Millenium MPS-850 E-Drum Set

Ok let's get straight to it.

If you can not play the drums and would like to learn and are not able to facilitate an acoustic drum kit, then this is the drum kit for you. I would suggest the build quality for this kit is best suited for compact playing and practicing within the studio as apposed to live performance.

Why did I consider this drum kit in the first place?
. Drum configuration.
. Cost.
. Response and feel. Being a composer, rather than use a midi controller to enter in drum parts, I'd like to increase the realism by playing it in real time.

. Drum configuration.
The Millennium kit comes with the right amount of drums and cymbals. Not too many to be overkill, but enough to be creative and play various genres of music. Nice.

. Cost.
The best E-Drums out there are Roland. However, two things: Musicians are artists and artists don't have huge amounts of money. There's no two ways about it, Roland needs to review the cost of its drums. Secondly, I'm not sure if it's because of a differing music scene in Japan or if they're focusing too much on AI or what, but making their e-drums look more like acoustic drums for aesthetic reasons is an unnecessary cost. Therefore the price tag for this set for what you get, is great.

4 reasons why I'm returning the kit, leaving the most deciding factor until the end.
1. The sounds. I didn't expect the sounds to be amazing for the price tag, as I'll predominantly be using sample libraries so not a huge deal.

Here's where the kit goes from a five star to a two:

2. I don't see the point of making e-drums the same size as acoustic drums as it doesn't have a bearing on the sound and compromises on compatibility along with cost. However, I feel that the snare is just a tad too small when playing cross stick. Could perhaps be larger to around 12'.
3. Any ride cymbal in the world that has a bell does not have a bell that small. Cymbal needs to be larger as does the bell.
4. Hi Hat. It has an open sound and closed sound. However if you wish to play hi hat with your foot and splash the cymbals, you can't. If you're playing subtle grooves like a disco or funk hi hat part with the open/close, it doesn't really respond.

Therefore a great beginner e-drum kit for the price. If Thomann were to make the kit with a more responsive hi hat, slightly larger sturdier snare, larger ride, similar price tag, i'll be the first one in line to buy it.

I've had this kit for about 6 months now and I've really enjoyed playing it...when it works. The pads feel realistic to strike, the Hi-Hat can be a bit finicky at times but works well enough for practice, and having a real kick pedal is a nice touch too.

However, I've had to contact customer support twice in such a short space of time in order to replace defective pads so I'm starting to think there is a reason this kit is cheaper than most. Pads have stopped registering beats correctly mid-practice, producing nothing but rim-clicks or no sounds at all which has made me have serious concerns about the longevity of this kit.

I wish I could leave a more positive review, since this kit offers a lot on the surface and is a great tool for beginner-intermediate drummers but at this point I would advise anyone looking at investing in E-drums to save your money and pick a higher quality product.