Yamaha DTX562K Electronic Drum Set Review

Yamaha’s DTX502 electronic drum kit series includes its mid-range offerings and features a number of kits, the DTX562K, the DTX532K, and the DTX522K.

In this review, we’ll be looking at the DTX562K, to see how it compares with other kits at this level. We’ll also be discussing who should buy it and its pros and cons.

So, let’s find out if the Yamaha DTX562K is the right electronic drum kit for you?

The Yamaha DTX562K is a five-piece drum set with hit-hats and two cymbals. It features, uniquely designed, textured cellular silicon heads, as well as the series standard DTX502 drum module. The kit rests on a Yamaha drum rack which can easily be customized to suit any drummers setup.

As is obvious from the price, this drum set is not for a beginner. It’s a little more expensive than most people would pay for their first electronic kit.

It features silicone drum heads on the snare and the toms. These allow the kit to be played very quietly, which is something to bear in mind if playing throughout the night, is your thing.

A real Yamaha hi-hat stand and cymbal pad are included with this kit. The pad is not like the hi-hat on the DTX522K, i.e., a pad and a free-floating hi-hat pedal controller. If you enjoy the realism and playability that a real hi-hat stand gives you, then the DTX562K could be the electronic kit you’re looking for.

The drum module has all the connections you’d expect to find on a professional controller and functions wonderfully, for both live performance and recording situations.

It’s fully MIDI compatible, allowing it to be used with any Digital Audio Workstation. This is great news for home recording enthusiasts who need an electronic drum kit to integrate with their set-ups.

Sound wise, there are a large number of drum kits to choose from. And many of the kits have been modeled on Yamaha’s elite range of acoustic kits. They can also be customized to suit your playing, add some of the built-in effects and then store your new sounds for future use.

The Yamaha the DTX562K features a five-piece drum set with hi-hats, two cymbals, a drum rack, and a drum module. Each of the drums are mounted to the rack, and there are separate cymbal stands for the ride cymbal and the crash cymbal. Unfortunately, these are not on boom stands and limit the positioning of the pads.

As already mentioned, the hi-hat comes mounted on its own separate Yamaha hi-hat stand. It features sensors, which can tell the positioning of the hi-hat pad. The pad sits on the base and is attached to the stand in the traditional way, using a hi-hat clutch.

The result is impressive and very playable. The sensors are accurate enough to know which position your foot is playing in. It can create superb open and closed hi-hat sounds, as well as a wide range of in-between sounds. The pads even respond to hi-hat heel splash techniques.

The three toms are all 7 inches in diameter. This is quite small for a drum pad, but they do have the added bonus of playable rims. They are made from textured cellular silicone, which simulates the feel and playability of an acoustic drum head.

Yamaha has put a lot of effort into making the drums as playable as possible. And have developed them in conjunction with professional drummers, to create the perfect head response.

The snare drum is slightly bigger than the toms. It’s an 8-inch pad featuring the same multi-zone triggering. This allows rim shots and rim clicks to be easily playable.

The snare mounting is more advanced than that of the toms. It comes with a flexible ball-joint so you can position the snare at any angle you like.

The toms feature a more basic clamping method without the ball-joint mount. However, adjustment is still possible, by angling them and of course, moving their position along the drum rack.

The kick drum is a standard kick tower. It’s small, compact and has a rubber-type drumhead. The head has a good feel when played with the felt bass drum beater. However, being made of rubber, there is a little more noise, than you would get with a silicone or mesh head.

The tower is very sturdy and stays in place well during performances, despite its lightweight look. There are also supporting spikes on the base of the tower, to help it grip to floor surfaces.

Cymbal pads are 13 inches in diameter. With the crash and ride, both being chokable. This means that you can mute them, by grabbing the edge of the cymbal.

As well as this, they are also ‘pre-chokable’. This technology is unique to Yamaha and allows you to create muted cymbal sounds by playing the cymbal while gripping it at the same time.

Yamaha uses the DTX502 module for every kit in the DTX502 series. It’s compact and easy to use, featuring 691 different drum and cymbal samples.

The interface is quite minimalistic, which some drummers will like, others not so much. It features one large dial in its center, just under a small LCD display. This dial is used for navigating through the sounds, songs, and effects on the module.

The LCD screen is quite small and tells the user which kit is currently selected. To the left of it, you’ll find another display; this shows the metronome tempo or the selected sequenced track tempo.

You can adjust the global volume here as well, but there are no fader controls for individual drum or cymbal pad volumes. If you need to do this, you will need to navigate to the relevant sound and then adjust its level.

All the inputs and outputs are found on the back of the module. They are, a power socket, a USB connection, and, a line output to send the kits stereo signal to an amplifier or a P.A. system. If you prefer listening on headphones, there is an output for that as well.

Yamaha has gone to great measures in capturing a selection of their most highly-prized acoustic kits to create the sounds on the DTX502. It, therefore, features some familiar sounding kits from the companies professional series drum sets.

As well as all the wonderful drum samples, you also get a variety of high-quality cymbal samples. They’ve also thrown in a few percussion sounds and electronic samples for good measure.

The module features 37 play-along tracks. These can be mixed and matched with your kit. These songs, are in all manner of styles, from funk to Latin and much more. The module offers you full control over each track, and you can adjust the tempo and even remove the original drum tracks but leave everything else on, if you like.

The module also allows the user to import their own sound files onto the unit. These can be samples, songs or even MIDI files. The DTX502 can then act as a sequencer, allowing you full control over both the built-in songs and any ones you import.

Importing is very easy. You just hook the DTX502 up to any Mac or PC, via the USB connection. And then transfer the files between the devices.

Once you’ve imported a MIDI song onto the module. You can then adjust its tempo and remove drum tracks, etc. in the same way as on the built-in songs. It also accepts sound samples in Wav or MP3 format.

All this allows the user to build up their own collection of custom drum kits. Once imported, these samples can be modified further if needed, before storing them to any of the 50 kit slots.

Drummers will also be delighted to know that Yamaha has included a host of teaching functions on the DTX502 module as well. The different modes are designed to help the drummer constantly improve their skill, speed, and timing.

The ‘Groove Check’ function is one of our favorite modes and gives you instant feedback on your timing.

First, you choose whether you’d like to play along with the metronome or with one of the built-in songs. Next, select the tempo and then begin to play. Groove Check will constantly display, how you are doing timing-wise, on the DTX502 module.

This is a very quick and easy way, to see exactly how your own timing rates against the click. The module can break down your playing even further and show how your timing is on each limb. For example, it will tell you if you’re playing ahead of the beat on your hi-hat, but behind the beat with your kick drum.

The DTX562K features everything that the other kits in the DTX502 series offer and more. It sounds good, and the silicone toms and snare offer a superb playable experience. The inclusion of a proper stand-mounted hi-hat also sets the DTX562K apart from other electronic drum kits at this price level.

So, all in all, it’s a good buy, but it does have a few negatives as we’ve seen. It’s easily one of the best in its price range, but not by much, and its competitors offer different features. So check them out as well.

The DTX562K will make a lot of drummers very happy, but not all.

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