DW Go Anywhere Practice Set  

The pads do have a plastic base with gum rubber on top, but to me that helps because: 1. It keeps the weight down (when transporting it) and 2. The lighter base makes them a bit less bouncy than normal gum rubber pads.  The drumkey holder is a nice touch.  I certainly wish that all four boom arms had adjustable tilters on them (only one does).  Two of them are fixed at 90 degree angles (hi tom and flor tom), and they do work fine.  The "ride" or "middle tom" boom arm (the short one) is less than 90 degrees, and is impossible to get flat or even at the same angle as the other pads.  It's always at a weird (non-adjustable) angle.  Very disappointing!  I got around this by purchasing the Sound Percussion SPC26 Micro Cymbal Arm (search for it here on MF), and mounting the pad on that (both have 8mm threads).  I just mounted one end on the exisiting high tom boom arm, and the pad on the other end. (where the tilter threads are).  You can purchase a stop nut at a hardware store to tighten up against the bottom washer and pad for it to fit snugly.  The micro cymbal arm is at a fixed 90 degree angle, so it's easy to make it lay like the rest of the pads.  Incidentally, you can always replace (or add on using my trick above) any pad that has an 8mm thread in it's base.

The base of the stand is a regular DW cymbal stand; very sturdy!  Lots of people mentioned how the boom arms kept coming loose, but DW has upgraded them recently.  Each of the boom arms are now coming with memory locks.  The boom arm memory locks fit VERY tight, into the accepting holder, and although DW took the easy way out (a drum key operated screw just turns and grinds against the boom arm...chincy and lame!) I can say it is MUCH better with the memory locks.  The memory locks fit so tightly, it is hard to get them in there.  Once they are on and adjusted to your liking, you don't even have to adjust the drumkey bolt, that's how secure it is.  I would still like to see DW use an eyebolt on the boom holder, something that holds more securley, but at least they have addressed the constant loosening problem with the memory locks.  I do like how the boom holders other ends (that go on the vetical shaft of the stand) are round clamps that grip tightly and evenly to the stand shaft, unlike generic multi-clamps that just tighten up against a stand with two "V" shaped pieces.  Those kinds of clamps can dent and damage your hardware (not to mention slip), so its good to see DW use appropriate size clamps for the stand.  Why didn't they think of that for the other side where the boom arm goes?

Let's face it, "DW" and "Great Value" are not typically seen in the same sentence together.  However for what you get, this is an acceptable price.

Overall, this is a nice practice kit that is very portable and fun to play. In addition to my gripes above, I will say DW needs to make the bass drum pad MUCH softer.  It is way too hard and bouncy, and very unrealisitic feeling.  I put a couple of layers of Dr. Scholl's Moleskin self-adhesive padding on it to help soften it up a bit.  Also, if the pads are too bouncy for you (they are for me), you can always put a washcloth or small towel over them to decrease the rebound.  I would like to see the bass drum pad section be held on with an appropriate shaft sized clamp like the cymbal booms are, the bass drum pad is held on with a traditional "V" style multi-clamp that I mentioned above.  I would also like to see memory locks for the upper tube section (where it fits into the base) and a memory lock on the foot pedal bracket as well (where it fits into the bottom of the base).  Hose clamps are an adequate substitute.  Overall, this is a great way to practice quietly and take up a small amount of room.  Perfect for dorm rooms, apartments or hotel rooms on the road.  It is a fun way to practice and keep the neighbors (and wife) happy!

There are times in life when desperate measures must be taken in order to retain one's sanity. I have recently found myself in a position where, after over twelve years, I am unable to practice on my drums daily. After about a week in my new abode I found myself resisting an urge to push sweet little old ladies into traffic, and realized I had to take action. I fired up the clunky dialup and began the search for some kind of compromise; something that would keep me from kicking puppies, something that would keep me sane.  I knew a simple practice pad wouldn't satisfy me. After all these years, that would be like giving a meth head a cup of coffee: too little too late. So, I went for the full monty: I would spend exorbitant amounts of money on a practice pad set. My search brought up two items; one by Gibraltar and one by DW. Now, for me, DW has always stood for Drain my Wallet, but in comparison, it was the better item. The Gibraltar was actually a few dollars more, but what bothered me was that the top two pads were on a dog bone type of bar, so that they were not seperately adjustable. They sat there next to each other like a couple of rack toms and that was about it. I had no choice; DW it would be...  Upon their arrival, I Couldn't wait to assemble the set and get my funk on! The contents consisted of the bottom of a double braced stand with a bass drum pad attached to the center post just above the legs. The instructions said there would be a drum key and hex wrench included to adjust the bass pad, but no, the hex wrench was nowhere to be found. Well, OK, I thought. I have a little wrench that will work; don't go hating just yet. There was an upper tube that went into the stand for the pad assembly and a thin triangular piece of metal that telescoped out from the bottom of the stand for pedal attachment. This piece of metal looked awfully thin to clamp a pedal on, so I tried it first, before unpacking anything else, just in case this was going to be grounds for sending the whole thing back. My first try wasn't encouraging, as the pedal just flopped around, but then I tried moving the metal plate up and down. I found a spot where everything was solid, and screwed that sucker down, muttering "Don't scare me like that, man!" I was jonesing to play, and not looking forward to shipping the whole mess back.  The upper tube had four pad holders in what the instructions called "default positions" when the DW logo on top was placed facing front. Well, OK, I'm an idiot. I need default positions, right? Right. I played along. The four pads: two 8" and two 10" each had a tiny ziplock attached to them with four tiny rubber feet that can be inserted with some difficulty into four holes on the underside in case you might want to take a pad with you, say, to Starbucks, so you can annoy the hipsters copping free wireless while refining your flamadiddle, or, you can insert them in the junk drawer. Guess which one I did? Then came the pad arms. Three of them were 16" long, including the one that had a ratchet adjustment for the pad representing the snare. A nice touch, but I would quickly find I would have prefered at least one more arm with a ratchet, if not all of them for more freedom of positioning, but hey, it is what it is... The fourth arm was just over 8" long, and the diagram showed it in the top position on the post, facing to the right, so It had to be the ride. Now, the longer arms were all bent at a 90 degree angle where the washers and pads screwed on, but this short arm, number 1, was bent slightly more. "Aha!" I thought. I have them now!" The diagram showed the same angle, while a photo of the arms and washers showed it with the same angle as the long arms. I was so horney to play, I decided to just deal with it somehow, but an exact adjustment of the ride ain't happening for me. Maybe it would be OK for someone else. I screwed on the pads and adjusted them to my taste. Arm 3, the one with the ratchet is the snare, arm 2 the high hat and arm 4 the floor tom. I was ready to adjust the pad positions and rock out.  The following observations are mostly about my personal preferences and may differ for others, there are some things you need to know before you run out and buy one of these contraptions. If you are a long drink of water, or like to flail away at arms length, this thing is not for you. the arms aren't really that long, but I set up with my drums and cymbals close to me, so its not a big issue, all except for the high hat. I couldn't get it exactly where I wanted it, but as we all know, drums are like marriage; one long line of compromises. fortunately, you can beat the crap out of them and you won't go to jail, so let's look on the bright side. I found a reasonably acceptable position for it, but more about that later. If you haven't played on rubber pads, be aware that they are far bouncier than a drum. It takes a little getting used to, but not without some positive aspects. For instance, if you play off the bass drum head, the rubber pad will show you how sloppy and inaccurate your strokes are, helping to improve getting nice clean hits. If you play into the bass, its going to make you crazy. If you like a lot of ghost notes, the pads will let you know how much control you have over them because you'll get a lot of extra ones that you don't want if the stick is too close to the playing surface. I consider these things good for developing technique and cleaning up the slop. Also, the quietest spot on the pads is dead center, so you'll know immediately how accurate your sticking is. The closer to the edge you play, the louder the sound. I thought this was pretty cool, because I could tell when I simulated a rim shot that it was positioned where I need it to be. All in all, this thing is working for me. My chops are coming back and I haven't strangled a kitten or shoved a someone in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs, so I'm happy.  If you are an apartment dweller, or have some other noise issue, this is the cure. I had already been told that the pad holders loosen up with playing, but unless you are trying to play metal on them, it's not such a big deal. Just as I always check the tuning on my drums before I play, I give everything a quick twist before I practice, and everything's cool.  There's one more thing. If you have back issues like me, you might find yourself out of balance with no high hat pedal to put your other foot on. I noticed it in the first hour of playing, so I got my emergency high hat stand out and used it with just the clutch, no cymbals. That put me back in balance, and if you are willing to throw $150 for this rig, I'm betting you have a spare hat stand hanging around somewhere.

Pretty good quality. As some of the reviews mentioned, the screws can get loose and you do need to tighten them occasionally. For my kit, 3 of 4 of the rod/screw attachments stayed tight enough, only one of the four was always getting loose. I'm happy with the bass drum clamp and the bass pad. the other prads are fine. they're quiet, but they do have quite a bit of rebound.

I'm happy with the kit. I needed a quiet drum kit for my apartment, that still felt somewhat like playing drums, and that's what this kit does.

I'd give this an 8/10. It does the job that it's supposed to do and i'm happy i have one. If you want this kit to feel more like playing a drum set and have some freedom to move around while playing, i recommend getting a snare stand, a high quality practice pad for the snare, and then another stand and practice pad for a mock hi hat.