Feature:
They removed a key feature of the SR-16, and this is quite important...Program Change information cannot be sent to another MIDI instrument, what this means to a budding young MIDI artist is that you will not be able to change whatever sounds your ION kit will be triggering from the external sound source. This is a pain in the ass, yes...but necessity is the mother of invention, so a creative musician will surely figure out how to get around this! ;)
The trigger pads are extremely HARD plastic, so it doesn't feel particularly drummy, and your snare trigger will probably lose much of its sensitivity if you play enough. The worst part about this is that if you're playing somewhere that needs quiet, it still sounds like you're banging on hard surfaces and it's pretty noisy.
Quality:
As most reviewers have said, the plastic hardware is absolute garbage. I have yet to figure out what to use since apparently too much torque or tension will shatter the plastic braces. I'm in the process of replacing it piece by piece and building into my own "real electric kit."
The tubular metal frame is a strong point. Good toughness and light. All drumsticks break. The included set are no exception.
Value:
The cheap price is the MAIN REASON TO GET THIS. By and large, musicians are poor and creative folk with big dreams. I am no exception. I got this with the brilliant idea of hacking it up and building some superdrumset with cheapo parts. It's happening, but the cost is escalating and now that Roland is releasing their mini V-drum kit, I'm starting to want that more. But if you're the adventurous, hands-on type, you can use this consumer musical instrument for professional applications.
Desirability:
It's appealing if you think of it as a chopper... like people who take crappy korean cars and turn them into racecars. I'd like to see other people's FrankenstIONâ„¢ kits.
Sound:
You are getting the same soundset as an Alesis SR-16, a dated but still incredibly useful palette for most non-electronic musical styles. Since it's stereo, you'll have to have a stereo amp or something to have good output for playing aloud.
Ease of Use:
The manual isn't useful, but thankfully, being able to bang out drum sounds is easy enough. The step sequencing is a little tricky, but the "live jam" recording is easy enough.
Setup and breakdown is comparable to most drum kits. Time consuming at first, but then you get good at it if you need to. The size of the kit is another good point. I can break down the frame and slide all the metal pipes into a knee-high tube sock, then I slide it into a tripod case. All the pads and the brain go in a backpack with the wires. It's actually very portable.
Support:
Since it's a consumer-grade product, I'm going to ASSUME that their support is horrible, but that's just from prior experience with other companies.
Overall:
The Brain is useful, and though the hardware's small bits are fragile, the big parts are good. You can have plenty of fun with this, but you get what you pay for!
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