Our Score


Review Price free/subscription

Out of the box the ION iED05 USB Electric Drum Kit doesn't quite inspire visions of rock-god grandeur, being as it is a collection of plastic pads, metal poles, a couple of pedals and a plastic box. Assembly instructions are included on the same CD as the software needed to use the eiED05 and unless you enjoy running to and from the kit every minute or so, you'll either want a notebook nearby or to put the kit together near a PC.

Actually doing so is a blissfully simple process. Butterfly screws and nuts (which slot into recesses on the joints) hold the poles together, and the drum pads are then attached similarly. At first it seemed like these could be easy to over-tighten, but in practice this wasn't the case.

In terms of what you actually get, ION provides two pedals, one kick and one hi hat, a crash cymbal, a hi hat cymbal, a floor tom, two rack toms and a snare. This is about equivalent to what you would see on any starter setup, be that electric or otherwise, and definitely as much as anyone has any right to expect for £130-odd.

There is enough leeway for adjustment to the high of the horizontal poles and I was perfectly able to find a comfortable position. I was at the limit of upwards alteration but at a smidgeon over 6ft I expect I'm probably as tall as anyone likely to be using the kit; unless there are any professional basketball players considering a purchase.

Adjusting the positioning of all the other drums is no problem either, and you'd have to be a mutant to be unable to find a comfortable drumming position. Getting the pedals in the right place could be slightly trickier, as there are medal poles in the way, but nobody in the office who tried had any problems so it shouldn't become an issue.

The control box that connects to the PC is attached to the drums by 3.5mm cables with jacks at each end, as seen at the end of headphones, earbuds and canalphones everywhere. A added bonus of this is that if a cable for some reason breaks it can easily be replaced - not that such an occurrence would be expected.

Overall there are no complaints about build quality. The parts all feel solid and the screws tighten enough to hold everything in place, without giving the impression they're going to snap off should you sneeze.

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