I've wanted to write a quick blog about my new and improved Rock Band drums since I got them. Sadly, I have been delayed, until now. I finally got some decent pictures taken a little while ago so I figured now is a good time to write something.
A couple of my Christmas gifts this year were 2 awesome cymbals to go with my ION Drum Rocker. I decided to go for the Pintech cymbals after seeing David_Shek's recommendation of them on Rock Band's forums. They were a little expensive, but hey I didn't have to pay for them. I got one 10" cymbal that I use for my hi-hat and I think a 14"--maybe 12", can't remember--to be used as a ride. I had one original ION cymbal that always worked really well and is responsive so I'm using that for a crash.
The way Rock Band likes to chart though, forces the ride to be between the crash and hi-hat because of open hi-hat notes. They often chart open hi-hat notes to blue. So that prevented me from placing the Crash towards the middle of the kit and keeping the ride all of the way over on my right side due to the quick changes between yellow and blue. Anyways, all this rambling probably makes no sense so I'll just go ahead and post the pictures I have. I think this should better explain my setup:
Overhead view I have actually moved my Ride over to the left slightly because it is still hard to get between the hi-hat and ride quickly. By the way, the yellow cap there on the ride isn't accurate. It's really blue, I just lost my blue cap thingy. More pics:
Side view Damn, my pads look beaten in this pic. I got them used from my friend so I'm not the culprit here. You can kind of see the angles that I have my two toms here. It's actually a little steep and I'm thinking of changing it soon but it's currently the same as it is here in the pic. Moving on:
Pedals This is obviously my pedal. It's pretty good, a lot better than the other one you can see there in the background. That ION stock pedal is actually pretty crappy. It holds up well I guess. Anyways this new pedal is just as easily pressed as the stock ION pedal without all the noise and sticking. There does seem to be a different timing to this pedal though that I had to get used to. Once I did though, all is well in Rock Band Land. Continuing:
Essential headphones If you have never tried playing Rock Band drums with headphones, I couldn't recommend it more. There are some drawbacks such as not being able to wear a mic while online and not being able to hear friends you may be playing with. But at the end of the day the experience is so much better in my opinion given the right conditions. By the way these are Sennheiser EH-250's. Not the best noise canceling but they are closed back and have great bass. They are also light weight which is great. They get the job done nicely.
Well I think that's all I have to say. I want to go out with a bonus picture though... of muh kitty cat.
I've wanted to write a quick blog about my new and improved Rock Band drums since I got them. Sadly, I have been delayed, until now. I finally got some decent pictures taken a little while ago so I figured now is a good time to write something.
A couple of my Christmas gifts this year were 2 awesome cymbals to go with my ION Drum Rocker. I decided to go for the Pintech cymbals after seeing David_Shek's recommendation of them on Rock Band's forums. They were a little expensive, but hey I didn't have to pay for them. I got one 10" cymbal that I use for my hi-hat and I think a 14"--maybe 12", can't remember--to be used as a ride. I had one original ION cymbal that always worked really well and is responsive so I'm using that for a crash.
The way Rock Band likes to chart though, forces the ride to be between the crash and hi-hat because of open hi-hat notes. They often chart open hi-hat notes to blue. So that prevented me from placing the Crash towards the middle of the kit and keeping the ride all of the way over on my right side due to the quick changes between yellow and blue. Anyways, all this rambling probably makes no sense so I'll just go ahead and post the pictures I have. I think this should better explain my setup:
Overhead view I have actually moved my Ride over to the left slightly because it is still hard to get between the hi-hat and ride quickly. By the way, the yellow cap there on the ride isn't accurate. It's really blue, I just lost my blue cap thingy. More pics:
Side view Damn, my pads look beaten in this pic. I got them used from my friend so I'm not the culprit here. You can kind of see the angles that I have my two toms here. It's actually a little steep and I'm thinking of changing it soon but it's currently the same as it is here in the pic. Moving on:
Pedals This is obviously my pedal. It's pretty good, a lot better than the other one you can see there in the background. That ION stock pedal is actually pretty crappy. It holds up well I guess. Anyways this new pedal is just as easily pressed as the stock ION pedal without all the noise and sticking. There does seem to be a different timing to this pedal though that I had to get used to. Once I did though, all is well in Rock Band Land. Continuing:
Essential headphones If you have never tried playing Rock Band drums with headphones, I couldn't recommend it more. There are some drawbacks such as not being able to wear a mic while online and not being able to hear friends you may be playing with. But at the end of the day the experience is so much better in my opinion given the right conditions. By the way these are Sennheiser EH-250's. Not the best noise canceling but they are closed back and have great bass. They are also light weight which is great. They get the job done nicely.
Well I think that's all I have to say. I want to go out with a bonus picture though... of muh kitty cat.
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