Ion Drum Rocker $249.99 free shipping

The 360 version is the same price. I actually just ordered this from Amazon, but I need it by the end of the week for a party, and I got free 2-day shipping there. This is a great deal if you can wait for the free shipping.
 
Nice. I almost ordered the 360 version from ebay during the 25% or 30% Live Cash Back, but I held off. I got lucky, though, and just got a barely used set off Craigslist for $200, including RB2, and the guitar and mic from RB1. I sold the RB2 for about $36 after fees and shipping, since I already had a copy. I doubt I can get much for the mic and guitar, but I'm pretty pleased with $164 for the drums. Does it come with a manual or anything? That's one thing I didn't get from the guy.
 
[quote name='snakelda']It came with the instructions and how to safely handle the drums. That's it.[/quote]

Thanks, sounds like I'm ok without the documentation.
 
Nice deal, love the free shipping part.
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Has anyone had the opportunity to compare these to the RB2 drums? I did read on Joystiq that the Ion is significantly bigger than the RB1 set. I'm all for buying the best you can. Just wondering if the premium over the RB2 set is justified.

I do worry about my 5 and 2 year old banging on these. I like to buy quality if it makes sense, but worry they might beat the crap out of these. :)
 
Hell, I played with the RB2 drum set last night for the first time and I was really impressed. I can't wait to get my hands on these.

My assumption is that they're definitely bigger than the RB2 drums, since they're actually a full-fledged drum set.

M3wThr33 - any recommendations on a replacement pedal?
 
so, this says that this is a Rock Band drums. What about GH compatability? For $250 (which is still too high IMO) I would want drums that would not have compromises depending on the game platform.
 
[quote name='amheck']http://www.joystiq.com/Instrument-Compatibility-Matrix/[/quote]

Thanks for the matrix. Unfortunately it does not answer the question whether Ion kit is fully compatible with GHWT, like five pads support, differentiating cymbals and kick strength and not just in general but specifically when played with GHWT.

All the information I've seen so far indicates that this kit would work in GHWT just like the standard Rock Band kit, i.e. in castrated mode.

Anyone with real life experience with this kit willing to share their info?
 
[quote name='amheck']Has anyone had the opportunity to compare these to the RB2 drums? I did read on Joystiq that the Ion is significantly bigger than the RB1 set. I'm all for buying the best you can. Just wondering if the premium over the RB2 set is justified.

I do worry about my 5 and 2 year old banging on these. I like to buy quality if it makes sense, but worry they might beat the crap out of these. :)[/quote]The Ion Drums are Excellent. The cymbols are cool to use but sometimes experience double hits.The pedal is supposedly awful but I don't have the other pedals. At first it is stiff and it's hard to use heel up but after using it for a while,it loosens up. It also has a click when you press the pedal.It's also really loud.The pads are of excellent quality. I haven't experienced any crosstalk or double hits. The set is customizable so you can put the pads like the rock band drums or like real drums(kind of). It takes like 1 hour to set up. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

I've read that it will act as a rock band set in GHWT.
 
The brain from Ion retails at $350. It only offers support for the 7 game pads, and is an utter waste. If you're looking for electric drums, don't waste your time on something that's built as a game controller. I've seen people try to emulate a real drum set by twisting the frame so that the snare is between your legs. Unfortunately, you'll also have a strut pole in your crotch. I'm one of those people who if they're going to spend money, they're going to get something good, and as a game controller, it's good. As a drum set, it is particularly bumfuckin shitty shit. So I just deal with the wireless set, which works perfectly well.

$0.02
 
I know a lot of people use really expensive electronic drumsets for games like Drummania on the PC.

Isn't it possible to use those good electronic drum sets as a rock band controller?
Because, like you said, it seems wasteful to me to use a controller that has the potential to be a bad electronic drum set. Id rather find a good drum set that has the potential to be a controller.
 
Received my shipment yesterday. The Ion Drum Rocker outer package is all torn up and stuff, despite the fact that it is shipped inside a generic brown box, and padded with air bubbles. Perhaps the Abe's of Maine doesn't take good care of their merchandise while in their warehouse. The package looks like refurbished because there is clear evidence that that package has been opened before and re-sealed with another layer of clear scotch tape.

The merchandise inside looks new, perhaps only a specific component was "refurbished". Took me an hour to setup.

Since I only have a PS2, I got the PS2/PS3 version of Drum Rocker. It works fine with Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour.
 
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[quote name='ghettoboy']Received my shipment yesterday. The Ion Drum Rocker outer package is all torn up and stuff, despite the fact that it is shipped inside a generic brown box, and padded with air bubbles. Perhaps the Abe's of Maine doesn't take good care of their merchandise while in their warehouse. The package looks like refurbished because there is clear evidence that that package has been opened before and re-sealed with another layer of clear scotch tape.

The merchandise inside looks new, perhaps only a specific component was "refurbished". Took me an hour to setup.

Since I only have a PS2, I got the PS2/PS3 version of Drum Rocker. It works fine with Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour.[/quote]

This transaction has turned into a nightmare for me. I knew my drums had been shipped, and figured they'd get here in three days...after five days passed by I checked the UPS tracking number, and it turns out that UPS took one look at the package and returned it to its shipper (Abe's) because, as they told me when I called them, "the package had already been opened and there appeared to be merchandise missing".

This meshes with Ghettoboy's story, that these are some sort of already-opened, refurbished drum sets. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'd like to know that up front before I order them. I called Abe's and they're pretty brutal to work with, it's obvious they're a mom-and-pop store...not very organized, and it's hard to get anything done. I'll call them tomorrow, and if they haven't shipped out my "replacement" set I'll cancel the order.
 
[quote name='McNutsack']Isn't it possible to use those good electronic drum sets as a rock band controller?
Because, like you said, it seems wasteful to me to use a controller that has the potential to be a bad electronic drum set. Id rather find a good drum set that has the potential to be a controller.[/QUOTE]

There is a hard way and an easy way to use any drumset with MIDI out in RB (2) and GHWT.

If you are using a 360 the hard way isn't worth in (in my opinion) as you have to rip apart the RB1 set and solder a bit on circuit board.

The easy way is to buy a GH:WT drumset (RedOctane just released them for $100, or you can get them for about that on eBay currently) and use a MIDI cable to go:

MIDI Out (e-Kit) -> MIDI In (GH:WT drumset) -> Gaming console
 
So is it safe to buy from Ab's of Maine, or not? I want to get this kit.

My other option is buying it from The Telcom Spot for $250 with free shipping, but I've never heard of The Telcom Spot so I'm a bit nervous about ordering from there.
 
[quote name='Johnboat']So is it safe to buy from Ab's of Maine, or not? I want to get this kit.

My other option is buying it from The Telcom Spot for $250 with free shipping, but I've never heard of The Telcom Spot so I'm a bit nervous about ordering from there.
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Yes its safe as houses, however if you shop around you will find other good deals :)
 
Save your money and buy a Roland TD4 kit. It is much better and works with both Guitar Hero and Rockband. I was going to buy one of these months ago but was glad I waited for the Roland. The midi mapping is easy and can be tuned however you want it to be. You can also play with the game and get the benefit of hearing how you are really playing and not just what is coming from the tv screen.

Yes, Roland is $999 but you get so much more than just a toy drumset that has no brain. Buy something that will last and can be used to play real drums when you get better and the band games get old.

If you have a World Tour drum set you just hook up the Roland to the WT set via a MIDI cable and you do not need any type of extra box. You can play both Rockband and World Tour..
 
[quote name='netscorer']Thanks for the matrix. Unfortunately it does not answer the question whether Ion kit is fully compatible with GHWT, like five pads support, differentiating cymbals and kick strength and not just in general but specifically when played with GHWT.

All the information I've seen so far indicates that this kit would work in GHWT just like the standard Rock Band kit, i.e. in castrated mode.

Anyone with real life experience with this kit willing to share their info?[/QUOTE]


You are correct. In GHWT, it does not support 5 pad support, does not differentiate between cymbals or pads and does not differentiate in kick strength. As you put it, "in castrated mode".
 
BTW, I got my shipment, finally. The original one was lost in UPS hell for about three weeks, so once that got sorted out Abe's shipped me a new one (at least it looks new). I have yet to open it because 1) I've been hella busy the past few weeks and 2) I don't have any room for it in my gaming room.

I told my fiancee we'll have to get rid of the extra bed. ;-)
 
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