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Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit | 
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| From: MadCatz
Category: Video Games
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $35.99
You Save: $4.00 (10%)
New (9) from $35.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 26
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Media: Accessory
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Xbox 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7
Dimensions (in): 0.2 x 0 x 0.1
MPN: TRIPLECYMBALRB
Model: RB2063380/04/1
UPC: 728658016494
EAN: 0728658016494
ASIN: B001G57Y02
Release Date: November 30, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Crash, Ride & Hi-Hat cymbals. Game sold separately. | | • | Velocity-sensitive for precise drumming | | • | Adjustable height | | • | Easy-to-install clamps for quick setup | | • | Only compatible with Rock Band 2 Drum kits |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Officially Licensed Rock Band 3 Cymbal Expansion Kit from Mad Catz lets you drum like the pros do. With the easy-to-install mounting bracket, you have total control and can setup your drum kit in any configuration you see fit. The color-coded wing nuts let you mount and configure to any available cymbal you wish to use: yellow for Hi-Hat, green for Crash, and blue for Ride. Simply attach the velocity-sensitive cymbal and corresponding wing nut to match your connection then attack your song library with new vigor to achieve the next step in drumming perfection.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Great Addition to the game December 9, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Second Update 12/16/2008: UPS just dropped a package from Mad Catz. They didn't fix my broken cymbal, they sent me an entirely new package, cymbal, mounting hardware and all.
No note included saying what was wrong, or anything, just a new cymbal. It looks like it's been handled, which probably means that someone tested it out to make sure it worked right, before they sent it to me (or that it's a refurbished.)
I tried it out, and all seems well. Kudos to Mad Catz for the excellent customer service. Their site says 4 to 6 weeks, and it only took 12 days from drop off, to return. I'm psyched.
Update: After playing for an hour or so this afternoon, it's evident that one of my cymbals is defective. It's sometimes registering two hits, instead of one. I called Mad Catz, and the guy I got was super friendly, extremely understanding, and set me up with an RMA. He said the website suggested 4-6 weeks, but realistically, it's more like 2 to 3. I'll update again when I get the new cymbal to see if it's working properly. I'm glad I didn't just try returning it to Amazon to get another, they appear to be completely sold out everywhere I've checked today. Glad I pre-ordered mine 3 months ago.
My three pack finally arrived last night, and I was psyched to get them. Ever since they were announced, I've been excited about them. The way I assumed they worked, was actually different than how they do work. More on that later.
First, some images, to show how freaking cool they look:
The whole kitHi-Hat CymbalRide Cymbal
The cymbals certainly give the drums the look of a real drumkit (okay, at least a real electronic drumkit,) but how do they play?
They take some getting used to, that's for sure. I just got them last night, so I'm still in the adjusting phase. But right from the get go, my wife said "You look like you're having more fun." Which I totally was. It felt like I was playing more realistically than I had without the cymbals.
When I first bought the cymbals, I assumed that they would just act as extenders of their respective colors. So when you'd hit the blue, it made whatever sound the blue one should at that specific point in time. As Rock Banders know, the drums pretty much all double as cymbals or drums, depending on the part of the song. I was pleasantly surprised that the new cymbal pads are dedicated as cymbals. So, if you hit the "ride" cymbal, it makes the ride cymbal no matter what. Same for the hi-hat, and crash cymbals.
It may throw your brain off, when you hit the cymbal when it's a tom-tom in the game, and you hear the wrong sound, but it won't break your streak, or count against your overall score. As long as you hit the right color, the sound that the game makes doesn't matter.
My favorite thing about the other game, you know, that one I returned already, was that there were dedicated cymbal pads with their drumkit. The Rock Band 2 drumkit, with the Mad Catz add-on cymbal pack (a measely $29.99) is 100% totally, absolutely better than GHWT's, hands down.
The game is more fun when playing drums, with the cymbals. It's more realistic, and more creative. I especially dig that during the "Overdrive fills", you can be a lot more musical with the drums, with dedicated toms/cymbals. If you're a die hard drummer for a Rock Band band, you absolutely need to spend the $29.99 to get these cymbals, pronto.
Easy to use January 1, 2009
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very easy to set-up, and totally adds a more realistic playing experience. Height can be adjusted, simple set-up
Mad Catz Triple Cymbal Kit December 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
UPDATE: See the pictures I added at the top to get an idea of what the kit looks like, and what the clamps should look like when properly installed if you're having trouble.
I've has this set almost two months now and they still work and look perfect. No problems at all, and well worth the $. These have been played by both of my teen aged boys, and a professional drummer, and they all love them!
I bought these on release day and have not had the slightest regret.
My biggest gripe with the basic drums you get with Rock Band 1 and 2 is that they have no cymbals, and the pads aren't laid out like the real deal. It's not as big of a deal when you play the guitar parts, you expect them to be a cut down version of the real thing. It doesn't matter how much you play the guitar parts, it's not going to help much when it comes to playing a real guitar. The drums are different. If you actually learn the tempos, and get good at your timing, this will transfer to the real thing.
If you use these in practice mode they will output the sounds of a real set of electronic drums, including the bass, snare, toms, and floor tom, as well as the high hat, crash, and ride cymbals. You can play this set in practice mode, and accompany any song you choose to play through your system.
Are they as big a deal in the game itself? Not quite. But it's better to get used to playing on something laid out like a real set and a lot more fun. If you just want to play the game and aren't interested in getting good at drumming they aren't as big of a deal.
These are velocity sensitive and will react with more volume the harder they're hit.
These DO NOT work with the Rock Band 1 set of drums. They do work with all sets of RB2 drums as well as all game systems.
This set is very well constructed and well worth the money. If you like to play the drums on RB and GHWT, and want the extra challenge of playing with cymbals, don't pass up either this three piece kit, or the two piece kit.
For some reason the picture shows the cymbals really close together. If you set them up right they can be positioned like a normal drum and cymbal set. Not the bunched up mess the Madcatz picture shows.
See my photos at the top to get a better understanding of how the clamps work, and also how they can be spaced out better.
Completely Changes the Dynamic of the Game December 7, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
These are awesome! They add a whole new level to drumming in RB! They are made extremely well, work great, look great, and a blast to play! The cymbals register as cymbals people, not "just the same as the drums" as some are saying. Have you even tried them? I love them and smile ear to ear when playing the drums.
Awesome Addition to Rock Band Drums January 8, 2009
These are hands down the best things I've added to my Rock Band drums outside the silencers. They make the drums more fun to play, and personally, on some songs easier to play. One thing if you're considering the cymbals, is to skip straight to the 3 pack...Since the cose of the 1 and 2 pack seperatly is almost $50, whereas these are $35.99 ($40 when not on sale). I was debating 2 or 3, but since it was only $6 more for 3, that made my mind up.
They fit very nicely on the drum set and compliment the look of it. I would highly recommend these to anyone who uses the drums in Rock Band.
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The Nintendo Wii goes on sale on Sunday, November 19. Thanks to the inclusion of the simple--but infectiously fun--Wii Sports game, the Wii is the first console in recent memory that lets you have fun straight out of the box. Still, there are a few key Wii accessories you'll want to pick up to maximize your Wii experience--especially if you're buying it as a gift.
Extra controllers: Like all recent consoles, the Wii ships with just a single controller (well, one two-part controller: one Wiimote, plus one nunchuk). But the real fun of the system is playing the head-to-head Wii Sports games such as tennis and boxing. To do so, you'll need at least one extra set of controllers--and again, that's one Wiimote ($28.99) plus one nunchuk ($12.99). The Wii supports as many as four, but just the one extra controller set should suffice--at least for Christmas morning.
Rechargeable batteries: The Wiimote takes two standard AA batteries. They're included--with the Wii, and with the sold-separately version of the controller mentioned above--but avid players may find the juice draining pretty quickly, especially if they keep the nunchuk attached (it draws its power from the Wiimote). Instead of buying an endless stream of costly AAs, consider investing in a set of rechargeables. You can score a charger and four rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride batteries for less than $25.
GameCube controllers: The Wii is fully backwards compatible with the Nintendo GameCube, but there's a catch: to play the GameCube games, you'll need a GameCube controller ($15.99). You can even go wireless with the Nintendo WaveBird ($59.99). If you already have a GameCube, your existing controllers will work just fine--just plug them in to one of the four ports underneath the flip-up panel on the Wii's topside. GameCube controllers should also work with the Wii's "Virtual Console" games--which saves you the trouble of having to buy a Classic Controller.
GameCube memory cards: One other annoyance when playing GameCube games: your progress can only be saved to GameCube memory cards, not to the Wii's internal memory or to an SD card (we're hoping Nintendo fixes this with a future firmware update). Like the controllers, your old GC cards will work just fine--there are two slots right next to the GameCube controller ports. If you don't have any onhand (and you want to save your games on GC titles), you'll need to spring for a $26.90 (2GB) memory card.
Wii Points: One of the big attactions of the Wii is its Virtual Console, which lets you purchase classic games that originally came from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the Super NES, the Nintendo 64, the Sega Genesis, and the TurboGrafx16. By the end of 2006, at least 30 titles should be available, including Donkey Kong (NES), Super Mario 64 (N64), and Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis). To purchase the downloadable titles, you'll need to use a Nintendo currency known as Wii Points (similar to the Microsoft Points on Xbox Live), which currently have an exchange rate of 100 points per U.S. dollar. You can buy Wii Points directly through the console's online store, or use prepaid cards (2000 Wii Points) available in various denominations.
SD card: If you're close to filling the Wii's built-in 512MB of storage with your Virtual Console games, you can always expand your available space with an SD card. Nintendo sells its own, but any run-of-the-mill card will do. Fairly spacious 1GB cards are available for less than $20--even less with mail-in rebates--and they'll work in plenty of other gadgets as well.
Wireless access point: In addition to the downloadable Virtual Console games, the Wii offers online "channels," including news, weather, and even an Opera Web browser (head-to-head online gaming is said to be coming sometime in 2007). You can get online for free via the Wii's built-in Wi-Fi. To do so, of course, you'll need a nearby wireless access point or router. Alternately, you can plug the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector into any nearby PC on a wired network, and the Wii--plus your Nintendo DS--will be able to use it to get online instead.
Component video adapter: The Wii doesn't have the graphical horsepower to handle high-def graphics, but it can do DVD-level 480p video, which will look considerably better on large HDTVs. To see the Wii's games in 480p, you'll need Nintendo's proprietary component video adapter, which should run about $20. |
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www.seeker-wii.com | |
