HEXUS.tv Review : UK Exclusive : Rock Band 2 Cymbals

I love RB, especially the drums! I just have a couple of small gripes!

I think the cymbals are only compatible with the RB2 drum kit, which means you would need the RB2 kit as well as the cymbals. So the total cost would be nearly £100, when the RB2 kit becomes available in the UK! But £30 just for the cymbals is excellent.

Also the position of the yellow cymbal is not where I thought it would be. I would have expected it to be to the left of the red pad just like a hi-hat from a real drum kit. Meaning you would have to cross your arms to play it.

Question Nick - When you play a song that uses 16th notes on the hi-hat (like RTTH or Everlong) do you still use the red pad as the hi-hat? You'd have to play expert BTW :D

I think these are minor issues if you really love the game. I will either buy the RB2 kit along with the cymbals or get the ION Drum Rocker! Not sure yet.

Finally, Mad Catz should do a kick pedal because the RB one sux!

Hi Skippy,

Yes, the cymbals do only work with the RB2 drum kit but they are compatible with either Xbox 360 or PS3 kits (dunno about Wii, but I'd hazard a guess at yes). The RB kit does not have the ports to plug them in, so that's why.

Good thing is that RB2 kit is compatible with RB1 game and vice versa (RB kit compatible with RB2 game) so you don't HAVE to upgrade your kit if cash is tight.

As for positioning, you can swing the high-hat (yellow cymbal) around a bit more and you can use the other stands to bring it out further, we just set it up as per the instructions.

Dunno about RTTH, we didn't get that far! :P

Skippy
I will either buy the RB2 kit along with the cymbals or get the ION Drum Rocker! Not sure yet.

I managed to get a set last month right before the prices went up (£199 in delivery but that seems to have gone up by £30 since I ordered).

Putting the kit together didn't take too long and I probably spent more time adjusting and readjusting the pad and cymbol positioning since, as you'd expect, it's all highly flexible. It's definately not something I'll want to dismantle and fortunately it does collapse and fold reasonably well, at least enough to fit on the back seat of my car when going social.

How do they compare to the original RB drums? OMG they're totally awesome! You get enough rebound to complete those 16th beat streaks with relative ease. You can even hear what your bandmates are doing - no more drowning them out with plastic beats! The kick-peddle is strong and heavy, doesn't move unless you move it, and doesn't knacker your foot out.

Verdict: they rock!

Paul… PICTURES!!!!

Nick
Good thing is that RB2 kit is compatible with RB1 game and vice versa (RB kit compatible with RB2 game) so you don't HAVE to upgrade your kit if cash is tight.

Yeah! I actually already use my RB1 kit with RB2 on the 360. FYI the RB kit also works well with GH:WT.

Nick
As for positioning, you can swing the high-hat (yellow cymbal) around a bit more and you can use the other stands to bring it out further, we just set it up as per the instructions.

No worries. Looking at the video I do not see that it would be possible to move it that far over to the left of the red pad. I could of course be wrong!

So pauldarkside I guess the ION Drum Pocker is worth it then :D