Casio LD-50AD Touch-Sensitive Digital Drums with Guide Lights and AD-5 AC Adapter

by Casio

Product Features

• Lighting Guide System for easy learning
• Lightweight and portable
• Loaded with rhythms and sounds
• Includes drum sticks
• Headphone jack for privacy

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8.7 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000063XP1
• Item model number: LD-50AD
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,886 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

After pulling the Casio LD-50 out of the box, we were first impressed by the sleekness of design. The shape is reminiscent of a Flying V guitar. There are red rings around each of the four drum pads that, in synchro mode, light up when you hit a pad. In lesson mode the pad lights up to guide you in learning to play. Casio's Lighting Guide System can be turned off and also has a dual-light play mode that combines lesson and synchro modes.

Casio has built into the LD-50 four sound-effects pads that can be changed to one of five different modes. The sound effects go from fun animal sounds to serious sci-fi and beat sounds. The LD-50 has 50 preset rhythms ranging from rock to jazz. These rhythms can be used for accompaniment as well as for interactive tutorials in lesson mode. You can assign each pad with one of 47 preset sounds. Casio has done some of the work for you and preselected nine different drum kits you can choose from to better suit your style of play.

We were quickly able to access all of the functions, and the clear layout of the display made it easy to know what mode we were in. However, while going through all the features we felt the dial operation was a little awkward and sometimes it took two hands to scroll through the menus. The only mode that was hard to find was the touch response mode. The touch response feature allows you to change the sensitivity of the pads so that it takes a harder or softer strike to trigger it. After a quick consultation of the informative user's manual we were able to customize the LD-50 within minutes.

This set is great for beginners and students. The synchro/start function allows you to trigger the beginning of a preset rhythm and tempo simply by starting to play. This limits stuttering starts and eliminates the user from having to wait for a good time to jump into the rhythm. The student or beginner will find that the LD-50 is lightweight and portable. It takes up very little room on the desk or tabletop. It has a built-in speaker with a maximum volume that is suitable for household use, but if you need extreme privacy you can plug in headphones. The LD-50 uses six AA batteries or an AD-5 AC adapter for power. The power adapter is not included.

Casio's LD-50 has enough customizing features to make it a very flexible instrument. We spent a lot of time exploring the different rhythms and sounds. The LD-50 would be a good learning tool for any aspiring percussionist or a great addition for anyone looking to keep skills sharp. --Brian Vandiver

Pros:

• Lighting Guide System helps beginners improve skills
• Lightweight and portable
• Loaded with rhythms and sounds
• Includes drumsticks
• Headphone jack for privacy

Cons:

• Dial operation awkward
• Two hands required for menu operation

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You get what you pay for., December 2, 2003

By 

Thomas J. Althoff (Greenwood Lake, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casio LD-50AD Touch-Sensitive Digital Drums with Guide Lights and AD-5 AC Adapter (Electronics)

I picked up an LD-50 at the local music store for $50. I don't think anyone would buy this expecting digitally sampled drum kits. But for $50 you can bang around and have a lot of fun. I have no sense of rhythm and 10 minutes on this thing has tightened up my timing considerably.

Mine came without a manual. The Amazon reviewer mentioned how hard it was to find the touch sensitivity setting until he checked the manual....I sure wish he told us all how to access the sensitivity setting.

IF ANYONE HAS ONE OF THESE AND CAN TELL ME HOW TO CHANGE THE SENSITIVITY LEVEL I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!!!

Please e-mail the info to me at:
a l t h o f f @ v e r i Z o n . n e t
(delete all the spaces between the letters)

I have to agree with Lori... Casio support is nearly non-existant. No way to e-mail them. Though they advertise having online manuals they do not have the LD-50 manual online. Call them and be prepared to wait on hold forever.

Come on Casio...you guys were once the leaders in low cost consumer electronics...how about some customer support?

3.0 out of 5 stars Customer service skips a beat, August 1, 2003

By 

Lori from Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Casio LD-50AD Touch-Sensitive Digital Drums with Guide Lights and AD-5 AC Adapter (Electronics)

The LD-50 is a great product . . . but the customer service from Casio just doesn't keep the beat. When using the web for technical support, the page on the company site simply says "page not found." When calling for customer service using a number found on the site, the caller calls one number, then is instructed by a non-native English speaker to call a second number, and then instructed to call a repair facility in New Jersey. When calling that number, if the phone queue is full, no matter the time of day, the caller will just be disconnected. So be careful: the purchaser will have difficulty obtaining any kind of information on his or her product. So this buyer recommends a purchase of an inexpensive instrument that can be repaired through a local music store where you and your music keep time. Don't mess with this company's so-called customer service.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LD-50 User's Manual, August 29, 2005

By 

C. Lindsey "bandstandmusic" (Lufkin,TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casio LD-50AD Touch-Sensitive Digital Drums with Guide Lights and AD-5 AC Adapter (Electronics)

After many hours of Internet searching I found a User's Manual for the LD-50 that can be downloaded in PDF format and printed. The website is:

http://www.casio-europe.com/euro/support/emi_manual.html