ION IED01 Review

[BCmania]

Okay, I'm doing a review of the ION IED01 for Drummania.

Like everyone, I wanted the cheapest Electronic Drum Machine to use for Drummania and didn't want to spend too much with a Budget of $700 (including games). I then looked for units that were selling locally. I heard people using Yamaha DTX systems, but they retail for $899+ (Only for the Pads I needed), I then found a Sonic Drums SD-502 for $499, that was promising, but they were outta stock.

I went with the ION IED01 which I bought from "The Source" Canada for $210+tax (down from $300 for Boxing Day sale, yes I'm Canadian). I ordered it from them and then a week later it came in and I picked it up from the store, saved shipping cost if I picked it up from the store instead of delivered to me.

I then rushed out to find a Yamaha UX-16 Midi-USB converter, I found only 1 in stock in Vancouver. I went to purchase it for $75+tax. I then went to the local import store to pick up a copy of "Guitar Freaks V & Drummania V" for $55. I setup the IED01 system and then began to test the Unit out and it worked right away.

The IED01 frame is made out of metal, but the joints that connect the metal frame is made of plastic. The pads are made of harder plastic compared to higher end pads from Yamaha/Roland, which uses a softer type of pads. The pads are rugged enough for playing on and seem to last as long as you want it to. The kickers are made of plastic and aren't the best but I plan to replace them later on. They also have a known problem of double kicking that ION doesn't want to deal with. The iDM02 (Drum machine unit) has 50 preset drums sound but you don't need to know about it. Just connect the Yamaha UX-16 to the Midi port and your all set to go, there's no setting adjustment needed. The IED01 is light enough to move around without any troubles.

I played a couple of songs and found that when I hit one pad, another pad registered and played at the same time. I spent a couple hours reading the instructions to figure out what the problem was. I ended up putting the headphones on and found out it did the same thing. I finally realized that they way I setup the unit and because I am a beginner, I've been hitting the pads really hard which vibrated the whole unit and activated the closest pad. A little of re-arranging of the pads location and tightening the screws properly, the system worked fine.

After a couple of days of playing "Guitar Freak V & Drummania V", I decided to go and purchase some more games from my local import store, I picked up V2 & V3 for $50 each and "Guitar Freak 4th Drummania 3rd Mix" for $45. I borrowed my friends "Guitar Freak 3rd & Drummania 2nd Mix" to test it out also.

Now for each review of the Games:

Guitar Freaks 3rd & Drummania 2nd Mix
- Doesn't work, the system doesn't detect the USB

Guitar Freaks 4th & Drummania 3rd Mix
- Works, but system detects double tap for every single tap. Menu select and during game play. I've connected the headphones to the Drum Unit and it does play a single sound through the headphones, but the Game registers a double tap for some reason.

Guitar Freaks V 1-3 & Drummania V 1-3
- Works Great no problems.

Now, I ordered "Guitar Freaks & Drummania Masterpiece Gold/Silver" ($50 each) from my import store and waiting for them to arrive so I can play on them.

Overall, a decent system to play Drummania, not the best, but for the price it's good enough to play with. The only negative of the IED01 is the kicker, it tends to double strike at times. After I get better, I'll save up and sell my IED01 for a better system. But that'll be several years away.

[qobba]

Hu nice..

I just wanted to post something in your other topic, but well:

OMEGA mentioned there that he'd just buy another pedal, but which are compatible with this? I mean the IED01 doesn't use a "real" pedal...
Also i would like to know if the rock band pedal is compatible since it seems to use the same cables for that?
If yes, than this should also work:
ScoreHero :: View topic - ~!~ The Lazy Man's Authentic Drum Pedal Mod! w/ Pics ~!~

Anyone knows?

btw: you could still play DTXMania, set should work fine for that, if it doesn't work at all the drummania games.

[Kσn]

Great! Next coming weeks I am going to grab a IED01! Hopefully I can set it up like a Drummania machine would, or I am going to have to do some modding...

[delinquent]

Originally Posted by BCmania

Okay, I'm doing a review of the ION IED01 for Drummania.

Like everyone, I wanted the cheapest Electronic Drum Machine to use for Drummania and didn't want to spend too much with a Budget of $700 (including games). I then looked for units that were selling locally. I heard people using Yamaha DTX systems, but they retail for $899+ (Only for the Pads I needed), I then found a Sonic Drums SD-502 for $499, that was promising, but they were outta stock.

I went with the ION IED01 which I bought from "The Source" Canada for $210+tax (down from $300 for Boxing Day sale, yes I'm Canadian). I ordered it from them and then a week later it came in and I picked it up from the store, saved shipping cost if I picked it up from the store instead of delivered to me.

I then rushed out to find a Yamaha UX-16 Midi-USB converter, I found only 1 in stock in Vancouver. I went to purchase it for $75+tax. I then went to the local import store to pick up a copy of "Guitar Freaks V & Drummania V" for $55. I setup the IED01 system and then began to test the Unit out and it worked right away.

The IED01 frame is made out of metal, but the joints that connect the metal frame is made of plastic. The pads are made of harder plastic compared to higher end pads from Yamaha/Roland, which uses a softer type of pads. The pads are rugged enough for playing on and seem to last as long as you want it to. The kickers are made of plastic and aren't the best but I plan to replace them later on. They also have a known problem of double kicking that ION doesn't want to deal with. The iDM02 (Drum machine unit) has 50 preset drums sound but you don't need to know about it. Just connect the Yamaha UX-16 to the Midi port and your all set to go, there's no setting adjustment needed. The IED01 is light enough to move around without any troubles.

I played a couple of songs and found that when I hit one pad, another pad registered and played at the same time. I spent a couple hours reading the instructions to figure out what the problem was. I ended up putting the headphones on and found out it did the same thing. I finally realized that they way I setup the unit and because I am a beginner, I've been hitting the pads really hard which vibrated the whole unit and activated the closest pad. A little of re-arranging of the pads location and tightening the screws properly, the system worked fine.

After a couple of days of playing "Guitar Freak V & Drummania V", I decided to go and purchase some more games from my local import store, I picked up V2 & V3 for $50 each and "Guitar Freak 4th Drummania 3rd Mix" for $45. I borrowed my friends "Guitar Freak 3rd & Drummania 2nd Mix" to test it out also.

Now for each review of the Games:

Guitar Freaks 3rd & Drummania 2nd Mix
- Doesn't work, the system doesn't detect the USB

Guitar Freaks 4th & Drummania 3rd Mix
- Works, but system detects double tap for every single tap. Menu select and during game play. I've connected the headphones to the Drum Unit and it does play a single sound through the headphones, but the Game registers a double tap for some reason.

Guitar Freaks V 1-3 & Drummania V 1-3
- Works Great no problems.

Now, I ordered "Guitar Freaks & Drummania Masterpiece Gold/Silver" ($50 each) from my import store and waiting for them to arrive so I can play on them.

Overall, a decent system to play Drummania, not the best, but for the price it's good enough to play with. The only negative of the IED01 is the kicker, it tends to double strike at times. After I get better, I'll save up and sell my IED01 for a better system. But that'll be several years away.

sweet i'm getting tired of playing RB2

can you make a video of yourself playing dm

Canada has an import store?!

AZ sucks...

[alvincflorentino]

Good day, sir!

Having problems with my recently purchased Ion IED01/IDM01 drum machine. First of all, I was a victim of false advertisement cuz the sellers (a webstore selling used items in the Philippines didn't tell me that the hihat and kick pedals and adaptor was missing. I only found out when I got to their place. However, I brought my own adaptor (9v AC 1000mA) and tested the connections (5 pads with cables, etc) and it eventually worked after a bit of cleaning the slightly corroded 1/8" cable connectors. I went ahead and got the kit but for a much lower price since there were no pedals thinking I could get them later on. When I got home, I set everything up and--with a bit of revising the drums sounds and tweaking the routings here and there--finally managed to make the whole kit sound up. Everything was ok until I got home.

The next time I powered the unit up, the only pad left "playable" was the ride. The rest of the pad/pedal inputs had no sound at all! I've tried tweaking the internal routings of the software, reseting the unit, and tested ALL the connections but, unfortunately, found nothing wrong. The battery inside is fine too. In other words, all the electronics/electrical connections/buttons/switches/pad inputs seem to be wired ok but the pad inputs won't trigger anymore. WTF!?

The module itself works perfectly: all pads, switches and buttons work as it's supposed to; It's still possible to program a beat; it still plays preset kits/beats; pads on the module itself play and respond to velocity well. The only problem is that the external triggers/pads don't trigger anymore (except the ride, which is fine).

Would you happen to know what to do? I'm at my wits end trying to figure it out. I've thought of re-installing the software (presuming I could find the software for it on the web) but there's only a MIDI out and no way to "re-install" the whole program/software via an input somewhere. Please help asap! Thanks in advance.

[defiled]

What import store did you go to? I ask because I drive up to Vancouver from Seattle often (going next weekend), and it'd be cool to know of some import/game shops up there.

Also, Guitar Freaks 3rd/Drummania 2nd has no MIDI drum support (sadly).

I've heard of other people having issues with the drum in 4/3... I guess your sensitivity settings have to be pretty exact for that one.

[shin-arudo]

um actually i was once an ION drum owner but then i sold mine and ended up bought Yamaha DTX, i mean if you guys really want something good, just save your money, and buy yamaha DTX, the pads are very different in quality and its feel.
just want to share my 2 cents though, because i feel its worth to spend a bit more for yamaha DTX for its quality. Its totally on different level.

[AdamW]

defiled: there's a small import game store in Crystal Mall (which is by Metrotown), there's an area at Crystal Mall which is all tech stores (PC stores, stores that sell cellphones and DS 'backup' cards and stuff) and one of those does import games.

[defiled]

Originally Posted by AdamW

defiled: there's a small import game store in Crystal Mall (which is by Metrotown), there's an area at Crystal Mall which is all tech stores (PC stores, stores that sell cellphones and DS 'backup' cards and stuff) and one of those does import games.

Thanks for the heads up on that, Adam! I try to find more and more game shops and stuff of that nature to check out whenever I'm up there, so if you have any other recommendations, whether they're in the city, Burnaby, Richmond, wherever... I'd be glad to hear them.

[Checky]

90% of the "import game stores" that you go to here will be selling copied/illegal games. There's tons of them all over Richmond (Parker Place/Admiralty/Yaohan/Pacific Plaza/Aberdeen), but come to think of it I can't even think of one that sells legit games off the top of my head

[defiled]

Originally Posted by Checky

90% of the "import game stores" that you go to here will be selling copied/illegal games. There's tons of them all over Richmond (Parker Place/Admiralty/Yaohan/Pacific Plaza/Aberdeen), but come to think of it I can't even think of one that sells legit games off the top of my head

Quite interesting, but somehow I am not surprised :P

BTW, your name sounds familiar. Are you Kevin's friend? I'm thinking we may have met at one point but I am not sure.

[AdamW]

yeah, I mentioned the one I did because it actually sells legit stuff (or did last time I bought something there, a couple of years back - it may have changed owner/policy since then). I got a couple of PSP games that I'm 99% sure are legit (they have full high-quality manuals and the UMDs look legit and work in an un-modded PSP, plus who the hell sells pirate UMDs anyway?) Like Checky says, a lot of the ones, especially in Richmond, are just selling pirate stuff.

[Checky]

Yeah I'm kevin's friend. My name is Colin.

[Skippydzg]

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I just wanted to throw my two cents in.

I recently purchased one of these kits for 50 dollars on Craigslist, which was pretty much a steal. It only came with a USB output, though, no MIDI..windows recognized it immediately and mapped it as a game controller though, so no worries there.

So far, I've only tested it with DTXMania, and it's performed amiably so far. I have a bit of input lag, but that was (mostly) fixed by adjusting the offset option in the menu. The pads do have sort of a plastic-y feel to them, but it's not altogether that much worse than the arcade versions. There isn't really a "softness" to the bounce on most pads, which actually makes double-stroke rolls and such slightly easier - at least, in my opinion. Your mileage may vary. :P

In addition to that, this kit is compatible with the standard Rock Band kick pedals. I have a normal pedal and the "Double Bass Kit" that was sold as an accessory for the RB2 kits. It's basically just a Y adapter with a switch letting you chose whether to let a single input through or both of them. It works beautifully and I don't get any double-hits at all. I do seem to have some cross talk between the snare and "hi-hat" pad on fast patterns.

So, to anyone out there who has had experience with this kit -
1. Is routing a pedal into the hi-hat for opening and closing it worth the time at all?

2. What is the cheapest "real" hi-hat replacement I can get for this kit? Currently, I have the standard pads arranged like a kit should be, but it definitely doesn't have the same feel without them.

Are these any good? -
Amazon.com: Ion Cymbal for IED01 and IED04: Musical Instruments

Edit -
Just found out my model is the ied05, just thought I'd clarify. Same pads, different module.