Rock Band Hit Kit by Blockhead Review

So I stopped by Best Buy on the way home from work to pick up some drum silencers for my Rock Band drums and there for $20 is the Rock Band Hit Kit by Blockhead. Doesn’t seem like a bad deal, drum silencers, composite drum sticks, an height adjustable foot pedal& works on all Rock Band kits all for a Jackson and some change. Sitting next to it is the official Rock Band drum silencers sans sticks and pedal also for $20. So off I went feeling good that I got something extra for my money, or did I?

First things first, the package states it’s a Base Pedal, hmmm, didn’t notice that in the store. But whatever when you get the lowest bidder to design your graphics sometimes typos happen. I open the package and the drum silencers are pieces of circular foam that are held in place with a separate rubber gasket. The manual states it’s best to put on with 2 hands, I say it’s best to put it on by securing one side and then rolling the other edge over like you are making a bed, you do know how to make your bed don’t you?

Next up are the drum sticks, if you compare the original wooden sticks to these composite sticks, the wooden ones are much lighter. The composite sticks are also just barely longer and have a slightly larger tip. The feel weighted pretty evenly, just don’t try and perform a stick twirl immediately after coming off the wooden sticks or you may end up poking out someones eye. The drum sticks are black with a Blockhead logo on them so it should match the media cave nicely if the light wood coloring of the originals was messing up your decor.

Lastly we move onto the bass pedal or as they call it the Base Pedal! There are 2 heights, regular and low, the tip of the regular height is higher than the original drum pedal and the low setting is lower than the original. The bass pedal itself is also smaller than the original drum pedal and after 1 or 2 sessions has a great grip on carpet, however there is only 1 notch cut out for the drum set bar instead of the 2 on the original.

Now that we’ve discussed all the pieces how do they all work together? Well, not to well, in fact you do get what you pay for. First up the drum pads seemed to take too much away from your hit rate, they do lessen the sound but at the expense that you have to hit the drum a heck of a lot harder. Once you toss the pads, keep the rubber gaskets in place so you can at least protect the rims of your drums from miss hits. The drum sticks being heavier seem to wear you out faster, after only 4 songs my hands were starting to turn red, I’ve gone at least 8 songs with the original sticks and had no ill effects.

Finally we come to the pedal, THE MIGHTY BASE PEDAL! Well it’s not to bad, seems to register the majority of the hits with maybe a few misses that I felt were uncalled for. And with the pedal at it’s low setting it does help with foot fatigue, especially in your shin muscle. So at the end of it all we have:

Pros:

• Cheap
• Works On All Current Versions (Wii Version Not Tested)
• Weighted Drum Sticks
• Smaller Adjustable Drum Pedal
• Rubber Gasket Can Be Used To Protect Drum Rims

Cons:

• Cheap (You Get What You Pay For)
• Drum Pads Lessen Registered Hits & Require More Force
• Weighted Sticks Can Be Tiring
• Smaller Drum Pedal May Not Work For People With Larger Feet

Conclusion: Makes you feel like a Blockhead if you by this for the drum silencers.