Hi Farkas! I looked at both the Nord and the Alesis now and the difference is simple - synthesis vs samples. Samples enable looping, so there's that. Otherwise, there's pros and cons for both.
With the Squarp Rample I am currently using, I actually have multisamples that I can trigger with CV, so velocity based if that's what I want. It's a great feature indeed - a boring repetitive hi-hat suddenly comes to life. As you said - anything that doesn't do this, suddenly sounds flat. It gets a bit weirder and more unpredictable with the Squarp's more exotic sets of samples, which is also nice. Aside from that, I like to get variation into it by CVing the pitch (simple sample speed on the Squarp), filter, ... Particularly with S&H or something like the Joranalogue Orbit 3, I'm getting pretty interesting results. You can hear it in the clicking-ratchetting sound on this track: . It's not the most modulated I've ever done, but the ratchet is actually another layer of the regular click sample.
So for me it's currently about 1 - more flexibility. On the Rample, you select a kit and those are the 4 sounds you'll get - period. Of course, I can muck about combining samples into new sets and adding my own ones (I have a great set recorded at a blacksmith!) but I haven't gone down that rabbit hole yet. Sample management is file management and as such, for me, a much more boring endeavor than wiggling knobs. Then there's 2 - the 4 sounds in a Rample kit are limited when percussion becomes complex. 3 - the Rample's modulation capabilities are limited, I want more. For that, a module like the LXR has the great advantage. 4 - will I want to start actually playing the drums at a certain point? Certainly looks like fun, and I have an in-law to learn from. For that, obviously, it would be one of the pads we discussed here.
I expect I'll go with the LXR module first to get the extra flexibility that I want. I can add the drum pads afterwards and hook them up to trigger the internal sounds, the LXR or the Rample. But very interesting to see what triggers you in drums! Layered samples are an aspect that I really liked unconsciously in my Squarp Rample, and now I understand better why. It's one of the things that put me off when I tried the Dirtywave M8. You trigger a hi-hat sample every off-beat? It's always the same. Boring!