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Rock Band Drum Kit Modded

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thu Jan 10, 2008 09:43 AM
from the make-it-manly dept.
Hardware Hacking Entertainment Games
Brett "Buzz" Dawson writes "Seeing all of the Guitar Hero guitar mods I thought it would be an interesting change of pace to mod a full-sized drum kit for use as a Rock Band game controller. With everything that I build I take lots of pictures to document the build process so here is the full build of my drum kit." Fortunately at my house Kathleen has been doing the drumming, so I don't think I need to go to these extremes to handle the abuse. I'm more interested in mods that let you use the original drums as a real instrument like the guitar mods that are floating out there. The tiny bits of drum solo time in Rock Band don't satisfy my internal Keith Moon.
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  • Using the Rock Band drum kit as an instrument (Score:5, Informative)

    by Digital_Quartz (75366) on Thursday January 10 2008, @09:45AM (#21983554) Homepage
    If you have the PS3 version of Rock Band, then here's how to mod your drum kit:

    Step 1: Plug drum kit into PC.

    Done. Your PC will detect the PS3 drum kit as a MIDI device.

    Check out this link for details for the Xbox-360 version:

    http://news.filefront.com/rock-band-drums-for-pc-xbox-360-vs-ps3-kit/ [filefront.com]

  • Ambient music created with Rock Band drums. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mpathetiq (726625) on Thursday January 10 2008, @09:51AM (#21983646) Homepage
    In response to the editor comment: I hooked up my drum controller to my MacBook and used GamePad Companion to feed keystrokes into Ableton Live. I was able to use it as a real drum kit for a bit but I'm not a drummer, so instead I started using pitched tones for each of the pads.... much more interesting!

    I posted the results on my blog. [blogspot.com]

  • More Cowbell (Score:5, Funny)

    by SneakyBushNinja (1178539) on Thursday January 10 2008, @09:52AM (#21983656)
    And here I thought I was a bad-ass hanging a cow bell from mine.

  • a real band? (Score:5, Funny)

    by 192939495969798999 (58312) <info@@@devinmoore...com> on Thursday January 10 2008, @10:18AM (#21984096) Homepage Journal
    Modding real guitar to be guitar controller, friend has modded drums for a drum controller... given how much lip syncing is done in music now, at this point you'd basically be in "real" band!
  • Cool we can't stop playing Rock Band at my house. Too addicting...

  • Not The First Drum Kit Mod (Score:4, Informative)

    by FreeRadicalX (899322) on Thursday January 10 2008, @11:41AM (#21985432)
    The crazy kids over at the rockband.scorehero.com forums have been modding the drum controller since like a week after the game came out: http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1038&sid=d1748155f6f141a8f805db1bf5df84b3 [scorehero.com]

    Double bass pedals, yamaha midi kit mods, alternative bass pedals, analyzing how the piezos in the drum kid actually register hits and improving on them... List goes on.

    I've modded my pedal after the cheap one that came with the kit inevitably broke after the third day of playing. Since the bass pedal connects to the rest of the kit using a mono audio plug, it's easy for someone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of electronics (me) to rig a real bass pedal to work with the kit. Documented here: http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2029 [scorehero.com]

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Technician (215283)
      I've modded my pedal after the cheap one that came with the kit inevitably broke after the third day of playing. Since the bass pedal connects to the rest of the kit using a mono audio plug, it's easy for someone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of electronics (me) to rig a real bass pedal to work with the kit. Documented here: http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2029 [scorehero.com] [scorehero.com]

      Having a background in high reliability electronics, I know many switches are rated for a limited numb

  • My only mod so far is to replace the bass drum pedal. I'm a "real" drummer (though I don't play much)... and I couldn't stand the included drum pedal. It has a huge springy travel, and it triggers somewhere in the middle of that travel (rather than right at the end like a real pedal would).

    I have a Yamaha DTXPress electronic drum kit, and was able to use a cymbal pad from that, mounted (on a cymbal stand) right in front of the DTX's bass drum trigger. The bass drum trigger itself doesn't work for some

  • Drummania players have been doing this for years with a Yamaha DTX or similar. Just plug it into the usb socket.
  • Dennis Chambers. 'Nuff said.
  • ...for them to come out with French Horn Hero for Xbox 360 in order to make a mod I want to play on. Don't know that I want to put limit switches on the valves on my horn, though...maybe all it would need is a mic.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by cowscows (103644)
      Yes, we get it. You're a real musician, while all us fakers are just crappy little fools completely incapable of understanding what music really is. Thanks for reminding us that we're not real rock stars, and that video games are not the real world. I will stop enjoying my rock band drumsticks immediately.

        • I quite agree. I'm not a drummer, though I think I was born to be one (always wanted to, never was allowed growing up and can't afford drums now), and I keep having to drastically weaken my blows because I'm whaling away and I'm worried I'll break the drums. Also, they're so bloody small and close together I can't flail around while playing like God intended. It's a problem.
          • Exactly, they're set up more like orchestra tom-toms with a foot petal! Which fine for mimicking some tonal things isn't the right feel for a rock band's drum set. Also, they're the soft practice pads. Good for the game and the people around you HORRIBLE for the proper recoil from the stick for the faster movements. There is an arcade game where you play drum set and I like its layout MUCH better... Can't think of its name though...

            • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

              by Durzel (137902)
              Still, in terms of timing and the logistics of where your hands and feet are I still believe the drums in Rock Band are about as faithful a reproduction of the real thing as you're likely to get in a virtual setting.
              • Did you even read the summary? :p
              • In terms of the mechanics, sure, but that's the easiest part of playing the drums. Rock Band's timing is forgiving enough that you can correct your timing over several bars. Real drummers don't have the soundtrack correcting their slightly mistimed hits, and a drummer whose tempo would fluctuate wildly until his bassist killed him could do fine on Rock Band. You can usually get a good idea of whether a Rock Band drummer would be a good drummer from the free-form solos - if he stays on the beat during the lo

            • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

              by aikouka (932902)
              Is it DrumMania? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drummania [wikipedia.org]
          • For what the game console and game itself cost you could have a decent entry-level drum set, but I guess it's all a matter of priorities. Personally I have 3 drum sets and my newest game system is a several-year old X-box, so I guess it's easy to see which way I lean. Of course, you can't do all manner of fragging and such on a drum set either so it's a bit of a trade-off.

            I think these games have an upside & downside - the upside is that it kind of lets the player know what it's like to play in a band

            • I don't own the game, a friend does. You're perfectly correct, if I could afford the game I could have a drum set. I think you are over-analyzing it, personally. Rock Band may help with reading tabs and such, but honestly, it doesn't matter - it's the most fun I've ever had without women or hydrocodone (and it can definitely give the latter a run for its money). That's enough for me.
              • I probably am over analyzing it - I tend to do that. No offense intended. It does look like a pretty fun game. Having a bit of history as a musician though I can say that gigging can be a pretty fun game too (and can sometimes involve the aforementioned women & hydrocodone as well if you choose). Maybe having the "real" musical outlet makes me less likely to seek out one in a game, I don't know. I do know that having kids & a job & stuff made me basically hate the "Sims" games because telli

            • Drums are cheap now dude... go for it!

              Agreed. I've seen some great deals at music stores for decent semi-pro gear for just a few hundred dollars. More than adequate for beginners and you won't soon outgrow it. I don't even play drums and I've been considering picking a set up and learning because of it.

              Guitar is WAY different, you're not going to learn to play guitar with those colored buttons.

              No, but I think it could be good for us guitarists. Most guitarists can't count worth a golly good damn, but Guitar Hero makes a decent rhythm trainer. You're right: not so much for the notes, though. But then, that's not really the poi

        • Re:A friend got Rockband (Score:5, Funny)

          by poot_rootbeer (188613) on Thursday January 10 2008, @10:37AM (#21984420)
          Modding the set into something of a more full sized drum set while, yes, taking up FAR more room will make it a lot easier for people like me to play

          Also, the guitar controller should have six strings instead of just a toggle switch, and 22+ frets instead of five colored buttons. You know, so it's easier for real guitarists to play.
        • Q: How do you know the stage is flat?
          A: The drool comes out of both sides of the drummer's mouth.

    • Re:A friend got Rockband (Score:5, Funny)

      by Winckle (870180) <mwinckle&gmail,com> on Thursday January 10 2008, @10:06AM (#21983900) Homepage
      I fucking agree!

      I bought the computer game "Civilization 4" and found it to be totally unrealistic, if I applied my usual style of leadership, the America in-game would be wiped out quickly, no matter how I tried to save it!

      -George W Bush

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by wed128 (722152)
        I am sick and tired of you damn liberals turning every topic into a George W Bush Bash-a-thon. For god's sake, can we have ONE article where we just leave the politics out of it? His term is almost over...quit bitching and vote in November.
        • I wasn't bashing him! I just used his name because he's the current US president. I based my comment on an old Sid Meier (the creator of civ) quote. When he was criticized for civ not being very realistic, he replied "I don't make civilization for presidents."

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by kellyb9 (954229)
      Actually - as someone who plays guitar - I can't fully agree with your comment. Although, in part, being good at Rockband is not going to make you a better guitarist, I believe it does help beginners move their fingers independently. Which is one of the early battles people face when trying to learn how to play guitar correctly.

      I can't really say the same thing for drums or singing. On a side note, has anyone actually used the microphone yet, and is it really lame?

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Phybersyk0 (513618)
        Kellyb9 said: Actually - as someone who plays guitar - I can't fully agree with your comment. Although, in part, being good at Rockband is not going to make you a better guitarist, I believe it does help beginners move their fingers independently. Which is one of the early battles people face when trying to learn how to play guitar correctly.

        I can't really say the same thing for drums or singing. On a side note, has anyone actually used the microphone yet, and is it really lame?

        As an owner of Rock Band,

      • I play guitar, I can hold a tune, and I've played Rock Band once. It *almost* made me want to buy a 60" HDTV and an Xbox 360 (the setup I played).
        The microphone isn't lame, but seemed really easy, even on advanced settings. Either I was *really* on key, or the mic looks more for tempo and relative pitch than true accuracy.

        The guitar was not as easy (and I only went up to medium difficulty), but, like you said, strumming was simple because I already play. As for "finger independence," Rock Band only makes yo
      • As someone who plays guitar but has relatively short pinkies, I actually found that, once I stopped constantly tormenting anyone who played Guitar Hero for being a geek (read: when I started dating an addict), playing Guitar Hero forced me to use my pinkies more than playing guitar did, which in turn improved my actual guitar playing. Plus, it was fun to pick up the game and beat it on Expert when the addict who got me into it can't play on Hard. What is it that I enjoy so much about being better than peo
      • I can't really say the same thing for drums or singing. On a side note, has anyone actually used the microphone yet, and is it really lame? I've never sang in a band before, but I did years of choral and musial theater singing, and I sing for our band (though I sub in on drums - poorly - when our female drummer wants to do the female-voiced songs). The included microphone is fairly heavy, and I'd much prefer a headset or stick mic, but it is shaped appropriately for the "tamborine/cowbell" tapping sections

    • Man, I didn't get ANY oral hygene products with my kit. Not a one.

      • "machine dance is officially recognised as a dance discipline by the International Dance Organisation (IDO)."

        And the IDO are officially recognized as asshats to me.

      • machine dance is officially recognised as a dance discipline by the International Dance Organisation (IDO).
        [Citation needed]
    • This thread is to suggest who should be considered best drummer ....
      I nominate Neal Peart from RUSH

      If we all humor you and 'agree' that he's the best, can we let this boring and pointless debate end here and now...?
    • 1. Neal Peart - Rush
      2. Mike Portnoy - Dream Theater

      Its a close race...
      • Peart is probably the top rock drummer, but as far as jazz goes, Peart's pretty lousy (even by his own admission). Buddy Rich takes the crown there, but I think Rich wouldn't be as good of a rock drummer, too many drums, and he wouldn't be the center of attention. (not that I'm saying he was egotistic).

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