Customer Reviews

YAMAHA DD55 7 Pad General MIDI Digital Drum System

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a drummer in a 5-piece band that plays 2 or 3 times a month. I recently had the opportunity to try out the DD55 and was very impressed. Though I'm not ready to show up at a gig without my conventional set, the DD55 would be great for practicing with headphones or for taking to a rehearsal when I don't want to lug my set. It has a nice feel to it, the sound is good, there are lots of options, and it's just plain fun. And it doesn't cost an arm and a leg like some of the electronic drums do.

1) Perfect for practice. As a non-drummer, buying a full acoustic or digital drumset is too much of a commitment. This little digital set gives a good simulation of the feel of a full kit (with some limitations) for learning new rhythms. Someday I'll buy a full kit but for now this guy will do.

2) Jamming. Sitting around with some friends and some guitars, it is really nice to pull out some backing drum sounds quickly and painlessly. The hand drum sounds are excellent as well for this.

3) Recording MIDI. This guy goes MIDI out to the computer for recording MIDI events and playing them back with the sound card's drumset or anything else you want. As a MIDI drum controller it is very handy. I have also recorded the on-board drum sounds (run through a guitar amp with mild distortion and reverb) and the results were pretty cool.

I purchased this product about a month ago and I am very pleased with it. The features are amazing and I love the fine tuning details. I've read other reviews that only comment on bad sound quality, but I consider the sound quality to be amazing. Although you can't expect much out of the unit's speakers, headphones or other external sound systems (such as amps) make the sound quality amazing (the speakers are great for practicing though). I've also read that people are unhappy with the low volume of the crash speakers. I addressed this problem by lowering the volume of all the pads except the cymbals, and then just raise the main volume. Many people think that this kit would not be good for a stand alone performance kit. I whole-heartedly agree. That's why I made a set up with my real hi-hat, and my bass drum, and put the dd-55 in the middle. I've played in two concerts like this and it has been a hit. I changed the hi-hat pad into a china cymbal (or a ride bell). I put a splash on the hi-hat pedal and a cowbell (or anything else you want) on the bass pedal. This setup worked great. I also figured out a way to rig the bass pedal so you could hit it with a real bass pedal. In one of the songs, I threw away my sticks and started to play the bongos! Everyone loved it! I'm glad Yamaha made such an affordable proffesional quality drum pad set and I'm sad when I see that most people can't use it to it's fullest potencial!

As a solo artist and song writer, I depend on this piece of equipment almost as much as my guitars. I've recorded 4 succesful albums using the Yamaha DD-55 and it has never let me down. It's simple to use, durable, and dependable. Don't buy a cheap drum machine from Radio Shack if youare serious about your music, invest some money and you'll see the investment pay off as you start cutting tracks. It's the next best thing to a live drummer in the studio.

I am a complete beginner and I bought this drum machine used off ebay for about $120. The only problem I have with it is the drum stick hitting the pad is usually louder than the closed hi-hat sound and I have to change the sensitivity. Other than that, great machine and perfect for me to learn on.

This little drum machine is quite worth the money spent. I wanted something with midi, live audio, and foot pedals and this unit more the covers the bases.

I was actually experimenting with playing the drums while playing guitar and not only do the foot pedals lend themselves to that purpose, but the pads themselves can be played the feet when the drumset is set to "handperc". It is awkward to do, but it would actually work.

The "live audio" sound quality is just fine, and plenty of volume for at least acoustical instruments, which is what we were doing. I have used the Midi out to drive sequencing software which works fine. Assigning sounds to pads also works well using the thumbwheel.

The only shortcomings I have observed is that it should come with a power supply, rather than having to buy one separately, and it would be nice if you could save a few custom kit setups, rather than just the one "CU" that is built in.

All in all, I am very pleased with the purchase.

I am a beginner drummer and I recently got this set and love it! The sound alone is great, but connected to our JBL surround sound system through a receiver, it sounds like a concert. It has a variety of programmed songs and percussion beats to play with. Also, I like the feature that allows you to record yourself playing and listen to the playback. I highly recommend this drum set.

Works, is in good condition, and shipped promptly. But did not include 2 Two Assignable Foot Pedals as advertised. A crucial part of the kit. It's almost useless without the pedals. Had to quickly come up with a new, expensive solution. Came with batteries, which was good--was hoping for an adapter but it wasn't necessarily advertised as coming with that I suppose.

Years ago when I did professional drumming. I had a KAT-DK-10 with a Roland TD-7 drum brain. Together they cost me $700 used! Now granted that was when they were first coming out with electric drums. But recently I bought the DD-55 and have to tell you they put my first drum machine to utter shame. The drum sounds are very realistic. And the resonance on the cymbals was also very lifelike. Every signal on a pad was crystal clear. Check out what they sound like on u-tube. They really sound that good! Now here is something I really liked. About a hundred instrumental songs are programmed into the system so you can play along with whatever tune you choose. But here is what really impressed me. The system automatically finds the drum set that the drummer is using on that particular song so when you play along every note fits perfectly. In addition you can remove or add drum, cymbal, hi-hat tracks and instrumental tracks as you choose and then play along. And if the song is too fast of a tempo you can slow the tempo down to as slow as you want. But do not think you can download your own songs into the system. You will simply have to drag out your stereo and speakers and plug them in as an external source like I use to have to do in the old days. I also would recommend picking up a pair of JVC HA-RX700 headphones. Amazon has a great price on them. And these headphones are amazing. The floor button pads for the hi-hat and bass are OK. But if you are a serious drummer you will probably eventually want to replace them. You are pretty limited to what you can use. The only electrical percussion pad that works with this is the Yamaha KP-65 (also remember you will also need to purchase a drum pedal. But pretty much any drum pedal will work) and for a true hi-hat feel you will need to purchase the Yamaha HH80DTX. If you can purchase the DD55 new for $200 or buy this for $100 I would. What do I mean...I did!

Product was delivered fast. there is a scratch on the cover but the drum function is fine.