alesis d4 VS dm5

[freakkguitarist]

im in a metal band, and we want to start triggering our drummers kick drum live, and we are debating on getting the d4 or the dm5. ive heard that the d4s sounds are alot better then the dm5. also i heard the dm5 has processed samples, and the d4's are raw. mainly im looking for good kick sounds, and then good snare sounds...for metal. tight clicky yet solid kicks, and snappy tight snares. which one should i get?

[Fishmed]

Although I have owned them both, I did not have them at the same time to A/B them. I did not notice any BIG differences between them. I have the DM5 now, and it seems a little more user friendly.

[Seeker of Rock]

I had a drummer that had a D4 and liked it, did the same thing, triggered acoustics. I have the DM Pro kit I use for tracking. DM Pro is not what I'd call user friendly, but I love the sounds, once I built a couple of kits. The factory kits were not very good. There are effects on some of the samples that were recorded with the sample, so irreversible. However, most of the drums, cymbals, etc. are layered, combination of an effected drum plus a dry one or two. You can alter those, but I haven't gotten the guts to try it. In theory, you could remove effects by removing the effected layer or two of the note. Don't know if the DM5 is the same way.

[Riverdog]

The D4 has older sounds...
I found in switching from the D4 to the DM5 / the / DM5 had a much more 'raw' sound than the D4... I felt that the DM5 definitely contained updated patches at that time...

Just recently I was starting to feel that the sounds on the DM5 were outdated again....
After just a little tweaking (a day or so) I came up with a few sets that I'd designed that were very close to some of the new rhythm machines I'd heard... I was very pleased with the change and have continued from that point...

Something I learned to like about the DM5 is there are some kick sounds where you can even hear the sound of the pedal hitting the bass head... Pretty slick in my book...

I'd say get the DM5... More powerful output, better samples for your application... And sounds that feel more updated and less restrictive than the D4...