Rock Band 2 Double Cymbal Expansion Kit

by Mad Catz

Product Features

• Crash, Ride & Hi-Hat cymbals. Game sold separately.
• Velocity-sensitive for precise drumming
• Adjustable height
• Easy-to-install clamps for quick setup
• Only compatible with Rock Band 2 Drum kits

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001G56I86
• Product Dimensions: 15.6 x 11.3 x 2.8 inches ; 3 pounds
• Media: Accessory
• Release Date: October 30, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,036 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #3 in Video Games > Wii > Hardware > Controllers > Drums
  • #4 in Video Games > PlayStation 3 > Hardware > Controllers > Drums
  • #5 in Video Games > Xbox 360 > Hardware > Controllers > Drums

Product Description

Mad Catz¿ Rock Band 2 Double Cymbal Expansion Kit provides the means for you to drum like the pros do with velocity- sensitive Crash, Ride, and Hi-Hat cymbals. With the easy-to-install mounting brackets, you have total control and can setup your drum kit in any configuration you see fit. Once your drum kit has been customized to your standards, you¿ll be all set to attack your song library with new vigor and achieve the next step in drumming perfection.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sounds like you're banging on the hood of your car! But..., December 19, 2008

By 

WouldaWon8 - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rock Band 2 Double Cymbal Expansion Kit (Accessory)

These do add a new dimension to the rock band drums. It does feel a little more like playing a real drum kit. So far, in the last 3 weeks, these have performed well as far as only dropping a note once in a while (you get what you pay for right?).

These are insanely loud man! It's like CRACK, CRACK, CRACK when you hit them. They're louder than the rock band 1 drums and not NEARLY as quiet as the rock band 2 drums. That is a major CON for me.

When my friends and I get together to play rock band 2 these are totally distracting to everybody else in the room, unless you play in a house and not an apartment where you can just blast the volume, that would be nice.

My solution was to put 1/4" neoprene material on the hitting part of these cymbals. It is a marked improvement. They have not lost any sensitivity and are now about as quiet as the rock band 2 drums. If you're going to use these that is a great solution. I bought a roll of this neoprene to pad a poker table I was upgrading and I used some of the leftover. By the way, you can get enough neoprene to cover these for like 5 [...] on ebay.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice addition to the game, November 7, 2008

By 

Rawim (Palmdale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Rock Band 2 Double Cymbal Expansion Kit (Accessory)

I recently purchased this add-on for the Rock Band 2 Drum Set. Over all I really like it. I believe it lends to a more enjoyable/realistic playing experience.

Some Pros: You get two cymbals which is nice and fills out the drum set with out making it too cluttered (Which is why I opted for two instead of three). When you use the freestyle drum trainer, the cymbals work just like cymbals while all the pads act just like drums which is kinda cool. You do have some options as to the height and location of the cymbals. The response seems to be good and I haven't had any problems with them not registering hits. They do appear to be velocity sensitive also meaning the harder you hit the louder the sound in the game.

A Con: The initial setup is kind of tough. You basically get a two piece plastic clamp that you use to secure the cymbal "pole" to the rest of the drum set. The clamp snaps together in two places and then you have little "wing-nut" bolts you use to tighten everything down securely. Those "wing-nut" bolts are hard to use because the distance from the place you screw in the "wing-nut" bolt to the hole it goes in, is kinda far. SO you have to squeeze on the clamp to get the bolt in there. Maybe is was just my setup but I don't think a child would be able to do it on their own.

Other then that I am enjoying this addition to my gaming experience.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice expansion kit, November 21, 2008

By 

jinglehimerschmidt (CO, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Rock Band 2 Double Cymbal Expansion Kit (Accessory)

Overall these are a great expansion to your Rock Band 2 drumkit (they don't work at all with Rock Band 1 Drums). The cymbals seem to be solidly made and can withstand some decent beating. I agree with the previous review about the set up being somewhat difficult. You need to be careful to put the wingnut in before clicking the two pieces together. But once everything is on they are very stable and feel like a normal part of the kit.

Game-wise they make for some nice playing in rock band. The cymbals take over two of the colors and you choose which by choosing which plug on the back of the kit. The caps on the cymbals can be changed depending on which color you are using them as. When you plug them in for rock band the cymbals become cymbal sounds while the pads they replace become toms.

These also work with Guitar Hero World Tour. However, it should be noted that you probaly want Yellow and Blue with World Tour while you probably want Yellow and Green with Rock Band because of the way you kick off star power. That means some annoying switching and a bit of confusion after switching if you only get the 2 cymbal kit. I kind of wish I woulda gotten the three just to avoid that.

But they definitely make drumming more fun, more immersive, and more difficult if you want it to be since you can now play a cymbal when it calls for one rather than just another pad. Some Madcatz stuff is a little hokey but these are legit.

4/5 - docking one for initial setup and annoying switching of colors