Customer Reviews

ION Audio Sound Session Complete Electronic Drum Set

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought these as a Christmas gift for my brother, who's in his 40s. He's been a wannabe drummer for a while and has had a few acoustic drums sets, at least one of very high quality--but he's never had an electronic drum set. (He's jammed with bands, but not played professionally.) He had to sell his last and best drum set and hasn't had a set for a long time. Plus he lives in an apartment. So I saw these at Target for $200 and decided to take a chance, thinking I could always return them if they sucked or were broken.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see him during Christmas and wasn't able to give him the set until 1 week ago, long after I'd lost the receipt, so I was really worried that he wouldn't like them.

Well, I got a call today, after he'd been playing them "hard" for a week and he raved about them. Things he mentioned:

- 100 sounds (each of which is tunable, which I didn't see mentioned in the specs, but was hoping for).
- He says he really beats the s**t out of his drums and he's really impressed that the set so far has no dings, and neither do the sticks or rims of the drums. This, he thinks, is because there is a tube of air around the edges that prevents them from getting damaged.
- Came with headphones (though I'm not sure of the quality). He said I could have mine back. :)
- Came with drum sticks (as mentioned, no dents so far)
- He likes the way the module lights up, so it can help you learn how to play
- Likes that you can remove the drum part from the songs that come with it, so you can "be" the drummer
- Likes that you can plug in an MP3 player
- Likes that you can record your own playing. It sounded like you could only lay down one track at a time, but he's not that familiar with sequencers so I'm not sure if that's correct or not.
- Said when he got it out of the box he thought the stand would be flimsy, but he's very impressed with it because it's held up really well.
- He said the pedals were made in a sturdy way too with some kind of special bushing or something.

Basically, he said it was the best gift he ever got ("the best gift a man could give another man" were his exact words), so all I can say is that if you're on the fence, get the thing! I should get one for myself.

Oh, I just remembered one more thing he said. He said, "If I'd known electronic drums were this good, I would have bought a set a long time ago."

Update 5/15/2010 It's been 3(?) months and he's still playing these things on a daily basis for a few hours a day. He claims, and I can see, that he's a much better drummer. Now he can keep time! (He refused to use a metronome in the past.) He now thinks in terms of patterns and fills, 16 beat measures, practicing with a part until you get it, trying different things to see which sounds best, etc. all concepts that he never got before.) On the down side, shortly after my first review, one of the foot pedals broke (he really does stomp the hell out of them though). He is pretty good at figuring things out though, so was able to fix it by himself. Had something to do with the way the contacts are made. Ever since his fix, it's still been going strong.

Update 2/27/2011 He's still, still playing them. They must be very well constructed.

this is my first drum set ever, as i had wanted to get my hands busy, and wasn't willing to pay more for the higher end brands. However after a couple of days playing, i realized i may have been penny wise pound foolish. Let me just pen down the pros and cons of this set per my views:

Pros:
1. pricing. it is definitely affordable and a cheap starter kit for ppl who are unsure if they wanted to delve in further, or just get a feel of drumming (where acoustic drums are just not viable)
2. adjustability. the set is such that all pads + footpads are similar, that u can pretty much interswitch anything and adjust the levels/bars anything to be wherever u wanted them to be

Cons:
1. Sound adjustment. the module is fixed, where u can only volume up everything @ 1 go, and not individually. also, there is limited programmability and adjustment on this module. but this is what u would come to expect for the price of this item,
2. Foot pedals. the pedals are too sensitive and sometimes do not match the actual feel of pedals used for bass drums. certain amount of adjustment needs to made for this
3. sensitivity of the snare/hi-hat. since it uses generic single area pads, the sensitivity and effects u can achieve from these 2 pads are limited. this sometimes disallows u from playing the more complexed beats, etc

In conclusion, i did feel that should've invested more on a better drum set (had my eyes on certain Roland sets, etc), but I was heavily budget limited. If you can afford, i would say go for a better quality electronic drum. Else this would do, if u're undecided drumming is something u want to do or not.

Great value for the money. It was a gift for my nephew who has just started taking lessons but as a former professional I was surprised how good the action was for such a reasonable set. The sound quality was also a lot better than I expected considering the price. Great set for a beginner.

I bought this for my husband a month ago for our first anniversary. We have both beaten on it and it takes quite a beating. It comes complete with drumsticks and headphones. It is kind of a pain to put together but when you do, make sure you tighten all of the screws so when you're playing it won't move on you. We have had no problems so far. My only complaint is that it didn't come with a built-in speaker of any sort so you have to buy your own or no one can hear it. Otherwise, it is a great buy!

Got this kit a few weeks ago and wanted to wait before writing a review. Over all this is a fun kit, But it is for beginners or a kid. I wanted to get something to get me going but didn't want to sink a lot into it. Here's what I think so far...

Pros: Inexpensive, sounds great with the provided head phones, comes with everything you need to get started, and assembles easily. Decent feel on the pads and good response for the most part.

Cons: Not a complete set. Missing a ride cymbol which is a huge thing. Also, as far as I can tell, the harness that comes wiht it is not expandable, so I don't believe you can add more pads. The other big time let down is the action on the pedals. They basically suck. The bass pedal over registers and so does the hi hat pedal. Makes it a little difficult to play.

I'm already starting to see some wear on the pads I hit the most (hi hat and snare)but this can be remedied by switching the pads around every once a while.

I've only had this kit for about a month and play it frequently, but I feel like outgrew it already. I'm looking to upgrade, but It is definitely something you can hand down to a nephew or little brother.

Overall, if you've never played drums and wanted to see what it's like, this is a decent and inexpensive way to get started and explore the instrument. If you are an actual drummer with even mild experience, keep looking. Again, this is a fun kit that I'm sure an aspiring young drummer would love. The parents even more.

If your kids like music that is a gret thing, however drums are loud so I decided to get my nine year old son one of these. first off it iis small enough to put in a corner of the room and take up very little space. It is built well enough that you can put a nice thug on the pads and no brusing or marks will appear. power consumption is very low. It sounds great in the supplied headphones and can be adjusted for special sounds. A great set of electric drums to learn from. the kick pedals look cheap but are holding up well. It takes some getting use to but once you have it you got it. It also has pre recorded sounds and has the ability to record as you play. the wire connections will make you go hummm.

For the price, this is a fantastic kit. The sound is phenomenal. I was really surprised by how realistic the drumming sounds are.

The kit is fairly small, but not so small that you feel cramped. The module unit is really cool. It plays different music for you to drum along with, and you can even turn off the drum sounds so that it's just YOUR drumming that you hear alongside the music. The module also allows you to speed up or slow down the tempo.

I think some of the negative criticism comes from unrealistic expectations. This is a $200 and under kit. It's for kids and beginners, or for people with more skill who want something quiet and simple to toy around with in an area where a big and/or loud kit isn't practical. Sure, if you're about to go on a worldwide tour as the drummer of a rock band, this kit is going to fall short! But for the types of people I mention, I think this is a fantastic kit, for an excellent price.

Just got this drum set as a birthday present - I've been a hand drummer for years (djembe, shamanic frame drums), and wanted to try "trap" drumming. I've had it less than 24 hours so far, but I do like it.

It assembles in about an hour and a half - lots of wing-nuts to assemble and tighten. It seems well built and the frame is sturdy. Once I found the on-off switch, I was in business with the included headphones and drum sticks. It folds up fairly compactly for getting out of the way in a small living room, and unfolds so the pads are reasonably well placed ("fold" means you can swing the pad support arms so everything lines up with the frame). I really don't know where they're "supposed" to go yet, but I'm playing with it, and it's very flexible with all those wing-nuts!

The pads seem to have only two levels of trigger - after playing the multi-thousand dollar electronic drums at a local big-box store, I can really tell the difference, but for me getting started it seems enough. The kick peddle has only one level of trigger, near as I can tell so far - the same for the high hat control peddle.

The sampled percussion sounds (110 of them you can edit into either the 5 user-configurable kits) cover a wide range, with maybe half a dozen sounds in each category or family, so you can build up what you like. The 10 standard kits are fine for me for getting started.

The sampled sounds seem to be really "low resolution" - there is a definite buzz on the trailing edge, especially noticeable on the toms. You won't want to use these drums for serious recording. (But if you're serious you already have a couple of the multi-thousand dollar sets anyway?) The buzz is not noticeable if you're really playing something - it only stands out when you do a single hit, or at the end of a riff.

There is a metronome with four different "voices", one of which is a human voice counting out "one - two - three - four", and 9 possible time signatures, and tempo selectable from 30 to 280 bpm. It also has 40 "patterns" - synthesized background music you can play drums to, with the included drums either on (so you can hear what it's supposed to sound like and try to play along) or off (so you can be the drummer). The patterns seem to cover a wide variety of styles.

If you want to play with or for others you'll obviously need an amp and speaker(s) - and all that stuff - mixers, FX boxes, etc. My stereo is on the other side of the room and all the inputs are used up anyway, so I'll need to get a little amp/speaker box at some point.

Overall, I really like it. It seems to be plenty to get me going, and if I do get rolling with trap drumming I'll get a fancier set and pass this along to my grandkids. Now I need lessons!

Update after a few days: The pads seem to have a lot more than just two levels of trigger, but it makes a difference where you hit them - the center is a lot more sensitive, and has more fine control. The kick peddle is just a switch - either it triggers or doesn't, but there's a tiny switch on the back of the control module so you can substitute out the switch-kick peddle for a pad-type peddle. Still lots of fun.

Great product for beginner, running through a guitar amp, pretty descent sound quality, nice to be able to control volume

First let me start by saying that this is my first drum set - until now my only experience with drums has been rocking out on the air drums while sitting at a red light.

That being said, for a beginner's drum set, this set is pretty awesome. The sounds are realistic, the set is fully adjustable, and it is just a little bigger than a recliner chair, so it can fit mostly anywhere. I really like that you can plug your MP3 player or other device with a headphones output jack to it and play along with the music on the device (I used my Blackberry Smartphone). The set comes with headphones so you can practice and play without disturbing others (a BIG plus if you are in an apartment complex). You can also output the sound to an external speaker (not included) if you want others to hear your playing. The set has a hi hat and bass drum pedal (you can optionally purchase a bass [kick] drum pad, but the bass drum pad is not necessary). It took me about an hour to assemble this sturdy little set (that was with my 4 year old and 8 year old daughters interrupting me a couple times), and assembly was not difficult. You can change the sounds of each drum pad - the unit has a decent number of sounds from which to choose when customizing the sound of each drum pad. All things considered, the price is pretty good for what you get in this set. If you're looking for a decent beginner's set at a good price, I would say this set is for you.

If I had to say anything negative, it would be that the pedals are a bit touchy and take a bit getting used to so that they don't sound off when you don't want them to. I found that they actually worked better for me when I played them upside down. I was able to control them better - but that might just be me. Despite the touchy pedals, I am not disappointed with this purchase, and look forward to many hours of fun rocking out on these things (when I am able to get my kids off of them). :o)