MYSTERY SOLVED! dbdrums nPad is Gear4Music DD90 Digipad is HXW Avatar PD-705 | The eDrum Workshop

The mysterious case of 3 identical multipads - the dbdrums nPad, the Gear4Music DD90 Digipad Sampler and the HXW Avatar PD-705 has finally been solved...
All 3 pads aim to be an SPD-SX alternative.
► Gear4Music DD90 Digipad Sampler - tidd.ly/3kimT06
(UK and Europe - This link is an affiliate link - it helps support the channel by giving me commission on sales, at no extra cost to you!)
Nick Cesarz's PD-705 review - • THE CHEAPEST DRUM PAD ...
digiralDrummer's article - digitaldrummerm...
Make your snares POP with The eDW Snare eLements Sample Pack - theedrumworksh...
Compatible with
► dbdrums nPad, G4M DD90 Digipad and HXW PD-705
► Roland SPD-S, SPD-SX, TM-6 Pro, TM-2, TD-50, TD-27, TD-17
► Alesis Strike Multipad, Strike Module
► Yamaha DTX Multi 12
► Pearl Mimic Pro
► New kits for your Roland TD-50 - theedrumworksh...
► New kits for your Roland TD-17 - theedrumworksh...
► New kits for your Pearl Mimic Pro - theedrumworksh...
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*These links are affiliate links - they help support the channel by giving me commission on sales, at no extra cost to you!
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[@chrisgallimore220]

So as I understand it...the memory in the HXW 705 is EITHER 512mb or 1GB. You can find that info on their site. The G4M version is the 512mb version. HOWEVER it has 128mb reserved for inbuilt sounds and 128mb for user sounds. It's really not a lot though and this lets the pad down. Other than that, I've not really had a lot of mistriggering or cross talk. One of the pads was a bit too sensitive so I dialed it in a bit better & that solved the issue. Aside from that I think the pad is decent enough & does its job. I'm yet to use it as a midi controller but if it is half decent at that I'd be more than happy to use it for triggering backing tracks and loops in a live setting as well as setting it up to play different virtual instrument kits from my laptop.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

The HXW has the same memory as the G4M as far as I can tell. I've been meaning that as available user sample memory, so it should be that HXW and G4M both have 128MB for user samples. The nPad is the one that's claimed to have more memory - they're currently saying 1GB, though I don't know if they mean user sample memory or total memory including stock samples. Their Kickstarter originally said 512MB, which is confusing! It isn't a lot, no, and it is a real shame! The build quality seems good from what I've tested but if I could ask - have you had any issues with a high pitched whining sound from the headphone or master outputs? I've had to send my G4M pad back to get a replacement, wondered if anyone else is having things like this or if I got a duff one.

[@65Drums]

This is very interesting. I was wondering about this because I played the DB drums version at NAMM and spoke to people at the company there. I knew it was a kick starter product, so I was surprised when a representative at HXW reached out and offered a review unit to the PD705 sold on amazon which looked identical to the one I had played in January from DB. Thanks for making the video and bringing it all together. I'm going to guess that HXW also makes their other drum pads that I tried out too, it's from them or a different Chinese manufacturer.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Thanks for watching dude! Yeah, very odd situation all round. All the HXW/Avatar stuff completely passed me by until my last video about it.

[@nyponteua9974]

DBDrums makes their own mesh pads. They use HXM cymbal pads and also modules.

[@samsschool3639]

the man himself!

[@ScrewballMcAdams]

Kudos to you for not wasting my time with opening music and begs for subscribers. I really appreciate that.

[@brauliojosuepaulinhomatias3782]

Yes, I also realized that there were very similar pads, only the brand and the memory differentiated them. I am from Peru from Latin America and I chose this pad mainly because of the price and what several Latino percussion artists were saying about this product. I bought it and it has very good quality, easy to use and transport. Thanks for making this video. Greetings from Peru.

[@NickCesarzDrums]

Thanks for the shout out! Great videos-I was wondering the same thing, regarding why the same product seemed to be branded by so many different companies.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

You're welcome dude! Your review is really well put together and helped me piece parts of the puzzle together. Thanks for watching!

[@Tephomab]

This is wild! I've just started looking in to these recently, and I'm very grateful for your videos to say the least. Still probably going to buy one despite the weirdness, but now I know that I don't need to get the 1gb version as I'm using it as a midi controller. You just saved me a little money, and I appreciate it haha

[@garyshainemusic]

And now... it's the new Ddrum NIO for $399.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

So it seems! I hadn't seen the price though, that's interesting. Over $100 more than the Avatar version seems a bit high unless they've included some good extras or tweaked some of the issues.

[@jeremyrichardson1771]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop Yeah, was wondering if it's worth the $100 premium. Definitely looks the best and from a company that has a little more name recognition (ddrum is related to Clavia and Nord)

[@paulussantosociwidjaja4781]

Thank you for your information as these will disrupt our Roland and Alesis market in Indonesia. Phew! Cheers!

[@Aircool212]

Basically, China makes a bit of kit and different companies just distribute the same thing with different furniture and perhaps a few features added or removed. You get the same thing happening with all sorts of products these days, such as power tools and AV equipment. Large retailers will have their individual 'brands' and perhaps another 'brand' that is unique to their part of the world even though it's the same stuff made in China. You'll often find that the naming of these 'brands' (yeah, I keep saying it, but they're just distributors really) will be purposefully misleading. For example, a lot of the 'brands' will often have German sounding names which imply reliability. Bottom line is, the Chinese manufacturer will be one company that manufactures the basic product and the 'brands' will just be distributors using the name of the retail company, and/or another 'brand' that is exclusive to that retailer.

[@DouglasLippi]

Glad it worked out for you!

[@juanfrandepaula]

dbrums is an argentinian brand... it's clear that they only set the branding but the products they comercialize are from a Chinese manufacturer, as you tell in your video. That's the way a lot of electronics brands work. Also, the internal memory (as on Roland SPDX) its an SD card that you can replace if you open the pad. ;) Greetings from Argentina!

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Yeah, it appears so! Is that definitely the case with the internal memory? dbdrums originally told me that the memory on board is flash memory, not SD - they used this as a selling point claiming it to be faster (don't know how true that part would be). I upgraded the memory of my SPD-SX a few years ago, was simple enough to try again if this one is an SD!

[@juanfrandepaula]

I don't really know... I was only supossing due that in Roland pad its an SD card.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Fair enough! If anyone opens one up, it'd be interesting to confirm what the memory format is. The old Roland SPD-S (before the SX) was integrated flash memory, I think, so it might be more like that.

[@juanfrandepaula]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop True. It might be like that. I misspelled my first reply, I mean that it could be like on Roland SPD-SX... but don't really know. Did you like your experience with the pad you've bought finally?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Unfortunately I had an issue with the one I purchased, I've sent it back for a replacement. Hopefully it was just a bad unit and not indicative of the overall quality...

[@musiqsoundsproductions]

I hope on a Roland pad with updated soft editor (yes an upgraded version of the paid one) bigger touchscreen like the Alesis multi-pad/Gewa G9, Yamaha multi 12 sounds, and xlr outputs like the td-50 and g9. Oh and more trigger inputs includin hh control.

[@B1Happy]

Thanks for the awesome vids! I backed up the nPad and am waiting. I live in Southern California

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Thanks for watching! Keep us posted when you hear about shipping and what not!

[@paulmark992]

Some manufacturers sell their product with different branding and subtle technical differences. This is so they can sell more of their products at different prices in different markets. Maybe there are some elements of this in this story.

[@Mr_Tummy]

Glad to hear you got your money back. I still think the Alesis multi-pad leads the pack. Wondering if Roland responds as their two SPD units are getting old.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Thanks! Yeah, I'd be interested to see a new SPD-SX model, hopefully reinstating some of the features lost from the SPD-S (velocity switching, mostly) and adding some new functionality.

[@pigsfromagun4050]

Mr tummy So you would recommend the alessis ?I was looking at the pad pro or this one?thanks.

[@Mr_Tummy]

@@pigsfromagun4050 Yeah, so full disclosure I have Roland gear (TD-50, MC-707) and I still think the Alesis Strike Multipad is stronger than the two pads (SPD-SX and SPD-30) from Roland. It has a sampler, like the SPD-SX and it allows for external pad expansion like the SPD-30, so you get the best of both Roland pads, in one unit. So you can use it in a hybrid setup at home, studio, gig and also take it to your buddies house to jam, along with hi-hat and kick drum pedals and leave your kit at home. I can't speak to the long term durability of the Alesis pad, but it seemed solid for the short time I played it.

[@pigsfromagun4050]

@@Mr_Tummy great good to know thanks.

[@pigsfromagun4050]

@@Mr_Tummy would you recommend the alesis samplepad pro ?

[@DanielOblak]

Many thanks for the explanation! Looks like the version available to me in the United States is the HXW PD705 ... though most retailers that had access to it list it as out of stock, occasionally it is available on Amazon. My question for anyone who has tried connecting it to other gear is about the pedals... are the ones sold by the same manufacturer(s) any good -- and assuming they are crap (at this price point, I'm not offended by that... I just want to know what my options are), and looking down the road, what other brands of pedals are compatible with this device? If it's just an on/off switch I have lots of piano pedals (with a switch to swap polarity) that I can use; but if I could use another brand's kick pedal that could indicate velocity that would be better.

[@yaelrodriguez9204]

My AVATAR lost all the sounds that came with it and now if i load waves to hit the pad it won't recognize them. is there a way to recover the sounds and be able to load WAVES again?

[@pafcjack100]

Really helpful. I'm in the market purely for midi purposes. I want to control kits and Kontakt instruments in Ableton. Any chance of a video review of that side of things with the dd90?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Thanks! Unfortunately I'm not able to do a proper review of the DD90, there's a video later today to explain.

[@samsschool3639]

Hi Luke, just recieved mine from GearForMusic and was eager to try it out, but alas it arrived in a horrible condition, (looked like it had been used) with dents and cracks, and on top of that, It didint even work, no sound.... great... At least it feels like a solid product physically. It looks nice and feels nice but it needs to work also.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Oh wow, that's awful! Sorry to hear it's arrived in such terrible condition. They make returns pretty easy, can do it all online (that's how I did mine) so hopefully you can get that sorted out. So far, not the most promising from what I've seen. What a shame. edit - Just for a bit of background, mine had a horrible whining noise coming from it, so I sent it back for a replacement. Hopefully that arrives in working condition 😒

[@samsschool3639]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop Yeah it's really sad because the mechanics and aesthetics felt pretty nice unfortunatley the electronics did not. I think I'm going with the Yamaha Multi 12 but I'd rather not buy 10 year old equipment so I will give it some more thought. Cheers!

[@samsschool3639]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop By the way mine had a horrible hissing sound as well!, I'm guessing they are having problems in their circuit board assembly because they wanted to maintain a low price and went for a cheap supplier Let us know if you are happy with the replacement! :D

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Yeah, I'm assuming the same. Cheap components/build process leading to poor quality control. Hopefully means it's only some that are having issues rather than all of them but I guess we'll see! Will keep you posted!

[@petergriffinelectricdrums4164]

So I’m guessing this thing is very cheap in Price? Compared to Alesis Strike Multi Pad Or Roland?? Hoping so... because if it’s not A Lot Cheaper then my question would be why would anyone trust a unknown company Multi pad when we can trust buying a Alesis or Roland? 👍👍❤️ Great information video ! Ya did a Splendid job..!

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Yeah, significantly cheaper! In the UK, the G4M version is £199, whereas the Strike Multipad is £599 and the SPD-SX is around £560 for the original and £680ish for the SE version. If it wasn't that much cheaper, I would never have bothered! And thanks man!

[@PJ-hn4cg]

I have the AVATAR PD705 but am having trouble getting the foot pedals to activate. Am I perhaps missing a necessary setup function ? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks !

[@feranimal]

so interesting! i didnt know all of this! good Info. thanks!

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Thanks for watching!

[@paulmark992]

This is also The Millennium Nonapad.

[@paulmark992]

So i guess in short: dbdrums came up with it, found a chinese manufacturer. Didn’t have an exclusive license to sell the product. Chinese manufacturer sells it under different names in different regions. Some brands claimed exclusive rights to sell their version in some regions. There are also differences between the versions. Some have more memory.

[@walkeracid]

....and they are the same as Millenium NonaPad at Thomann (or the other way round)

[@VJFranzK]

What about Ddrum Nio?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

The video is nearly 2 years old and the ddrum was announced a week ago! It looks pretty much the same other than the colours and a few additional presets but I'll look into it some more!

[@ralfkirsten124]

..and The Millenium NonaPad ..?!? Lol..!

[@wizz1987dziwko]

We have the Millenium NonaPad Pro also😆

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Yup! The ddrum NIO Percussion Pad too 😂

[@xthreelive1306]

Ashley Dme-705 drum pad in Indonesia

[@ronalddaniel5482]

In indonesia, identical pads are found as Ashley DME 705. Are they the same?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Oh my goodness, yes, that's another one! Crazy! Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

[@ronalddaniel5482]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop my pleasure, sir. I am an Alesis Strike Multipad user. This afternoon i visited the music store where i bought my Alesis. It caught my attention to the availability of this drumpad with good price. I tested it, got some Roland pads or dtx12 vibe upon the trial. I am having a thought to go for a duet between my Strikepad and this crazily multibranded pad.

[@rhythm-t3023]

Well it sounds interesting but I'm not so sure but I'm thinking that I might wanna get that model because I have Yamaha DD-75 along with Alesis Perc Pads and KAT Multi Pads those are my setups. But idk I might wanna get just to add for for special effects or add on to 1 of my acoustic drums. I'm thinking about it though

[@dictabeat]

Well that is quite the development there. It all seems to make sense. Funny enough, all this research into sub manufacturers has turned me into finding the best low cost high end e-drum set. I noticed the Musicstore brand "Fame DD One SP series" model and the "Thomann MPS-850" appear to be the same too and made by Medelli. But now that I see these brand names, I got more to research.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Totally! Yeah, the re-labelled gear thing is super interesting. Of course, Alesis also use Medeli for a lot of their kits, so you might even be able to match the Thomann and Musicstore kits up to an existing Alesis model. Not sure if they use the same modules between the brands or not.

[@matyastorok]

I have a Millenium 850, I am super happy with it, almost bought a second hand alesis dm10, old and no guarantee, this thing is great, 500 euros with all the bells and whistles, especially great if you are only gonna trigger superior drummer or a daw, although I think the built on sounds are pretty good for practice tbh. Thomann gives you a 3 year warranty, they are a good company in my experience

[@pigsfromagun4050]

Great video, so basically the gear4music one is the same unit different name?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Yeah, pretty much! As I say, dbdrums are saying the nPad has more user sample memory but otherwise they appear to be identical from what I've seen so far.

[@pigsfromagun4050]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop thanks man think I'll get the gear4music one looks fun.😀keep up the great work.

[@jointhecult]

Do you think the HXW PD705 & the Gear4Music DD90 pads are the same quality?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

I couldn't really say for sure. My guess is they're likely coming from the same factory, but on the other hand Nick from Drumming Review told me he didn't notice any of the audible issues I had. So it could be that the quality is the same but there was a batch issue with the DD90 or it could be a difference in quality, I'm not really sure.

[@Kevin12321]

Anyone got any tips how to get Logic Pro to recognize this thing?

[@VJFranzK]

Are the Firmware Updates interchangible between all of these?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

I'm honestly not sure as I don't have a bunch of different ones to confirm. I'd assume they're running the same software but there could be some differences that prevent it.

[@nicob820]

I have a Milenium Nonapad (another copy available in Europe via Thomman) and the firmware update they provided at the time was outdated so my pad was unusable after firmware update... So I used the avatar firmware and everything is working fine now

[@psrinivasreddy714]

This is amazing Ur given three rows of pad like 3×3=9 pads Y don't u make four rows of pad like 3×4=12 pads means one full octave its very necessary and useful of live players sry to say this is my opinion If any possible plss make 3×4=12 triggers pad thank u sir

[@MichaelWashingtonAE]

Yamaha did it with less space. 12 surfaces, A top and bottom row of the cylindrical shaped triggers

[@MrBeen992]

None of the direct recordings of this things on videos appear to have that noise issue. You didnt have luck I guess

[@samsschool3639]

1 GB vs 128 is absolutley horrible! why would they do this? to keep the cost lower than the sample pad?

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

I'm not really sure! Now, I don't know if they're including their own samples in with the memory there or if that's total user memory, will have to see when people get their hands on the nPad. Interestingly, there's no mention of memory size in the nPad manual...

[@samsschool3639]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop agreed, no mention in the spanish videos either

[@juleshammond5525]

I think I just found my multipad upgrade

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Be sure to check out my latest video before you do!

[@juleshammond5525]

The eDrum Workshop bet

[@juleshammond5525]

Now I see what you ment by the whining noise

[@juleshammond5525]

Also I think imma just save my money and get a spdsx or a multi12

[@rabbitpro6702]

in Russia under the brand . rockdale pd705

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

😮 number 7! Thanks for the heads up!

[@VJFranzK]

And now also "Lekato PD 705"? seems obvious

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Oh wow, another!

[@VJFranzK]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop I've done a video with it now! Does seem identical besides branding

[@babybison]

if the designer of this ever reads this ... on the mkII version can you put lots more memory in it..come on... GB of ram now is very cheap ! forget the usb socket and put mini/sd card slot on front and make it so the unit can record from inputs as a real 'sampler' does.... and if you really want to be 'rad' make the pads mini-mesh!

[@edrumsense]

Chinese market is one of the weirdest and shading things on the "flat earth (lol)". This is a white-label brand run by some humble Chinese guy with support of a big semi gubernamental company behind. And then they sell this for different companies around the world all with different names. And this is not exclusive to electronics. I had a cruiser motorcycle that was 100% an exact copy of the XV series from yamaha. It turns out that the same factory sells and commercialized those motorcycles for yamaha, funny enough you can find that motorcycle mostly in 3rt world countries like Yamaha v-star, Supershadow, Lifan, zanella, and a big ETC.

[@edrumsense]

I can speculate that not even the CEO of those companies know the real situation, and the information you got is jus unofficial guessing from a more experienced CEO.

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

I'm not going to pretend to know much about the Chinese market at all, so you're probably closer to the reality with your speculation than I would be! That's why I'm careful to label this the "official" story as opposed to the absolute facts haha!

[@edrumsense]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop yep, you need to watch your six with this kind of marketing schemes. Amazing video in any case

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

Nice you got a refund but it was a bit of a hastle... At the end of the day you can smash those pads!

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

Not gonna deny, it was a bit! Got a couple of extra videos out of it, I guess 😅

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop Well it is bit like me driving over 100 miles to Rotterdam to find out that Adams (only 5 miles away) also has the Alesis and PDS-10 stand I needed...

[@TheeDrumWorkshop]

😂 Ouch! Least you got a story out of it!

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

@@TheeDrumWorkshop The guy in the Rotterdam shop told me about Adams, and I went to a huge place I never been before. Not that bad after all.

[@vaninacuello2999]

yo consegui el avatar en argentina, lo malo es que no me dan servivio tecnico oficial. Amazon lo esta vendiendo en argentina a traves de tiendamia, yo pense que habia comprado un npad y no me di cuenta de este eriedo hasta que lo saque de la caja ayer. lastima lo de los 128 mb, otra situacion particular es que en argentina se vende bastante mas caro que en el resto latinoamerica.

[@dmmurray9422]

Avatar for me in USA