Review: Alesis Strike Amp 8 Electronic Drums Monitor

How Does It Sound?

This amp uses an 8 inch woofer and a high frequency compression driver to create a balanced sound. The combination of the two works well in this configuration to create a clear sound that doesn’t seem to be lacking much in any part of the frequency range.

The sound quality itself is really nice. The sound is very crisp and clear with some nice low end thump to round it all out. It sounds great when plugged into an electronic drum kit. Instrument sounds all the way around the kit sound really good. Hi-hats sound very crisp, snares are snappy, toms sound full and the kick has a nice low end thump. The 8 inch speaker adds some good punch to kick drums and toms, more than I was expecting from it.

The Strike Amp 8 has a surprisingly loud sound for a smaller monitor. I didn’t think it would be as loud as it was when I first tried it. When I’m using this amp I usually have the drum module volume at about 50-75% and the drum amp level set at about 50-75% and it’s plenty loud for practicing by myself.

It has enough volume to handle jamming along with other live amps if you’re jamming with friends at reasonable volumes, as long as your friends aren’t running fully cranked half stacks. If you want to play something like heavy metal at stage volumes, this amp will come up short, it’s not that loud.

There does seem to be a point where the 8 inch speaker will sound distorted if you’re trying to play something with too much thunder in the low end. I found certain kick sounds at really high volumes were getting some distortion. It was only happening when I really pushed it though.

Also, since it’s just one speaker you lose the stereo effect, so that is something to consider. It’s not a big deal but if you really want to hear that left to right separation you’ll need two of these.

Features

This amp is fairly straightforward in terms of features.

It has two separate inputs with independent volume controls for each, so it can be used for multiple instruments which is nice. Each input is a combo XLR/TRS and 1/4 inch input so you can plug in either type of cable to add some flexibility. There is a clip indicator for each input.

There is an XLR output so that you can output to a PA system. You can also use the output for daisy chaining to connect another Strike Amp.

There is a single contour EQ switch that can be used to cut mid range, but other than that there aren’t any other EQ controls. There is ground lift switch in case you are encountering unwanted noise.

This speaker can be mounted on speaker poles and there is a clamp to help secure these speakers in place while mounted.

Portability

The Strike Amp 8 is a very portable drum monitor amp and it’s great for people who don’t want to deal with oversized or bulky speakers.

It weights about 20 lbs. It’s roughly 10 x 11 x 17 inches in size. It has handles for carrying in one hand. It takes up very little space on the floor next to the kit. If you’re going to haul it around it’s easy to throw into the back seat of a car or into a trunk.

The speaker grill is solid and it will protect the speakers through lots of transport. Even if it gets banged around and scratched up a bit the speakers will be protected.

Build Quality

The casing is plastic but feels pretty solid. This feels like the plastic casing might take some damage and crack if you were to drop in on some concrete or something like that. The grill is metal and feels like it would stand up well to some damage, at least enough to protect the speakers. The knobs and buttons on back feel good and don’t feel cheap. Overall it feels like a well built piece of hardware.

What Are Some Ways To Use This Amp?

Most drummers will use something like this at home to practice with their electronic drum kits. It’s the perfect size and volume for drummers at home. This amp could be used for more though, it has some flexibility.

It could be used as a keyboard amp or an amp for any instrument. The sound is good enough and it sound just as good or better than many other monitor amps I’ve used.

It could be suitable for lower volume live scenarios. The type of stuff you’d maybe hear in a coffee shop or house shows. It’s not powerful enough to bring on the stage of a club, at least on it’s own. However, you could use this as a monitor speaker on stage, point it at yourself for monitoring, and then output to a PA system for more volume – that could be a workable scenario for this amp.

I also really like this amp for stuff like electronic music. It’s a nice little amp to combo with a laptop or other gear for lower-volume electronic music performances.

The Verdict

This is a great amp for a drummer that wants to practice at home and prefers speakers rather than headphones.

It’s very compact and portable, but plenty loud at the same time. You can easily bother your housemates with this amp. It’s probably not loud enough for live music but could be used as a monitor and output to PA systems. This amp sounds really good when plugged into an electronic drum kit and can work for other instruments as well.