|
If you really want the best scores and most fun with Rock Band.the Ion drum set is a must. Adding the third cymbal also makes it feel like you are really playing the drums. The set is sturdy and the pads are incredibly responsive. Set up and adjusting to your playing style will take some time but definitely worth it in the end.
Each individual pad weighs a couple of pounds and the strike zone is made of a rubbery/leathery material. This kit probably weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-40 pounds, while the other kits might be around 10 pounds. You won't be picking this thing up with one arm and tossing it into the corner. The kit does come with quite a few zip ties for you to do this and it'll only take you about five minutes, but it's still annoying. They're registering every hit and don't have any issues with double-registering a single hit.
It's made completely out of metal, so it probably won't break on you too quickly, but the feel of it is just terrible. When playing right-handed you can bang the green cymbal at the end of your drum fills in RB2 but, playing lefty, your only option is to bang the red drum pad. The pieces are all clearly marked and the intructions are written in plain english with big colorful diagrams. Each individual drum and cymbal has it's own wire (to connect it to the "brain", which is the XBox controller that sits in the middle of the kit).
Even so, I felt stifled by the Guitar Hero World Tour (herein referred to as GHWT) drum set. My biggest gripe would be the mess of wires. I'm going to break this up into parts so that it flows a little better.SETUP:Setting up the drum kit was fairly straightforward and easy. I did some research on upgrade pedals and it was going to cost me $120+ to get a decent pedal that was compatible with the GHWT drum kit (most upgrade pedals are only compatible with RB2 drum kits).
They were pretty rough cut and the wood was splintering at the bottom. I received my Drum Rocker yesterday and, after nearly six hours of straight play, I can tell you that I haven't the slightest bit of buyer's remorse (I played both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour). I don't imagine this thing breaking down anytime soon. So, in that aspect, this kit doesn't fully support the "lefty flip".PEDAL / DRUMSTICKS:This is the category that made me give this kit only four stars. A hit on green is a hit on green.
That solution is a little unrealistic if you plan to use this drum kit frequently.DRUM PADS:Man, these things are sturdy. So the cymbals are really for decoration and play style preference. Again, it all depends on how you like to play.My big gripe about the cymbals is that you can have a cymbal for every color except for red. My main problem was that the flimsy pedal was keeping me from completely moving up to Hard on drumming. They do sell an add on cymbal so that you can have three (the kit only comes with two) but I don't see much need for that. While speaking of wires, I should also mention that this kit is NOT wireless and requires you to plug it into the XBox in order to play.Another thing worth mentioning is the size and weight difference between this kit and the standard RB2 and GHWT kits.
My GHWT kit started flaking after playing a few songs and you can actually rub off flakes from the strike zone when you touch it. But folding it up requires you to untighten the screws from every piece you want to "fold" and then retighten the screws when the piece is in it's folded position. The pads are also 100% accurate. These wires are significantly longer than they need to be and so you'll have to spend some time trying to wrap them up and hide them. The pedal is awful. Playing RB2 and GHWT with this kit is a totally different experience.
That's enough story. The $299 price tag can be tough to swallow but if you want the best possible drumming experience while playing a band game, this is it. It takes about an hour due to all of the pieces but it's a one-man job and not at all complicated. If you leave them level then, yes, you'll have to hit the cymbal and then work your drumstick around it to get back to the drum pads.I should also note that the cymbals are pretty much optional. So for lefties like myself the experience will be a little different than it is for righties.
You might be put off by the $299 price tag but when you put them next to your GHWT or RB2 drum kit, both of which sell for nearly $100, you'll be able to easily justify the price difference. If you have a small living room (like I do) storing this thing away is a nightmare. It's three times the price for ten times the quality. It's also roughly 1.5 to 2 times bigger. For that, I figured I may as well spend the few extra bucks and get a whole deluxe drum kit. I imagine it would obstruct my view of the television and won't add much to the kit beyond aesthetics. I'm getting pretty good at the games, but outside of that I've never touched a drum set.
There's no difference between hitting the green cymbal or the green drum pad when playing the game. They say you can fold it up for easy storage and, yes, that's true. As a result, I've been playing with the gimmicky Rock Band 2 aftermarket drumsticks (see Rockband Rubber Tip Drum Sticks - Yellow Flames). But, if you're serious about drumming like a rock star and can afford a little discretionary spending, I believe you'll be satisfied with your purchase.
Now, I must tell you that I am not a professional drummer by any stretch of the imagination. There's virtually no resistance when pushing the pedal down and it sounds like a door hinge. I'm going to end up having to upgrade to a Rock Pedal.The drumsticks were also a let down. Yes, they are stiff, so you won't be able to strike through (one of the more common complaints) but I just tilt the cymbals downward which allows me hit the edge and drop my arm back down to the drum pads in a fluid motion. What I like about those is that they come with rubber caps to put on the end of the drumsticks. I've yet to drop a note and it picks up every hit no matter how far off to the edges I am.CYMBALS:I've read quite a few complaints about the cymbals but they honestly work great for me. Let's get on to the review. This really dampens the sound of you hitting the drum and lets you focus more on the music coming from the television.OVERALL FEELING:Great drum kit.
That can be pretty time consuming and nobody wants to move the pieces around once they've found their most comfortable setup. That won't be happening with this kit. I played a few songs with them and just couldn't get comfortable. But don't forget the other little things that you may want to buy that will cost you extra:- Upgraded bass pedal: $70+- New drumsticks: $10 - $15- Drum throne: $45 - $50- Third cymbal: $50This premium setup gets expensive fast.
On our weekend jam sessions I used to sing because my buddies don't care to. maybe a bit noisy. I was a bit nervous ordering this drum kit because I was afraid of Ion's tech support which, from other reviews, seems to be terrible. The construction is good, combining metal and plastic. After two months of abuse it's still kicking just fine, there's obvious markings on the drum heads but that's expected. I've put down the mic in preference for playing the drums now. I've heard the bass pedal is sub-par from other reviews but I find it adequate.
I immediately took it to the free for all drum trainer in Rock Band and went nuts with it. I took a chance and put my money on Amazon to help me if anything went wrong.I've had this kit for 2 months now and it is unreal with Rock Band. I've got a Rocker Pedal on order so we'll see how that goes.Once you're up and running there's really nothing you have to do within the game, it's plug and play. It's so much fun.The kit is extremely sturdy and yes, takes about 40 minutes to put together. The drum pads are very responsive and we beat the hell out of them. You actually feel like you're really drumming, very cool. Knock on wood this set will continue to rock.If you've got the money and you're still using the stock drums, set them aside and get this kit.
I haven't had any issues with the cymbals, pads are much better quality, great right of the box. I have been thinking about buying this for a while now and pulled the trigger on it about a month ago. The only issue i have is that that the foot pedals sticks slightly if I press it down at an angle. There is no comparison between it and the regular drums. Way better in every way. I really need to play a lot more to tell if it is really an issue or not. [.].
Well, I'm pretty critical of things, and a real stickler for quality and I'm extremely impressed by this product. Oh yes, you're reading this wondering should I buy, and I would say most definitely. I kicked around the idea of purchasing this for several months before pulling the trigger. To my amazement, it's very sturdy and for a product that's 12% the price it feels to be about 50% of the quality (That's a win in my book). Rockband 2 is just Soo much fun now, this drumset is a real treat to play on. I was at Sam Ash last week playing on the Roland TD-9 (MSRP $2500) and I really liked it. Where was I going with this.
the fact that everything can be adjusted (angle / height of drum heads) is amazing. I suppose I was skeptical because of the high price tag, like what if it sucks, did I just waste $300. The overall feel of this drum set, the recoil, the bass pedal, the cymbals. I thought, man that was a bad idea, my ion drum rocker is going to feel Fisher-Price like after that. There are ways to rig a Roland setup into your XBOX, but it's not worth the money. It takes a game that I loved playing before and makes it 10x more enjoyable. I'm just upset that I waited so long to pick one up.
|
