The Drum Rocker

[Sabzavfc]

Hey,
Im thinking about upgrading my Rock Band 3 Pro kit to an Ion Drum Rocker and have a few questions,

1. Can i use my Rock Band 3 Pro cymbals with the Drum Rocker? as the Drum Rocker i was looking at only has 2 cymbals and i would like to add one of my Pro ones to it, is this possible?
2. Where can i buy a drum brain to convert the kit to a real kit and how much will the cheapest one cost me?
3. Is it worth the money upgrading from a Rock Band Pro kit?
Thanks

[Doc_SoCal]

1) Nope

2) eBay - DM5 modules are fairly popular among ION converts.

3) Is it? Only YOU can decide that. Do you want a larger more versatile kit to play on or are you happy wit the stock setup?

Lastly, if you think you want to turn an ION kit into a "real" e-kit with asperations of drumming outside the game then you may want to consider skipping the ION and loooking at entry level kits from Roland, Yamaha, Etc...

ION's take a LOT of upgrading to get them up to entry level e-kit status and with that cash you may find you could have simply bought a used Roland or Yamaha kit.

[Sabzavfc]

thanks for the reply, what exactly does the drum brain do then?

[Doc_SoCal]

thanks for the reply, what exactly does the drum brain do then?

It will allow you to make drum sounds with the ION's triggers. (PADS & Cymbals)

With e-kits, the quality of the triggers, the quality of the sounds and the versatility of the brain modules ranges from start at crappy and work there way up to amazing. You for sure get what you pay for.

I know plenty of people who have invested more in an ION conversion than they would have just buying an entry level e-kit.

In the past, it was a little more difficult to get an e-kit working with Rock Band but now, with the plug and play, PRO MODE ready Midi Pro Adapter, its so easy that I have to laugh when I look at the pile of wires, midi relays and hacked drums kits I used to use back in the before time.

It really comes down to what you want to do it the long run. If a real e-kit is what you want, there is no need to own an ION drum rocker brain IMO.

If you just want a cool drum controller, the ION is a good choice but I would suggest bailing on the ION cymbals, they are the weak link. Go with Pintech. Search the forums and the forum in my sig for plenty of ION upgrade info.

I will give you one final warning...

E-Drums, e-drumming and the building, tweaking and upgrading of an e-kit can get a bit.. well.. addicting... and the sky is litterally the limit... so if you do get into it and you feel Gear Acquisition Syndrome kicking in... dont wory, you are not alone.

[webjon]

As someone who just went through the upgrading process I'd agree that you should definitely consider an e-kit first.

Ultimately I had to upgrade to a pro trigger because I was getting cross talk on RB3 that was caused by two different ION brains (this is a known issue). Definitely research ION crosstalk issues with ps3 before buying an ION kit.

[mec_os]

when i was looking for drums i started with cheapest and when i kept adding up the things i would eventually want it just got really expensive so i found a used Roland TD4 for 450 and i'm so happy i went that route. so far i haven't felt an urge to upgrade anything. i guess i could use the ability to program the open/close hh separately.

[meck77]

ION's take a LOT of upgrading to get them up to entry level e-kit status and with that cash you may find you could have simply bought a used Roland or Yamaha kit.

This^^ I spent a boatload getting mine upgraded, hell the mesh heads alone ran me 168 each(thanks to davidshek) and I bet there more like 225 now. Double bass with kickpad around 300 and thats pretty cheap(had coupons from guitar center and the pedal was on sale). Three Roland cymbals 80 each at the time, now they are 110-130 each. cymbal stands required they are 50 each. you get most of this with a stock yamaha or roland kit. hope this helps

As for the experience it was worth every penny to upgrade I LOVE my kit and would never go back to the RB kits.

[HombreSecreto]

I've already been through a Drum Rocker (3-cymbal, useless w/2) and what was missing most was a realistic hi-hat experience, plus the surface of my snare got chewed up after a while. ION never released the Pro version (correct?) with a hat pedal (a la Roland TD-4 or Yamaha DTXplorer), so I moved up to a DTXplorer (was going to do this anyway) and gave the Drum Rocker to the kids.

If PS3 then recommend the ByteArts MIDI Rocker so you can map all your pads (esp the hi-hat) to the correct game equivalents. Otherwise you need a "module" between the brain and MIDI Pro Adapter to alt-map the open hat to the blue cymbal. (Welcome to the dark side of the forums!)

Gotta warn you, though, I'm one of Doc's Gear Acquisition Syndrome cautionary tales...so many songs would be easier with a second left-side crash...wow that extra rack on eBay would really stabilize the frame and give extra arms for positioning cymbals...really need to uprgrade my kick pedal now to a chain, or maybe a double...just doesn't feel right without the RHH135 hey look that's pretty reasonable...I'm really doing myself a disservice if I don't upgrade to the nitro throne...boy that mesh snare is really a bargain...ya know with a step drill and some grommets could route all the cables internally...

All kidding aside, get the pneumatic nitro throne...

[mec_os]

i thought of routing all the cables inside the frame... i hate cables.

[Sabzavfc]

So, the ION Drum Rocker isnt the only e-kit that can work with Rock Band? (i must have missed this :P) cause, mainly im after an electronic drum kit that i can also use with Rock Band