronome should only be heard in the monitoring of course. Any chance that would be possible with this Alesis thing? Cheers.
This review is cool and all but that clap sample...I need that!! LoL
So sorry for the late reply! I found other samples right on the Alesia site. Just google “Alesia Sample Pad 4 samples” and you should find it. The ZIP file will give you hundreds of additional sounds!
Im looking for something to play intros and outros of songs live. Would that work you think ?
I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Like loops? You can program to trigger whatever you’d like, although I’m not sure what the time limits are on them
WeTalkTone yes, I’d have like from 10 sec to about a minutes worth of pre recorded stuff for intros or outros for live shows
I get what you are saying now - It wouldn’t be looping it, just playing back the file you lost to it. There is a 3mb file size limit per trigger, so as long as you’re able to get it below that it would work. Keep in mind it has to be in WAV format.
Do you still use this? I was wondering about durability. Cool video.
It's held up great for me! I'm not using it every day or even every week, but I've had it for close to three years now probably
I’m very new to electronic drums, so I have a couple questions. Sorry if they are very basic. I’m still learning.
I can have a repeating loop on one separate pad and a clapping noise on another one that I hit on my own right?
Second question is, where can I find loops and noises that I want to incorporate into my band’s music? Alesis have any websites?
Thanks so much for the help.
Hey Ethan. One more from me - have you encountered an issue where one of your triggers plays multiple assigned samples? I have two kits saved with four different sounds on each. When I start the unit it up they both load fine, but if I go back to kit 1 from kit 2, the first (top left) pad plays several samples instead of just the one I've assigned to it. Any thoughts why that may be? I tried a factory reset but have the same problem, I can't find a firmware download to try that, but the pad works fine and all other seven assigned samples have no issues so I'm baffled!
So sorry for just seeing this! Wow, no I have not heard of that happening or experienced that myself! I have not used mine in a while, but I definitely never experienced this. If you get it sorted out, let us know what you find!
where do I get this sample converter ?
Where did you get that first sound you used right before you explained out to convert it to wav format. I have a SamplePad Pro but haven't had much luck finding good sounds like that.
I found a few samples on iwantthatsound.com and then ran them through protools and edited them how I needed, either making a quicker fade or adding a reverb. The one you are asking about was found in their free pack.
Where can I buy the accent snare sound for my Alesis? I tried Multitracks, but didn't find it there
thank you
hi man, how are you? Thanks for the video.....i have 2 questions (sorry my language)
1 - The Card SD may be Class 10?
2 - What convertion of WAV you use for the Samplepad may be read files, 16bits 44hz or 24bits 48hz
i'm not sucefuly in put wav in samplepad 4....
i hope you help me, i buy this equipament a feel days and i'm bad this...
I think the sd card can be just about anything, so a class 10 should work I think. As far as the file format, I want to say 44/16 but I'm also not positive on that either since I just used the application to cover my files. If you download the application that I use in the video, it converts any audio file to be exactly what is needed by the Sample Pad
@@WeTalkTone Where do I download the sample converter?
what is maximum lenght of sample ? for example can it be minutes per sample ?
Can you share the link for the mount and how you done?
is there any buzzing on the sample pad? in other reviews i've seen, they said there was a lot of buzzing whenever you tried to record the device but i can't hear buzzing in this video
Yeah I have yet to hear any buzzing in anything I’ve done with it - hopefully they got that issue ironed out!
Nice vid
Have you had any problem with the upper pads?
They have been great for me! Is this a known issue with them or is yours just giving you trouble?
im thinking of selling my spd sx, since i only need 4 pad per song. thoughts?
I'm starting to think that the only music played live in the US is worship.
Even then there’s usually lots of tracks used 😂
Could I tap it with my foot while playing guitar? Barefoot?
I would think the way it needs to be hit, that would be tough. It does have an external input (quarter inch) so you can hook up like a kick pedal from an electric drum kit and use that to trigger sounds
Thank you. 😊
Why when i want to play on live my samples thata i reproduce on my Alesos sounds like of if it was a karaoke track? I mean ot doesnt sound good
👍 nice , God bless you 🙏
I just came upon this video. Been thinking of purchasing a new one. Are you still using your sample pad 4? If so, any thing else we should know about? Do you still recommend?
I definitely recommend it if you are looking for something of this size. However, have not been keeping up with what’s new, I just say that because this is holding up well and is fun and easy to use.
@@WeTalkTone Thank you very much. I ended up buying one. It just got delivered and I’ve played around with it a little. I’ll mainly be using this to trigger various percussion instruments in musical pits. I just played a show that needed timpani in 4 or 5 songs. Setting up full size timpani in a small pit is no fun. With this I’ll be able to load a couple tuned timpani notes and trigger them easily. I think this will also come in handy for Gong hits and misc sounds for special effects. (Door bells, gun shots, sirens, etc.). Thanks again.
Sounds like the perfect addition! You’ll definitely be getting good use from it
can i plug headphones to the samplepad ???? great vid btw
Yes, it has a 1/4" phones out. Glad you enjoyed it!
Hey bro. Can you tell me what kind a sound is the 3:38min.?? How can i do it?
Im guessing this can't be used as drum set? Would need the sample pro as drum set?
I guess that depends on how "large" a set you're needing. With adding a kick pedal trigger to the external input, you could still set up a high-hat, snare, crash, and ride.
I'm not sure who would want to use it as such, but for a rehearsal or small intimate set in a pinch, I suppose it could be done.
The motherboard of my 2 year old Roland spd just crapped out. This thing saved me. Way cheaper. If this dies on me at least it's not costing over $1200
I'm very disappointed in the Yamaha EAD 10 I'm thinking about buying this it seems way BETTER 👍
give me ya EAD if you dont want it :p
Can a kick pedal be added to this... and can this be used to actually play simple drum patterns? Like kick, snare, hi-hat and cymbals type straight foreward rock beats..
You can’t add a pedal to this model, you can add 1 to the pro version of it, I own the pro and I use it when I’m recording/messing with sounds super late at night 👍
Actually, you can add a pedal to this! There is one input on the back for a trigger in. I've used it and it works great!
@@WeTalkTone Thank you for clearing that up .This Question is what brought me to your channel .Mine seems to be working fine so far, and I'm thinking about adding a bass pedal .
That’s great to hear! It will make for a super portable set up in a pinch!
what is the point of the USB connection? i don't have an sd card reader on my mac. can't i just drag and drop using usb??
Not sure if you can use it as a file browser or not. I’ve used the usb connection as a midi controller
What software you used to add effects as the first sound you played with a so beautiful reverb..
Any DAW will be able to add however much reverb you want. I use Pro Tools, but that sound was actually just like that when I got it, I had to put it through pro tools to actually cut the reverb tail shorter. Check out iwantthatsound.com
helo, i have a question. Can I use it as regular midi pad with my DAW - FL Studio? Do i need to store each sample to SD card, or i just drag and drop, like with my midi keyboard. thank you.
Yes, you should be able to use it as a Midi trigger. If you plan to always run it from your computer using samples in your DAW, then you won't need to load sounds onto the sd card.
@@WeTalkTone thnx a lot.
hey man, the trigger on the back of the pad. If I connect a kick trigger to it and hook it up to a DAW will it be midi notes? I'm trying to have a sample multi pad that will also allow me to have a kick trigger (thats attached to my acoustic kit) all being connected to my computer. Is that how it works? thanks for reading
It should still trigger midi, although I have not tried it.
Great review! But just helping you out. It’s Uh-Lee-sis 🤙🏼
I just picked a used one up today at Guitar Center $110! Like new condition. I'm new to sampling & look for drum brush samples if anyone knows of a site.. thanks
If you go to the Alesis website they have a massive library that you can download, and they also have an audio sample conversion tool to make your own samples! 😁
Anyone knows how i can use a footswitch or kick trigger with this samplepad 4? HELP
There is an input for an external trigger on the back of the unit.
can i drum on it with fingers alone ? will it be triggered properly ?(im darbuka/djembe drummer)
Yes - you should be able to turn up the sensitivity on the pads to make it work better with fingers as well.
Is anyone else having problems with their horizontal buttons not working? Mine quit working for some reason.
Hi! Not sure if you're still picking up comments, but I've just bought my Samplepad 4 and having some issues with the card load. I can load sounds, but as soon as I switch kits or turn the unit off (or it indeed turns after after 10 minutes of not being used - another irritant) then I have to reload them all over again. Is there something I can do about this? Thank you
Yes, be sure to save the kit before turning it off!
1. Select the kit on the main screen that you have edited and would like to save.
2. Press and hold the Cursor Down and Cursor Right buttons for 2 seconds simultaneously to enter the Save menu.
3. Move the cursor to the SAVE KIT option by pressing the Cursor Up or Cursor Down buttons.
4. Press Cursor Right to enter the SAVE KIT submenu.
5. Press Cursor Up or Cursor Down to highlight "Yes" and then
press Cursor Right to save the kit.
6. To exit the SAVE KIT submenu, press the Cursor Down button
until Exit is highlighted, and then press the Cursor Right button. Alternatively, press and hold the Cursor Down and Cursor Right buttons to exit this menu.
@@WeTalkTone Oh my goodness I could not for the life of me figure out how to do that - thank you so much!
great, the sample convertor is only for Windows. any work around possible ?
regarding, Mac users*
Yes! The sample converter just makes it easier, but you can manually convert them using any online audio converter or a DAW. From their website: “The samples files must be 16-bit, mono or stereo .WAV files with a sample rate of 48K, 44.1K, 32K, 22.05K, or 11.025K.”
You can find more info on file structure and naming on their FAQ page under “What format should my audio files be?: www.alesis.com/kb/article/1988#format
Is there an integrated speaker, or is an amp necessary?
You will have to plug it into a speaker or headphones to hear any sound from it. There is no on board speaker.
Can you answer this please...What does it mean when it says "Sound too large". which makes no sense...the sounds that i have put in that work are waves. And then i go to put something in and it says that? I don't get it. and sometimes what i'm trying to put in is smaller than what's in there, but yet it's too large? ugh!
I haven’t encountered that one! Let me know if you figure it out.
Same to me. What can I do in this cases??
Any chance it has to do with the length of the clip and not the file size?
does yours produce humm? I have been reading a lot of review that this product produces electrical humming
Not at all! What you hear in the video is a clean feed being recorded with no noise filters or anything applied to clean it up. So blast your speakers when I’m playing some sounds from it and judge for yourself.
Of course that’s not to say another unit might have humm. I’m sure that rumor has truth behind it and it’s very possible there quality control isn’t great, or they’ve improved upon the design and have fixed the problem.
I ordered one and it had hum/buzz😭😭 so disappointed.
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. I wonder if it was an older unit or if the quality control problem still persists?
How can I hook this up to the Alesis nitro mesh kit?
Where/ how do you find/ make samples. I cant find any good video
Hi... where do I get free sample drum kits to store in my SD card? I just got an Alesis Samplepad 4
SampleFocus.com is a good resource. FreeSound.org is another
@@WeTalkTone those are not free
Free sound definitely is, and sample focus gives you some free credits to use when you sign up
do you have a buzz sound on it?
It was clean for a couple years. Just played it for the first time in a while a few weeks ago and it had a hum. Maybe it just needs really clean power? Or making sure you’re on a different circuit than the rest of the system?
Can you play hand drums on it ??
Could you load a piece of music onto this and trigger it on a pad? or is it single sounds only?
In theory you should be able to load any sound file you want on it. Not sure if there is a time limit though.
WeTalkTone that was my concern. Don't want to load a 30 second bit of music & have it cut out after 10 seconds
Gotcha. I want to say it’s something pretty long, like a few minutes maybe? I’m not sure where from but I think I heard something like that once. I’ve never done any tests on it, but I might try it sometime and let you know
Awesome. That would be cool. Thanks
Melhor review top
How would I assign the sounds from an admin card to the pads? Or does it do It automatically?
You have to edit the kit, or create a new User Kit and change the Location "LOC" of a particular pad to be either Internal "INT" or read from your SD card "CARD"
Can I play This with Feet ?
Might be hard to get the right attack with your feet. They’re not just buttons you’re pressing. Imagine hitting a drum head with a drum stick.
There is an input for a pedal (like an electric kick drum)
What daw system do you use ?
I’m on pro tools 11 but they all work about the same!!
can you use a kick pedal on it
You can use an edrum kick pedal if connected to the external trigger jack, but I guess if you wanted to hit it with an actual kick pedal you could... not sure how well the pas would hold up after being beat repeatedly though
how to change the tempo of a loop?
Unfortunately, you can’t change the temp of a file. The Can ‘O Tambos that I use provide the files for loops ranging from 60bpm to 120bpm, so if you need to change the tempo, you just scroll to the next file
Does your main output buzz like everyone else says theirs does
The audio that you hear from it in the video is unprocessed - so your ears will be the best judgement of that. If there is a buzz, it’s not very noticeable.
wonder how this would work as an electric Bongo's or Cajon? I want something I can practice with without waking the wife at night.
If you can find the audio files to load on to it, I’m sure it will work great! I’ve used it as a hand drum before (just whacking it with my fingers and hands)
My loop doesn’t play in time
I haven’t experienced the same. All I could say is make sure your loop doesn’t have any dead noise on the front or back of your sample.
How can I contact with you??
Wetalktone@gmail.com !
👍👍👍💖💖💖😎😎😎😎
O problema e achar este suporte no brasil
Re someone zi can talk to about the pad.
ALE esis??? You mean a LE sis?
If you got a unit without a noisy hum, you're lucky! These things have issues. I wouldn't recommend to anybody.
Mano ele é
muito problemático
Shame ..No midi???
Midi over USB though does the trick though if wanting to trigger samples on your computer or through Ableton
I bought this and it's crap. When I hit an upper pad, it also triggers the larger pad below. I can prevent this problem by reducing the sensitivity of the larger pads - by a lot. But doing that defeats the purpose of having velocity sensitivity in the main pads. Stay away form this garbage!
I het that your unit is giving you problems! Did you find it used or new? I'd try another unit - I haven't experienced this myself.
@@WeTalkTone I bought it brand new from Thomann. I also had bought the previous Alesis SamplePAD - which often failed to register hits. Just a terrible experience with Alesis, so I moved to more reliable solutions.
Understandable! Sorry it worked out that way
What did you end up going with?
@@thechristinedemeo Roland SPD-SX, the larger 6 pads never fail and have excellent response and configurability. Worth saving the money for. I also use an external pedal with it.
muy buena la alesis pad 4 . los invito averla en accion th-cam.com/video/e2zZMTE8vws/w-d-xo.html
hahah the church had B8s
😂😂😂
Sorry but when you're doing a review about an instrument and 99% of your whole soundtrack is talking and just 1% is sound from the actual instrument than it doesn't really help...
I’m sorry you feel that way! I suppose you’re thinking of a “demo” though. This was a review where I review its features and strengths and weaknesses.
you cant even pronounce the name of the company correctly...