Feature:
I only give nine stars on features because there is only 5 banks for user songs, any songs downloaded online must share these 5 banks with user recorded songs. Also, though I'm not finished yet playing with it as a midi controller, I can not get the hi hat pedal working properly either (using Battery 3). It gets it's own bank & signal within battery 3, but the hi hat sounds the same whether I'm pressing it or not, but it does let me "choke" the hi hat when pressed after hitting the hi hat. Other than that, especially as a begginer the features are great! A wide selection of songs to play with, from easy to complex, and every time you load a song the kit changes for that song (but you can still use a differant kit). If you have trouble getting the timing right, just hit the "click" button and the metronome (includes alternate time signatures as well) will play with the song, and of course you can choose to play along with recorded percussion stilll playing as well. One more cool thing is the three holes in the bottom for fitting it to a snare stand, allows for a much better playing angle.

Quality:
Tough plastic, just take care of it & it should be fine.

Value:
Probably the only kit for the price with a realistic layout plus bass & hi hat pedals. Considering that plus all the features included, the dd65 is a steal at $220.

Desirability:
Very compact & sleek for a drum set.

Sound:
Sound is ok, better than you'd expect for the price. Plenty of kits to choose from, even includes a farm animal kit which my niece really enjoyed. If you want a list of the included kits find the pdf manual online.

Ease of Use:
I've barely needed the manual, pretty straightforward stuff.

Overall:
I've had it maybe a couple weeks now & I think I am progressing quite nicely for that time frame, much better than I would be on an acoustic set. You'll definatly want to get extra sticks for this, though the included ones aren't bad, 5a's seem much more durable. Also, the pedals are very light and like to slip around on the floor, but luckily since I have a carpet floor I was able to solve this problem by attaching velcro to the bottom of the pedals. Overall I'm very glad I bought this, drumming is so much fun & living in an apartment building with nearly 400 other tenants, I can use headphones & don't disturb anyone.

Feature:
LOTS OF Samples, lots of kits unlimited programing.

Quality:
Better than the simmons kit indentations on the underside to accommodate a regular snare drum stand a plus.

Value:
A screamin deal for the tubs your getting'

Desirability:
The design is perfect ,however the pedals are a little strange acting and will take a little more practice to master. other than that I seem to get pretty used to them. the pads are more sensitive than most I'v played which means I don't need ultra-heavy drumsticks smashing them to hear sound, There great!

Sound:
WHAT MORE CAN YOU SAY, IT ROCKS

Ease of Use:
every thing's where it's supposed to be as the point of view from a real drummer'

Support:
I shot an email to yamaha regarding the hi- hat midi message problem, they requested me to take it to my nearest yamaha service center( one that repairs pro audio) and they will install a free hardware update. My service center accepted it, they will contact yamaha. we'll see how that turns out.

Overall:
I really like them (other than having to order the adapter separate) when the midi problem is fixed they will be unstoppable this is the only "all in one" drum pad set that's worth a damn. This comes from a drummer with 15 yrs. + experience.

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+.

Feature:
Just wanted people to know that the high hat open/closed midi note problem has been fixed for new units. If you buy or already own a unit that has the high hat midi problem a local yamaha service center will upgrade the flash memory for free to fix this problem

Feature:
I am in Australia, but because Yamaha here doesn’t offer the dd65 I had my daughter (Flight attendant V Australia) pick one up from Sam Ash in Westminster LA. I have a dd55 but wanted to upgrade and was looking forward to getting the 8 pads rather than 7 and other advances that I assumed would be incorporated in a newer model. If I could bring this back and get a refund I would. The DD55 has the ability to adjust individual pad volume and this is absolutely critical to balancing the sound of a kit from place to place. For some insane reason they’ve dropped this feature on the DD65. That’s just crazy and in my opinion makes them unusable for live performance. Also the sounds aren’t as good as the DD55, particularly the hi hat. Also there is a problem with the hi hat control when using the midi function and a sound module. The pedal doesn’t work!! Regardless of the 8 pads and improved position of the hi hat pad there is nothing that will compensate for the lunacy of deleting the individual pad volume control.