Ever dream of drumming in a band? Do you play Rock Band because it’s the closest you’ll get to it? What if you could make your Rock Band drums feel more like a real trap set? The Mad Catz Rock Band 3 Pro Cymbal Kit is the way to do this without having to buy a real drum set.

The package comes with three rubberized plastic cymbals and all the mountings required. To assemble it, you’ll need an official Rock Band 3 drum kit (the Guitar Hero drum kit doesn’t work with this). Start by clipping the base to the drum set, then sliding in the poles for the cymbals.Use the colored nuts to indicate which cymbal is which colour. From there, you’ll plug in the cymbals to the corresponding colored port. It seems pretty easy, but you’ll have to snap the connectors shut. This makes them permanent features of your drum, as they become nigh impossible to remove. Suffice to say, if you ever have to replace these, you’ll need to replace them with another Mad Catz brand cymbal kit.

When I started to play the cymbals, I noticed that they must also be tightened. The winged screw will ensure that the pole mountings do not slide downward when the cymbals are hit. If tightened excessively, the plastic screws will strip, so you’ll have to buy a new mounting kit. Albeit, it takes quite a bit of tightening before the screws will strip, I am just leary about the use of plastics in this fashion.

Once I had the cymbals set up, I gave it a whirl on Rock Band 3 and Rock Band 2. Rock Band 2 is a sub par experience, as the Pro Cymbal kit only acts as an additional pad of the same colour it is assigned to. In other words, you’ll have two yellow, two blue, and two green pads to hit when playing.

Rock Band 3 is a completely different experience with the Pro Drums mode. Rock Band 3 forces you to actually play on the cymbals, rather than setting them up as duplicate pads. The cymbals are super responsive. From light taps to crashing slams, these ultra durable cymbals should last as long as you’re playing Rock Band. I’ve chipped and broken sticks on these pads, yet they stay responsive to the last tap.

For the $35 price tag, I recommend the Pro Cymbal Kit. It’s great for Rock Band 3 players who are looking to get the realistic feel of drumming. For those who want to learn drums, Rock Band 3 requires the pro-set for its tutorial. The only major downside I could offer is that the Pro Cymbal Kit makes the drum kit less portable, because it doesn’t come off so easily. Never the less, the Pro Cymbal Kit opens up so many options in the Rock Band 3 and later world.

Recommended: Yes