Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)>>> Summary
(-1 star on value, -1 star unusable pedal, -1 star noisy cymbals)
This Logitech kit is difficult to evaluate; one of the most puzzling products I've reviewed. Put simply, it's a significantly more adjustable replacement of the stock GHWT kit for 3x the price, which happens to be slightly less than the price of the Ion Drum Rocker.
The Ion Drum Rocker is more adjustable, quieter, explicitly supports RB, supports 3rd party pedals, ships with an additional pad (which makes playing RB easier) and a higher quality metal bass pedal for just $20 more. Granted, the Logitech kit doesn't suffer from some of the construction issues the Ion does (the Logitech kit is a one-piece, collapsible set - it's main advantage) although with the Ion you just get so much more.
Please have a read of my impressions below and comment if you think there's something I could be missing. As it stands, I'm just puzzled as to how Logitech could release this product at this price. If it were say, half the price then it would be a no-brainer. Sure it wouldn't be as feature-rich as the Ion though at half the price, understandably so.
The Good:
- Solid, one-piece construction means compact folding and storage is possible.
- Adjustable: orientation, height and tilt of cymbals, same for the pads. Height of the set is also adjustable.
- Pads are quieter than the stock RB set. Same muted sound as the GHWT set, which I prefer to the higher-pitched hit of the RB pads.
- Adjustability requires no tools.
- Rock Band compatible! Although to be expected given that the stock GHWT drums are as well.
The Not So Good:
- The cost is 5-10 times more expensive than the stock RB2 drums and 3x more expensive than the GHWT drums. If it came with a real pedal than I could forgive a big chunk of this as the after-market pedals are upwards of $100.
- Questionable support for 3rd party pedals. This is important because the included pedal is a no go for at least two reasons: GH logo on the pedal means you cannot play in bare feet or socks. The pedal has very little tension and because it's plastic, it slides around the floor.
- Without the big, rubbery GHWT-style cymbals to absorb the hits, they're really loud as they transfer the force of the hit through the structure of the set.
- It can get crowded around the control unit, if you find yourself having to adjust things. Really just a problem during initial setup, though if you setup and teardown frequently you'll have to deal with it.
- With all that adjustability you might find yourself having to tighten things every so often. Small price to pay, though it is there. Again, really just a problem during initial setup, though if you setup and teardown frequently you'll have to deal with it.
- The D-pad on the control unit feels really, really flimsy as though it could break or pop out at any moment. Not a big deal since you can use the drums themselves in place of the D-pad. Still though, for the price this should feel solid.
>>> Review:
I've been an avid (yet talentless) game drummer since Rock Band was released in late 2007 all the way through GHWT and RB2. To give you an idea of my exposure and time with the RB/RB2/GHWT stock drums, let's say that I've completed 100% of every song in each of those games on Hard and about 50% on Expert. I've also owned the Omega and Rock Pedal custom pedals (and broken the stock RB pedal a few times). So, plenty of hours with all 3 kits. When I had the opportunity to get my hands on the Logitech set for the 360 via Vine, I jumped at the chance.
I own only RB2 and RB:Beatles at the moment, having sold GHWT long ago. The GHWT and RB sets are cross-compatible so I figured this set should work with RB and good news: it works perfectly! I'm confused why the packaging is Guitar Hero-branded. There's a massive logo on the box (you could easily confuse with an official GHWT peripheral) and a matching GH logo sketched in to the pedal (more on that later). Why they wouldn't list RB2 compatibility is strange; likely some branding agreement with Activision. Anyway...
The first thing you'll notice is how compact the set is. It arrives in a box 6" x 25" x 31". It's thinner but wider than the RB2 set when folded down, and the one-piece construction means it isn't a clumsy pile of disconnected plastic behind the couch. It folds down (with effort - there's a lot of stuff to loosen) into a less-than-6" unit that you can slide right under the couch. Well, my couch at least ;)
Setup was a snap. It's all one piece so there was no fumbling around for spare parts. Extend the legs, rotate the base to the front, plug in the cymbals and you're good to go. The whole thing took about 10 minutes and most of that was getting it out of the packaging. This is where the Logitech kit shines in comparison to the Ion.
The construction of the pads is more reminiscent of the GHWT drums than the RB drums. The bolts around the pads give it a solid, well-built feel, identical in appearance to the Ion pads.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the cymbals. The cymbals seem cheap and plastic-y in comparison to the stock GHWT kit. Perhaps I'll end up forgiving this since the GHWT cymbals were a nightmare, both in reliability and sensitivity.
>>> After One Song: (Expert, Panic at the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon)
Nice slow warmup to get a feel for the set. About 30 seconds in to the song, I realized there was no way I could finish without reordering the pads which are by default setup for GHWT. While paused, I unplugged all of the pads from the control unit and removed them from the bar (the silver bar shown in the product image). I did all of this in about 30 seconds and was right back in to the song. Score one for quick adjustability of the set.
Towards the end of the song, I noticed two things and they were both about the pedal:
1) Where the heck was it and why is my leg practically outstretched?
2) Why does my foot hurt?
Coming from any of the custom drum pedals, there's just no comparison to the stock pedals. The pedal for the Logitech set is no exception. There's almost no tension (although this is adjustable, it doesn't matter) and with such a plastic-y feel, it's not surprising that it slides around on the carpet.
The worst part about the pedal though, that makes it inferior to even the stock GHWT or RB pedals is the "Guitar Hero" logo imprint. Unless you've comfortably walked over a bed of nails or hot coals, there's no way you can play in bare feet or with socks on. Had to put on shoes to play, which was a little strange. I've watched a LOT of expert FC vids on Youtube and nobody drums with shoes on. Why should we expect less from this expensive set?
By the end of the song, the blue pad had rotated 45 degrees to the left although I didn't stop to fix it, having too much fun. Just need a bit more tightening underneath.
>>> After Two Songs: (Expert, Dinosaur Junior - Feel the Pain)
Before starting, I removed the orange cymbal as it just gets in the way since the RB charts only have 4 notes.
Much more action on the yellow cymbal in this song. About 30 seconds in I was missing the yellow cymbal completely as it had rotated to the left and was pointing away from me; same problem I just fixed with the blue pad - when you've tightened them, keep going because it's not as much as you think.
After tightening the yellow cymbal, the hits on the cymbal became noticeably louder. I believe this is because the force of my hits was being dissipated by the weak connection to the frame. Now that I had tightened it, it sounds like the whole set is making noise when I hit. Loosened the grip on the main bar and yep - definitely more quiet.
I also noticed that my accuracy went down and I wasn't sure why. After playing these games for so long, things can just "feel" off and something felt off - reminded me of the feeling I got when the first two stock GHWT kits I had shipped with sensitivity issues in the cymbals. I went into the Drum Trainer Freestyle mode and didn't notice anything funky, so back to the game.
>>> After Three Songs: (Expert, Rise Against - Re-eduction (Through Labor))
By this point, I'm comfortable with the set in spite of the low quality pedal (p.s. it doesn't work with the Rock Pedal custom pedal, not that I expected it to). I've got the pads and yellow cymbal right where I want it and I don't even need to wear headphones to drown the drum noise (like I do with the RB drums).
>>> Summary:
The big question - is it worth it?
As of this writing, the Ion kit is just about $20 more. As I mentioned in the summary, you just get so much more with the Ion I can't see why anyone would consider this set.
Strangely enough, if there's one thing this set did is make me realize I should definitely pick up the Ion set. It's so much more fun with the right drums in the right orientation!
I'll do my best to answer questions in the comments, thanks for reading :)
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