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Yamaha’s new PCY90AT cymbals and the HH65 hi-hat controller Roland PD-7. From a feel standpoint, there wasn’t much difference either.
Comparing stick noise on the tom pads to my PD-7, the Yamaha pads have a much lighter sound without the deep resonance of the Roland pad and were quieter by about 2 dB. All in all, this will be a fairly quiet kit, well suited for small spaces. The PCY90AT cymbals are interchangeable. An offset-mounted, 10” cymbal, the mounting is pretty static. Yes, there is just enough play to keep you from thinking you’re hitting a solid pad, but not much more. Loosening the wing nut in the hope of making the cymbals sway simply results in them drooping downward since they are offset mounted. How this impacts a beginning drummer is impossible to predict since acoustic drummers who’ve made the switch almost always still complain about the swing and play of e-cymbals. While Yamaha hasn’t broken any new ground with these cymbals, they do look better than the old “pie wedges”, are softer and thus a bit quieter, and otherwise work fine.
The cymbals are single-zone and very responsive across the entire playing area but they don’t choke. The ride’s bell voice is velocity-produced, so if you whack the pad hard enough and in the centre, you get a pretty reliable bell voice. However, if you beat the ride hard in general play, you’re apt to get more bell hits than you want. Stick noise on the cymbals is identical to a Roland CY-14 we tested back in February 2011.
Hi-hat articulation is what you would expect from an introductory level module: open/closed, half-open, foot close, the closing hi-hat sound and heel splash (or chick). The
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latter was a joy to rediscover in that the hi-hat controller (HH65) was very loose, almost squishy with some lateral movement, making it a very forgiving pedal and perfect for a beginner.
There are also settings on the module to simulate clutch position, heel splash sensitivity, foot close position (this changes the virtual opening between the top and bottom hi-hat cymbals assuming both are there) and the foot close velocity. The big question on any e-kit - no matter the price point - involves the cymbals: how “realistic” are they, particularly the crash and hi-hat? The crashes, understandably, weren’t nearly as articulate in producing subtle swells as the newer, higher-priced modules, but I was surprised at how well they did. Hi-hat articulation took some getting used to, again coming from something far more complex, but putting myself in a beginner’s shoes, it didn’t take me long to develop a technique that produced decent hi-hat sounds. My only gripe is that I wish the cymbals choked.
The teacher
The module shines as a training tool. I was most interested in trying this to see just how lousy a drummer I am. And in many ways, I lived down to my expectations.
The best thing the module has is 10 complete practice songs in which you can mute the drum parts - or lower the volume on the drum parts so that they’re “kinda there”, to assist in practising. You can also loop a specific section of the song so you can drill repeatedly until you get it right. www.digitaldrummermag.com