Millenium MPS-450 Review

As a beginning drummer, you will come across many brands of electronic drums, including the brand Millenium. We previously wrote a review about the models HD-120 and the Millenium Rookie , and this time it is the turn of the Millenium MPS-450 .

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 to the MPS-1000 .

Now that I have played the MPS-450 for a few weeks I would like to share my opinion about this kit with you in this review.

Also read: Millenium Electronic Drums: Why Should You (Not) Buy Them?

Pros and Cons of the Millenium MPS-450

As soon as I opened the box and took the parts out of the box separately, I noticed that the quality of the material was very good. The steel rack in particular feels more robust than similar kits.

What plays nicely are the mesh heads, especially the 10″ snare pad . An 8″ snare is often too small and with a 10″ you notice that the feeling of an acoustic drum kit comes much closer.

Another plus I found was the quality of the sounds , they sound quite realistic.

There are also a few minor drawbacks to the Millenium MPS-450. For example, I found the module's screen to look a bit old-fashioned and I find navigating through the menu not very user-friendly. The module also does not have Bluetooth , something that theAlesis Nitro Max does have.

It is also good to know that the kit does not come standard with a drum stool and headphones. Drumsticks are included, but they are very light and therefore not suitable in my opinion.

What's in the box?

• 1 x 10″ Two Zone Snare Drum Pad
• 3 x 08″ Mono Tom Pads
• 2 x 12″ Cymbal pads
• 1 x 10″ Hihat Pad
• 1 x Bass Drum Pad
• 1 x Bass Drum Pedal
• 1 x Hi-hat Controller
• 1 x MPS-450 Drum Module
• Drum rack
• Drum sticks
• Manual (also available for download online)

Toms and Cymbals

The Millenium MPS-450 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.

10" Snare Pad and 8" Tom Pads

Because the snare pad has a size of 10 inches, it feels nice and realistic. The snare has two zones and also gives a sound on the edge, making rimshots possible. The standard tension is quite low, so it is advisable to tighten the screws considerably so that the skin is tighter.

The snare is attached to the rack as standard, but you can also choose to mount the snare on a snare stand , so that the rest of the kit moves less while playing.

The three toms are 8″ in size, which is large enough to play comfortably on the kit. I personally would have liked the floor tom to be a bit larger, but for that we have to look at the Millenium MPS-850 .

The toms also have mesh heads and are adjustable in tension. The toms are single zone, so they always give the same sound regardless of where you hit them.

Three Cymbals

The cymbals of the Millenium MPS-450 are 12″, which gives them a large surface area and you will not easily miss. The arms on which the cymbals are mounted can also be tilted, which makes it easy to determine the right position. Furthermore, the cymbals feel realistic and solid.

Want to expand your kit with an extra cymbal? This is easily possible with the very affordable MPS-450 12″ Mono Cymbal .

Kick Pedal and Hihat Controller

The Millenium MPS-450 comes with a kick pedal, kick pad and hihat controller. This is in contrast to kits like the Millenium HD-120 or the Roland TD-02KV where both the hihat and the kick are trigger pedals.

The hihat trigger is the same size as an acoustic drum pedal. The spring under the head ensures that the pedal springs back realistically while playing.

The kick pedal that comes with it is good, but nothing more than that. You can optionally connect a double bass pedal , which gives you even more possibilities.

The kick pad also has a mesh head surface, which further dampens the sound.

MPS-450 Module

All signals are received on the module of Millenium. The cables are combined in 1 plug, which makes connecting to the module quick. The module is quite simple in design and looks a bit old-fashioned in my opinion, but this does not detract from the sound quality.

30 Preset Kits and 10 User Kits

The module of the MPS-450 contains 30 kits, which I demonstrate in the video at the beginning of this blog. Almost all genres are represented and I am more impressed by one kit than the other, but in general the sounds sound good.

In addition to the 30 preset kits, there is room for composing your own kits with the 10 user kits. This gives you enough freedom to create your own kit of choice.

Not only the sounds can be changed, also the volume per instrument. Handy, because I found the standard volume of the snare very soft. Do you want a kick drum or a cymbal louder in the mix? No problem, with the Utility button you can easily adjust this.

Metronome

The integrated metronome allows you to work on your timing. The metronome click sound has a clear and distinct sound.

Connections

The module has a number of different connections:

• Power connection (for the wall socket)
• 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 )
• 2 x 6.3mm stereo jack line output (connect to an amplifier or for recording a drum cover )
• 2 x 6.3mm jack trigger inputs (for connecting two additional pads)

Overall playing feeling

The overall feel reminds me of the popular Alesis Nitro Max, which is a good sign, as the kits are both the same size and similar in functionality.

After tightening the snare a bit it plays nice and realistic, same goes for the other toms. Also the kickdrum has a good response and is big enough for a double bass pedal .

Having played the kit a few times now I can't find any major drawbacks and have to admit that this is one of the best budget kits I've tried.

Included sticks

The drumsticks supplied by Thomann are very lightweight and feel cheap. The regular 5A sticks from Vic Firth worked a lot better for that reason.

If you are going to use the Millenium MPS-450 as an adult I would recommend considering other drumsticks .

What alternatives are there?

If the Millenium MPS-450 isn’t quite your kind of drum kit, there are a few alternatives you can consider. Also check out the Top 5 Electronic Drums with the best kits for beginners.

Alesis Nitro Max

We already mentioned the Alesis Nitro Max, an electronic drum kit that is very similar in specifications to the MPS-450. The Alesis Nitro Max distinguishes itself with 1 important specification, namely the availability of Bluetooth. The module also has a more modern design.

A review of the Alesis Nitro Max read here.

Millenium MPS-150 and MPS-150X

Two other electronic drum kits that are specifically designed for beginners are the Millenium MPS-150 and the Millenium MPS-150X . Both kits are suitable if you are on a lower budget.

For a reasonable price you have a fully electronic drum kit including a real bass drum pedal. The MPS-150X even has mesh heads and a 10″ snare drum, just like the Millenium MPS-450.

You can read a review of the Millenium MPS-150 here .