 ION IED01 Review
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. | 
