Gaming & Culture —

A $75 Rock Band accessory? We review the Omega Pedal

Rock Band was our game of the year for 2007, but how much can a $75 kick pedal …

Rock Band, as they say on the Internet, is serious business. When you get a group together to grab some new fans in World Tour Mode, you want your equipment in tip-top shape. The dedicated have already begun to modify their guitars and drums for better performance, and there is a small but potentially profitable market out there for third-party Rock Band accessories. Steradian Technologies is hoping you're willing to pay a little more for a better pedal for your drums, and the company was nice enough to send us a review sample of its Omega Pedal to see if the product is worth the $75 asking price. The bass pedal that comes with Rock Band doesn't suck that badly, does it? 

Well, yes. I'm a mad man when it comes to the drums; I beat the everliving stuffing out of them when I get into a song. The pads themselves have held up surprisingly well to my abuse, but the pedal feels flimsy, hurts my leg, and just doesn't feel good at all. There is a reason for the price of the Omega Pedal; it's a real bass pedal, a Pearl 120P that has been modded to work with Rock Band. To put the price in perspective, the pedal alone costs around $50 to $60, so you're paying a little bit more for Steradian to mod it out for you. It's not a bad price considering the high quality of the pedal.

Putting the beast together took a little bit of time, and the included instructions are nice for those of us who don't actually play drums and are new to how an actual bass pedal works, but it wasn't tricky to get the pedal up and running. Pop it onto your drums, plug it into the top section of the pads, and you're good to go. Be sure to spend some time adjusting things to get it to feel right; the pedal has a few different ways it can be tweaked to fit your foot and how you like to play.

My goal was basically to break the thing. This is a review loaner, but if I'm paying $75 for a pedal I want it to take any and all abuse; nothing would have made me happier than to send back a box of pieces with a note saying they're going to have to try harder. I slammed my foot down on the pedal, I played "March of the Pigs" thirty times straight, I let my 6 year-old son get out his aggression on the pedal while I played guitar and he thumped along. I took the pedal to band night for multiple nights. I've had the Omega Pedal for a week or so now, and I've tried my hardest to destroy it in normal play. 

Not only did it take all the abuse with no complaints, it significantly improved my score. It feels better under your foot, and actually having mechanical movement in the pedal instead of one spring in a plastic enclosure with the stock pedal gives you much better feedback. Not only is the product incredibly solid, but it is more accurate than the stock pedal: I was able to hit more notes faster, and I noticed that I was able to hit them much more accurately as well. It didn't turn me into a better drummer, but it did reduce the number of times that I felt like I hit a note on time but the game didn't agree. Everyone who has tried it in my home has raved about the feel and the responsiveness of the peripheral, and then they ask me how much it is and where they can get one. $75 begins to look affordable after you've tried it.  

The one issue I have with the pedal is that while the hammer moves when you stomp the pedal and it hits the base of the drums with a satisfying "THUMP," the actual contact is hidden on the side of the unit. The cable connecting this tiny bit of electronics to the drum set is basically electrical-taped to the side of the pedal, running up one of the sides. This is the mod that allows the pedal to work, and it's a clever one that works well. I have some misgivings about black tape being the only thing keeping things together, but since playing on the pedal doesn't actually stress any of the connections, it should be fine. I haven't felt anything come loose in my week of abusive testing.

Still, $75? I know, it sounds like a lot, and it is, but for Rock Band players, you'll see where your cash went, and your score will most likely go up at least a little bit. Highly recommended. In fact, I wonder if they'll cut me a break on selling me this one? It is technically used, after all...

Verdict: Buy (Link to website)
Company: Steradian Technologies 
Other recent reviews:  

You must to comment.

Channel Ars Technica