United States
Mesh heads and complete boxes
Alesis appears three times on this site: two electronic drum kits and an 88-key keyboard bundle. All three arrive ready to play.
Mesh heads at the bottom of the range is the important part. Rubber pads are loud in the room and louder in the floor below; mesh is quiet in both and feels closer to a drum head. The Turbo Mesh puts that on every pad at the lowest price Alesis offers.
The Nitro Max is specified beyond its class. A 10-inch dual-zone mesh snare rather than the usual 8-inch, 32 BFD kits, Zildjian cymbal samples in the module rather than sold as an expansion, Bluetooth and USB to a computer.
The Recital Play is honest about its keys. Eighty-eight full-size keys, touch-sensitive rather than weighted, and Alesis does not describe them as weighted anywhere. It includes the stand, pedal, headphones and bag — the most complete box in this catalog.
Availability is the weak point. The Turbo Mesh had live offers only on the German, US and Spanish stores at the time of writing, and the Spanish price stood far above the German one. Where a market has no offer, our links there go to a local search rather than to a dead reference.
8-piece mesh · 10" snare · Bluetooth · BFD sounds
An eight-piece mesh kit with a 10-inch dual-zone snare, three 8-inch toms, three cymbals and a kick tower with pedal, on a folding rack — with Zildjian cymbal samples and Bluetooth in the module.
Best for: A serious first kit that will be recorded as well as practiced on.
≈ $400
8-piece mesh · 10 in dual-zone snare · 10 in choke cymbals · 500+ sounds · Zildjian
The best-specified Alesis on this shelf: a 10-inch dual-zone deep mesh snare, three 10-inch cymbals with choke on ride and crash, a double-kick-capable tower, 36 BFD kits and over 500 sounds.
Best for: A player past the first year who wants a 10-inch snare, choke cymbals and a path into recording.
88 touch-sensitive keys · 480 sounds · full accessory bundle
Not a weighted piano and not sold as one: 88 full-size touch-sensitive keys, 480 sounds, and a bundle that includes the stand, pedal, headphones, bag and adapter. The most complete box in this group.
Best for: A first instrument for someone who is not yet sure they will keep playing.
≈ $190
7-piece mesh · Bluetooth · throne and headphones included · 100 Melodics lessons
A seven-piece mesh kit with Bluetooth for playing along, twist-tension drumheads, a throne, headphones and sticks in the box, and 100 Melodics lessons kept for good.
Best for: A first kit that arrives complete, where Bluetooth play-along and an adjustable head feel matter more than pad size.
7-piece mesh · 10 kits · 30 play-along tracks
The smaller Alesis mesh kit: an 8-inch snare, three 8-inch mesh toms, three 10-inch cymbals and Alesis-made hi-hat and kick pedals, with a steel rack and 100 free Melodics lessons.
Best for: A first kit for a child or a beginner where mesh heads matter more than sound count.
8-piece mesh · kick tower and pedal · every connector listed · 90 Drumeo lessons
An eight-piece mesh kit with a real kick tower and pedal, and the only listing on this shelf to name every socket on the module — DB25 snake, headphone, aux, quarter-inch TRS out and USB-B.
Best for: A beginner who wants a real kick action and needs to know in advance what the module will plug into.
