The Alesis Nitro Max is an interesting entry level electronic drum kit. It has nice pads and a good sound module for it’s price, but the rack is notoriously wobbly which is a common complaint from owners of the kit. Let’s take a look at things you can do to deal with rack issues that this kit has.
The Wobbly Rack
The rack is pretty wobbly and it can also lean a little depend on how far you spread out the end posts on the rack. When I was trying to make this kit feel more sturdy, I found a couple things that helped.
Folding the Rack Into a Tighter Trapezoid Shape
Folding the ends of the rack in closer to make more of a square footing with the four rack posts can help. If they are spread out too far to the sides, the rack tends to want to lean towards the drummer. This may or may not work for some drummers depending on how much space you like to have between your pads.
The Sagging Snare Mounting Pole
The snare mounting pole is also a little wobbly and some find that it can sag a little bit which causes it to sit lower and at an angle. This bothered me quite a bit since I found the rack to be a little short to start with anyways.
An easy solution for this issue is to remove the snare mounting pole and the snare pad from the rack altogether, and mount the snare pad on a snare stand. This requires buying another piece of gear, but having an extra snare stands around isn’t always the worst thing either.
Not any type of snare stand will work with this. The Nitro Max snare pad is a 10 inch pad and it’s smaller than a normal 14 inch snare drum. It might be too small for some snare stands. Make sure to get a snare stand that can be used for smaller sized drums or practice pads. Many snare stands specifically say they can be used for 10-14 inch sizes drums, so that is what you will want to look out for. Here are some examples of snare stands that can support 10 inch drums.
Drum Rack Height
The drum rack can also feel a little short for taller drummers. I’m 6′ 3″ tall and it was borderline too short for me. Luckily this is the type of rack that sits easily on some furniture risers. The type of risers I prefer are the type designed for mattress frames since they are pretty sturdy and can support a lot of weight. Personally, I found a 4-pack of furniture risers in a thrift store a few years ago that I keep around specifically for stuff like this. If you decide to go this route, just make sure that the top platform of the riser is wide enough to the support the footings on the Nitro Rack. This trick works for any other electronic drum kit as well. Here’s some examples of the types of furniture risers that can work for electronic drum kits.
