Customer Reviews

AK Rock Box Gaming and Storage Ottoman with Drum Lift (Black)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We purchased this based on the need to "clean up" the Rock Band room. The other reviews were pretty good and it looks sharp online. We ordered on a Sunday and it arrived on Wednesday.

First impressions were good. Although quite heavy, it DOES look sharp, feels nice to sit on and holds a bunch of stuff. I put two wireless guitars, Rock Band 2 wireless drums and pedal, the mic, and a half-dozen controllers and remotes into the box with no problem. Once closed, visitors would never realized how addicted you are to fake plastic rock.

The Rock Box's internal drum support frame seems like a great idea, and it is, but needs two kinds of improvement. First, the lid closes at a low angle. This "clips" the front edge of my Rock Band 2 drums, making the box very tricky to open without damaging them. I picture a visitor just pulling the box open without knowing and SNAP--dead drums. That's the weakest part of the design and could be overcome by adding a little more depth to the box itself.

Once you open the box, the hinged drum support rises and "locks" about two feet up. The range of motion ALLOWS for a few more inches of height, but sinks back to that one level. (As a 6' tall drummer, I "force" it to stay at the higher level by placing a block against the hinge base.) It would be EXCELLENT to improve the support structure, which seems fragile, and allow multiple height settings. Both of those aspects compare poorly to the stock Rock Band drum kit.

Would I buy this again? Yeah, maybe, but I'd at least look for other options that handled the drums more elegantly. You could, for example, re-use the stock drum struts by putting sockets near the inside front edge, saving the cost of all that hinge engineering.

Pros:
- Exterior looks nice, comfortable padded top
- Easy to "assemble"
- Can fit many extras in the box, including controllers, games, and remotes

Cons:
- Lid edge "grabs" the green and red drum edges, a significant damage hazard
- Drum kit support doesn't "lock" at highest level, making it harder to use for tall players
- Feet could use pads to prevent floor marks, given the box weight

The Rock Box really does what it says. Having a nearby place to keep my RockBand equipment makes my family room look neater but still keeps everything close and convenient. Lined individual spaces for the accessories. The drum-set extension makes my game easy to use from the sofa. With the top closed, it is a nice-looking piece of furniture as well. Very well thought-out, and a great idea.

This thing is awesome!
Stores the pedal, mic, guitars perfectly and the lift for the drums is great.
Seems pretty sturdy.
It's comfortable to sit on for normal gaming, and lid works great to lean against when playing rock band (or just spectating).
I was worried it'd be too huge, but it's a great size.
Two things though:
It's listed as "dark brown". I don't remember that when I ordered it (I don't think there was a color) and from the pictures I assumed it was black. When the box came I was worried when I saw that it was listed as dark brown,
but it's either the darkest brown I've ever seen, or it's black.
The drum height isn't adjustable the way it is with the original stand, but it seems to be at a good height.

This ottoman is a good storage idea to "hide away" your Rock Band gear, but the main problem I had was that it is not comfortable at all to play the drums in front of it. When the drums are on their original legs, your kick pedal is positioned below the drums. When the drums are mounted on this ottoman, it is actually in the way of the natural and more comfortable position of the pedal. I needed to sit further back in order to get the pedal to feel right, and then I felt too far away from the drums. It would be better if they made a version without the drum lift to use just for storage. It is not difficult at all to pull the legs off the drums to put them away and slip them back on when you're ready to play.

I wasn't sure if this would work with Guitar Hero, being new to the genre I didn't know that Rock Band and Guitar Hero drums had different post widths. I tried my best to find out if this would work with Guitar Hero by contacting AK. First, there is no mention of the item on their website. Second, their phone number only went to a recorded message. Third, I sent an e-mail to their customer support department, and though promised a response withing three days, I never received a response. It has been three weeks now. I took a chance and purchased the item, checked it out, and discovered it would not work with GH. I will say that it seemed to be manufactured very well and was high quality. Sadly, I will return for a refund. If AK ever decides to design a GH version of the Rock Box I will probably buy one. I realize now that the likelihood of this being incompatible with GH, given the physical differences, should have been apparent, but putting a mention on the website and Amazon page that is similar to the warning on the box about "Rock Band Only" would have been very helpful.

One of the issues that kept me from buying Rockband was all the equipment that would sit out and clutter my den. The rock box is the perfect solution to this Rockband problem. I bought this for Christmas and have only been using for a few days but so far the entire family loves it. The drums pull out nice and they sit at a perfect height to sit at the couch and rock the drums. One caution; make sure you use the release lever on the left side of the handle before you try to store the drums. I didn't at first and one of the arms bent a little (no big deal and easily fixed). Pulling the handle up first before pushing the release lever makes releasing the lock easier.
Two guitars fit nicely along with the microphone and some extra controllers. I am sure I could find some problems with it or improvements but for the money if it lasts 3-5 years I am happy.
Overall I would recommend this for any one that wants to get rid of the clutter of rock band. It also works great as an ottoman to put your feet on while you are playing other games.

I had been eyeing the Rock Box for quite a while, as when it initially came out I thought
it was a bit spendy. Since then it has come down quite a bit in price. I finally caved
and bought it and was pleasantly surprised.

About Me: I typically play drums on hard and have a tendency to play the kit hard.
The regular rock band 2 kit has a tendency to drift on me, which I counter with a rug
and some hand weights.

The Rock Box is solidly constructed, and very easy to transition into drumming with. You can't
really tell from the description on this, but the lid doesn't come off, its on hinges that allow
it to slide forward, which i really liked since it kept everything together. One weird item not shown
in the picture is this odd thin pad that velcros to the bottom of the ottoman which is supposedly meant
to form a seat with the lid of the box. I dont see the point of this, and have put the pad in the basement.

Pros:
* Smart design, easy to take out and put away even for a lazy person like myself.
* Lots of room for other equipment, i put my two guitars, mic, mic stand in there
with no problems.
* Leather looks fine. I with they had it in the dark brown like it was originally advertised, but I
will get by with black.
* Special slots for guitars make it super easy to access them.
* No more instrument clutter!!!

Cons:
* This probably needs to be used like a coffee table considering its size, but the top is not
super firm. I'm shopping for a serving tray so that i could put drinks on it without them tipping over.
* Wooden feet could use rubber on the bottom to reduce kit slide and also to not scuff my wood floors.
* That extra seat pad thing is pointless.
* Although my mic stand fit okay since it was a straight pole, there wouldn't be a way to fit a boom
mic style stand.
* Still need to solve the kick pedal not being attached issue. As long as it is directly in front of
me its fine, but it tends to drift when off to the side. Might buy an after market replacement.
* Will not fit the add-on cymbal kit (rock box lid doesn't want to close with those attached. I hated
the add-on cymbals anyway, so this was not a problem for me. But if someone came out with add on cymbals that easily detached there is plenty of storage space for them.

I ordered this for my daughter and son-in-law. We were always scrambling to keep their nephew out of all of the equipment and keep him from pulling it over on him. This works well. It is a nice piece of furniture. It holds everything and has room to spare. It will provide some extra seating when the whole family is there for the holidays.

I have been remodeling my living room for the last year and the only thing left to get was a new coffee table. After getting rock band for Christmas and having it all over the living room this was perfect. The dark brown matches and I have put a wood tray on top of it for drinks and snacks. When playing rock band I just move the tray and we're good to go. I did have a little trouble with the first one I got. It didn't come with the bolts to put the feet on. The company was a little hard to deal with but amazon helped me out and I'm real happy with it. I do not have the problem as some with the top hitting the drums. For me this is worth the money.

ok, this product works as it was supposed but i get completely disappointed since it is black, i mean completely black also when the amazon announcement and even the box said it is dark brown.

i paid a lot freight cost since i am from panama so i cant think in sending back but if you have a brown decor in your room as myself this is not what you are looking for.

AC