German music retail giant Thomann has introduced the Millenium MPS-1000 e-drum kit , setting a new standard in house-brand electronic percussion.
Priced at under €1,000, the kit features full-size, acoustic-style drums and an 18” three-zone ride cymbal.
The drums consist of a 20″x14″ kick drum, 13″x6″ dual-zone snare pad and 10″x6”, 12″x6″ and 14″x12″ dual-zone toms, all fitted with dual-ply mesh heads.
The cymbal array includes a 13″ dual-zone hi-hat, two 15″ dual-zone crash pads with choke, and the 18″ triple-zone chokeable ride.
The module, reminiscent of Alesis brains, comes with 40 preset kits and 40 user kits, 820 sounds and 70 songs. Its functions include quick record, metronome, compressors, equaliser, 23 effects, 335 MB space for user samples, and eight assignable direct outs. It is controlled via individual instrument faders and a 3.2” colour LCD screen.
The pads are connected using a now-standard 25-pin cable snake.
Connectivity includes Bluetooth 4.0 for audio in, two 1/4″ jack outputs, 1/8 ” and 1/4 ” stereo jack headphones outputs, eight 1/4 ” jack direct outs, a stereo line in, USB memory slot and USB MIDI instead of the older five-pin MIDI jacks.
The kit is supplied with three boom cymbal stands, a hi-hat stand, snare stand, kick pedal, and double tom holder.
Millenium is the house brand of Thomann, just as Simmons is a brand of Guitar Center in the United States. Much of its e-drum line is made by Medeli, which also produces electronic drum modules and components for Alesis, ddrum and others.