Rock Band 3 PRO-Cymbals Expansion Kit

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List Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $25.82
Today's Bonus: 35% Off

For everyone on here who can't figure out how to assemble these (which is understandable, because the directions are terrible):

Each clamp comes in two pieces, with a slight space between them. Take them and SQUEEZE THEM TOGETHER as hard as you can until you hear two loud pops, one on each end. Don't worry, you didn't break it. You're just putting it together. If you don't do this, the tightening nuts won't work, no matter how much you try to turn them. Now they don't slide down when you hit them! No tape necessary!

Now. Speaking as an actual drummer, these are the best accessory for Rock Band ever. Quieter and more responsive than the RB2 cymbals. As for the hi-hat clamp length issue, here's what I do. To set up like an actual drummer, you need to connect your crash and your hat on the LEFT side of the kit. Put the green crash on the tall tube. Connect it to the set with a short clamp. Now connect the hat to that tube with the long clamp, putting the hi hat on a short tube to the left of your snare. Now put your ride on the right side. There. May take some adjustment, but you're playing like an actual drummer. HAVE FUN!

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I purchased this RB3 Cymbal kit to go along with my RB2 drum kit to use in Pro Mode in Rock Band 3. Out of the box these cymbals are WAY too sensitive to be even remotely fun to play. I was extremely frustrated at double-hit notes coming through constantly. I searched around online for an answer and found a partial solution. If you look for the "Penny" mod it will clear up a lot, but not all of the issues (although it will void your factory warranty). I added some extra foam padding above the actual sensor and now the cymbals work perfectly. So, as an out-of-the-box item these cymbals are pretty much useless for the precision needed for RB3. With a couple of simple mods, though, these puppies work great. Granted they should have worked great straight from the factory but they are so much fun now I'm willing to overlook the simple mods I had to do to make them work properly. A worthwhile investment if you don't mind doing a little work to get them to function properly. Hopefully Madcatz will clear this issue up with future releases of the cymbals.

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I was a little skeptical to buy the cymbal expansion kit. I read reviews where there had been problems with stability and the cymbals generally not working correctly. I've been using these for the past couple of months now, and they work wonderfully! They are completely sturdy when attached the CORRECT way, and add a whole new dimension to an already great game! I am very, VERY pleased that I went with my instincts to buy the expansion kit over getting a whole new set. I am not disappointed at all! Highly recommend!

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UPDATE: After I posted this scathing review of the new Rock Band 3 cymbals, someone mentioned that the slipping problem a lot of people (including myself) have been suffering from might be related to the quick-snap part of the clamp. Sure enough, when I tried snapping the quick-snap part together again, this time using a wrench instead of my bare hands, it seems to have worked. Therefore, if the manual would have noted that you should use a wrench to snap the quick-snap parts together, it would have saved me and a lot of other people a lot of grief and removed the impression you need to tape the metal pole up for the cymbal to stay put. The quick-snaps are not something you should be snapping together with your hands unless you happen to be a gorilla.

This single oversight in the manual caused me a ton of hassle, as you can see from my original review below, so I'll remove one star for that. Otherwise, this seems to be a decent product. I'd give the game Rock Band 3 itself 5 stars, but these cymbals get 5 stars minus 2 for the pain and aggravation caused by this oversight in the manual. Maybe in a month after I forget how much the installation experience sucked, I'll want to increase the rating for the cymbals to 4 stars or so...we shall see...

Here's the original review for your um, edification:

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Unfortunately, the Rock Band 3 version of these cymbals still retains a fatal design flaw that existed in the previous version whereby the yellow cymbal's clamp fails to perform the very basic function of clamping. The yellow cymbal starts to slide down immediately when you start playing, and no amount of turning the screw (even with a wrench) provides enough tension to hold the cymbal up for more than a few hits. It would be bad enough if this type of design flaw existed in the first iteration of the product, but this is the second iteration, and the manufacturer has obviously known about this problem for over a year, yet arrogantly decided that its customers would, I don't know, not notice? Only use two out of three cymbals? I have no idea what they were thinking when they let this product escape the quality assurance process. There really is no excuse.

Although customers can jury-rig a fix with tape, this is by no means acceptable. Such failures in basic functionality should never be allowed in a finished product.

Epic fail. Shame on Harmonix for allowing this headache-inducing product to sully the Rock Band name, much like the original drum pedal. Customers deserve products that at the very least *work*.

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I would have gave it 5 if worked for rock band 1 but got my money back for a friend who wanted them. They were in excellent condition.