Here's my review on the Yamaha DD-65 (Nigel showed interest in a review and considering all he has done for us with this forum.., it's getting posted..,even if he's the only one to read it).

What's in the box:
You'll get the DD-65, two pedals, sticks, and manual. Power supply is optional.

Build Quality:
It's all plastic.., but it's not flimsy. Yamaha knew from experience with the previous model that when you reduce a full size kit to such a small footprint, the pads won't be the only thing smacked with the sticks The pedals are also plastic.., but they're strong enough to handle day to day pounding.

Layout and Design:
Kudos to Yamaha here. They clearly did their homework. The DD-65 was built with the drummer in mind. IMO this unit is a huge improvement over the previous model. The pad layout is amazing. On the previous model it was very uncomfortable to play IMO because the hi hat pad was dead center. It just didn't feel right (because it wasn't right).

What Yamaha has done with the DD-65 is set up the pads in a way to feel more natural to the player. The hi hat pad is now to the left (where it belongs). They have also raised and angled the cymbal pads towards the player. An extra pad has been added bringing the number up to 8 pads.

What really brought a smile to my face was that Yamaha designed this model to fit on any standard snare drum stand! That may not seem like such a big deal.., but it is when you're trying to figure out the best way to position this thing. The previous model had a specific stand made by Yamaha.., now we have a better option IMO.

Sound Quality:
I am EXTREMELY impressed with the sound quality on the DD-65. Granted you're not getting V-Drum quality here.., but for the price you get an amazing combination of drum kits (a total of 50 plus there is room for 3 user definable kits).

Some of the kits have velocity switched snares.., which really adds that nice punch and added flavor to your drumming. The bass drums sound great because the pedal is touch sensitive. Hi hats sound very good, and work well in combination with the pedal. The rim shot surprised me.., as it has a nice (clack) to it. The toms are good.., I would love it if Yamaha included (snare buzz) in the toms though. Cymbals sound great. You get a crash, splash, and ride.

The onboard speakers are mediocre at best. The speakers are only 5W's. IMO they are way underpowered.., however.., for the purpose of practice and daily play they're sufficient. When playing the pads (if you have the volume too low) the sound of the pads will overpower the sound of the speakers. However.., keep in mind you're playing drums.., CRANK THAT VOLUME BABY! I've got mine running through a set of 30W speakers and it sounds amazing!

Pad Quality:
The pads are "gum-rubber". They have a decent feel to them. They may feel a little stiff in the beginning, but it doesn't take long to get used to them. The size is obviously much smaller than a standard electronic kit so they do take some getting used to.

Connections:
You get the standard connection jacks on the rear. The headphone/output is the same jack. You do however get a set of standard midi jacks. There is even an audio input jack that allows you to connect an MP3 player to jam along with. There's of course 2 inputs for the pedals.

Misc. Ramble:
The DD-65 has an option of using the supplied pedals (or) you can purchase a Yamaha KP-65 Kick Pad and a Yamaha HH65 Hi Hat controller. This is a very nice feature.., especially for the bass drum input. Using the KP-65 allows you to play the bass drum with a real bass drum pedal. The Hi-Hat controller gives you better control and a more accurate feel as well.

HOWEVER.., You MUST consider overall cost if you choose to purchase both optional pedals. The kick pad is just that (a kick pad by itself). You'll need to purchase a separate bass drum pedal. When you add the cost of the DD-65 with either the power supply by itself (or the unit bundled with the Survival Pack), and then factor in the cost of the kick pad, bass pedal, and hi hat controller.., you're looking at a cost that exceeds $400.

You have to be certain this is the route you want to take. I say that because for the price of a fully expanded DD-65 you could purchase a REAL full size electronic drum kit that dances circles around the DD-65. You can purchase an Alesis DM-6 for $429 at Musicians Friend. So keep that in mind.

Other Features:
Aside from the preset drum kits the DD-65 also has built in songs and patterns to play along with. These are an extremely good practice tool for budding drummers. The songs/patterns have multiple parts that can be muted. For example., you can take out specific sections of the drum kit or mute the drum part entirely to play over the backing groove.

There is also a Hand Percussion mode. That's pretty much self explanatory

The DD-65 also has Flash Memory. This allows you to record user drum songs and even play midi files.

Overall Impression:
I am very pleased with this purchase. The sound quality is very good. The size is compact (yet not too compact). The overall design is very welcoming and feels more natural than the previous model. It's a great option for budding drummers, and those of us who are already drummers, but don't have space for a full size acoustic or electric kit. Yamaha has sold a lot of these things too. Now that I own one it's obvious why.

One thing to note.., the DD-65's smaller layout will without a doubt take some getting used to. Drummers going from an acoustic kit to an electric kit will often say they feel confined. Going down to something even smaller than an electric kit with a unit like the DD-65 really requires some adjusting. However.., it doesn't take long to adjust to the smaller layout. The first few hours of use I was hitting everything but the pads.., but with more practice I found it easier to bring it all together.

Sqk

Squeak,

Great Review! I wish everyone who purchased equipment would write a review as detailed as this. The DD-65 sounds like a really decent small kit. Would you say the bounce in the pads are similar to using a practice pad? I would much rather practice with this unit than the practice pad since you now have the Hi-Hat and the Bass pedal to practice with as well.

Also, can you add your own WAVES/Samples to the 50 drum kits or are you limited to using just the on-board wave samples for the custom kits.

Again, great review!!!!
Many Thanks.

Thanks.., glad you liked the review I'd say the pads feel very much like a "practice pad". They're gum-rubber and have a pretty good bounce to them. It'll take some practice doing fast rolls though (especially if you're used to an acoustic drum head).

No.., it doesn't load samples. Boy that would be awesome if it did (especially in this price range). I will say that if these units did have this feature, retailers wouldn't be able to keep them in stock.

The pedals take a some getting used to. Playing the bass is essentially like tapping your foot to a song. It takes some adjustments (physically and mentally) considering you don't have any physical tension between your foot and the bass drum. Same goes for the hi hat pedal. It's not hard to adjust though.., just takes a little practice.

Almost forgot.., although they don't load samples.., I have seen several YouTube videos where users had these things hooked up to a computer controlling drum software.