How Do You Set Up Alesis Nitro Drum Set Like A Pro

The Alesis Nitro Mesh Kit is an electronic drum kit featuring a powerful and professional module with hundreds of preset kits.

This complete 8-piece electronic drum kit is suitable for drummers of all levels. It can be used by a beginner drummer as well as by professional drummers.

In this article, we look at how to set up the Alesis Nitro kit. We will also give you in-depth answers to some of the commonly asked questions.

How Do You Set Up Alesis Nitro Mesh Drum Set

Assembling the Alesis Nitro Mesh Kit is quite effortless even for intermediate drummers. It will take you less than an hour to be done with the whole process of assembling.

Here are simple steps to follow:

  1. Start by opening the large box that the kit comes in. Inside it, you will find the following:
  • The Nitro drum module
  • Three 10” cymbal pads which include a custom-designed Alesis hi-hat pedal, a crash, and a ride cymbal
  • Five 8” drum pads (1 8″ Dual-zone Mesh snare drum, 3 toms, 1 kick drum with stand). The kick pad can accommodate a double bass pedal.
  • 1 hi-hat controller
  • 1 Mesh bass drum pedal
  • drum throne

You will also find a small box labeled “accessories” that contains :

  • Cable snake
  • Pad mounting rods
  • Drumsticks
  • Screws
  • Module power supply
  • Tools for assembling the drums
  • User guide
  • Assembly guide
  1. Open the “drum stand” box next. The assembly guide will give you very clear steps on how to assemble the different pieces of the drum stand.
  2. Line up all the components and read the guide fully. After, get the Dual-zone mesh pads, then insert them into the clamp that is around the kit.
  3. The next step is attaching the Dual-zone Mesh drum pads to the rods. Make sure you fasten them. You will also notice that the 8-inch Dual-Zone snare drum is separately labeled.
  4. Next, attach the cymbals firmly on their stands.
  5. Place the beater of the kick pedal into the holder, then use the provided drum key to tighten it. The kick pedal gets attached at the base of the kick drum pad.
  6. Pace the hi-hat controller pedal under the kit, on the left side where there is the 12-inch hi-hat.
  7. Next, mount the module on the rack before connecting the snake cable to the rear of the module.
  8. Lastly, connect the electronic drum module to the power source. Switch on the power, and voila, you are ready to rock.

Alesis Electronic Drums; Where Does The Sound Come From

Each of the electronic drum pads has either one or more sensors. When hit, the drum pad generates an electronic signal.

The generated audio signal travels through cables to the digital drum set module. The drum module is also referred to as the brain of the drum kit.

The electronic drum module then produces a sound that is in line with the drum pad that was hit.

For the kick drum, the skin of the drum vibrates on hitting the 20-inch bass drum pad. The vibration of the air molecules against each other results in the formation of sound waves. You are, therefore, able to hear the sound of your drums.

How Do I Connect My Alesis Drum To My Computer

The Alesis Nitro kit features a USB MIDI connection that you can use with a virtual instrument and recording software.

Connecting To A Computer

The MIDI and USB connection are class-compliant. As such, it can work with any PC or modern Mac without you having to download any software or drivers.

It also features MIDI In and Out ports that you can use to connect directly to a standalone MIDI gear.  These two connections are for the passing of MIDI information only.

Follow these steps to connect your Nitro Mesh kit to a computer:

  1. Turn on your computer
  2. Using the audio USB cable, connect the audio outputs of your drum kit module to the inputs of the audio interfaces.
  3. Turn up the volume control knob on the audio interface to allow the audio signal to pass through.
  4. Lastly, connect the USB output of the audio interface to the USB input of your computer.

Does Alesis Nitro Mesh Fold

Each drum and cymbal in the Alesis Nitro kit with mesh heads is mounted to the drum rack. As a result, the drum track is both flexible and very portable.

One convenience of the Alesis Nitro Mesh kit is that you can neatly fold it away after use.

Alesis Nitro Kit – Adjusting Trigger Settings

As a drummer, sometimes you may require to strike your pads quite fast. As a result, you may feel like the triggers are not picking up some of your hits at times.

The Alesis Nitro Mesh kit with mesh drum heads allows you to adjust the trigger settings. This ensures that all your hits, especially during roughs or flams, get recorded.

The trigger setting also ensures that none of your hits gets dropped and that there is increased accuracy. You can adjust each trigger separately on the Utility Menu.

Here are a few trigger settings you can adjust:

  • Sensitivity Setting

Increasing the sensitivity of a trigger increases its natural response even to lighter hits. Increased sensitivity means that the trigger will respond forcefully to any light trigger.

A higher value will help you to produce a loud drum kit sound with minimal force. On the other hand, a lower value will require much voice to produce softer electronic sounds.

To adjust sensitivity settings:

  1. Hit the Voice It will take you to the selection page.
  2. Select the pad you want to change its settings
  3. Hit the Utility button, which will show you the available settings
  4. SEN(sensitivity) is usually the first one
  5. using the left and the right buttons, adjust the function as you desire
  6. Press the Voice button and the Save button to save your new settings.
  7. Choose a user kit between 25 to 40, and press the Save button again.
  • Threshold Setting

The threshold setting ensures that no sound is produced until you hit the pad with a certain amount of force. You can achieve this by raising the threshold.

Increasing the threshold ensures that all accidental or unintentional hits get eliminated automatically and in real-time.

These are the steps for adjusting the threshold:

  1. Enter the kit selection page by pressing the Voice button
  2. Press the pad that you want to change the settings
  3. Hit the Utility button to view the available settings
  4. Choose the THR (threshold) option, usually the second option
  5. Using the left (<) or the right (>) button, adjust the function as desired
  6. Select the Voice button again, then the Save button to save your new settings
  7. Choose a user kit between 25 to 40
  8. Hit the Save button again

How Do You Reset Alesis Nitro Drum Module

Resetting the Alesis Nitro Mesh Electric Drum kit module is quite straightforward.

Hold the left (<) and the right (>) buttons simultaneously as you power on the electronic instrument.

On the screen, you will see an “ RST….”. This appears for just about one second on the screen then the module restores itself to the factory default settings.

It is then ready for use and customization again.

Can You Add Sounds To Alesis Nitro Electronic Drum Set

The Alesis Nitro Mesh module comes with 40 internal sounds (preset kits) and 60 built-in play-along tracks.  The preset sounds and the 60 play-along tracks are among the largest for this price range.

However, for any experienced drummer, you can create hundreds of percussion custom sounds and favorite tracks.  All you need is to tweak the existing drum sounds of this complete 8-piece electronic drum kit.

The Nitro module is a preset drum kit with 385 superior drum samples, percussion sounds, and crash cymbal. Using these, you can easily create or add your custom samples, or twist them to sound like those of an acoustic drum kit with acoustic drum heads.

Moreover, the convenient USB connection offers you a link between the module and your computer. However, it can allow you to trigger your favorite tunes on DAW or a virtual instrument.

 How do I record using Alesis Nitro Kit?

Many electronic drum sets are good at quality recording on a budget. Alesis Nitro is one of these drum sets that offers dynamic range drummers such an experience.

You can record in three ways:

  1. By hitting the module’s record button as you play. The module has stereo outputs, as such, you can listen to this recording by connecting your headphones via the headphone output.
  2. By connecting the audio output, which is at the back of the module, to the audio input of a recording device. Press the record button and play your track.
  3. By connecting the module to your computer for recording MIDI. You can achieve this with the MIDI outputs or the MIDI-USB by use of a MIDI cable. The Alesis Nitro becomes your MIDI trigger.

For this, however, you will require recording software such as the addictive drum to achieve good sound quality.