Overall Quality of Megadrum Compared To Professional Module

[p4p4gaio]

Hello everyone, sorry about my english. I tried to find an answer at the forum in the search box, but I could not find any.

First Question:

I want to know about the overall quality of the megadrum DIY-module, compared to a professional "industry-made" module, like the roland td-12 or td-20, yamaha or alesis modules.

Consider the following aspects:

Reliability - e.g.: how long will it last? 5 years? 10 years? more? lifetime? without showing any sort of hardware problems. And, whenever hardware problems appear, would it be easy to fix them up, or would I need to make a new MegaDrum?

Sensitivity - e.g.: is MD sensible enough like td-12 or td-20 ? would it (MegaDrum) react the same way in "recognize the beat" like the td-12 or td-20? Of course, I am not considering Positional sensing, since I do not need this right now.

Second question:

Will Roland FD-8 hi-hat control pedal works "exactly" the same way as in a roland module?

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Sorry about recurring references to roland td-12 and td-20 modules. Correct me if I am wrong, one told me that they are one of the best comercial e-drums.

And please IF possible, i need answers from people that have played a lot, BOTH Modules (Megadrum AND Roland td-12 or td-20).

Thanks in advance.

And thanks to everyone that makes this project possible and accessible.

[dmitri]

I cannot comment on anything except this:

Reliability - e.g.: how long will it last? 5 years? 10 years? more? lifetime? without showing any sort of hardware problems. And, whenever hardware problems appear, would it be easy to fix them up, or would I need to make a new MegaDrum?

MegaDrum project is less than 3 years old. I haven't heard about MegaDrum been broken from simply using it.
It is only possible to theorize about 5 years or more. MegaDrum is very simple (compared to other modules) and uses little components. The less components the less things that can break.

[jman 31]

Also note that megadrum is a midi device that uses sounds from another source (i.e. another module, drum machine or computer) It does not have built in sounds and is not specifically a drum module, but a piezo activated midi input/output device.

[p4p4gaio]

Thanks dmitri and jman31 for the answers. (by the way the answers here are fast, only 40 minutes )

For jman31: Thanks to clarify the things, but i knew that MegaDrum dont have built-in sounds. I'm trying to make a comparation between the other features that are present on BOTH Modules.

but like i said in the first post:

And, whenever hardware problems appear, would it be easy to fix them up, or would I need to make a new MegaDrum?

I want to know if it will be Easy to Fix (Just change/replace the damaged component), or i need to make a NEW PCB ?

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And please, if someone can answer the other questions i will be gratefull too.

Once more, thanks in advance.

[dmitri]

If it is an IC which has been damaged and it sits in a socket, than you can simply replace this IC to repair MegaDrum. If everything is soldered in then you either will have to de-solder/re-solder or replace the PCB. But again, there are very little components in MegaDrum which may break and I haven't heard about any been broken due to use.

[p4p4gaio]

OK, i undestood.

Just for curiosity, the first OR the Firsts Modules that you made less than 3 years ago.. , are they still working AND do you had to change some components of they?

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And please if someone can answer the other questions... By the way you dont need to have played td-12 or td-20 to make a comparison.
If you have played ANY Roland, Yamaha and Alesis Modules, what do you have to say about them compared to Megadrum.

Once more, thanks in advance.

[jman 31]

I can't speak for Dmitri as to the earlier models, but I can tell you that the megadrum has very few parts and as long as it is constructed correctly will last forever. There is really nothing that can go wrong with it unless an IC goes bad which is rare and then it's just a matter of replacing the IC. I can honestly say that there is no reason why it shouldn't last as long as anything else that is on the market.

obviously a current overload from the power company or a lightning strike could fry it, but that is the same with any electronics.

I hope that answers your questions.

Jman

[dmitri]

OK, i undestood.

Just for curiosity, the first OR the Firsts Modules that you made less than 3 years ago.. , are they still working AND do you had to change some components of they?

Just as I said before, I haven't heard about any MegaDrum being broken due to use and the very first MegaDrum being built is still in very good health and I do all my drumming/testing with it.

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And please if someone can answer the other questions... By the way you dont need to have played td-12 or td-20 to make a comparison.
If you have played ANY Roland, Yamaha and Alesis Modules, what do you have to say about them compared to Megadrum.

You may be interested to have a look at the results of the poll: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=137

[fuzzysnuggleduck]

I've used a Yamaha DTXpress IV and I like the Megadrum better overall... HOWEVER the Yamaha was setup decently right out of the box and I've had to spend a lot of time getting the right settings with the Megadrum. MD is so flexible that it's not totally plug and play with every pad. Lots of pads will work well but you need to understand the settings to get it all working well, unlike a commercial module where you buy the module and pads and everything just sort of works (more or less) right out of the box.

[Sabre]

I prefer to have as many options available as possible, but I understand that to someone just starting out who just wants to make some noise, all those settings could be daunting.

I started with a Roland TD-3 which probably is the easiest to get going with right out of the gate, but thats because it has the fewest features and settings options. I wanted all the tweakability of the more expensive modules, but without the expense... so MegaDrum was the obvious choice for me.