Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I had hoped to find some review, ANY kind of review about this hi-hat ANYWHERE on the internet. I could not find one!! What is going on I thought. The best thing I could find were some video reviews and demos on youtube, mostly uploaded by Alesis representatives, where I didn't know if I was getting a fair shake.
I decided to bite the bullet and buy this hi-hat on Amazon, PRIMARILY because it was "sold and shipped by Amazon", which meant that the standard Amazon RETURN policy was in effect.
If the description doesn't say "sold and shipped by Amazon", you SHOULD COUNT on a much more difficult return policy, with many strings attached including restocking fees, limited return justifications and a whole lot more bull****.
The Amazon return policy is FANTASTIC! If the product doesn't work for you or doesn't work exactly like the the manufacturer says it will, Amazon will refund your money AND pay your return shipping costs!!!
That policy ALONE has inspired me to spend THOUSANDS of dollars at Amazon in the last few years, for myself and gifts for family/friends every birthday/Christmas. Thankfully, I've only needed to return a handful of things. I almost never buy a product that isn't "sold and shipped by Amazon" unless it's very inexpensive or I'm real sure about my purchase.
On to the Alesis 12" HiHat.
PROS:
It does FEEL more like an acoustic hihat. Literally, when you hit it, it does feel more like a real hihat and the drumstick doesn't quite "stick" to the exact spot you hit on it (unlike every other rubber hihat, even the five hundred dollar ones (Roland VH11 for example)). Considering this, I did feel a little more "free" when playing on it. A little more unencumbered if you will. My T-shirt didn't feel quite as tight on me as it does on my rubber, Roland CY5, if that makes sense.
It does look amazing! When looking at an electronic drum set with a SURGE cymbal (or 2 or 3), it does catch the eye. That's where the 'PROS' end.
CONS:
Alesis touts their SURGE cymbals, including hihat, as:
"SURGE Cymbals are the world's most realistic-looking, accurately responding, and most importantly, natural-feeling cymbal triggers in the world. Not pads in any way, SURGE Cymbals are true brass cymbals at their core with exclusive clear sound dampening to cut the cymbals' acoustic sound" (from their website)
I'm afraid not SIR!! First, I found the responsiveness not NEARLY as good as any of the Roland Hi-hats I've played on, including the Vh-11, Vh-12, Cy-5 (which I own) and CY12-H (which I bought, and it SUCKS, and I promptly returned)!
One thing about any Roland hi-hat (or cymbal for that matter, I have 3 Roland Cy 12 R/Cs,) is that you get the same response, the same sound and sensitivity, ANYWHERE you hit on the hi-hat/cymbal (very much like a real hi-hat/cymbal).
NOT so with the Alesis hi-hat. If you don't hit it in the sweet spot, which is about 1-2 inches at most, the hi-hat sound is diminished. The sound registers literally quieter in your drum brain, and subsequently in your headphones or amp, than if you had hit in the sweet spot. EXCUSE ME??!!
When you hit a REAL, ACOUSTIC hi-hat, ANYWHERE on it, you hear the same, vibrant sound for the most part. SAME with the Roland hi-hats. Depending on whether you want to switch hands on the hi-hat or play a bit of a different angle depending on the style of music, it sounds great with the Roland hi-hat/cymbals.
If you hit the top (or back) of the Alesis hi-hat, the opposite side that you normally hit and that is facing you, you hear NOTHING. WHAT!!?? Yep. Not that you would normally play that side of the hi-hat but..........shouldn't it still register like the Rolands do?
2 more complaints:
Although I said earlier that the brass surface of the Alesis hi-hat does make me feel more 'free' and 'unencumbered', there is a caveat there. It's kinda hard to explain but, when you hit an acoustic hi-hat, the stick does grip PERFECTLY on the brass surface. Meaning, the stick doesn't quite 'stick' in the exact spot you hit the hi-hat at (like a rubber hi-hat) but it kinda stays where you put it without slipping very much. Basically, an acoustic hi-hat feels very right. You feel like you're playing MUSIC. You're playing the ****in' drums, ya know.
The Alesis cymbal is TOO slippery. If you balance the 'a bit too tight' tightness of a rubber hi-hat and the sloppy, slipperiness of the Alesis hi-hat, you come up with a real, acoustic cymbal.
There were times that i was really getting into a song and I would hit the Alesis hi-hat, accidentally, at just enough of an angle where the stick would kinda slip off of the hi-hat and not register the note.
Whereas if I was playing that on a Roland cymbal or an acoustic cymbal, the stick would have 'stuck' enough so that the note would have registered and I would not have noticed that I didn't hit the cymbal in that 1 inch sweet spot. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for accuracy, but sometimes emotion takes over and you don't want that interrupted by your hi-hat not registering a note!
My last complaint is that the Alesis 12" SURGE hi-hat is LOUD!!!! One of the things I tried desperately to research was how loud this hi-hat was going to be in my living room. I like to play my drums with headphones so that I can't hear anything but the drum sounds through the drum brain and never hear the actual wooden drum stick hitting rubber or mesh or the Alesis "real brass" hi-hat.
The Alesis SURGE 12" hihat is at least TWICE as loud as hitting the Roland rubber PD-8 pad and probably 3 times louder that Roland mesh pads. There is more of a high, treble sound, to the Alesis that caused my girlfriend to close the bedroom door for the first time since I'd been playing drums. The best way for me to describe the sound is a sharp, biting, tinny sound.
[...]
I don't know if Amazon will let this link stay but this is the best I could find. Doesn't sound TOO bad in the video but, in person, at home in a quiet setting, it IS loud. TOO loud in my opinion.
Hope this helps.
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Alesis Surge 12 Electronic Hi-Hat Cymbal
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