List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $69.95
Today's Bonus: $0.04 Off
This is the first review I've ever written on Amazon, however I wanted to give some input on this product since I could not find very much information or reviews of it online. That being said, I still took the risk and bought it and fortunately I have been very pleased with it.
First I would like to make it clear that I do not actually play any rhythm guitar/drum simulator games. My use of this pedal is on a Do-it-yourself drum kit that I have hacked together using inexpensively purchased game controllers and parts for the purpose of sending MIDI signals to drum software on the PC.. However my experience with the pedal should still apply if you are a gamer.
A bit of history:
I was getting very frustrated with the other pedals I had tried. While I have never broken any pedals, (as I have read about so many), my main problem was that the pedals I was using were registering "double hits" which was extremely frustrating for my needs since I am using this as an instrument, I was hearing two bass-drum sounds when I only intended to play one. I believe this was partially due to my way of playing, but also partly due to cheap pedal design.
The pedals I had this trouble with are:
*Rock band 2 stock pedal
*Rock band portable pedal
*Transcription pedal that I rigged up to the drums
I tried playing both heel up and heel down.. It didn't seem to matter how I played, I was ending up getting double hits and getting very frustrated by it.
So I decided to invest in the Roadie U...
It has been worth it.
***BUILD QUALITY***
The first thing to notice about the Roadie U is the build quality. It is made of very strong & solid metal. The thing is heavy, I would say about 3 or 4 pounds. It feels very solid under my foot and does not feel like it would ever break under any kind of normal use. The base also has some velcro on the bottom and some screws which appear to be so you can mount it or stick those in the carpet. It does not slide around at all once it's in place, on carpet at least. If you did it on hard floor it would likely scratch the floor, so I would recommend putting down a rubber mat under it or something if you are playing on a wooden floor.
***TECHNOLOGY***
This pedal uses the same method of sensing presses as the Rock band 2 stock pedal does -I.e. a magnetic switch. Initially I was disappointed by this as I had suspected the magnetic switch was partially to blame for my double-hit problem. I was hoping the Roadie U would use some kind of mechanical switch action. However, it is magnetic so without any physical contact of the sensor, it will probably last longer than a mechanical switch would.
It is important to note: this pedal is simply an on/off switch. So it will work with Rock band kits but will not work with Guitar Hero: World Tour.. This is because the pedal on the guitar hero: world tour drums actually has a piezo sensor in it (the same type of sensor inside the pads), which would not be compatible with a simple on/off switch pedal
***NOISE***
The pedal is a bit noisy when playing it. It's not as loud as the rock band portable pedal (which makes a terrible loud plastic clicking) but louder than the rock band 2 stock pedal. The Roadie U makes a satisfying click sound when depressed and released, but you can also hear the metal reverberate a bit. It's not terrible, but it won't win any awards for quietness.
***DOWN AND DIRTY WITH IT***
I have had this pedal for about 2 weeks now. It took me about a week to get adjusted to it. I have tried playing heel up, but I found it not comfortable as the pedal is pretty large so my knee was pretty high off the ground. The most comfortable playing position I have found is heel down, with my knee extended out almost all the way, with the pedal placed to the right of the drum pads.
Playing like this has been very comfortable and I have FINALLY eliminated the double-register problem. I still occasionally get double hits, but I think that's most likely a fault of my own due to my playing style (sometimes my leg bounces a bit especially when I start getting in the groove). But overall I have eliminated most of the double hits. Now I can concentrate on playing and practicing instead of getting frustrated with my equipment.
***CONCLUSION***
Whether you are needing an on/off switch pedal for rock band gaming like most, hacked up drum-controller MIDI to drum software playback (like me), or even as a digital switch for some alternate project or as a sustain pedal/etc, the Roadie U is a quality pedal that is not likely to leave you disappointed. I like it and you could certainly do a lot worse.
It was well worth the cost in my opinion because it now allows me to focus on what's most important: The music.
Click Here to Read More Reviews >>
It works great my son likes it much better than the original pedal & subsequent replacement pedals because he can move the pedal off to the side of the drum set. As well as it is a very sturdy medal so it won't break in the middle like the other 2. Very happy so far.Pedal feels sturdy and looks like a real kick pedal. It doesn't "hook" onto the drum stand so the reach is a little farther especially for smaller people. It is also rather loud. The pedal plays accurate.
0 comments:
Post a Comment