Rock Band Drum Set Review

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(More customer reviews)For the uninitiated, Rock Band takes the Guitar Hero concept and extends it by adding roles for bass, drums and vocals.The game is a lot of fun even in solo mode, but it really shines as a cooperative party game.

So in order to get the most out of the game, you need additional instrument controllers including these drums.At this time, there are no third-party drum kits on the market, so these are your only option.And while these do the trick nicely, there is room for improvement.

The kit includes four drum pads, a kick drum pedal, an adjustable stand, headset plug-in and a pair of (actual-size, wood) drumsticks.Setup is very easy, taking only a few minutes despite the Lego-esque, pictures-only instructions.The height of the kit is adjustable to fit anyone's height from kids to tall adults.However, the pads themselves are unfortunately fixed in position relative to each other, so you can't adjust their angle or move them around individually.Personally, I'd like to be able to set the cymbal pad higher than the rest or swap the hi-hat and snare to play cross-armed, but there's no ability to do this.

There are two main gripes about how the drum kit performs during gameplay:they're too loud and (at least some models) aren't sensitive enough.Lots of after-market mods are becoming available to dampen the harsh clacking sound that the pads make when you play - gum rubber or neoprene inserts, padding for the drumsticks, I've even seen people tie socks to the pads (check it out on Youtube).Expecting the worst, I was pleasantly surprised at the sound that it makes - it's not that bad assuming that you've got your TV at a decent level to begin with.Of course, this is the only instrument controller that naturally makes its own noise (high-pitched and hollow like a woodpecker) and your roommates or neighbors may feel differently.

As for the sensitivity, there are (so far) three distinct production series of the drum kit.Look on the serial number stamped underneath your pads to determine which you have.The 1st generation "EL" pads have hard surfaces, making it easier to play fast notes but also requiring more force for each hit.2nd generation "QM" pads are softer and more sensitive, but also don't register fast hits as well.3rd generation "SL" pads supposedly are the best of both prior gens, but are too new to really evaluate.The kit that I received from Amazon was an EL, but so far I've been pleased with their performance, i.e. I'm getting good response on fast notes but also not requiring a whole lot of force on the hits.So take the after-market craze for pad modifications worth a grain of salt and judge for yourself before buying anything to add to your kit.

There have also been reports that the kit breaks easily, especially the bass drum pedal.Honestly, I have no idea how other people are playing (abusing) their kits, but I don't see a way for the pedal to snap in half as a result of normal use.I'm playing hard/expert level drums with minimal pressure on the pedal and it's showing no signs of wear or tear.And in case you do run into problems, EA has a generous replacement policy for all Rock Band game controllers.

While setup and takedown are simple enough, the kit still takes up a lot of room even when broken down into its pieces.It can easily fit back into the retail box, and honestly, there's not much more you can do to reduce the space that it requires when stored.Even completely disassembled, it's too big to fit under any couch or chair that I've seen.So plan on either leaving it permanently on display or else losing about half of the floor space in a double-door closet when stowing it.

So is this the end-all-be-all of drum controllers?No.And judging from the popularity of the game and its like, there'll surely be newer and better versions available in the future.But in the meantime, this kit will provide you with hours of fun gameplay - it's guaranteed to always be the "me next" instrument whenever a group of friends gets together to play.

PROS
*Lots of fun to play - makes the most of the Rock Band game
*Pads have good sensitivity and responsiveness (better than I'd expected)

CONS
*Tick-tock sound of hitting the drums may annoy some
*Pads are fixed in place in relation to each other
*Takes up lots of space when not in use

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Rock Band Drum Set X360

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Xbox 360 Rock Band Portable Drum Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this drum because it's cheap and I thought maybe at least something about it would be fun to mess around with. I have an ion, but my pedal is too loud and I also wanted to get something I could take with me on the go to a friends' house. Well this thing worked as well as the other reviewers have said. The pedal in this kit is better and makes less impact noise than any pedal on the market, and if you can stick the pads down in one place, they seem to work perfectly as well. The only downside is that you pretty much have to use this with the included sticks, because the pads are too hard. The sticks in the box are rubber to compensate. Using wooden sticks on these is too loud to stand.

Another added perk of this kit is that the controller can be plugged in standalone and used like an NES controller for arcade games, as long as the games don't use the shoulder buttons. Also, people who are interested in modding projects can use the little controller part as the "brain" for a custom drum kit. People have used this to turn their nice electronic kits into RB kits!

Let me reiterate again that the pedal on this is better than the stock ion pedal in terms of noise and equal in function. Get a 1/4" to 1/8" converter and use it with your ion.

In every way, this product is worth your money if you're looking for any of the above features.

ADDITION: I am adding this to the review as a caution: the sticks that this comes with seem to be susceptible to breaking at the middle where they screw together. Now, I know that all drum sticks break eventually, but just be prepared to try to locate some rubber-head sticks as backups because you really can't play this too well with a wooden head.

UPDATE 6/29/09: The pedal for this is still working great, and I still use it with my expensive Ion drum kit. I play on expert now better than ever, and this pedal is very accurate and much easier to double tap to get those super-rapid beats. The official pedal I bought recently doesn't respond well at all to quick rapid pushes like this does. I even got a second portable kit just so I could have a spare, and the second one works just as well.

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Product Description:
Mad Catz- full-featured Portable Drum Kit for Rock Band is playable on virtually any solid surface. Designed to withstand over 1 million strikes, the durable rubber construction ensures the drumheads will outlast your frenetic drumming. Featuring an ultra-thin navigation panel for easy in-game setup, a pair of soft-tip two-piece replacement drumsticks and a remote kick drum pedal, everything you need to play drums is included. Easy to assemble and play and even easier to fold away for quick storage, when you don-t have ample room to rock with the full-sized drum kit, reach for these tabletop drums and rock like there is no tomorrow.

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