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

[HEXUS]

We take the Official Rock Band 2 cymbals, screw them to our kit and then beat the living hell out of them in this UK exclusive review!

Watch the show.

[Skippy]

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

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!

[Nick]

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!

[pauldarkside]

Originally Posted by 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!

[Nick]

Paul... PICTURES!!!!

[Skippy]

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by 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

[pauldarkside]

Originally Posted by Nick

Paul... PICTURES!!!!

Since you asked soooo nicely looks like I'll be making use of the Gallery feature tomorrow then

[pauldarkside]

Originally Posted by Skippy

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

Damn right! Honestly, I wondered what all the fuss was about until I gained some first hand experience of the genre a few months ago. Since then I've been completely hooked.

The Rockers also work in GHWT. GHWT's drums have 6 channels (bass, two cymbals and 3 pads - Red, Green, Yellow, Blue and Orange + bass) but RB drums only have 5 (cymbals mirroring pads - Reg, Green, Yellow and Blue + bass). As a result, GHWT drops the Orange channel when RB drums are detected.

[Skippy]

Sounds very tempting

[crowdsurfer100]

Is the date of the second week of December confirmed? Does anyone know when the instrument edition of Rock Band 2 is coming out for the UK?

[Nick]

The 2nd week of December for the cymbals is confirmed by Mad Catz themselves... which I guess would be a pretty big indicator of when the RB2 instrument pack will be out as the cymbals will be useless without it!

[tigerboyce]

Will the new drums be available as part of a new band in a box? i want to buy the game/instruments soon, just wondering if i need to wait to get the new kit...

Also, any word on pricing for the RB2 kit too, im thinking of buying it when it arrives, just wondering if its going to be cheaper than the current £100 price tag

[Nick]

The new Band in a Box for RB2 will be the new RB2 velocity sensitive drums, which have the ports for the cymbals. You'll also get the new Fender Strat guitar with wood-effect neck, mic and light sensor for synching and a microphone and the game itself.

No idea on price for that as yet though. Sorry.

[crowdsurfer100]

No, I don't think that they will be cheaper than the current RB instrument set. I am only guessing though. Before the RB1 instrument price drop, I'm pretty sure they were round the £150 mark, so based on that I would have to say that's how much it would be. Either way, I am picking it up as soon as I see it in HMV! You looked like you were having fun rocking out Nick!