Musical retail giant Thomann has announced the release of a brand-new flagship model in the Millenium Drums range. The MPS-1500 Hybrid-X electronic drum kit is the pinnacle of what Millenium Drums has to offer and it looks like it might have created the ideal do-it-all drum set-up.
The MPS-1500 brings back the look and feel of a traditional kit from the previous models, with wooden shells and mesh heads, but the big change is the monstrous hybrid drum module.
The Millennium Nexus Multi-Percussion Pad looks like it’s cramming in a lot of functionality, which will be ideal for those short on space or players in a live situation. The Nexus combines features of a drum module with the added performance of a percussion pad. It’s the sort of innovation that makes us think, ‘why hasn’t this been done yet?’
Just like the ubiquitous Roland SPD-SX, the Nexus is laid out with nine pads, all freely assignable. On top of that, you can adjust gain, threshold, sensitivity, mask time and curve parameters for all triggers.
Another boon for live performers, as well as anyone recording in the studio, is the inclusion of eight balanced outputs, alongside stereo and separate headphone outputs. There’s also MIDI connectivity via USB and another USB port for attaching your own sample library.
Millenium MPS-1500 setup
- 22" x 16" Bass Drum Pad
- 13" x 5.5" Two-zone snare pad
- 10" x 06" Two-zone tom pad
- 12" x 06" Two-zone tom pad
- 14" x 14" Two-zone tom pad
- 13" dual-zone hi-hat pad with top and bottom pads
- 2x 15" dual-zone crash pad with stop function
- 18" three-zone ride pad with stop function
- Millennium Nexus Multi-Percussion Pad as a sound module
The Nexus will support up to 500 MB of storage via your own USB drive, which equates to around 600 samples, and while we’re on the subject of sample libraries, the MPS-1500 comes rammed to the gills with sounds; 3622, to be exact. These can be utilised within the 160 kit slots, half of which are preset kits.
Needless to say, this latest offering from Millenum Drums has us very intrigued indeed. We can’t wait to check it out in the flesh and put it through its paces for an upcoming review.
Stay tuned for the MusicRadar verdict soon. Until then, head over to the Millenium Drums website for more information.
Millennium Nexus Multi-Percussion Pad specs
- 3622 sounds
- 160 kits, including 80 preset kits
- 4.3-inch TFT LCD colour display for clear and intuitive operation
- 9 freely assignable pads on the percussion pad and 14 external trigger inputs for the drum setup (5 of which are additional trigger/IN inputs)
- Supports the loading of up to 600 custom audio samples (a total of 500 MB of storage space) from a USB drive
- 8 balanced direct outputs (6.3 mm stereo jack), which allow individual instruments to be mixed separately in live or studio set-ups
- Effects: reverb, chorus, flanger, tremolo and delay
- 4-band master/headphone equaliser and compressor
- All trigger parameters, such as gain, threshold, sensitivity, mask time and curve, are adjustable to ensure the perfect response for all pad types
- Customisable colour and mode settings for the lighting of each pad and the side logo, selectable from 16 customisable colour presets (HSV/RGB)
- Metronome with routing function; the tempo, volume, time signature and sound can be adjusted, and the signal can be routed specifically to headphones or line outputs
- Sends/receives MIDI data via the computer’s USB port and allows MIDI notes to be assigned
- Bluetooth audio
- Line output: R L/Mono
- Line inpout: 3.5 mm jack
- Footswitch input
- Headphone output
