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Hart Prodigy E-Drums


goreDNknot

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A few months ago I asked this board about some of the electronic kits on the market. As a guitar player, I didn't need the $3000 set, just one that would allow me to record into Cakewalk with a bit more of a human feel than with a drum machine.

 

I decided to go with the Hart Prodigy kit. It was considerably cheaper than the Roland V-Club, and I liked the woven heads of the Hart better than the Roland's pads. So far, I have been amazed at how well this kit works. I am not a drummer, though I can keep a beat, but the thing tracks my every strike.

 

As I have only had it a few days, I cannot comment on it's reliability or anything like that, and I might in the future, but let me give you my likes and dislikes of it so far - if you are interested.

 

Dislikes:

 

1) All the heads are the same size. From what drums I have played, there is an aesthetic as well as pragmatic reason the heads are different sizes. I will get used to them I'm sure.

 

2) The cymbals sound like you are striking a cardboard box (not the cymbal sounds, but the hitting of the actual cymbal itself) and that sound is almost as loud as the sampled sounds. Even at high volumes you still hear the hit. Perhaps all electronic kits are this way. It's just an extra, albeit annoying, sound in the mix.

 

3) The hi hat cymbal is a rubber pad, not a cymbal. It has no give whatsoever and has a funny feel to it. Again, I'll get used to it.

 

 

Likes:

 

1) It sets up, adjusts, and plays very well. It is velocity sensitive, it can be tuned, it triggers great and I haven't noticed any "non-triggers", although I did have to set the sensitivities to get rid of some ghost triggers. No big deal. All the concerns I had about dynamics have been put to rest. It sounds like a drum kit.

 

2) The woven heads are very responsive and feel very natural. I didn't like the rubber pads.

 

3) It seems a bit more durable than what I expected. I have missed the heads on a number of ocassions but I didn't notice any scratches or damage at all on the plastic surronding the head. The stand seems strong as well, as do the clamps. I have been banging away at it for two days now and it hasn't moved at all, neither the individual heads nor the whole kit itself.

 

 

One last thing - I chose the Alesis DM5 over the Roland module. I have many Alesis products (as well as Roland) and felt better about them, plus the rack mount controller appealed to me more.

 

The only thing is that the drum sounds, though plentiful, aren't really useable for a number of reasons. Some of the sounds are just stupid, while the excellent sounds often have too much reverb in them making them unuseable. I don't know why the can't integrate a drum module with dry sounds and a reverb unit that you adjust to your liking. For this module, I will simply have to build my own drumkits with the voices I like best together. Of course, when I midi to Cakewalk, I will use drum soundfont's instead of the Alesis sounds, so that should take care of that problem.

 

 

Anyway, I might post further observations in the future. For all I have had to say, I really do like these drums. I have yet to midi them into Cakewalk, but I don't see any problems there.

 

For any guitarists/bassists/keyboardists who are thinking about getting a set of inexpensive drums for the same purposes as I have, check out the Hart Prodigy. I apparently got the last one on Musiciansfriend. The next batch is now due out in a week. The set is on sale right now though for $749 with the controller. Not bad.

 

I hope this has been informative in some way.

 

Jim.

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$749 is a pretty good price, I plan to get

some e-drums eventually

 

You can always upgrade the cymbals to

the Roland V cymbals down the road.

 

I'm hopefull that e-drums will become

even more affordable in the future.

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Dude! I got a set of those not very long ago as well. I am quite happy with them... I got the kind with the chokeable cymbals (Prodigy DVC) but I need to upgrade my module for that to work. I'm using a lovely old Alesis D4. These get the job done for my purposes. However, for anyone considering buying one for use with a module you already own, I'd suggest the following site to buy (only 500 bucks for the pad set): http://www.musiciansbuy.com/hart_dynamics_prodigy_drumset.htm

 

Wade

:eek:

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You can always upgrade the cymbals to

the Roland V cymbals down the road.

 

 

Yeah, one day I will do that. I understand that they act more like real cymbals. The ones on this kit, and the Pintechs that are just like them, are like hitting a cardboard box. Mentally, I am expecting some movement and I really don't want to hit them as hard as I have to now. I realize there are some adjustments for that, and I will probably get around to making them eventually.

 

I might also add another pad/trigger next to the bass trigger so I can learn double bass. The DM5 has 12 inputs so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

I suck, but I am having a blast (I'm a guitarist, not a drummer). I am really glad I finally broke down and got these. Maybe my drum tracks will sound a bit more lively now.

 

I have a GREATER respect for drummers now as well. I like playing music in odd meters, and trying to get all 4 limbs going at odds with one another is certainly a challenge. For those who have mastered it (Giulio Cappiozo, Chad Wackerman, Steve Smith, Daniel Jeand'heur, et.al.) my hat is off to you.

 

 

Jim

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