First and foremost, we are musicians, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best electronic drum pads on the market right now. The six rubber pads are smooth, responsive and a joy to play. The unit comes in at a modest 4lbs (1.85kg) but feels sturdy and road-ready. The downside to the Nord Drum 3P is that it’s priced relatively high when you consider what you can do with it. However, what they are offering is a high quality drum synthesizer for use in live and studio environments. I recorded live hits from one of my acoustic drum sets and loaded samples of that onto this device. It worked fairly nicely, though I wasn’t amazed when using an external hi-hat controller. Overall though, this is one of the best all-rounder pads out there, with impressive functionality and features.

Collection and delivery costs are included for the first 2 years in the event of an item becoming faultyDepending on the type of pad, the predominant functions can be vastly different. Before investing it’s important to know the subtleties between the pads on offer, so you can accurately choose which best suits your needs. Generally speaking there are sample pads, percussion pads and drum synthesizers, all usually listed under the term ‘drum pad’ or ‘multipad’, so let’s take a closer look. What is a sample pad?

You’re able to import a lighter “tap” sample as well as a hard-hitting strike of the drum. You can then adjust the velocity level on the SamplePad 4 to determine when the “crossover” is of which sample to trigger. This is great for percussion samples like congas or bongos. The ins and outs of the Alesis SamplePad 4 Hi, yes, the SamplePad Pro is a decent option if he’s limited on space. However, if he wants to really learn drums then I’d recommend getting pedals as well, as otherwise he will only be able to play with his hands. There are also other options for recording the audio out of the device, so you can point him towards https://www.electronicdrumadvisor.com/record-electronic-drums/ for more information if he’s not sure. I’m sure he can look into that later himself!With the SamplePad's easy-to-use interface, you won't be rifling through endless submenus and categories to find the sound your looking for. Simply strike the pad you want to change, dial to the sound you want and you're done. If you discover a great combination of sounds you want to keep together, simply designate it as a kit and the SamplePad will save it for easy recall anytime you want. Features The Yamaha DTX Multi-12 does not offer anywhere near that much space, but it supports finger and hand drumming, with mutable pads, meaning it feels much more realistic to play. Then you’ve got the Nord Drum 3P - also filed under ‘multipad’ - which is a drum synthesizer. Let’s say you’re importing a snare sample to your sample pad. In terms of dynamics of playing a snare drum, think of two velocity layers as two different volume hits. While this may not be on the level of the Roland V-Drum module, having two velocity layers per pad allows you to play more dynamically with your sounds. If you’re confused by what this means, allow me to explain.