Double Cymbal Expansion Pack

If there is anything that the Rock Band drums lack (both Rock Band 1 and 2), it is cymbals. Even Guitar Hero World Tour’s drums have two built in cymbals. That’s not to say Harmonix was not trying…they just didn’t put these standard drum parts in themselves.

The second big blessing Harmonix gave Madcatz was for Cymbal expansion packs. There are three in all, the single, double and triple expansion packs (which come with one, two and three cymbals, respectively), and they attach to your drums through short metallic poles which clip onto the frame of the drums. Installation is simple and takes no more than a few minutes.

What these cymbals do is far more important. Unfortunately, right now their use is very limited since Rock Band has no function for the cymbals. The best they have to offer now is to hit the cymbals as if they were normal drums, which we’ve seen on the ION Premium drumset. Doing so is nothing special and doesn’t really add much to gameplay, but it is a bit more exciting.

Harmonix has pointed out that they are working on ways to use them, and it’s pretty clear that they are considering their drums come ready with four expansion ports on the back. So while we may not see the use in cymbals right now, they undoubtedly will have a future.

The cymbals are surprisingly stable and take lots of hits. After two weeks of whacking away at them, all there is to show are the discolored parts from my drum sticks. Yet the cymbals are otherwise good as new. I like to use one for the green (right-most) pad to activate overdrive. And the placement above the set is also appealing for certain types of play. Cymbals can be placed for any pad except the red (left-most) and for anywhere from $20-$40, you can pick up enough cymbals to fill your heart’s desire. Or your drumkit, whichever comes first.