MusicRadar

The Spherical sound module has 108 voices, 10 preset kits and 40 playalong songs

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• Review

Hands on

As mentioned, once everything is set, the DD501's pads are surprisingly rewarding to play. There's enough give in the snare and tom pads to save your wrists, but this is balanced by a nice rebound; in short the kit feels more responsive than its modest price might suggest.

It's not the last word in refinement, of course, but (slightly flimsy hi-hat operation aside) there's not much to moan about.

The scope of the sounds in the DD501 covers most bases too. Again, the module is limited in this regard compared to mid-range offerings from the bigger brands, but there's enough of everything you'd really need to put you in the ballpark whatever genre you play.

As always it's the more middle-of-the-road stuff, the poppy/funky acoustic kits, percussion sounds etc that are most convincing. Anything that veers too much from this well-trodden path into the realms of heaviness or other exotica tends to be less successful.

There is a degree of noise present in the on-board samples too. It's most noticeable where digital noise and hiss make themselves known as the voices themselves fades away. It's really nothing to spoil practice sessions, but it's fair to point out that there are other (pricier) options out there better equipped for studio duties.

But then you're not likely to be buying a DD501 for high-level sessions in posh studios, are you? You're more likely to be playing along with the DD501's mixed bag of backing tracks and honing your chops. In which case the occasionally cheesy tunes will have to be seen for what they are - a means to a worthy end.