The Millenium Rookie , currently the cheapest electronic drum kit available, has been in my possession for a few weeks now and is being used extensively.
This electronic drum kit, designed for beginner drummers and children, is exclusively available from Thomann . This compact drum kit offers the perfect opportunity to practice and learn drumming in silence.
Considering the price (currently 179 euros), I had low expectations of this drum kit, but this kit positively surprised me. In this review I discuss my personal experience with the Millenium Rookie and explain the pros and cons.
In this blog
Millenium Rookie
Judgement
The Millenium Rookie is a good choice for beginning drummers and children. The mesh heads, anti-slip pedals, easy setting up of the kit and the connection to a power bank mean that this kit offers much more than you pay for it.
Pros
- Adjustable in height
- Kit takes up little space
- Set up within 20 minutes
- Very good value for money
Cons
- Pedals slide while playing despite anti-slip
- Cannot be expanded with additional pads
- Cymbals are set a little too loud in the mix
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Millenium Rookie
The Millenium Rookie has a number of advantages. For example, the kit is height-adjustable so that you and children from 3 years old can work on their drumming skills. The kit is also easy to set up and takes up little space (100 cm x 50 cm).
Something that I initially thought was an advantage later turned out not to work very well: the anti-slip under the pedals. Over time, the pedals slip while playing. I solved this myself by sticking double-sided tape underneath, which works great.
What I also noticed was that the cymbals were set a bit louder in the mix. There is no option to adjust this in the module.
What's in the box?
- 1x 07″ Snare drum mesh pad
- 3x 07″ Tom mesh pads
- 3x 08″ Cymbal pads
- 1x Kick drum pedal
- 1x Hi-Hat controller
- Rack
- Drum key
- Drum sticks
- Manual
Compact Toms and Cymbals
The Millenium Rookie consists of the standard setup of a drum kit, namely a snare, three toms, and a hi-hat, crash and ride cymbal. All pads are touch-sensitive, so they respond differently when you hit them hard or soft.
7″ Mesh Head Pads
The Millenium Rookie comes with 8 identical 7″ pads. The pads have a woven mesh surface (mesh heads), which makes playing comfortable and realistic. The pads also make little noise for the surroundings.
In general the pads absorb the hits well, however when you play fast rolls or ghost notes they are not always registered accurately like a real snare drum would.
Three 8″Cymbals
The cymbals of the Millenium Rookie are 8″ and have a light gray design. These are single-zone, so they produce the same sound no matter where you hit the cymbal. The cymbals also do not have a choke function (mute when picked up).
The cymbal pads move realistically and feel sturdy.
Kick and Hihat Trigger Pedals
Both the kick and hi-hat are powered by a trigger pedal, unlike an acoustic drum kit. This plays a little less realistically, and that is no different with the Millenium Rookie. However, with an electronic drum kit in this price range you cannot expect a kit to have a real kick and hi-hat pedal.
The pedals generally respond well, but can sometimes miss a note with rapid succession of strokes.
The anti-slip mats under the pedals work well for children, but as an adult you will have to secure the pedals on a flat floor with tape as I described earlier.
💡 The Millenium Rookie is one of the few electronic drum kits that runs on power from a power bank . This means you can put the kit down anytime and anywhere, whether there's a power outlet nearby or not. I personally found this to be a big plus!
Millennium Rookie Module
All signals arrive at Millenium's compact module. This module is simply designed so that you know exactly how it works after playing it once.
12 Varied Kits
The module contains 12 kits. The first 10 are samples of real drum sounds, the last two (numbers 11 and 12) are electronic sounds and have more of a DJ-like sound, also nice!
Metronome
The metronome is easy to set and offers different time signatures, such as 4/4, 3/4, 5/4, etc. 10 songs are also included to get inspiration during your drumming session.
The speed of the metronome can be set between 20-320 BPM. The clicking sound of the metronome cannot be changed.
Connections
The module has 5 different inputs:
- USB-C power supply
- USB-MIDI (allows you to import the drum kit sounds to your PC)
- 6.3mm stereo jack line output (connect to an amplifier or for recording a drum cover )
- 3.5mm stereo jack headphone output (for headphones )
- 3.5 mm stereo jack aux in (to connect your smartphone so you can play along with your favorite music)
Overall playing feeling
In my opinion, the playing feel of the Millenium Rookie is quite similar to an acoustic drum kit. Of course, in some areas (such as the plastic rim of the pads) you will notice that it is a budget electronic drum set, but the price reflects that.
Mesh Heads
When you take a seat behind the Millenium Rookie you will notice that all pads (if installed according to the manual) are a good distance apart. You can easily adjust this with a drum key.
The pads feel responsive and respond exactly like a real drum head would.
The mesh head pads have a plastic rim. When you hit the head, this produces little noise for the environment, but if you miss the edge (which happens regularly with a child), it produces a little more noise.
Included Drumsticks
The included poles (7A) are very lightweight, so great for children. However, the sticks are much too light for me, which was not pleasant. Vic Firth's regular 5A clubs therefore worked a lot better.
If you are going to use the Millenium Rookie as an adult I would recommend using these drumsticks .
What alternatives are there?
If the Millenium Rookie isn't quite your kind of drum kit, there are a few alternatives you can consider. Looking for an electronic drum kit specifically for kids? Check out the Top 5 here .
Gear4Music VISIONDRUM
The Millenium Rookie is similar to Gear4Music's VISIONDRUM models. These kits have the same module and hardware and are available in Orange and Blue . You can also opt for the VISIONDRUM+ or PRO , which have a kick pedal and a more extensive module.
An electronic drum kit specifically designed for children is the Gear4Music Digital Drums 200 Junior .
Other Kits from Millenium
The Millenium Rookie is an entry-level model that is largely aimed at children. That doesn't mean that you as an adult can't enjoy this kit, but the appearance is a bit childish in my opinion.
If you're not going to use the Millenium Rookie for kids, I'd recommend considering Millenium's other entry-level models, such as the Millenium HD-120 , Millenium MPS-150 , or Millenium MPS-150X .
Conclusion
All in all, I have to admit that I had low expectations for the Millenium Rookie. I expected an electronic drum kit of low quality and little stability.
I quickly noticed that the material is of quite good and sturdy quality. The kit is also quite stable, although it can shift slightly during play.
With realistic feeling mesh heads, a simple module, stable rack and the ability to connect the kit to a power bank, the kit is better value for money than other electronic drum kits. I was surprised that I got such a good electronic drum set for such a low price.
In conclusion, the Millenium Rookie is a perfect drum kit for children and a reasonably good drum kit for beginning drummers. Because of the childish appearance that the kit exudes, the kit is definitely recommended for children. For adults, the kit is also certainly good to play, but I recommend looking further at the above-mentioned alternatives such as the Millenium MPS-150 or Millenium MPS-150X .
