The feature that seems to stand out most to potential Rock Band buyers is the drum controller. The Rock Band drum
set has four pressure-sensitive drum pads, as well as a somewhat flimsy bass pedal, which connects to the back of
the set via 1/8 jack. Oddly, the drumset is not a wireless controller; it connects to the PS3 by USB. The surprisingly
sturdy legs are height adjustable, which is really important if you want to avoid being sore all the time. Finally,
between the second and third pads, there is a typical PlayStation controller, though minus analog sticks and shoulder
buttons. This is particularly helpful during character design. Overdrive is achieved on drums by hitting all your
glowing white notes, and activated by playing a fill, which is a short improvised section which lasts anywhere from 2 to
8 beats of the song. Remember, you have to end your fill with a green cymbal note to activate Overdrive properly.
There's no way for a 5-fretted plastic guitar to accurately mimic the experience of really playing guitar. Folks, I'm here
to tell you, if you're playing Expert Drums, you should be able to play pretty well on a real drum set. As I've mentioned
before, my wife is the drummer in the family. She has played for 14 years and is classically trained, and there are
songs in Expert that leave her weeping on the floor in the fetal position. I'm betting, though, that most of you don't fall
into the trained drummer category, so here's my drum retard take. (Really, I start playing, and it's like my foot and
hands are at war with each other. Not pretty at all.)
Anyone should be able to handle Easy on drums. It's childishly simple, and the bass pedal (which is what will screw
you up, guaranteed) is used sparingly. As you move from Easy to Medium to Hard, what you will find is that the notes
stream by quite a bit faster, and the bass pedal is used A LOT MORE! I'd highly recommend learning to play with the
pedal already down, then bouncing the foot whenever a note is hit. Your leg will thank me. Don't get me wrong, it'll be
sore anyway, just not as much.
Expert drums is freaking ridiculous. Expect to spend a lot of time in practice mode. Some of the rhythms are obscure
enough to where there's no way you're going to learn them without slowing the song down and listening. Familiarity
with the song really helps on Expert as well, so do some buying from iTunes or something.
There have been some problems with the first generation of Rock Band drumsets. There are many a website devoted
to drum repair (which voids your warranty, but I guess some people don't feel like waiting.). Some examples include
foam padding to muffle the sounds of drumming, which can be quite loud, or a steel plate to reinforce the flimsy bass
pedal. I'll look up some of these fixes and link to them, but just remember, there's no need to beat the snot out of the
pads. Rock Band doesn't recognize varying levels of dynamics, so just relax and take it easy. You'll be able to play
faster relaxed anyway. Finally, pick up a pair of decent drumsticks. The pair that came with the bundle was
laughable; I'm pretty sure they hadn't even been sanded yet. A pair with nylon tips (or even rubber balls) on the end
will go a long way towards muffling your rock sessions, particularly useful for you apartment dwellers out there.