Review of Rock Band 2 Standalone Drums

So my rockband 1 drum kit has been through the wringer.A broken pedal, dented pads, and cracking legs ... the thing is showing its age.When I picked up the wireless drums I was hoping for a decent step up in quality, and Harmonix delivered.

Big changes: pedal, drum heads, and teh unwired.

The drum pedal comes with a stock metal plate, so you won't have to go to pedal medals to pick one up for yourself.Unfortunately Harmonix only half ... uh ... "did" it since the hinge, which is another notorious break point in the design, is identical to the rockband 1 pedal.Based on it's appearance the RB2 pedal is identical to the RB1 pedal, with only the inclusion of the plate.Don't expect wildly different performance, and if you really want to avoid a headache go ahead and purchase the pedal medal hinge replacement now to take care of the pedal's only weak point.All in all though, the metal plate is a significant improvement over the pure plastic of the RB1 pedal.

The drum heads are waay better this time around.They seem slightly larger, but don't take my word on that, and are made of a different material.Sticks have a really nice bounce off of the surface, and there are inner and outer rings to help you hone in on the center of the pad with every hit.The outer ring is slightly harder, more rubbery, and the inner ring has a shiny surface that has a very elastic feel to it.Playing on these, whether just tapping or really tearing into them, is a much better experience.You don't have to work so hard to get your sticks to bounce which is nice, and the *thwack* of drum on pad has been seriously quieted.The pads are easily the nicest upgrade, and you should have a great time hitting these things for at least a couple of years.

These drums are also wireless, which pretty much means they behave just like any other 360 d-pad.Nothing more to say than that.

Another reviewer pointed out that the sticks included with this kit are genuine Ludwig sticks, which is a nice bonus.Oddly my RB1 set came with some pro-mark 747's, which are slightly heavier and, to me at least, have a slightly better heft because of the weight.If you've been playing with the RB1 revision one sticks, which feel like they're made out of balsa wood, then you will love the Ludwigs.On the other hand if you have revision two drums with the pro-mark sticks you'll likely want to stick with them.

As noted elsewhere Harmonix didn't exactly reinvent the wheel with the RB2 drums, but all of the little improvements, and in the case of the drum pads a BIG improvement, make the drumming experience much more fun.The game itself is fodder for another review, but if you're a RB drummer you should do yourself a favor and pick this kit up.Honestly, you will not be disappointed.



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