In the software stable – and this is quite a big deal – you get a slimmed down, easy to use version of Big Fat Drums (BFD) called BFD Player. This can be used as a VST in your DAW or as a standalone application. Simply connect the Surge Mesh SE to a PC, laptop or Mac via USB. Both CSD120 and CSD130 have an excellent user interface and MIDI in/out. You can use a USB in these electronic kits and your smartphone in playing mp3 songs. Also, you can record your sounds as well as play-along. Whilst it has some advantages over the Alesis Nitro, such as a mesh bass drum pad that’s potentially large enough to take a double bass drum pedal (the Nitro’s won’t), larger dual zone cymbals and dual zone heads, the Nitro has a better controller and better sounds in our opinion. The sound module features an auxiliary input, stereo line output, and a headphone output. The module offers MIDI in and out via 5-pin DIN connectors as well as USB MIDI. Adjustable sensitivity, crosstalk, and trigger curve settings are provided to customize the module to any player's style. Connections between the drum pads and the module are made via a DB25 to 1/4" cable with each connector clearly labeled. All Carlsbro drums come with a manual that helps us in setting up the drum set. It is easy to use the user manual to complete your setup. Before setting up your small electric drum set, you are given the safety measures and how to maintain the kit for extended use. The drum module should be placed well.

A not so nice aspect of the CSD130 however are silicone/rubber pads rather than mesh. As far as rubber pads go, these actually feel pretty good. We like the Alesis Nitro Mesh kit up next quite a bit so the enhancements built into the Alesis Surge Mesh were welcome additions in our book. It’s the winner in this review. I did not think I would like this kit either. When I looked at it, I felt it was too small until I realized that it might be just one of the features that make it special. Build The TD-02KV is every inch a deserving part of Roland’s V-Drum series. Complete with the TD-02 module, it ships with 16 kits inspired by its higher end siblings in the range and as you would expect, the sounds are excellent.

Load and use the 20 preset drum kits to play in different genres and sound professionally suited to the playstyle

To hear your rhythmic masterpieces, you’ll need to hook the Nitro up to an external amplifier or use headphones. A bass amp would be preferable or alternatively try this dedicated drum amp from Alesis. The sound module is pretty compact and easy to use. It comes with a small number of setup configurations for easy use. There are several nice things to commend about the playability of this kit. First, the sound is good enough for this price range.First, set up the drum stand. The stand consists of several parts that need to be joined together to form something like a tower. The user manual has the full image of how the stand should appear. After fixing the drum stand, you need to place the long cymbal tube, short cymbal tube, and the L-shaped pad rod into the drum stand. The kit contains a bass drum controller pedal, a hi-hat controller pedal, and three single-zone cymbals for hi-hat, ride, and crash. It also features a stereo line output and MIDI in/out. The current Carlsbro electronic drums come in a collapsible design that makes it easy for drummers to store and transport. Therefore, before starting your setup, it is good to know the design of your drum kit. The quality of material that Carlsbro use goes hand in hand with the sound of the kit.

One thing I'd say is that to get it set up initially, the instructions are pretty good but it really helps if you know what you're trying to accomplish. If drum kits generally are new to you, try to get someone who knows their way around a kit to help you. That will also help for the first couple of times you try to play it. But be prepared to have to prise your drummer friend away from it so you can have a go yourself! The mesh pads are a big omission though. Rubber pads just feel artificial. For that reason, we’d put it just behind the other kits ahead of it in this review. This electronic kit features 20 user drum kits, 20 preset drum kits, reverb effect, 120/130 sound modules, 20 demo songs, and 250 voices. The voices will help you learn and record your sounds in an easy way. This CD120 kit comes with a foot-trigger bass drum pedal. However, it is designed to lower the vibrations to a minimum to cater to players using the kit in their apartments. Finally, headphones are fine to start with IMO (and your family and room mates will no doubt agree). If you want an amplifier, the Roland PM-03 is a good choice; it's not too loud, stereo, fits nicely in the space behind the kit, and excellent quality: you can use it with any other kit you subsequently get too. If you want to play with a band, you'll need a couple of powerful amplified speakers. Carlsbro do their own which are reasonable enough but for now you won't need those and they are much heavier and bulkier. Read full review

User Manual for Carlsbro CSD130 - Compact Electronic Drum Kit

Like the Alesis Nitro, there is connectivity to a PC or MP3 player to access more drum sounds via third party drum software. 16 drum kits are included. The sounds built into the Alesis Nitro Mesh module are pretty extensive. You get 385 drum, cymbal and percussion sounds and 40 kits – 15 of which are user editable. They’re not brilliant, but definitely usable as this video from Alesis clearly shows. We actually slightly preferred the sounds on the Yamaha DTX 402K to the Nitro Mesh but there’s not a lot in it. There are rims around the drum heads that are quite high. An 8” drum isn’t exactly large to start with so you may find yourself hitting the rims. Not a dealbreaker but it takes some getting used to