"Drum Rocker" vs DIY Kit - Some Pros and Cons...

[PopSmith]

OK, I have been debating if I want to dive in and purchase the Drum Rocker or just buy a Roland, Yamaha, or Yoki kit off eBay and set it up myself.

I am looking for feedback as well as any additional pros/cons that you can think of that I didn't list.

First I will start with the Drum Rocker:

Pros:

• Already setup to work with RB1 and RB2.

• If you have a 360 you can get one as soon as they launch.

• Don't have to solder anything, a plus for some.

• Built by Alesis, who makes good quality stuff from what I gather and it's compatible with their "brains".

• Possibly cheaper than a DIY solution at $345 shipped. While the shipping rate may vary that is the "shipped" price I was given.

Cons:

• No satisfaction, which matters to some, that you wired up a kit yourself.

• Only two cymbals are included, most (all?) "real" kits come with 3 or more. An extra cymbal is $50 ($408 total with extra cymbal and shipping).

• No drum brain, so it is basically useless outside of RB unless you want to drop another $360 on the Alesis brain for it. This would bring the total, shipped, to $788 with the module and third cymbal or $725 with just the module.

• Temporarily only available for the 360.

• "Fake" bass pedal, it comes with a hi-hat pedal instead of a real one.

• Probably no "resale" value after the initial year, maybe sooner.

DIY Solution

Pros:

• Satisfaction that you wired the kit for RB. Some may want this, others may not care.

• The kit is as nice as you want, or can afford.

• Expansion, if necessary, is probably easier and cheaper than the "Drum Rocker".

• A "brain" is almost always included, which could eliminate the possible price disadvantage of the DIY solution vs the "Drum Rocker".

• Three (or more) cymbals

• Program any part of the drum kit to function as you wish. Want one of the extra cymbals to function as "Start"? Go ahead.

• Compatible with any console. While this is an assumed "Pro" the Drum Rocker won't be out for a bit for the PS3 or Wii. With doing it yourself it is available right from the get go.

• Resale value, as akwok pointed out, if you want or need to you can sell the DIY kit, either with or without the RB setup, for a reasonable amount as the drums are unmodified.

Cons:

• Soldering - May not be a problem for some, and it maybe a problem for others.

• Probably more expensive if you are just using the kit for RB.

• Takes up more room. From what I gathered out of pictures the "Drum Rocker" is smaller than a regular kit.

Again, feedback is welcome on this.

While I am doing this mainly for myself, as I have been debating doing this for a while, with the "Drum Rocker" coming out I am sure others have wondered some of the Pros and Cons to both ways.
_________________

[ ] Get a decent job to fulfill below goal:

[ ] Buy a real electronic or acoustic drum set and learn to play it decently.

[PopSmith]

OK, I have been debating if I want to dive in and purchase the Drum Rocker or just buy a Roland, Yamaha, or Yoki kit off eBay and set it up myself.

I am looking for feedback as well as any additional pros/cons that you can think of that I didn't list.

First I will start with the Drum Rocker:

Pros:

• Already setup to work with RB1 and RB2.

• If you have a 360 you can get one as soon as they launch.

• Don't have to solder anything, a plus for some.

• Built by Alesis, who makes good quality stuff from what I gather and it's compatible with their "brains".

• Possibly cheaper than a DIY solution at $345 shipped. While the shipping rate may vary that is the "shipped" price I was given.

Cons:

• No satisfaction, which matters to some, that you wired up a kit yourself.

• Only two cymbals are included, most (all?) "real" kits come with 3 or more. An extra cymbal is $50 ($408 total with extra cymbal and shipping).

• No drum brain, so it is basically useless outside of RB unless you want to drop another $360 on the Alesis brain for it. This would bring the total, shipped, to $788 with the module and third cymbal or $725 with just the module.

• Temporarily only available for the 360.

• "Fake" bass pedal, it comes with a hi-hat pedal instead of a real one.

• Probably no "resale" value after the initial year, maybe sooner.

DIY Solution

Pros:

• Satisfaction that you wired the kit for RB. Some may want this, others may not care.

• The kit is as nice as you want, or can afford.

• Expansion, if necessary, is probably easier and cheaper than the "Drum Rocker".

• A "brain" is almost always included, which could eliminate the possible price disadvantage of the DIY solution vs the "Drum Rocker".

• Three (or more) cymbals

• Program any part of the drum kit to function as you wish. Want one of the extra cymbals to function as "Start"? Go ahead.

• Compatible with any console. While this is an assumed "Pro" the Drum Rocker won't be out for a bit for the PS3 or Wii. With doing it yourself it is available right from the get go.

• Resale value, as akwok pointed out, if you want or need to you can sell the DIY kit, either with or without the RB setup, for a reasonable amount as the drums are unmodified.

Cons:

• Soldering - May not be a problem for some, and it maybe a problem for others.

• Probably more expensive if you are just using the kit for RB.

• Takes up more room. From what I gathered out of pictures the "Drum Rocker" is smaller than a regular kit.

Again, feedback is welcome on this.

While I am doing this mainly for myself, as I have been debating doing this for a while, with the "Drum Rocker" coming out I am sure others have wondered some of the Pros and Cons to both ways.
_________________

[ ] Get a decent job to fulfill below goal:

[ ] Buy a real electronic or acoustic drum set and learn to play it decently.

[akwok]

I decided to go for the DIY route. My TD-3SW and MSA-P are due to arrive in a week or so.

My thoughts:

It's $299 + $50 shipping + $50 for extra cymbals + $350 for a 'compatible' drum brain for the Drum Rocker. That's $749 in total. Also note that you might want to spend some extra money into getting a REAL bass pedal + trigger (not a hi-hat pedal) when you want to use it as a real kit..

A new Roland TD-3SW (the one with mesh snare) is $999. An assembled MSA-P is $80. So the total cost is about $1080.

You'll end up paying an extra $231 but you get a much better built kit and a lot more customizability. If you don't to splurge that much money on a TD-3SW, you can buy a used Yamaha DTXplorer for about $450 on eBay.

You should also factor in depreciation and resell value; the Drum Rocker is likely to be near worthless in a year or two, since it is reasonable to assume that a new 'uber' set for RB3/4 will be out by then. On the other hand, Rolands have been known to resell rather well..

[akwok]

I decided to go for the DIY route. My TD-3SW and MSA-P are due to arrive in a week or so.

My thoughts:

It's $299 + $50 shipping + $50 for extra cymbals + $350 for a 'compatible' drum brain for the Drum Rocker. That's $749 in total. Also note that you might want to spend some extra money into getting a REAL bass pedal + trigger (not a hi-hat pedal) when you want to use it as a real kit..

A new Roland TD-3SW (the one with mesh snare) is $999. An assembled MSA-P is $80. So the total cost is about $1080.

You'll end up paying an extra $231 but you get a much better built kit and a lot more customizability. If you don't to splurge that much money on a TD-3SW, you can buy a used Yamaha DTXplorer for about $450 on eBay.

You should also factor in depreciation and resell value; the Drum Rocker is likely to be near worthless in a year or two, since it is reasonable to assume that a new 'uber' set for RB3/4 will be out by then. On the other hand, Rolands have been known to resell rather well..

[PopSmith]

I agree with the "resale" thing as well as the pedal "problem" so I added those to the list. :P

[PopSmith]

I agree with the "resale" thing as well as the pedal "problem" so I added those to the list. :P

[xBaDxHackeRx]

[xBaDxHackeRx]

[akwok]

Oops. My bad.. editing.

[akwok]

Oops. My bad.. editing.

[Kyahx]

Really, the ideal solution would be for ION to sell the brain-alone, for ~$100. If the pads on the Drum Rocker work with a standard drum brain, there is no reason standard pads shouldn't work with the ION brain.

Go go consumer pressure? Try to get them to sell the brain alone.

Edit: They apparently already plan on doing this

[Kyahx]

Really, the ideal solution would be for ION to sell the brain-alone, for ~$100. If the pads on the Drum Rocker work with a standard drum brain, there is no reason standard pads shouldn't work with the ION brain.

Go go consumer pressure? Try to get them to sell the brain alone.

Edit: They apparently already plan on doing this

[gitarzann]

Generally speaking, it may be a good idea to wait until the Madcatz portable kit is released before making a decision. That portable kit has 1/8 jacks for the pads and pedals.

If you already have an electronic kit, or would rather buy a better quality kit, wait and see if you can buy 1/4 adapters and use that brain to connect an e-kit. I think the price for that portable kit is $60. so it may turn out to be an excellent solution.

As for me, I pre-ordered the Ion kit. I'm capable of DIY type things but in this case I wanted something that was ready to go out of the box since I'm in school and work full time. I know a lot of real drummers have put down this as a crappy kit but I'm willing to give it a try.

The report on rockgamer.com-- they got to play RB2 in a bar with Harmonix recently-- says that they were told that the footprint for the Ion kit is not much more than the RB kit. That's huge for me since I have very limited space.

[gitarzann]

Generally speaking, it may be a good idea to wait until the Madcatz portable kit is released before making a decision. That portable kit has 1/8 jacks for the pads and pedals.

If you already have an electronic kit, or would rather buy a better quality kit, wait and see if you can buy 1/4 adapters and use that brain to connect an e-kit. I think the price for that portable kit is $60. so it may turn out to be an excellent solution.

As for me, I pre-ordered the Ion kit. I'm capable of DIY type things but in this case I wanted something that was ready to go out of the box since I'm in school and work full time. I know a lot of real drummers have put down this as a crappy kit but I'm willing to give it a try.

The report on rockgamer.com-- they got to play RB2 in a bar with Harmonix recently-- says that they were told that the footprint for the Ion kit is not much more than the RB kit. That's huge for me since I have very limited space.

[Xusder]

[Xusder]

[leilong]

[leilong]

[PopSmith]

[PopSmith]

[Xusder]

[Xusder]

[PopSmith]

Updated the OP with the following prices that have been recently added to the "Drum Rocker" site:

The cymbal expansion - $50

ION Drum Throne - $40

Double-kick "expansion" - $40

Alesis DM5 professional Drum Module - $360
_________________

[ ] Get a decent job to fulfill below goal:

[ ] Buy a real electronic or acoustic drum set and learn to play it decently.

[PopSmith]

Updated the OP with the following prices that have been recently added to the "Drum Rocker" site:

The cymbal expansion - $50

ION Drum Throne - $40

Double-kick "expansion" - $40

Alesis DM5 professional Drum Module - $360
_________________

[ ] Get a decent job to fulfill below goal:

[ ] Buy a real electronic or acoustic drum set and learn to play it decently.