BeatIt Test: Yamaha DTX402K Electronic Drum Kit

A few days ago, a parcel from the Pasja music store arrived to our HQ. It contained YAMAHA DTX402K electronic drums. Of course, we started testing this baby right after unpacking, which we did at our own recording facility.

Yamaha DTX402K Electronic Drums

1. The test

We ran the test in our own live room, which is especially adapted to this kind of activity. We started with a presentation of all the sounds offered by the Yamaha DTX402K set. The next step was to run through all the training functions.

2. Basic specification:

Manufacturer: Yamaha
Model: DTX402K
Rubber pads
Rack: Steel
Sounds: 10 Integrated sets
Training functions : Yes
Kick pad: No
Metronome: Yes
Module dimensions: 27 cm x 15 cm x 4 cm
Weight: 0.5 kg
Output: 1

3. The product and sound

The Yamaha DTX402K is a compact electronic drum kit. It has many options for convenient placement of the pads (toms, cymbals and snare). Thanks to the light weight and the suspension of all pads on a steel rack, the instrument is easy to assemble and one is able to pull it out of the box and start playing in just a few minutes. Having purchased on of these, you get a set of 4 pads responsible for the snare drum and three toms, three cymbal pads, and two pedals – one functioning a a hi-hat controller, the other as a bass drum controller. Connecting the whole kit is very intuitive, all wires are properly described. We can also connect a smartphone to the electronic drums and edit our sounds.

Yamaha DTX402K features 10 built-in drum kit sounds, which include: POP1, POP2, ROCK1, ROCK2, METAL, FUNK, HIPHOP, EDM, JAZZ, LATIN. The sound quality is very good. For each integrated set, there is an option of playing along to built-in backing tracks. We can adjust the temp, as well as enable or disable the drum tracks.

In addition to the 10 banks, there are also training functions on board, i. e. RHYTHM GATE, RHYTHM GATE2, DYNAMIC GATE, SONG PART GATE, SONG SCORE GATE, MEASURE BREAK, CHANGE UP, PART MUTE and FAST BLAST.

Let’s take a quick look at just a few of them:

DYNAMIC GATE – a very useful functionality. The buttons on the module are divided into three zones, which are responsible for dynamics: piano, mezzo forte, forte. We can choose which of these dynamic ranges we want to practice at a given time. When a pad is hit, the diodes inform us what range of dynamics we are currently in. This function is particularly useful for young learners of drums and percussion.

MEASURE BREAK – the training mode that allows a person practicing on the YAMAHA DTX402K set to develop the ability to work with the metronome and keep time. You can adjust the number of bars to be “clicked” by the metronome.

FAST BLAST – simply counts beats per minute. You can cheat a little and play drum rolls 😉

CHANGE UP – a training function that helps to understand rhythmic divisions by smoothly changing from half-notes to quarter notes and eighth notes through triplets. One of our favorite modes.

photo: beatit.tv
photo: beatit.tv

The pads are made of rubber, which generates certain vibrations in sticks, and after a two or three quarters of playing the player can experience a tingling sensation in his or her hands. A huge advantage of this kit are the built-in sounds. They are very well matched with one another within each of the integrated sets. The Yamaha DTX402K may not be a premium drum kit, but it certainly does have its advantages.

The Yamaha DTX420K is perfect for home use, where every beginner drummer can easily check and see if being a drummer is just for him or her.

We think that at such a reasonable price, the Yamaha DTX402K can be a great tool to start the adventure with the drums, especially with electronic drums.

Manufacturer: YAMAHA

OUR VERDICT: 4.5/5