Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

I have been in several bands. I am mainly a singer guitar player but I dabble in several other instruments including drums. I have been using a Cajon with a mic and/or an alesis SR 16 drum machine for recording for several years. I have always wanted an electronic kit for recording and practice but havent had the space or money for one. Also I have kept my eye on these little drum pads as they have improved over the years. I always thought they were close but they were always either really cheap or too expensive and they never had the right combination of Layout, pedals, touch sensitive pads all for less than $300. I bought mine and took it home and immediately recorded a drum track for a song I was working on. Its great! The sound, layout and compact design are perfect. It a whole electronic kit in a small package.

Limitations, The speakers should not be used for much. From the heaphone out the sound is really good but you wont see the next number 1 song recorded on this machine, because the pads are all in one unit they came up with a supression function that drops a snare or other note if you hit it much softer than the hi hat or crash at the exact same time, I have already adjusted my playing and the suppression keep rouge pads from triggering pretty effectively.

We used it last night for band practice because our drummer coulndt make it. I used the preprogramed beats. Plugged into the PA and it sounded fine, kept time for us while practicing. I even reached over and threw in an occasional fill on the pads and dialed down the tempo to ritard the end of a few songs.

Also I played my drummers kit after practicing on this thing and I noticed a huge difference. By the time I recorded that first track getting a nice take all the way through my drumming chops had already improved.

Bottom Line. An amazing toy, really too good to be a toy, A useful practice aid, and for home recording adequate sound and expressive attributes.

There are also some cheesy songs built in. The sound of the other instruments is cheesey but I have already picked up a few drumming techniques by listening closely and emulating the drums. You can mute individual drum parts to figure them out then eventually mute all the drums and play the beats. I would say you could work with that and save yourself about 6 months of lessons. pretty cool.

Eventually I would like nicer pedals but I am actually getting pretty used to these and I might just stick with them. I stopped babying them and figured if they break they break and now I like them more. At first I was trying not to hit them too hard and stomp on them but I figured I would just mash it like a regular kit. They seem like they can take it. I think Replacements are only $15 anyhow.

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

This was a gift for my Three and a half year old Grandson. I know it is almost too fancy for him, but he really enjoys it. My son was in drum corp and was amazed at the sounds. The grandson will be finding more features that this thing has for quite a while.

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

Our grandsons in North Carolina began playing sets as soon as the equipment was unpacked. The Survival kit is a winner. Our daughter-in-law especially likes the headphones. Thanks for a great product.

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

I am a complete novice, and this may not be the best way to start drumming, but this drum kit is pretty cool. There are dozens of pre-set drum configurations and three set-ups you can program yourself from far more different sounds. The harder you hit the drum pads the louder the sound, but the volume on the overall drum kit is pretty low. So I ran the output straight into my bass amp and WOW! The two "pedals" are pretty cheap, but the upgrade kit with more realistic pedals is very expensive. Eventually I'll want snare stand and a throne, but for right now I'm having fun with the drum right out of the box.

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

This Drum Kit is great! We hooked it up to record and it sounds good. Everyone got involved in trying it out.

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

The unit doesn't distinguish between closed vs. open hi-hat when it exports the MIDI commands for a hi-hat hit...
(hoping maybe they fixed it with more recent builds, or distributed a firmware update somehow)
if not, it's not a big problem to me, as I'm using mine as mainly a learning platform, so the onboard sound will work fine for me.

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

The sound is good though you have to turn the volume up, better if connected to an amp or used a headphone. I am a novice and a great gear to practice your drum skills. Has a lot of features.
High hat controller, is an option. Over all, it's a great drum kit.

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

I use this product in an attempt to learn how to play the drums. It has lots to offer for beginners and professionals alike and performs well with many options. Its great because of its cheap price compared to the real thing and it has its own advantages including a quiter practice session that won't annoy your mom or your neighbors. It has tons of features that will keep you playing for years! The only negative thing I found so far with this product are the awkward foot pedals, but what do you expect?

Comments about Yamaha DD-65 - Compact Digital Drum Kit:

Impressive sound if driven through a large bass amplifier. Incredible range of sounds that should satisfy most drummers. For [$]how could you pass it up!