Ion Drum Rocker (Premium Drum Set for Rock Band)
So what happens when you’re obsessed with Rock Band and a “premium” drum set was made available for purchase? You buy it… for $300 plus shipping.
My package came in yesterday and I was pretty excited. The UPS man dropped it off on the front door and I lugged it upstairs to my room. The whole box weighed 33 pounds. So it’s 4 o’ clock and Judge Mathis was on TV. I set the box down and proceeded to open it. Inside, there was the actual box of the drum kit itself. And inside that, there were smaller boxes and some support bars for the kit. It took me around 20 minutes to unpack everything.
Boxes and stuff.
Yes, there was an empty box conveniently labeled “Empty Box A”.
Contents
So while I’m putting this thing together, the news was on. I realized an hour has passed and Judge Mathis was over =( Though, putting these kinds of things together isn’t really work and its something I enjoy doing sometimes. So, an hour and a half passes and I got the kit together.
Finished product
Some quick run-downs from a guy who never played drums in his life but made it up to Hard/Expert level in Rock band:
-The overall build of the kit is really great. It doesn’t feel like a toy at all.
-The response on the pads themselves are pretty accurate. Especially compared to my stock Rock Band drums. Fast rolls are not a problem. Rebound is also great. Oh yeah, they’re also velocity sensitive. The harder you hit, the louder the sound.
-The pads and cymbals could be a wee bit more sensitive. There should be a tool where you can tweak sensitivity levels. Hopefully someone out there can make a hack or something.
-I’m not sure if the pads are any quieter than my stock drums with the DrumShhh pads on it.
-During drum fills and the freestyle mode, the game identifies each pad and cymbal separately. So when you play, you aren’t limited to the snare, two toms, and a crash.
-As for the cymbals: I couldn’t get myself to hit the yellow cymbal on a regular basis. Coming from the stock drums, it was really awkward for me trying to hit something that’s off to the left side with my right hand while trying to hit the red pad with my left hand. The green cymbal however came off really natural and only took a few minutes to get adjusted. I don’t have the blue cymbal so I can’t comment on that. One thing to note is that I have to hit the cymbals pretty hard in order for it to go off. Maybe I’ll have to do some more tweaking.
-Then there’s the kick pedal. It’s all metal and its sort of loud especially when you play songs that have fast kick pedal action. The spring on this thing is wimpy compared to the first generation stock kick pedal for Rock Band. More work is needed to lift your feet up. The pedal doesn’t push your feet up as much as I like to but I find it ordeal for slow to moderate songs.
What I do like is that there’s these “spikes” toward the front of the pedal. You can adjust them and have it stick to carpet. I’m not sure if thats what its designed for but that’s how I’m using it heh. They included velcro but I don’t think I’ll be needing those.
Spikes
Anyway, after playing a few sets, I’m satisfied with the drum set. Still getting used to the fact that I have two cymbals in front of my face. So worth it? I think so… if you have the money. Oh right, I forgot to mention that this kit doubles as an e-drum kit if you happen to have one of those drum brains hanging around. My only real true gripe is that there isn’t a place where you can set your drumsticks. Either that or I’m totally blind.
And now for some miscellaneous shots.
