Main

Yamaha DD65 Digital Drum Kit

The Yamaha DD65 is the perfect compact all-in-one combination for the prospective drummer. In its trendy design the DD-65 offers eight touch sensitive drum pads and two foot pedals that allows expressive playing. To play to your favourite music you can connect a MP3- or CD-Player to the AUX-IN-connector. Learn More...

    • New $239.95
Write a Review:

Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10

Individual User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10

Feature:
Honestly I like the features. From the headphone/output to pad placement to song playing/practicing and song recording to different sesitivity levels to the midi... and that's where it falls apart. If you are using this to control midi be aware of the HI HAT PROBLEM!!! It only sends one hi hat not for the "closed hi hat hit", "open hi hat hit" and "foot closing hi hat hit". So if you are not planning to record midi like a quasi-real hi hat then you should be okay.

Quality:
The DD65 is well built. I will not give it a ten because if I drop it I am not sure if will still work. I think Yamaha has a decent reputation for dependability and durability so I think it mostly depends on the user and also time will tell whether these pads will fall apart soon or not. If the ONE YEAR warranty is a sign of its longevity of lack there of, then that's a prediction I can't make.

Value:
IT DOES NOT COME WITH AN AC ADAPTOR!!! I wish I would have known that before ordering this thing. I had to shell out another twenty dollars for one from Radio Shack! I would also have rated this higher if the midi functions for the hi hat worked properly but they don't. I hate to keep bringing it up but I think it a valid issue that needs to be known. Even as JUST a practice pad I don't think it is worth anywhere near $200.

Desirability:
Just from the two days that I've had it, people have been drawn to it and I think that can be attributed to the way it looks. Just the fact that it looks like some kind of drum thing is appeal enough for people to want to try it. I think the placement of the pads is excellent and is well balanced for aesthetics and playing. The only exception is the hi hat which I think should be higher so it does not block me when I am hitting the snare but that is feature/ease of use problem.

Sound:
I definitely would not give this a ten BUT it does admirably considering its price and what someone may use it for. The sounds(samples) are pretty good and you could get away with using the hand congo/bongo function for some live performances.

Ease of Use:
The functions on this machine are pretty straight forward to use simply because it is simple. There are no programming sounds or changing sensitivity for each individual pad or routing different fx to different pad sounds. I believe that it would serve best as a practice pad and a small live performance where an acoustic drum set is not practical or allowed.

Support:
From what I've heard from others, not that great. A few people have posted in several forums about how they(Yamaha) won't fix the midi hi hat problem unless MANY PEOPLE complain about it. I think that is ludicrous because that is functionality that should be there. And to think that I'm buying a MIDI CONTROLLER which doesn't send the proper midi notes to have at the least a simple functioning hi hat is absurd. I honestly do not think a firmware update is to much to ask for.

Overall:
I actually want to send it back right now because of the hi hat problem which I've mention several times already. I will wait for Yamaha to get back with me to make a final decision on whether the DD65 is worth buying or not. But like I said before if you are buying it purely for fun and practice then it is a decent product but definitely not worth $200+.

Do You Agree? Was This Review Helpful to You?

yes

no