RockJam DDMESH1000 Review and Demo (With Video)
I recently got a chance to try out the RockJam DDMESH1000 Electronic Drum Set. Although not perfect, it’s an easy to set up kit, with mesh heads, and quiet kick and hi-hat pedals, which would be suitable for both adults and kids.
Just as a full disclosure, RockJam sent us a free sample of this set for our honest evaluation of it. However, this won’t affect my opinions about the product, which I clearly share in this article!
RockJam DDMESH1000
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Pros
- Compact kit and quiet pedals
- Very easy to assemble
- Lots of sounds in the drum module
- Mesh snare and tom pads
- Good for entry-level drumming
Cons
- Dynamic range on the pads is not great
- Kick pedal is not as sensitive as kick tower pads (but it is pretty quiet)
- There was an issue with one of my tom pads, which the company resolved.
Contents
Before we get into it, check out our video review of the RockJam DDMESH1000 below!
RockJam DDMESH1000 Kit
Features
This electronic drum set features an 8” mesh snare drum, along with three 8” inch tom pads, three cymbal pads (including the hi-hat pad), and two foot-switch type pedals for the hi-hat and the bass drum.
This all fits on one pretty compact rack, which is very easy to set up and offers a basic amount of adjustability.
Overall the position of the parts on the e-drum set is fine, but I would prefer if there was a little bit more adjustability on the snare drum to give it more space away from the toms, and I would also like a bit more adjustability of the cymbal positioning.
However, this is quite a compact, electronic drum set that you can easily pack away and take out.
Headphone Output and Audio Output (e.g. for Amplifier)
This drum module contains a 3.5mm output for electronic drum headphones. Headphones made for electronic drums often have a 3.5mm connection with an extra 1/4 inch adapter included, so most headphones will work fine with this module.
It also includes 2 audio outputs (Left and Right) for connection to a drum amplifier, audio interface, or PA system.
Overall, the audio output of the sound quality is good from this.
What does it sound like?
This RockJam electronic drum kit has 31 separate drum kits that you can choose from. There are lots of different demo songs that you can just play directly from the drum module. You can also feed your own music in through the AUX port (a 3.5mm connection).
The drum kits vary in genre and styles, such as pop, studio, funky jazz, dance, electronic, Latin, percussion, Samba, and lots more.
Overall the quality of the sounds on the drum module are a bit hit-and-miss. Some of them are decent and others are not great.
The benefit of this drum module is as you have lots to choose from so you can pick and choose what works best for you. It’s very easy to use the drum module and you can very quickly toggle between the drum kits.
MIDI Capable via USB
The drum module has a USB (Type A) port at the back which will allow you to transmit MIDI data to your computer. This is useful if you want to trigger external drum samples and drum VSTs.
Check out our article on how to record electronic drums to your computer and look at the MIDI section to learn more.
Construction and build quality
The drum rack on this is quite light but it’s still relatively sturdy. I prefer these type of drum racks in general as opposed to three-pole ones because it allows for better sturdiness. You can adjust things a little bit better.
One of the tom mesh pads that I received was causing me issues (it stopped working and only triggered hits intermittently). I informed RockJam of this and they sent me back a replacement pad pretty quickly.
I might have just been a little bit unlucky with this particular pad. Though if you’re having issues with any of the tom pads then get in contact with the company.
Assembling the DDMesh1000
This is a very easy e-drum set to assemble. They thought out their packing very well and the instructions are easy to follow.
It came in a pretty compact box, and the pads were already attached to the drum rack, which I was pleasantly surprised about.
All that was required was to just extend out the arms, and most of the drum rack was already assembled.
Kick Switch Pedal
This electronic drum set uses a kick switch type pedal instead of a kick drum tower. This is quite handy for lowering your noise, because it’s far quieter than using a kick drum tower with an actual bass drum beater on the pedal.
However, the disadvantage of this is that it is not as responsive as a standard beater and does not feel as much like using a standard kick pedal.
It’s not quite as responsive when it comes to the fast movements (e.g. I found this to be an issue when doing quick ostinado beats on the kick).
If you are in an apartment or live in an situation where you need to reduce your noise, then it is pretty handy to have a foot switch pedal like this.
Responsiveness of the pads
The responsiveness of the pads are okay, but not great. They’re quite average for a budget electronic drum set. As usual, the mesh pads are better than standard rubber pads in this price range.
I still felt like it was lacking a bit in dynamic range, such as if you have quick movements and rolls between loud and quiet drum strokes.
This is particularly noticeable on the hi-hat.
Who is the RockJam DDMesh1000 for?
This RockJam DDMesh1000 is suitable for both kids and adults that are looking for a budget electronic drum set.
The drum module is really easy to use, and you can pack off this electronic drum set fairly nicely. It’s a pretty quiet set, so it’s useful when your living situation does not permit much noise.
However, do keep in mind that this electronic drum set is certainly not perfect, so keep the disadvantages in mind when choosing.
Conclusion
The Rockjam DDMesh1000 is a budget electronic drum set for adults and kids alike.
These days, we’re really starting to get good value from electronic drum sets, and it’s great to see mesh heads becoming accessible for all budgets.
This set has its drawbacks, but if you’re looking for an entry-level electronic drum set that’s easy to use and assemble, is pretty quiet, and contains a decent amount of internal sounds, then this is not a bad option and it’s certainly one worth considering.
