A big reason why the cymbal pack works so well, however, is that I am playing on expert. By the time I hooked up the cymbal kit, I could easily distinguish when I was hitting a hi-hat and a tom even before I hit the note. This is largely due to the fact that I’ve been playing on expert since the first Rock Band, and I had begun breaking down the music I was playing long ago. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any of the songs memorized – not even close. But as I grew as a drummer, I began to notice the types of beats I was playing, and I could anticipate the notes that would be coming up next. I can’t stress how important it is to understand this before you pick up the Mad Catz Cymbal Pack. You really won’t be getting the full experience until you can at least play half of the songs on hard.

That’s not to say I was an expert at the cymbals the first time I set them up though.  I’m not sure I’ve ever done worse on “Float On” by Modest Mouse, and I managed combinations of pads that I didn’t know were possible. It certainly felt like I had started learning how to play all over again. Over the course of the next 30 minutes, however, the movements started to feel surprisingly natural, and within an hour I was playing as well with the cymbal pack as I do to this day. The learning curve really is steep the first couple of minutes, but it’s amazing how fast you can adjust.