Mad Catz's brilliant Rock Band Portable Drum Kit for Xbox 360 now on sale

No two ways about it, Mad Catz has a winner on its hand with this one. The Rock Band Portable Drum Kit for Xbox 360 is a complete skins kit designed to be shoved into most any backpack and played on nearly any solid surface. The rubber pads are designed to handle over a million strikes, though that antique coffee table you lay these on may, in fact, not be designed to withstand such abuse. For those not exactly kosher with a full-fledged kit consuming the den, this seems to be the perfect compromise. And hey, it's only $59.99 to boot. Ships "soon," but not "soon enough."

[Via OhGizmo]

[Derek @ Sep 23rd 2008 6:18AM]

You put it on a table? I'd like to play sitting on the ground but the bass peddle would be hard to operate.

[maty @ Sep 23rd 2008 6:22AM]

Use your nose?

[collegekid13 @ Sep 23rd 2008 6:44AM]

needs more cowbell

[DssTrainer @ Sep 23rd 2008 7:05AM]

GH4 compatible?

[Hafk @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:13AM]

On PS3 and Xbox 360.

[Rob Bourne @ Sep 23rd 2008 7:29AM]

That's actually pretty awesome.

[Flashpoint @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:20AM]

This is really cool. I like the fact it has a controller for menu navigation.

And it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

[Chris @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:31AM]

that is good. if it did, playing would be VERY difficult (and a lot less fun)

[Farris @ Sep 23rd 2008 1:57PM]

Well Flashpoint, if it cost just an arm, you could play loads of Def Leppard songs.

[jared @ Sep 23rd 2008 7:31AM]

Other than the ugly designs on the heads, this is awesome.

[pball_inuyaha @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:01AM]

anyone thinking what I'm thinking? Stick them on a real drum set, I don't know how that would it sound but it'd be interesting.

[cromas @ Sep 23rd 2008 1:12PM]

Brilliant idea, but unfortunately they would mute the drum heads =(

[ifoughtfate @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:36AM]

Someone should make something along this line that's made to be placed onto a real drumset (just little sensors or something). That way I wouldn't feel so lame when I was playing rockband instead of playing drums.

[Thomas @ Sep 23rd 2008 9:13AM]

Yes!!!! This will making driving on a family vacation that much more relaxing

[maxx @ Sep 23rd 2008 9:24AM]

Ummm... these aren't actually for sale yet. The link in the article leads to a product that you can't purchase. You can only request an email notification for when it does actually go on sale. Mad Catz has yet to announce a release date.

[B @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:34AM]

Thanks captain. I didn't realize what "Ships soon" meant. Thanks for the clarification.

[Dani Reader @ Sep 23rd 2008 12:11PM]

I think Engadget just divided by 0.

[zoglog @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:08PM]

I guess engadget is expecting a fat check from madcatz now for pimping a product they would normally mock.

[Joe H @ Sep 23rd 2008 1:02PM]

I was looking into these earlier. Its interesting, but they're even louder than the regular drumset in the videos I've seen on IGN, and also, Mad Catz isn't exactly known for high quality stuff.

[radinplaid @ Sep 23rd 2008 1:17PM]

true, madcatz has not always had the best reputation, but if they produced such poor quality then why would they be the sole licensed producer of the add-on cymbals for the standard rockband drum set? the fact is that they are producing better stuff than ever, and so much better that they have been entrusted with being the sole licensed producer of an add-on that will be required for the rockband drums to simulate on the same level (or close to) as the guitar hero drums.

[2creditstoplay @ Sep 28th 2008 4:37PM]

Id like to see Ben Heck mod this!

[Hexqueen5 @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:10PM]

These are great for people like me who don't have room to store the full-size drum kit.

[Chad @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:30PM]

Beef Jerky

[tiuk @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:29PM]

This is actually a fantastic idea. I think that's the first time I've ever said that about a Mad Catz product.

[Nathaniel Burns @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:32PM]

I wish there is a way to hook these up to a drum module (like the Alesis DM5) so that they could be used as standalone drum triggers. I know a recent Rock Band drumset that I saw on this site offered that compatibility, and that was almost enough to sell me on it , even though I don't even own a TV or a game console. In this product here the technology is almost all there to do it, and for $60 it is a steal for four drum triggers.

[Dan @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:49PM]

The ION set is shipping now...

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/premium-drum-set-rock-band/story.aspx?guid={D8AF9BA2-146E-4CB2-AA34-209594FF61CE}&dist=hppr

[Casey @ Sep 23rd 2008 10:07PM]

This should easy to add onto any custom drum set you'd like to make.