Yamaha DD65-K Digital Drum Machine with Touch-Sensitive Drum and Foot Pads

 

 

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I also have to chip in - as that first review doesnt do it justice.

I got one for Xmas, I took lessons years when I was 15, now have kids and no space for a full kit.

I love it, the speaker is a bit dodgey, but sounds much better on headphones. Ive tried to put it thru my guitar amp, just sounds "dirty".

I can see a slight problem with the Hi-Hat. The manual says it plays 32 sounds continously, but I sometime dont hear the hi-hat. Cymbals are very difficult to replicate - only professional Digital drum machines they dont even try and use real cymbals. Bass drum could be doing with a bit louder, and you have to make sure you have to try and hit the drums with each pressure - otherwise - say the your banging away on the hihat and snare on the same beat- if you hit the hi hat harder - sometimes the sensor for the snare thinks its just a vibration from the hit hand and doesnt sound. You can change the sensitivity thou - or just try to hit them with the same pressure. Only other thing - is dont buy it under the impression that you can just plug headphones in and not bother anyone else in the house - I did - They tell me is just sounds worse as can just hear rythmical banging - rather than an actual beat. (We do have a modest sizedl house thou)

Dont let this put you off thou, Ive had hours of fun with it - especially with plugging in my iPod and playing along. Theres lots of features that'll keep you entertained. Very good for the price. If you want something to learn on and just have fun - this is it. Could do early gigging also with the write PA's etc.

This is my first review as I have never felt any reason to put one up before but felt that I must give another view to the one already here. A few months ago I bought a DD65 drum set for my 10 year old son as I didn't want to have a big drum kit in the house but he really wanted this. He absolutely loves it! it was a perfect choice for him as a beginner and fits easliy into his bedroom. I'm no expert but the drums sound great to me and he and his friends are always playing with it.

He's now started drum lessons at school and his teacher is happy for him to play on the DD65 for the time being. If he keeps at it I will buy him a real drum kit but at the moment he is making great progress and I am really pleased with it.

I didn't really understand all of the other review but we chose it as an first drum kit and we'd recommend the DD65 to anyone wanting to try out the drums and have a bit of fun.

I think this review will work best in a Question and Answer format.

Q: Why did you buy the DD 65?
A: My 13 year old daughter has been enjoying drum lessons at the local music shop for about six months and really needed something to practice on at home.

Q: Why the DD65 though?
A: There are very few options that are small and cost effective. I liked the look of the DD 65 because: It is pretty big, about two feet across. The drum layout is similar to a real drumkit. It can accept proper pedals so you are not locked to the supplied units. On balance, the upgrade options and price made it the best buy.

Q: What are the alternatives?
A: There are very few all in one drumkits I could find. There's the older Yamaha DD55 and what looks like a generic unit which is marketed under various names (Black Mamba) being one.
As an alternative, there's a midi unit called DrumKat which will require additional equipment. They also sell a USB based kit which looks like a real drum kit.

Q: Now you have one, what are your first impressions?
A: It looks cheap, the design is a mess, it is also rather light. In typical with many Japanese products it does not know if it is a toy or a proper piece of equipment - The yellow demo button says Toy, the midi in out says real equipment.

Q: It comes with drum sticks would you need anything else?
A: Very probably. The base of the unit has three slots which allow it to sit on a snare drum stand, you may need one of these as the angle of the pads mean that this device does not work well on a table.
My version had an power adaptor which is nice.
The supplied pedals feel very cheap, they are usable to a reasonable degree and can be upgraded (The price of upgrade pedals may be more than the cost of the unit though) I intend to cover the bases in sticky backed velcro will to help them stick to the carpet and not slide around.
The unit has an input which will allow you to connect an MP3 player and play along - You'll need the lead to do this 3.5mm stereo to 3.5mm stereo.
You most likely need a set of headphones with a long lead as the socket is on the back of the unit.
A drumming stool would be useful too.

Q: Are the internal speakers any good?
A: Nope. This unit is not sure what it wants to be. The speakers are very small and suffer by not giving depth at lower volumes and when turned up enough the high end sound is too loud.

I think the drum samples sound reasonable, however with the sound turned down the slap of the sticks hitting the rubber overwhelms the speakers and by turning the sound up to a point where it masks the slapping makes certain drums loud enough to carry though the house.

Q: You're pretty negative, what do you like?
A: I like the fact my daughter can practice proper drumming at home. As she takes drumming lessons, there is an emphasis on timing and precision, this little kit provides all that it needed at this time for these essential skills. Another advantage is that by working on such a small kit, it should mean that the real kit at the lesson is an easier product to use - If you can sound good on this small semi toy, you're going to find a real kit a joy.

Q: Anything else?
A: It really is a product at a price. For the price I think it is excellent and I think the designers could have made it far far better - If they had, the price would have started clashing with the cheaper end of the full sized electronic drum kits.

Q: Anything else?
A: The display is so old fashioned it's pure 80's. A three digit red LED readout and a few lights under buttons is pathetic compared to a £10 mobile phone!

Q: Who would it be good for?
A: It is good enough to be a real asset to someone who is learning to play drums - You can search Youtube for video showing how well it is possible to play this device. The pad layout is close enough to a real drum kit to allow for proper practice without compromising the lessons.
It is a lot of fun between practice sessions as the hand drums setting is great fun and there are plenty of kits to play with.

Q: And the bottom line, why did you buy this again?
A: It does a lot for the money, it can be upgraded to a reasonable degree. It is ideal for practice and my view is we'll run with this for a year and then we'll either be looking to buy more professional equipment and this will be on E-bay or interest will have been lost and it will be on E-bay

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5.0 out of 5 stars A great little piece of kit
I bought the DD65 several years ago. It is still going strong. For its size & price it is very good value for money. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Allan Garrard

3.0 out of 5 stars It's not even mine, but
I quite like this. It's in my son's bedroom next to mine in a small flat and it doesn't annoy me or the neighbours at all. Why? Read more

Published 7 months ago by jay

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun drumming
I bought this because I just couldn't wait any longer.. I'm saving for a proper electronic kit (EG Pearl E-Pro live) .. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Freddieven

5.0 out of 5 stars Drumtastic
I have to review this kit. I was looking for a drum set for my teenage son, but did not have the room for a full set electric or normal, so I looked at all the options available... Read more

Published 10 months ago by T. Jackson

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good! Better than expected
I bought this kit for home recordings.I was very surprised with the results as it does sound like a proper drumkit.
Recommended!!!

Published on 11 Jan 2010 by P. A. Andrade

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners or experienced drum players
I have had this Drum machine for just over a month now and it has provided me with hours of fun!

I have some experience of playing the Tablas (Indian Drums), but none... Read more

Published on 7 Sep 2009 by VG

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners - and even after
Like most reviewers, I got this for a kid for reasons of price, available space, headphones etc. My 10 year-old son took to it straight away. He totally loves it. Read more

Published on 18 July 2009 by M. Connelly

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent value for money, but it's not pro kit
I had this set up and working in seconds. I particularly liked being able to run it from batteries (6 C-size) as well as the AC adapter, and its small size. Read more

Published on 6 July 2009 by Mr. Howard Long

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
This machine is great! It's ideal for anyone who either can't afford a proper drum kit or doesn't have the space. Read more

Published on 27 Jun 2009 by BatmanBoyNJ

5.0 out of 5 stars RE turkey (midi problem)
This is a direct reply concerning the midi problem noted on the don't buy this turkey review. I did post a comment at the bottom of his review but feel that it is easily missed so... Read more

Published on 22 Dec 2008 by Jase

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