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Reviews
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Bontempi Rock Drummer Drum Set with Stool
by Johanne35 Here is a great wee Drum kit I got for my 3yr old son. He still loves it a year after. He has grown to be good at timing and co-ordination. The sound is bearable compared to single drums you can buy on there own. They sound like a real set of drums. What i really liked about this set is that it has an electric tune section in the ... centre where a child can choose a tune or song like 'twinkle twinkle little star', 'London Bridge' and many more. There are tunes your child will recognize and some that are completely new which i liked as they can learn a song from scratch. The stool when unpacked looks really tiny and i wondered if my son would want to use it much, but he did use it compared to a bigger chair and he still uses the stool at nearly 4 + 1/2 yrs old. The size is right for the drum kit. I have heard reviews good like myself and one i read that said that they thought the drum kit would be much bigger. I really don't know how big they expect a 3 or 4 yrs old to sit at. This is a great size for that age and even a 5yr old. My son is a tall 4yr old and he loves it. I have got to say, i have turns drumming away and its a lot of fun. Everyone that comes up visiting has to have a go. They can't help themselves. Another thing is, for learning what drum you should use within a song or if its the symbol etc on the electric board at front you get a bit at the top that has the drums drawn on with a red light that lights up to tell you which drum etc to hit so it goes with the tune and also gives the timing right. Its great for co-ordination, timing and memory. Enjoy. Read the complete review |
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Roland TD-12KV
by alsion I bought my TD12KV kit about 3 years ago and have played it mostly at home for practice. I have played in amateur bands on and off and am really not very pro as a drummer, although I'm told I hit things pretty hard! It is still in mint condition and no sign of meeding to replace any mesh ehads or other parts. ROLAND ... BRAND Roland are arguably the leading manufacturer of quality electronic drums kits. Yamaha comes close and probably does better budget (i.e. less than £1,000) kits, but if you are forking out for a good kit and have only ever heard Roland recommended. This was also my opinion from trying out numerous demo kits in showrooms - I did a lot of research before parting with such an amout of cash. THIS MODEL The Roland TD-12KV is an incrementally upgraded TD-10K from some years ago. It is better than the TD-8K (formerly the TD-6K) as *all* the toms are mesh heads (rather than rubber pads) and the "brain" unit is a much better spec (more programmed drum kits, patterns, customisable features). However, the TD20k (not sure of old/new model number) is better still as all the toms (not just snare) is variably sensitive across the head, the hi-hat is much better spec and the brain unit is slightly better. The "V" appended to the model means it has V-cymbals, which I think are pretty much standard across all models now. ROLAND HELPLINE When I first assembled the kit I couldn't get one of the pads to work. Turns out I hadn't connected something correctly. I forget what, but I sorted it out by calling the Roland helpline who are available to help with exactly such queries and a great plus in buying a kit. ELECTRIC VS ACCOUSTIC KITS I don't think electric kit will truly replace the sound quailty, look and feel of an accoustic kit. However, my TD12KV allows me to practice at home with headphones without annoying the neighbours (although the force on the bass pedal and general tapping is pretty annoying to those in the room below me in my old poorly sound-insulated house, so I don't practice late at night). The physical size is much smaller, so it fits in my room when an accoustic kit didn't. I can also fold it roughly down and transport it places far quicker than dismantling and setting up an accoustic kit. Finally for recording, you can have preset all the levels at home and just plug it in - no extended sound check, no need for an expensive studio with a separate drum booth, no need for a lengthy set up of mikes round the kit. When I recorded some tracks with my band (admittedly amateur, on an 8 track), no-one guessed (or even believed) it wasn't an accoustic kit. I have even seen a metal band gig with a Roland kit, albeit it coupled with proper real cymbals. NEW VS OLD ELECTRIC KITS I really think that a lot of preconceptions about electric kits are outdated. Complaints of "tennis elbow" and the annoying loud smacking sound from hitting hard plastic pads are largely solved by the forgiving mesh heads. The kits are physically smaller and range from low to high end, yet all have a wealth of customisable and authentic sounds. RACK The whole thing is easy to assemble as it's all screw clamps requiring no special tools and no brute strength. I shifted my cymbals from the recommended set up but now have everthing how I like. It came in white or black when I originally purchased my kit. The cables come with helpful identifying stickers (e.g. "Tom1", "Hi-Hat Control") and cable tidies, plus the main length of the cable is hidden inside the frame itself, keeping everything tidy and in working order. There are additional cable in points ("Aux1" and "Aux2") for adding extra inputs (e.g. extra drum pads) if you wanted to purchase extras for the kit. The kit does NOT come with a hi-hat stand, kick pedal or stool - standard ones will work. It does include a plastic headed beater for the kick pedal though, which is recommended in the manual to preserve the life the the kick drum. However, the Roland helpline also seemed to think it would be perfectly fine to use my own beaters (as I have a double bass pedal), and I can't see why this wouldn't be fine. TOMS There are three toms per a standard drum kit set up. On this model, they are small mesh heads which detect well how hard the pad is hit and change the sound accordingly - you can really demonstrate this by playing ascendingly loud rolls, for example. The rims make different sound- usually an authentic metallic noise as if you had really hit the rim of the drum, but on some pre-set kits this is programmed to be a cow bell, tambourine, a weird sample, etc. The mesh head also makes it feel like hitting a real drum skin, i.e. the stick doesn't bounce back at you, so it's good practice for playing an accoustic kit. You can replace the mesh heads if they wear out without replacing the entire pad, and you can also tighten them (using a lug key, like tuning a tom) to get the required amount of "give" in the skin of the tom. SNARE The snare is a bigger than the toms and additionally detects where on the pad it is hit i.e. in the centre or towards the edge. This makes for a powerful and clever pad indeed! You can also play proper rim shots by holding the stick across both sides of the rim. BASS/KICK DRUM I understand that this drum is meant to be sensitive to where on the pad you hit it, but I haven't meddled with this feature much (nor needed to). It does detect well how hard you hit it, allowing you to play soft then loud etc as with every other thing on the kit. V-CYMBALS The predecessor non-"V" cymbals just had the one sound for hitting the main part of the cymbal and another for hitting the bell. Additionally V cymbals detect how close to the centre or edge you hit the main part of the cymbal. You can also catch the cymbal to stop the sound dead (it has a sensor underneath where your fingers grab), like a real cymbal. Overall the cymbals are the least successful part of the kit as, even with these features, the sound from them tends to sound quite uniform each time you hit them and you only have one ride and one crash cymbal (excluding hi-hats) to choose from (unless you buy additional pads and add them). They still do an excellent job though. HI-HAT The hi hat has a bottom control unit and a top cymbal (the TD20k has bottom and top hi-hat cymbals). It fits on a normal hi-hat stand, without needing the fitting for the top cymbal. As all the input triggers (drum and cymbal pads) can be set to how sensitive they are, the the hi-hat can be set to when it is open or closed, you can really fine tune the feel. This means you can almost recreate all those subtle open/closed hi-hat sounds you would get from an accoustic kit e.g. trashy loosely shut, tight closed, or disco ascents on opening the hi-hats. This takes a bit of fiddling with on set up though. BRAIN UNIT The ability and features offered by the brain far exceed the ability or needs I have, and I can't do justive to it in my review. As an overview, there are 50 pre-set drum kits from normal rock or jazz kits, to orchestral percussion, techno electronic, retro 80s, echoey stadium rock, Indian sitar and tabla, etc. There are also many many more preset 4 to 20 bar sample tunes to play along with, and you can change the tempo on them. Accompanied or not you can activiate the metronome which can click differently every X beats or other custom fetures. You can program your own kits from the huge wealth of sounds - which includes drums of all diameters and depths, made of different types of woods or metals, in different types and sizes of rooms (e.g. a huge stadium, a studio booth, a bathroom...!). Wackier sounds include voice samples, hand claps, bleeps and boigs, sirens and guns, sound effects... etc. There is also a line in to play along with your own music and various lines out for recording. You can then pre-program changes of kits, loops, patterns, etc. I would recommend you read the manufacturer's manual online if you are a pro or with specific requirements - it certainly does everything I want, and more. AMPS I bought a mid-range keyboard amp when I got my kit. The small recommended Roland monitor would have been fine for playing to myself at home but not powerful enough as a monitor when playing live, or as an amp when practicing. However, if you won't be using it for either of things, you probably won't need anything but headphones (not supplied with the kit). The kit can also be put through the PA if necessary. OVERALL This kit is a dream and I can't see what more I could want from it. The TD20k might be higher spec but I don't need any higher spec, I don't have room for it's greater size and I can't afford it's greater price tag (although I've only played a TD20k in showroom briefly once). The TD8k (which I have played) is annoying due to everything but the snare being of rubber pads (sticks bounce artificially off them and make smacking noises) and the brain doesn't have nearly as great a range of samples and features. Whilst it might seem gimicky to have novelty/retro electric drum sounds, it makes playing on your own a lot of fun. It's an expensive kit but worth every penny to me. Read the complete review |
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Traps A400 Drum Kit
by eternalstudent Having accidentally found the Traps A400 online whilst browsing nothing in particular, I did something I don't normally do - got excited! I've been playing kits for the best part of 40 years and have often wished I'd learned the flute, but now, here was a kit I could almost carry in my back pocket. I took posession of my new A400nc ... last week and took it to my gig the next night. Verdict - more good than bad. The rack is of good quality and the clamps seem ok (but I always worry about slightly over-tightening and threading them). The toms are excellent and sound great - I am coming from a Pearl Masters which is powerful and the traps toms sound as good and come close to giving comparable volume. On the down side - The bass drum, or kick drum if you're an American wannabe, is completely useless unless miked when gigging (probably ok for the bedroom), I also needed to placed a sponge between the heads for dampening. It does not 'feel' like a proper drum to my foot, but I will persist and get used to it. The snare drum is a little too bright and I will probably go back to using a full-size drum. The ambassador head on the snare was visibly and audibly warped after only one gig - I do hit hard but heads should be able to take it. The stands are good enough for the price but if you are used to heavier gear you may want to buy the kit without this hardwear. Likewise, the bass drum pedal is a starter model. Since I need to mike the bass drum, I decided to invest in a set of drum mics to give me a greater degree of volume control over the whole kit. The toms and snare are so small that I invariably hit the mics with my sticks and when I tried to fit them on the underside of the heads they would not fit as the rims are not deep enough. I will try and attach something to give the rims more depth before my next gig. I leave the drums on the rack and ease them into my hatchback boot. The bag containing hi-hat stand, bass drum pedal, cymbals, mics, mic stands, leads, drumsticks, etc, goes across the back seat. Therefore in reality I do not save that much space over my conventional kit. This all might sound a little negative, however I just love the Traps A400 and will continue to use it and adapt it as necessary to my own preferences. As a beginner kit this is ideal, as a pro kit it is not ideal but is different, adequate, quirky, and a good deal and as far as I'm concerned, worth my time and attention. Read the complete review |
Drum / Percussion |
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Brand: Adams / Drum / Percussion / Drums & Percussion Type: Percussion - Marimba |
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Brand: Adams / Drum / Percussion / Drums & Percussion Type: Percussion - Marimba |
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Brand: Adams / Drum / Percussion / Drums & Percussion Type: Percussion - Marimba |
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Brand: Adams / Drum / Percussion / Drums & Percussion Type: Percussion - Chimes |
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Brand: Adams / Drum / Percussion / Drums & Percussion Type: Percussion - Chimes |
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Drum / Percussion / |
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Drum / Percussion / Pair of Indian drums; the small right hand drum called dayan and the larger metal one called bayan. |
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3 reviews Drum / Percussion / |
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2 reviews Drum / Percussion / |
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2 reviews Drum / Percussion / |
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| Drum / Percussion recommendations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... back next | ||
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