Tama "Rhythm Watch" Rant...
bja...@user.iwaynet.net
Doesn't anybody ever TRY crap before they start
selling it?
Case in point: the Tama "rhythm watch". (What the hell
is it with that hokey name anyway? It's not anything
close to a "watch" like say the "tension watch" is)
Basically someone at Tama had a pretty good idea.
"How about a nice little metronome that in addition
to usual "clicks" adds some nifty new features
like 1/8th 1/16th notes and triplets. How about
the ability to store some settings so you can
program different tempos for songs etc. Yeah!
And how about adding socket so you have the
metronome right handy on the old kit? SOMEBODY
at Tama had a brain!
But there was NO brain in the engineering dept.
and NOBODY ever tried this device out before they
started selling it.
Allow me to explain in detail the "Head up Japanese Butt"
features of the "rhythm watch".
Feature 1. It eats batteries like gangbusters. There is NO
auto turn-off feature so each and EVERY time you forget to
flip it off (And I sure want to flip SOMEONE off at TAMA)
it eats yet another 9 volt battery. It makes no difference
if the thing is silent and not making a sound, it still uses
enough power to eat the battery as if it were blasting
at full decibels!
Feature 2. When you change the batteries it looses all the
programmed settings! Just great. It eats not only the battery
but it eats all the time you put into programing your
tempos into it as well! Gosh how much could one small
capacitor cost that would hold the memory long enough for
a quick 9 volt swap? Maybe 50 cents? Really thinking
there guys!
Feature 3. Uses a REALLY cheap and crappy "tap" switch
coupled with a nice sticky tap key so that after you
own the damn thing for about 6 months the tap feature
is so erratic as to be next to useless unless you
bang the damn key with a drumstick! Thanks Tama!
You really thought that one out well.
Feature 4. The device has this nifty headphone jack
so you can wear phones to hear the metronome, only
nobody bothered to consider what the impedance of
the usual common headphones is. The net result is
that even with the volume up FULL the damn thing
is LOUDER if you use the speaker than if you try
to use phones which are right next to your ears.
Nice work!
Feature 5. A "beat" setting that only goes to 6.
Tama is right on top of this one. All those
"odd" time signature tunes are popular now,
so why not have a metronome that can be set to
do 5/4 etc. Cool. Let's see...what cames after
5/4 how about 7/4. Nope. Too much trouble.
Forget it. 7/4, 9/4, 11/4 or maybe even 13/4?
Sorry you don't get it. You must have bought
the wrong brand!
Feature 6. And there's the icing on the cake. The
metronome has this nifty socket that you can screw
a short rod into so you can handily mount the
metronome on your drumset. But hey, plastic
costs money, you know. And Tama manages to save...
what..maybe like .02 cents by making the plastic
so thin back at the metal rod socket that ANY
force on the case at all and the socket just
cracks right out. Did it EVER occur to these
clowns that a large metronome out on the end
of long rod clamped to a stand just *MIGHT*
be bumped into? Did anyone ever consider
that they might have just taken most of the
force OFF the plastic case by running the
socket metal as a rod down the whole length
of the case so the force is on the METAL
and not on some paper thin plastic? Hmmm.
How much would a 5 1/2" metal rod cost?
maybe 75 cents tops?
What is it with Tama anyway. Save a couple
of cents and have your product slammed
all over the internet to thousands of
customers? Wouldn't it have been just
a tad smarter to have given the prototype
to a drummer or two to test BEFORE they
started unloading a bunch of crap on
people? All of the above stuff is
pretty obvious once you start using the
device.
LISTEN TAMA, NEXT TIME, TEST IT FIRST.
I'M EVEN VOLUNTEERING TO ACCEPT THE
NEXT NEW PRODUCTS YOU ARE DEVELOPING
IF YOU SHIP THEM TO ME AND I'LL CHECK
THEM OUT FOR FREE. AND BEST OF ALL I WILL
REPORT BACK TO YOU HOW THEY SUCK IN
PRIVATE SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR REPUTATION
AND FIX ALL THE BONERS BEFORE YOU START
TAKING MONEY FROM PEOPLE!
Benj
PS. You don't get back the stuff I test! :-)
PSS. And here's an idea for free: How about
a "rhythm watch" that includes the ability
to produce Son and Rumba Clave? I know I want
one! Hello? Anybody awake at Tama?
--
SPAM-Guard! Remove .user (if present) to email me!
Stephen Mulholland
<bja...@user.iwaynet.net> wrote in message
news:ai8lol$jt7$1...@news.iwaynet.net...
<snip>
Otherwise...you're happy enough with our product?
Stephen
Head of Research
TAMA.
Seriously - have you contacted Tama? You will probably get nowhere, but
it's worth a try.
Stephen
JaKe-Seattle
>
> What the hell is it with music manufacturers anyway?
> Doesn't anybody ever TRY crap before they start
> selling it?
<snip>
I hope you sent this to Tama.
--
JaKe
Seattle
http://www.seattledrummer.com/jimknapp.html
Vits
> Doesn't anybody ever TRY crap before they start
> selling it?
>
> Case in point: the Tama "rhythm watch". (What the hell
> is it with that hokey name anyway? It's not anything
> close to a "watch" like say the "tension watch" is)
I just bought one recently and immediately experienced the battery burn out.
So I use an adapter and keep a battery in it just to store the settings. My
Casio VL tone from 1981 shuts itself off and it didn't cost anywhere near
$100 (I think it was $49 back in the day). I programmed the head to Freedom
Jazz Dance 5 years ago into its step sequencer and it's still in there! .
The main knob on the Tama is so "tight" that I have to turn it with one
hand and hold the unit with the other (real handy with sticks in your
hands). I put it on a cymbal stand for it's first gig and when I took it
off a metal burr sliced my thumb open. I've had a original Dr. Beat from
the late '70's and the battery lasts for YEARS. There definitely is a
market for a better, bulletproof product.
Vits
nick amoroso
now *that's* the kind of review i like to read! i hope you sent it to tama,
man.
peace,
:nick:
proud endorser of trueline drumsticks
http://www.trueline.com/endorse/amoroso.html
http://artists2.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/christopher_mills/
http://www.cdbaby.com/soulbelly
-----
JAE 10/9/44 - 6/27/02
MMORITZ884
...the attachment for the cymbal stand is 6mm. Who uses 6mm cymbal stands in
the 21st Century? Percussion Plus?
...if you spin the dial too fast, the readout freezes and the tempo does not
change. You have to change the tempo slowly and deliberately.
...the flimsy battery cover fell off, and now the battery just hangs by its
wires. Very classy looking.
...the readout is not illuminated, so it's hard to see in poor light -- not
that drummers would ever play in poor light.
Other than that, it's as good as you say.
joem
> ...the attachment for the cymbal stand is 6mm. Who uses 6mm cymbal stands in
> the 21st Century? Percussion Plus?
i believe tama does. i think pearl/gibraltar/dw/etc are 8mm and tama is
6mm. i guess that would just be their way of making you use *their* boom
arms to mount the thing.
--
joe.
"kids today don't understand what jazz is all about...with their hippin'
and their hoppin' and their bippin' and their boppin'. see jazz is like jell-o
pudding...no, no....it's kodak film...no, no...it's like the new coke: it'll
be around forever..." - bill cosby (on the simpsons)
Brandon Paluzzi
> PSS. And here's an idea for free: How about
> a "rhythm watch" that includes the ability
> to produce Son and Rumba Clave? I know I want
> one! Hello? Anybody awake at Tama?
>
I agree with everything you said about the Rhythm Watch...
Here's an aside, though.
Roland just came out with a new metronome/practice pad combination that
has the ability to do the two claves. (3-2 and 2-3 for both).
It's the RMP-1 "Rhythm Coach", and it's in the V-Drum line.
I just so happen to have one of these for sale... =)
Here is a short spec list I wrote up for a friend:
There are two parts to the pad. The "pad" part is an 8" surface, with a
mesh head like a Roland V-Drum. The rim is coated in rubber so you can
play shots without waking the neighbors. On the bottom is an 8mm bolt so
you can attach it to any cymbal stand. The pad has a single 1/4" output
(mono).
The "brain" part attaches to the pad via drumkey operated bolts. This
part has two 1/4" inputs (mono) so you can trigger a second sound with a
footpedal or second pad. It also has an 1/8" input that you can use to
mix in a cd/minidisk/etc. Finally, there is a 1/8" stereo output for
headphones/amplifier, whatever. The brain uses 4 AA batteries or
an AC adapter.
The brain itself has the following settings:
BPM (10-300) speed of the metronome
Beat (1-13) The "top" note of the time signature
Rhythm Type: The subdivision of the metronome (includes whole note, half
note, quarter note, eighth notes, upbeat eighths (+'s), 8th triplets, 8th
triplet shuffle, 16ths, dotted eighth/sixteenth (1__a 2__a), upbeat 16ths
(_e_a), sixtuplets, 2/3 son clave, 3/2 son clave, 2/3 rhumba clave, 3/2
rhumba clave
Met Instrument: The sound the internal metronome makes (includes
traditional metronome, electric beep, electric (seiko) metronome, sweep
metronome, "zap" metronome, hi hat, cowbell, shaker, claves, sticks, and
human voice
Met Level: The volume of the metronome (1-8 through phones, 1-2 through
speaker)
Met Mode: The display of the LED lights of the metronome (7 different
settings, including sweeps, blinking lights, etc.)
Pad Instrument: The sound the pad surface makes
(includes:
Maple snare (14x6.5)
Steel Snare (14x5.5)
Brass Snare (14x5.5)
Brass Snare rim
Maple Picc Snare (14x3.5)
Maple Picc Snare Rim
Brass Picc Snare (14x3.5)
13 inch snare
Deep Shell Snare
Marching Snare
Marching Snare Rim
Single Tenor
Hi drumset tom (10")
Mid drumset tom (12")
Lo drumset tom (14")
Quad 1 (8")
Quad 2 (10")
Quad 3 (12")
Quad 4 (13")
Drumset bass (22")
Marching bass 1 (18")
Marching bass 2 (24")
Hi timbale
Lo timbale
Cowbell
Claves
Practice board 1 (ticky sound)
Practice board 2 (tick w/ accent tap --> pitch raises as dynamics
increase)
Pad sensitivity (1-16)
The last part of the pad is the "Coach" function, which has several
different tools for practicing:
#1 - Rhythmic notes: Plays 2 measures of half notes, 2 measures of
quarters, 2 of 8ths, 2 of 8th triplets, 2 of 16ths, 2 of 6s, 2 of 16ths, 2
of 8th triplets, and back down to half notes
#2 - Time check: Gives you a "grid" and it tells you where your pad
strokes are falling in relation to the click (ahead of the beat, behind
the beat, or right on the beat)
#3 - Quiet count: Plays 8 bars on, then 8 bars off, then 8 bars on, etc.
#4 - Speed check: similar to time check. If you play in time with the
met. for 8 bars, the tempo is increased 5 bpm, up to the max of the
metronome
#5 - Gradual up: metronome increases by 1 bpm every two counts
#6 - Gradual down: met. decreases by 1 bpm every 2 counts
#7 - Gradual up/down: up then down, 1 bpm every 2 counts
#8 - Step up: every eight measures, up by 5 bpm
#9 - Step down
#10 - Step up/down
#11 - Timer: countdown timer to time your practice session
I think that's all of the specs for the pad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bra...@bpaluzzi.net http://www.conquestpercussion.com
Pat McDonald
wrote:
> What the hell is it with music manufacturers anyway?
> Doesn't anybody ever TRY crap before they start
> selling it?
>
<snip>
> LISTEN TAMA, NEXT TIME, TEST IT FIRST.
> I'M EVEN VOLUNTEERING TO ACCEPT THE
> NEXT NEW PRODUCTS YOU ARE DEVELOPING
> IF YOU SHIP THEM TO ME AND I'LL CHECK
> THEM OUT FOR FREE. AND BEST OF ALL I WILL
> REPORT BACK TO YOU HOW THEY SUCK IN
> PRIVATE SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR REPUTATION
> AND FIX ALL THE BONERS BEFORE YOU START
> TAKING MONEY FROM PEOPLE!
>
> Benj
> PS. You don't get back the stuff I test! :-)
>
> PSS. And here's an idea for free: How about
> a "rhythm watch" that includes the ability
> to produce Son and Rumba Clave? I know I want
> one! Hello? Anybody awake at Tama?
Sorry Ben, but this was a thread about a year or so ago. I think the
general consensus was that if they made a "rhythm watch" style
metronome with solid buttons, strong fittings, all the programming
features and a metal case, we'd all gladly pay the extra cash for it.
I myself am still waiting for someone to pony up and make the damn
thing......
Pat
Pat McDonald
wrote:
> I've had a original Dr. Beat from
> the late '70's and the battery lasts for YEARS. There definitely is a
> market for a better, bulletproof product.
>
> Vits
>
>
I'm with ya. The Rhythm Watch seemed like Tama's attempt to make a
beefed up Dr. Beat when I first saw it. I only bought it because it
could hold 20 pre-programmed tempos (great for live work) and could be
mounted on a cymbal arm. As Ben said, the cymbal mount broke within
2 weeks and the tempos got erased when you change the battery. Piece
of shit.
I have an old Dr. Beat too and I'm like a mad scientist working the
tempo scroll buttons! I MUCH prefer it to the Tama. If only I could
program some tempos into it, I'd be set forever.
Pat
-MIKE-
> in the 21st Century?
Tama & Sonor, unfortunately.
-MIKE-
--
http://mikedrums.com
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