New Drum Rocker Announced

Remember the Drum Rocker I wrote about way back in March last year? Best games investment ever. Since I moved into my new place (with very few neighbours), we’ve been holding late night Rock Band parties and having a proper drum kit for them is just fantastic!

Ion have now introduced a new version of the kit, inventively named Drum Rocker Pro. Best thing about it? They’ve (allegedly) fixed my issue with the kick pedal. In my review of the original Drum Rocker I noted that the one real problem with it is the weight of the kick pedal. You can’t rest your foot on it and its too light to get your whole leg behind the kick, so I always wind up with a sore shin after playing Rock Band (or Guitar Hero, obviously. But really Rock Band). The pedal that comes with Drum Rocker pro is supposed to be very customisable:

Expanding upon the success of the original Drum Rocker, ION’s Drum Rocker Pro adds the impressive Drum Rocker Pro Pedal, which further enhances the authenticity of the most realistic music gaming controller available. Drum Rocker Pro Pedal is a professional-grade electronic kick drum pedal that delivers uncompromised kick drum performance to the Rock Band® drumming experience.

The Pro Pedal’s steel base plate and all-metal construction gives a solid, stable foundation. The dual-chain drive, adjustable beater and rubber trigger assembly identically replicates the physics and rebound that drummers demand out of an authentic kick drum pedal, while an adjustable spring assembly allows for customizable feel. While the Drum Rocker Pro Pedal is included with Drum Rocker Pro, it is also available separately for existing Drum Rocker, Drum Rocker Core, and Rock Band Drum Set owners.

I’m presuming that “adjustable spring assembly” refers to the spring that you stomp on, so this is very welcome news to me. I’m also glad to hear that I can pick up the pedal separately. Honestly, it’s been over a year I’m still very happy with my current kit. It’s had a couple of professional drummers at it, so has taken a good beating and is still going strong. Given the amount I paid, there’s no way in hell I could justify an upgrade.

Rock Band 3 is due out in October (preorder Rock Band 3 today! ;) and will include a feature called Rock Band Pro, which works with all versions of the Drum Rocker and allows the game to distinguish between each cymbal and drum. I must admit, I do get lazy – for the yellows and greens I make no effort to hit the correct drum or cymbal according to the music. I’m just bashing away at whichever one is easiest to reach at the time, so wind up playing full cymbal parts on the drum or vice versa. I’m not saying this will convince me to play properly, but it might…

Finally, the Drum Rocker Pro, like the previous versions, can easily be turned into a real instrument, if you want to fork out several hundred extra pounds and pick up an Alesis DM6.

Do you play Rock Band? Invite people round to play, or gone round someone else’s place? How well does a plastic instrument video game go down with your less-gaming friends?

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