If you are a beginner drummer and are looking for an electronic drum kit, chances are you have Millenium HD-120 have seen pass by. This compact kit proves that a good electronic drum kit doesn't have to be expensive.
Millenium is a popular brand within the electronic drums, mainly among beginners and (semi-)advanced drummers. This house brand of Thomann offers a wide range of drum sets for every budget, from the Millenium Rookie till the MPS-1000.
Now that I have been playing the Millenium HD-120 for a few weeks, I would like to share my honest findings with you in this review.
In this blog
Millenium HD-120
Review
The Millenium HD-120 is an attractively priced electronic drum kit in the lower price range. The whole thing is solidly constructed and remains stable during playing. Despite the rubber pads, the kit offers a good playing feel and the sounds are realistic. Because the kit cannot be expanded and the functions on the module are limited, this kit is best suited for beginning drummers
Pros
- Lightweight and compact electronic drum kit
- Includes stick holder
- Sturdy rack (can withstand a knock)
- Very good value for money
Cons
- Rubber pads (no mesh heads)
- You cannot expand the kit with additional pads
- Cymbals are not easy to reposition
- Included sticks are of low quality
Pros and Cons of the Millenium HD-120
What immediately struck me when assembling this drum kit was the quality of the materialThe rack and associated clamps provide a sturdy unit that keeps the kit in place during play.
As you can hear in the video, the sounds of the Millenium HD-120 fine. Not special, but for a kit in this price range we can't complain. To learn to play drums or just jamming, the sounds are good enough.
The rubber toms are both a disadvantage and an advantage. The disadvantage is that it is not mesh heads are, the advantage is that the rubber pads are fine with me and play fine, but they do cause a bit more noise for the environment.
What I found a pity was the difficult positioning of the crash and ride. Since these cannot be tilted at the top, the cymbals are always in an inclined position.
Another small detail: the drumsticks included are very light and feel like children's drumsticks. If you decide to use the kit as an adult, buying a pair of drumsticks is a good tip.
All in all, the Millenium HD-120 is a suitable first drum kit for beginning drummers, but also for children. This is in contrast to the Millenium Rookie, which is really only intended for children.
What's in the box?
- 1 x 07″ Snare Drum Pad
- 3 x 07″ Tom Tom Pads
- 3 x 09″ Cymbal pads
- 1 x Bass drum controller
- 1 x Hi-hat controller
- 1 x HD-120 Drum Module
- Drum rack
- Stick holder
- Drum sticks
- Manual (also available for download online)
💡 The kit looks nice without wires, but as soon as you connect the pads to the module, the cables hang loose behind the drum kit. You can easily hide this with the V2020 Cable Tie so that the kit immediately looks a lot tighter.
Toms and Cymbals
The Millenium HD-120 comes in a standard setup: a kick and hihat controller, snare pad, three toms, hihat, crash and ride cymbal. All pads are velocity sensitive, so they respond differently when you hit the pad hard or soft.
7″ Rubber Pads
The rubber pads have a circumference of 7″, which is just big enough but should not have been smaller because this would have been at the expense of the ease of play. When striking the pads respond as they should, also when you build up a roll slowly.
The toms make a bit more noise to the surroundings compared to mesh heads. As a drummer you don't notice much of this, but a floor below it could be heard.
Three 9″ Cymbals
The cymbals of the Millenium HD-120 are 9″, slightly larger than the toms. All cymbals have 1 zone, so they always react the same regardless of where you strike them. However, the cymbals, like the toms, react to the force with which they are struck.
When you grab the cymbals, they will not be dampened. However, the cymbals move naturally and feel solid.
Kick and Hihat Trigger Pedals
The Millenium HD-120 uses a kick and hi-hat trigger pedal, so no real kick drum (the Millennium MPS-150 has this) or hihat pedal. Of course this doesn't play like a real drum kit, but it comes pretty close.
The pedals are the same size as pedals for acoustic drums. The spring under the top ensures that the pedal bounces back realistically while playing.
There is little difference or nuance between an open hihat and a closed hihat. This is a well-known topic in almost all electronic drum sets and still shows the difference between acoustic and electronic.
HD-120 Module
All signals come in on the compact module of Millenium. This module is simple so that after playing it once you actually know exactly how it works. The module is comparable to modules of kits like the Fazley DDK-020, Fame DD-Lite V2 and Fame DD-Lite Pro.
12 Varied Kits
The module contains 12 kits, ranging from jazz to metal and from electronic to percussion. It is not possible to compose kits yourself (the Millenium MPS-450 does offer this option)
As a beginning drummer, the Rock and Jazz kits are actually enough. If you want to play heavier music, the Metal kit is also fun to try. My favorite is Kit 8 (Elec Live).
Some modules allow you to import your own samples, the Millenium HD-120 does not. But as a beginning drummer you do not need that function.
Metronome
The integrated metronome (40 – 240 BPM) allows you to work on your timing. The click sound of the metronome has a clear and distinct sound. Also handy is that the light of the metronome gives a different color every fourth beat.
Connections
The module has 5 different connections:
- DC9V connection (power supply)
- USB-MIDI (allows you to import the drum kit sounds to your PC)
- 3.5 mm stereo jack aux in (to connect your smartphone so you can play along with your favorite music)
- 3.5mm stereo jack headphone output (for headphones )
- 3.5mm stereo jack line output (connect to a amplifier or for recording a drum cover)
Overall playing feeling
The overall feel of the Millenium HD-120 is more than adequate. The pads are easy to tilt and slide, allowing you to position them well depending on your own height.
The rubber pads have a slightly lower rebound than mesh heads, but are still good for what they are supposed to do. The pads also have a large enough playing surface.
The kit is not as easy to adjust in height as other kits such as the Millenium Rookie is the case.
Drum throne and headphones
The HD-120 comes with a drum throne and headphones so you don't need to purchase any extras if this is your first drum kit.
The drum throne is not a professional drum throne like we know from brands like Tama or Roland, but the seat is large enough and comfortable.
In addition to a drum stool, the headphone included. This feels a bit cheap, but still has a great sound quality. If you want to get the most out of your grooves, it is advisable to have your own to buy headphones.
Included Drumsticks
Unique to the Millenium HD-120 is that it comes with a stick holder. Handy, because a common problem for drummers is losing sticks. With this holder you will never lose sight of them (provided you store them neatly in the holder).
The drumsticks supplied by Thomann are very lightweight, so great for children. However, the sticks are much too light for me, which made playing unpleasant. The regular 5A sticks by Vic Firth worked a lot better.
If you are going to use this kit as an adult I would recommend other drumsticks to consider.
What alternatives are there?
If the Millenium HD-120 isn't quite your kind of drum kit, there are a few alternatives you can consider. Are you specifically looking for an electronic drum kit for kids? Then view the Top 5 here.
Millenium Rookie
If you are looking for another electronic drum kit for beginners or kids, the Millenium Rookie a model you can consider. This kit is a bit simpler and more minimalistic, but does feature mesh heads.
The Millenium Rookie focuses more on children, also because the kit can be adjusted very low to the ground. This drum kit is suitable for children from 3 years old.
You can read a review of the Millenium Rookie here .
Millenium MPS-150 and MPS-150X
Two other electronic drum sets designed specifically for beginners are the Millennium MPS-150 and the Millennium MPS-150X.
For a reasonable price you have a fully electronic drum kit including a real bass drum pedal, which the Millenium HD-120 does not have. The MPS-150X even has mesh heads and a 10″ snare drum, which feels even more realistic.
Conclusion
To be honest, I had low expectations for the Millenium HD-120. This was mainly due to the low price and the rubber pads which I thought would make it uncomfortable to play. This turned out to be very disappointing.
This electronically surprised me positively in the field stability and overall firmness. The material is really good quality.
What I didn't like was the fact that the cymbals not be positioned well. Also the supplied drumsticks are not suitable for the adult drummer. The inability to expand the kit is also a pity.
Another point for improvement is the number of functions on the module, which apart from the metronome are not really there. A training function or equalizer would have been nice, but on the other hand not to be expected for this price.
All in all, the Millenium HD-120 is a great value for your money. The advanced drummer will probably want more, but for the beginner drummer this is a very suitable first electronic drum kit.
