ION IED12 PRO SESSION Electronic Drum Set

5 Responses to “ION IED12 PRO SESSION Electronic Drum Set”

1. charmie
   June 10, 2010 at 1:11 pm

   i bought this drumset for my kids birthday and he absolutely loved it, until 2 weeks went by and the kick pedal stopped working. i called the company and got absolutely no help at all. i kept trying and they kept giving me the runaround until i read one of these reviews from someone who had the same problem with the pedal. apparently, there’s a switch on the back of the control panel which was moved into the wrong position. problem solved. there is nothing in the owners manual saying anything about this problem. so i guess the long and the short of it is that the drum set (when working) is really good, but i would not buy anything from ion audio again, ever!!!
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. Daniel M. Maffucci
   June 10, 2010 at 2:32 pm

   I bought this kit for my son, who was just starting out with the drums. I was hoping that the ability to practice without driving everyone else in the house crazy would be encouraging.
   
   However, within 2 months, the audio jack in the back of the sound unit (where the cable for the headphones/amp plugs in) became loose. It got worse and worse, and now the unit is completely unusable. This was not due to abuse. The cable for the amp was plugged in and left. It is simply a cheap connector.
   
   I recommend you pass on this and spend more money on something made to last. Despite their advertising to the contrary, this is a toy and the lack of quality makes that clear.

   Rating: 1 / 5
3. Drummer's Bummer
   June 10, 2010 at 4:56 pm

   Call me disappointed. The hardware seems well-put together, but the electronics has some serious bugs.

   Setting up the drum kit went reasonably smoothly, and everyone in the family enjoyed banging on the set. Soon, however, my sharp-eared boy noted that a low lengthy hiss followed every strike on the pads or pedals. It wasn’t enough to materially hinder the fun of playing, especially through the speakers we set up, but I suspect it would really get in the way of using this supposedly “Professional” set to make even an an amateur recording.

   Soon thereafter, one of the kick pedals stopped working properly. Some simple diagnostics confirmed that the problem lies not the pedal itself, but rather the electronics. Ion Audio’s website offered nothing to help me figure out a cure; there’s not a trouble-shooting guide to be found, there.

   I conclude that either I got a defective set or that they all suffer from a poor design. I’ll try swapping out the present unit for a replacement (thank goodness for Costco’s return policy), but the fact that I have to resort to such efforts already indicates a serious problem. I wouldn’t buy this drum set if given a second chance.
   Rating: 2 / 5
4. Kenny Osborne
   June 10, 2010 at 7:20 pm

   I searched a long time before deciding to buy this particular drum set. I am a beginning drummer who Has an Acoustic set at Church. I wanted to practice at home but tearing down and lugging an acoustic set of drums home and back every weeek was not going to fly. (and I’m sure my neighbor would not appreciate the loud sound of the drums) So I searched and searched and searched online and at the local music store (who wanted $900 bucks for a similar set) and I made the decision on this one because of the price mainly. I was skeptical at first and kept my receipt and all parts handy just in case i needed to return this and……
   
   The product is great. There are no problems with the wiring or foot pedals or anything. It does not have a “cheap” feeling to it either. physically speaking, it looks like a 500 or even 600 dollar equipment. The only thing that takes it down a notch for me is that you miss having a separate ride pad and crash pad. (they only give you one choice, either a ride or a crash) but fortunately you can buy a separate crash/ride cymbal and install it into the main brain. another disappointment is that it seems that you cannot add a splash cymbal pad if you wanted to. (oh well you can’t have it all for this price)
   
   When i practice, i do so in my living room which is not very large. My wife stated that it sounds as if i am striking phone books with drumsticks when i practice with the headphones on. This is a major plus because I have neighbors and i do not want to disturb them with my drumming nor do I want to announce to the neighborhood that I have a drum set in my house. (break-ins) It comes with a port where you can plug in speakers and play out loud also if need be. The variety of sounds are also fun too. I have not ventured deep into what the brain can do but so far I am far form being unimpressed
   
   Even though the price is lower than other drum sets which can cost you 600-1500 and up. This one is not cheaply built. All of the parts and arms and body of the drum set is stable. My curious cats have already tipped it over, but no broken parts or anything like that. Overall I believe that if you are a beginning drummer like myself, this is the perfect low cost quiet set for you.
   Rating: 4 / 5
5. Robert Speziale
   June 10, 2010 at 8:40 pm

   I bought this drum set about 5 weeks ago at the local Wholesale
   
   Membership store due to the Cost, about 2/3 of the quoted price
   
   here on Amazon. The set was on display, and after listening
   
   to the cymbals on the headphones I decided to buy it. I purchased
   
   the set specifically to add a more realistic drum track to my own
   
   music, which I record on a multitrack recorder.

   If you read reviews of electronic drums of every price range, there’s
   
   a host of problems that can occur, from loosening of the glue that
   
   holds the pads, to broken foot pedals, to malfunctions of the computer
   
   chips and wiring connections. At this price point, I decided I could
   
   take a chance. Included with the set was a very nice Numark 125
   
   headphone, a pair of large unvarnished drum sticks, 2 foot pedals,
   
   4 pads, 2 cymbals, the drum module, and a sturdy PVC frame.

   After using the set for several weeks I can say I am quite happy with it
   
   so far. It assembled in about an hour, just using the diagram that came
   
   with it. There is a small chrome wrench included that tightens all the
   
   connections. My wrench is hanging from the frame so I don’t lose it.

   Initially I had a major problem in that there was no documentation in the
   
   manual or on the ION Audio website of the 108 drum sounds and 15 patterns. The
   
   prospect of scrolling through more than a hundred undocumented numbered
   
   sounds to change the pad sounds seemed absurd.

   I tried calling their customer service department, but perhaps due to the
   
   newness of the product, and after a total of 45 minutes of musical hold
   
   (and being transferred to three different people who said they couldn’t
   
   help but would transfer me to someone who could) I just hung up the phone.

   Then, after two emails through the ION website contact form, and a couple
   
   of additional emails to their customer service department, the ION customer
   
   service reps finally came through and emailed me a list of the sounds and
   
   patterns.

   I don’t know if this set will last, though it seems quite sturdy to me. I
   
   hope the parts I can’t see are as good as the parts I can see. I am
   
   quite pleased with the quality of recordings I have done. As an amateur
   
   musician, and a first time drummer I found the dynamics, sound and no
   
   apparent lag time to be just what I was hoping to get. I did find that
   
   to record direct to the multitrack recorder I needed to use the phones out rather
   
   than the line out. The line out generated a lot of noise into an unbalanced
   
   line in on my multitrack recorder. However the phones out generated a beautiful
   
   clean recording.
   Rating: 4 / 5