Fender Starcaster TT-1 Electronic Table-Top Drum Kit

This is really strange, because I bought this unit on sale from another vendor ($129) and like other reviewers state it turns off at higher volumes but I kept it anyways and here's why.

As a beginner drum student, I wasn't ready to invest in a drum set so I went with this tabletop model at a rock bottom price, comparing it to 5 other brands. My hope was that if I could get the knack of playing it after a few months, then I would consider upgrading to a full kit and hopefully sell it at an online auction for a fair price.

The first time I played along with one of the learning songs, I turned up the volume and the entire unit shut off! After some investigating, it turns out that if I turn the bass OFF, I can use it beyond a 4 volume, maybe up to a 6 on a good day. But with that bass on, the entire unit will always shut down whenever it reaches a 3 or 4 depending on how hard I am hitting the pads.

In the end, because of storage considerations and the fact that it does have a student mode, metronome and other features I have elected to keep it, deal with its defect and play it at low volume. I also took into account that just one snare practice pad runs around $20 or so, and a metronome another $25.

With all those reasons combined, I figured that it's still a good value for practice reasons, because returning it and finding another model for the same price or even a little more was not an option at the time of purchase.

In reading these reviews it seems that its a common defect, so buyer beware. I would still take my chance again and see if you end up with one that doesn't have this problem because it is a fabulous value.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review.

Received this as a Christmas gift last year. It seemed pretty solid but then I tried to play it. First thing I noticed was that one of the drum pads wasn't attached properly, kind of flopping around. I took the palm of my hand and pressed it into place. Plugged it in and started to play. THE SOUND WAS GREAT! Much better sounding than Casio or even Yahama kits I've tried.

Then I realized I didn't have the pedals plugged in. Plugged them up, tapped the kick bass pedal twice and the whole thing shut itself off. I turned it back on, started to play, tapped the pedal........every time the same, turns itself off. Customer support for this product from Fender is pretty much non-existent.

This is a real shame. Fender lent their good name to this product. And it sounds great. And it's junk.

A great drum set for a good price. Only problem I have is that the touch sensitive is almost too sensitive. It would be nice if there was an option for turning it off. I bought the drum kit for the Fender name and I'm not disappointed with it at all. Sounds really good through the head phones and probably really good through an amp which I don't have as yet. Only reason not a 5 star is because of the sensitivity which some people may like.

This Drumkit works really well if you don't have room for a full drumset or can't play one in your apartment or dorm. I wouldn't suggest this thing for playing gigs because it sounds inferior to a real drumset. If you don't plan on really doing anything with it other than playing along with your mp3 collection or adding recording tracks to mixes, it will probably work for you.

I'm giving it 4 stars because besides the pedals not always being responsive for me, It it exactly what I wanted; a drumset to play in my apartment.

I'm an experienced drummer and was looking for a cheap alternative to a full electronic set for my studio. I chose this one because it was very cheap comparatively, and built very similarly to a Yamaha DD50 I have played before. No issues with power at all volumes, as appeared to previously be an issue. The kit is very sturdy and the pads well built in my opinion. I could bang away with no issues or fear that I might break something. The sounds are great, and has a fair amount of capabilities built in (midi, karaoke mode, 20 kits, 79 sounds, etc.) The reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is that I'm not all the thrilled about the pedals. The High Hat pedal is not real time, and lags behind my foot action. The bass pedal plays pretty good, but adds a beat sometimes when I don't want one. These could be just a matter of working with them over time. Great buy at $95 (free ship).

If you are someone who learned to play drums acoustically (on a regular/real drum-set), then this Fender set will annoy the p*ss out of you. Its response and sensitivity is so bad that you will become quickly bothered and will want to toss this machine out the window (second story!).

Also, the machine that I received had a defective power supply, so whenever I hit the bass pedal, the machine completely shut off. Nice.

I wouldn't waste your dollars. Look for another brand (maybe Yamaha?), or try a Midi trigger type device that you can hook up to your computer.

The product is just as the manufacturer labels it: easy to use and fun to play. This product teaches you step-by-step how to play the drums while also giving the option to play at your own will. With an extremely large selection of drum sets to choose from and an easy-to-understand digital display, I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to learn how to play the drums without having to deal with the noise that an actual drum set will make. Great for beginners and intermediates.

If you are looking for a toy for your 6 year old to bang around on, this set might qualify. It is not a set for anyone with even a mild interest in actual drumming.

I am not a pro drummer; I just wanted something to bang around on in my apartment. This doesn't qualify even for that.

One must first recognize that this product is only $[...]. Now, $[...] is a chunk of change, but still, cheap for an electric drum set. This product should be considered a toy.

The most immediately noticeable thing is that one cannot rapidly drum on this. I'm not talking super-speed, I'm talking simple 1-2-1-2-1-2 rifting. This set consistently misses every other drumbeat. I tried hitting right in the middle of the pad, tried hitting harder, made no difference. This unit is simply not responsive or fast enough to keep up with even the most mediocre of players. I know that sounds somewhat surprising. Believe me, I was surprised.

The volume of the individual pads cannot be altered. The lower tom far out-volumes the other drums, and the bass pedal is so loud it overpowers the entire set. The touch-sensitivity on the set can't be changed either. It might be somewhat difficult for a small child to manage to hit the pads hard enough to elicit a decent response.

Ease of use is good as far as layout, design and right-out-of-the-box playing. Kudos on the design. The pads aren't large (the largest is about 6") but they're moderately acceptable overall. I had no problem hitting them. Even the smallest one was easily located on the fly. I would prefer larger pads, but the configuration is acceptable. What isn't acceptable is the performance.

In my unit, the left pedal didn't work well... a connection problem. I also had a problem with "double-hits" on the right pedal. Clearly not constructed well. The foot pedals are an odd size, but I did like the fact they were a vertical-contact pedal, allowing one to bounce one's entire food up and down on them, releasing ankle strain. An unusual but beneficial design. Would be nice if they actually worked.

In short, I'm glad I ordered from Amazon, because I applied for return within an hour of opening the box. I'll spend three times this much for a decent set, but I can't warrant $[...] for this one. Sorry Fender, you're a great company. And Amazon, you're a super-great distributor. But this product missed the boat.

The product is great! Love how you can record & play back your own stuff.

This pad is terrific for beginners or for getting a quick practice in. User configurable in more ways than I'll ever use. I like having the MIDI-in/out for laying down tracks to a computer. While it can't compete with a true, full-blown set, it's definitely a step up from the kiddie sets out there.