Customer Reviews

Rock Band 2 Standalone Drums

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a great game - I am in my late 30s, and definitely NOT a rocker at all (nor a gamer, either). I wanted just the drum part of Rock Band 2, and it's nice that this is available (I wasn't going to use the mic or guitar anyway, so why spend the extra money? You can always add it on later). Also, with the massive popularity of the full Rock Band 2 suite, this was much easier to find (this was in stock at Best Buy, and they told me they had been all sold out of the full Rock Band 2) Setup was easy, play is fun, here are a few things that I noted:

A) On the setup sheet, of course the first step is to lay everything out and make sure you have all the materials. One of the materials I saw that was listed looked to be 8 tiny screws. Again, there was only a picture of them, and I didn't see them in the box at all. And, there was no reference to them at all in the setup directions. Also, it didn't look as if I needed them, so I ended up not worrying about it. Perhaps it was one of those things that was planned to be included in the final product, but was pulled at the last minute? Or maybe I misread the directions? But again, due to the fact that there was no other reference to these screws or a place I could use them, I wasn't worried.

B) A Wii Remote does not have to be "implanted" into the drum kit (like Guitar Hero World Tour...?). These drums come with a built in transmitter. There is, however, a small gray box included that will plug into one of your two USB ports in the back of the Wii. This is how the drums communicate with the Wii. I did have to use a Wii remote at first when choosing the actual disc (from the main Wii screen)

After drumming for a total of about 6 hours so far, I definitely have a greater appreciation for the drum parts of songs! You remember drumming along to some of these songs ages ago, and then when you actually have the drum track in front of you, you find out that it's a lot more complicated! I thought I had the drums to "Hungry Like the Wolf" *down* when I was 17! This cool drum set (along with the software, sold separately) tells me just how wrong I was.

I've played Rock Band a lot with the old drums and twice now with the new ones. The second version fixed the two big problems present in the first drum set, but also created two new problems.

Pros:
1) They are no longer so loud!! I love it! You can pound away and still actually hear the drum beats on the TV without turning the volume up to eardrum-incinerating levels.
2) The foot pedal is MUCH sturdier and, I'm sure, significantly less likely to break.
3) I love the black color. They don't stand out as sharply or look as ugly as the first ones did.

Cons:
1) They're wireless. Sounds great, but seems to interfere with the wireless guitar. Either that or it's a problem coming from my second negative point.
2) Synchronization is a pain in the BUTT. The drumming on RB2 in general seems to be shoddier than on RB1, even using the first drum set. Having an HDTV or a Flat screen seems to be more problematic than an older-style "normal" tv. There's something off about the drums in RB2. Even after trying to sync everything up you have to hit the notes a bit earlier than in RB1. Also, a lot of times my friends and I would be hitting the notes but they just wouldn't register. I'm not sure if that's a sync problem or a wireless interference issue.

If only they could have kept the functionality of the first set while fixing the noise and pedal problem. Sadly, it seems like no peripheral unit for anything can ever be just right. I'd *almost* recommend that you just buy the first drum set with silencers. Especially since these ones are so expensive!!

Rock Band 2 is a very addictive game and very fun. I play guitar and bass on expert but I wanted more so i bought the first Rock Band drum set, but it was horrible, very loud and a bad pedal. So i purchased this to continue playing drums. I find them a lot better than the first set. The setup is very easy didnt even had to read the paper. This drums are less noisy than the first ones but still a little bit loud. The pedal is much better but not perfect though. Synchronization is easy too I like the fact that you dont need to plug your wiimote on the drums. I recommend this.

I really love playing drums with Rock Band 2 and Lego Rock Band. I'm a 48 year old teacher and got the whole Rock Band set for my son for Christmas. He plays the guitar and I do drums. I used to play drums when I was younger and playing this has taken me back. I added the Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit so that I can play more like I was really playing drums. The experience is wonderful. I also bought a good drum throne (Pacific Drums and Percussion 700 Series Drum Throne) and a pair of sticks meant for electronic drum kits.

Here's where the problem occurs, and I haven't seen anyone here talking about it, but on other web forums I have seen people have this problem. The red pad, after the first week or so, began bubbling up in the middle. I checked for fixes and bought North Star Vinyl skins to try to fix this problem. With directions, I took off the pad and tried to glue back the rubber pad and then put on the vinyl skin. This didn't hold and the bubble is still there. The vinyl skin tore after one session. I still register pretty much on the red, but it's annoying when it hits. I also seem to have problems sometimes register with the foot pedal. If my foot rises up too much on the pedal, it doesn't register and I end up pumping my leg rather than my foot to insure the note hits, which can be tiresome.

Because of these problems, I decided to invest in ION Drum Rocker Premium Drum Set for about $300 (the link leads you to the XBox/Playstation 3 version but you can find the set for Wii online).

Playing Rock Band is amazingly fun; however, I will enjoy the experience much more with a drum set that is meant for real playing.

Excellent product. Unfortunately, I've discovered later that Rock Band drums doesn't work on Guitar Hero (Wii only).

We had Beatles Rock Band in the house for a couple of months using just a guitar. The game had brought enough fun that we decided to invest in the drums - which was a tough decision to buy a peripheral that cost more than the game itself. I am glad we did, because we have had a blast.

A few things to note - a certain level of skill and rhythm is necessary to use the drums! My kids picked up the sticks and expected to be "good" on the easy setting just like they were on the guitar. This is simply not so. It took them a fair bit of practice to get the coordination necessary to get a 'passing' grade. Still, now that they have it, they want to play every chance they can. Also, these drums DO NOT WORK with Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour game. We bought that and had to return it because of this incompatibility.

Finally, the drums themselves work wonderfully. They have enough of a dampening on them so you can hear the music from the game easily over the banging. If I had to change anything, it would be with the foot pedal. I have yet to find a comfortable position for it that either doesn't make my foot ache or feel like I am going to break it. Still, it has taken quite a barrage of kicking, and continues working great.

Do yourself a favor and get them. Yes, they are worth the money.

I got this for my little brother and he LOVES it. I played it when I came to visit and I think I'd rather play this then guitar! Highly recommended for kids with wii rockband!

I am having alot of fun with these drums and Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3. The only thing that is driving me nuts is the amount that this wireless drumset freezes or drops communication. Some songs it does'nt..... some songs it drops out 2-3 times. As far as quality, I'd rank the drums a 3 out of 10. They are pretty much only a "toy" and have no durability.

I have been using this item for over a year now, I don't have any complain so far.

This is a really fun game for somebody who doesn't want to seriously get into drums and spend tons of money on a drum set. They take up a lot less room and you don't have to know what you're doing to play the games. Like most games, I played it for about a month or two and now it just sits there, but it did offer great quality time for the whole family.