A few of the snare sounds on
the Yamaha dd55 are excellent, IMO. (I'm currently using sample #27.) After a few weeks of recording with the 55, I've really become a huge fan of this $200 machine. But it's hard to recommend in some ways because the user-audience is so special...
* You need to be able to play the drums reasonably well and prefer drumming to programming.
* You need to have no space for a full set of any kind.
* You need to be willing to learn to play this unique machine, which is certainly different than a regular set. Trying to use it without a lot of practice, even by a pro drummer, would be a disaster.
* Above all, you need to get over the snob factor and understand that it might be a great toy for beginners, but that it can work very well in a home studio. The stereo-sampled sounds are surprisingly good, in some ways better than any drum machine I auditioned recently before buying (although I liked the pricey Boss 880 a lot). For very little money, this thing allows me to play drum tracks, with sticks and pedals, that have most of the improvisation and nuance of the real thing. But then again, those above considerations describe me well but may not do the same for you.
I'm finally putting together a website later this summer, and I'll post some of my first recordings with the 55. I have lots of gripes (small pads and pedals, not enough cymbal sustain, etc.), but for the piddly money, I'm having a ball and getting solid recording results. My rhythm tracks are now something I look forward to with enthusiasm, something I never felt while working with loops.
But I really can't recommend the 55 for anyone else unless you're in the same boat as me. It's a unique machine with a unique audience, which explains why some folks love it to pieces and others hate it.
J.
