Drum Rocker delivers the most realistic drumming experience available to any Playstation 3 gamer. That's because it was built by the engineers at Alesis, one of the largest manufacturers of professional electronic drums in the world. As a result, you get a kit that's designed to take a real beating, with all the positioning flexibility that professional drummers demand. While other drum controllers lock you down to a pre-molded plastic array of pads, Drum Rocker's professional aluminum drum rack lets you position your snare, tom and cymbal pads wherever you want. When you're ready to move from playing Rock Band to playing in a rock band, you can swap the game controller module with one of the professional drum brains made by Alesis, and you're ready to hit the road for real!
Ultra-quiet velocity sensitive pads.
Drum Rocker's velocity-sensitive drum pads feature a playing surface that is much quieter than other drum controllers. They also feel great - the stick rebound off of the pad is much more natural and consistent than anything else available. The pad housing is made of high-impact plastic, designed to be whacked on stage night after night. No matter how much you punish them, the Drum Rocker drum pads can take it.
The pads are mounted to the drum rack with a metal L-Arm and clamp system, which allows them to be tilted, swiveled, raised and lowered to whatever position you want. Just one warning - once you play these pads, nothing else will do!
Complete the experience with up to three cymbals.
There's nothing like finishing a monster fill by whacking a crash cymbal. Or crossing over to play your hi-hat with your right hand while you keep the backbeat on the snare with your left. Or keeping time on a ride cymbal during the chorus. Drum Rocker lets you do all that and more, with cymbals that can be placed anywhere around the kit.
Drum Rocker comes with two cymbals and mounting hardware out of the box, and a third cymbal is available as an optional accessory. You get to decide how you want to use the two cymbals that come with the kit - set them up as a hi-hat/crash, crash/ride or hi-hat/ride combination, then add the third cymbal to round out the kit.
All-metal kick drum pedal.
The kick drum pedal with any drum controller takes a lot of abuse. No need to worry with Drum Rocker - this pedal is all metal and built to last! It's also got the right amount of tension to replicate the feeling of playing a real drum pedal, and we're even building an accessory pedal to allow for double-pedal setups.
The pedal comes with Velcro and retractable spikes, so you can be sure it will stay put. You're not limited to where you place it either - put the kick pedal wherever you feel most comfortable playing it.
- Quieter than the original kit
- More Durable than the original kit
- More configurable than the original kit.
- Compatible with Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour.
- 4 Drum pads with mounting hardware
- 2 Cymbal pads with mounting hardware
- 1 Kick drum pedal
- 1 Adjustable aluminum drum rack
- 1 Pair of drum sticks
- 1 Drum key
ION's FAQ
Q: How can I use two kick drum pedals? Can I use two kick pedals with Rock Band and the Alesis DM5 sound module? A: For use with Rock Band, you can chain the accessory pedal to the original kick drum pedal, which then gets plugged into the controller module. Users adding a DM5 module will likely want to add a Kick Drum pad to their kit, along with a traditional kick drum pedal (which can be a single or double-pedal). The included pedal then becomes your hi-hat pedal.
Q: What type of pads are used on the Drum Rocker? Are they single or dual strike zone - I'm asking because I'm at Expert Level on Rock Band 1 and will be eventually purchasing the DM5 sound module to start a band. A: The pads are velocity sensitive, single zone pads.
Q: Are the color rings removable should I decide to permanently make this my drumming solution for non-Rock band use? A: The color rings can be removed using a simple allen wrench.
Q: Will I be able to "choke"? A: The cymbals are single zone and do not include "choke" functionality.
Q: Will the kit have a MIDI Out port, or will it use a USB interface to jam with the Alesis DM5? A: When using a DM5 with Drum Rocker, the DM5 is substituted for the controller module that connects the pads to your gaming console. As such, you plug the drum and cymbal pads directly into the DM5, which then has MIDI output for connecting to a wide variety of sequencing and synthesis systems.
Q: Will it be possible to remap the hi-hat to red for the appropriate songs? (such as Run to the Hills, Orange Crush, Outside...)? Even if we could plug in the hi-hat cymbal to the red snare drum's input jack or something, that would be great. A: There is no cymbal input that corresponds to the red input for the game, and the sensitivity level of the cymbal input is different than the input for the pads, so you can't simply plug the yellow cymbal into the red pad input and get the effect you're after. In those rare instances where Rock Band maps the hi-hat to the red pad, you will have to play the part on the red Drum Rocker pad, just as you would with the standard Rock Band kit.
Q: I want to use Drum Rocker as a real electronic drum set. What will I need to be able to do that? A: While there are many "drum brains" that accept the 1/4" outputs of the Drum Rocker drum pads and cymbals, Ion recommends using the Alesis DM5 drum module with Drum Rocker.
The DM5 is a professional drum module with (12) 1/4" trigger inputs and more than 500 professional quality sounds. Its trigger inputs are well suited to handle the output levels of the Drum Rocker pads. If you decide to use a DM5 with Drum Rocker, you'll also likely want to purchase a kick pad and regular kick pedal, which will let you take advantage of the increased control that the DM5 offers. The drum pedal that comes with Drum Rocker can then be used as a hi-hat pedal.
Q: Will Drum Rocker be wireless? A: Drum Rocker is a wired game controller. We figure that drums are by nature a stationary instrument, and don't need to be wireless. However, the cable is 4 meters long, which will give the player flexibility in determining where the kit should be setup. Drum Rocker is also quite easy to fold up for storage as well.
Q: Will Drum Rocker work with other games, or just Rock Band? A: Drum Rocker is designed to work with Rock Band 2, and is compatible with the original version of Rock Band as well. If other music games choose to use the standard drum controller layout that was pioneered by Rock Band, then Drum Rocker should work with them. If other games choose to use a different drum controller layout, those games will not be compatible with Drum Rocker. For example, Activision has stated that Guitar Hero World Tour will work with Xbox 360 Rock Band drum controllers, which means that Drum Rocker should work with Guitar Hero World Tour in the same way that the core Harmonix drums will work.
Q: Is there a plug for the headset/Mic? A: Yes, there is.
Q: If I want just the brain without the rest of the drums, will that be available for purchase separately? If so, when and how much? A: We have not finalized plans to sell the Drum Rocker controller module separately, but expect that we will do so later in the year. However, it's important to note that we intend to do so to allow Drum Rocker users who own multiple consoles to use a single Drum Rocker kit with all of their systems, not for people to use the controller module with other electronic drum and cymbal pads.
The module was designed specifically for use with the Drum Rocker drum and cymbal pads, which have a unique set of output characteristics (as do all electronic drum and cymbal pads). Lots of work has been done to ensure that Drum Rocker is optimized for Rock Band performance, in terms of trigger sensitivity, crosstalk rejection, latency, and more, and the design of the module has been tuned to deliver the best possible performance in conjunction with the Drum Rocker pads. Plugging another set of pads that happen to have 1/4" outputs into the Drum Rocker module will not yield the same results as using a Drum Rocker kit, and in fact may not work at all.
However, if your goal is to have a single electronic drum set that can be used with your existing drum module and Rock Band as well, you can go at this from another angle. We would suggest that you get a Drum Rocker set, and use the Drum Rocker pads with your existing electronic drum module. If it's got 1/4" inputs and its input sensitivity can be adjusted, you should be able to combine the Drum Rocker pads with your existing module, and have exactly what you're after - a single kit for playing games and playing music!
Q: When this comes available for my PS3 will I be able to use it on my original Rock Band game? A: Yes, Drum Rocker is fully compatible with Rock Band and Rock Band 2.
Q: Will it be compatible with Guitar Hero 4: World tour? A: Drum Rocker was designed specifically for use with the Rock Band franchise. However, if other music games use the same standard drum controller mapping that Rock Band uses, then Drum Rocker should work with those games as well.
Q: Will there be a way to differentiate between the cymbals and the toms while playing in game? A: The gameplay in Rock band doesn't differentiate between cymbal and tom pads, so you're free to hit whichever feels most comfortable to you. There are some gameplay modes (like the new drum trainer in Rock Band 2) that use software to intelligently determine when you are hitting a cymbal vs. a drum, and provide the appropriate sounds accordingly.
Q: Will there be a diagnostic mode so I can make sure all the drums and cymbals are working properly? A: Drum Rocker works just like the Harmonix drum set in terms of calibration and diagnostics.
Q: There will also be a controller to convert the set into real drums? How much? A: While Drum Rocker pads can be used with any drum module (or "drum brain") with 1/4" inputs, you will get the best results from a module that has adjustable input sensitivity, so it can be "tuned" to the output of the Drum Rocker pads and cymbals. We recommend the Alesis DM5, which has been tested with Drum Rocker.
Q: If I have my own electronic drum pads, like the Roland V-Drum triggers, will I be able to plug them in to the Drum Rocker controller? A: While you may be able to plug your existing pads into the Drum Rocker controller module, turning your existing electronic kit into a Rock Band Controller isn't as simple as that.
The module was designed specifically for use with the Drum Rocker drum and cymbal pads, which have a unique set of output characteristics (as do all electronic drum and cymbal pads). Lots of work has been done to ensure that Drum Rocker is optimized for Rock Band performance, in terms of trigger sensitivity, crosstalk rejection, latency, and more, and the design of the module has been tuned to deliver the best possible performance in conjunction with the Drum Rocker pads. Plugging another set of pads that happen to have 1/4" outputs into the Drum Rocker module will not yield the same results as using a Drum Rocker kit, and in fact may not work at all.
However, if your goal is to have a single electronic drum set that can be used with your existing drum module and Rock Band as well, you can go at this from another angle. We would suggest that you get a Drum Rocker set, and use the Drum Rocker pads with your existing electronic drum module. If it's got 1/4" inputs and its input sensitivity can be adjusted, you should be able to combine the Drum Rocker pads with your existing module, and have exactly what you're after - a single kit for playing games and playing music!
Q: Can the cymbals be silenced / stopped with the hand? A: Rock Band does not have provisions for "choking" cymbals, so Drum Rocker doesn't have that capability.
Q: Is there a way to re-initialize the product back to factory specification? A: Drum Rocker is a controller and doesn't include any software or "settings". All of the settings related to Drum Rocker are found inside the Rock Band game, so there is no need to reinitialize Drum Rocker itself.
Q: Can I use my Omega pedal (Pearl professional pedal modded with a toggle limit switch)? A: We have no plans to test the Drum Rocker module with other pads and pedals. The module is designed to be used with the Drum Rocker pads and pedal, so we can't guarantee performance with other manufacturer's products.
Q: Will the Drum Rocker use the same connection (as the standard Harmonix Rock Band kit) for the foot pedal? The reason I ask is because I've already purchased a pair of Omega pedals. A: The Harmonix foot pedal has an 1/8" output, while the Drum Rocker pedal has a 1/4" output. While you may be able to connect your aftermarket pedals to the Drum Rocker module by adapting the output from 1/8" to 1/4", the module was designed to be used with the Drum Rocker pads and pedal, so we can't guarantee performance with other manufacturer's products.
Q: Will the drum rocker come with a midi output? A: Drum Rocker ships as a gaming controller. You can use it as a MIDI device by purchasing a "drum brain" with MIDI output (such as the Alesis Trigger|iO or DM5).