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 catalogue.
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.
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 lot.
Best for: A first instrument for someone who is not yet sure they will keep playing.
≈ $190 / £150 / 190 €
