At €359 ($355), the Millenium MPS-350 offers an 8-piece mesh kit, Bluetooth, 500 sounds and a complete rack. Ideal for beginners, it nevertheless suffers from annoying kick noise and a module overloaded with settings that don't really work.
Introducing the Millenium MPS-350: eight-piece electronic kit with mesh skins
The Millennium MPS-350 is a complete electronic kit, consisting of an 8″ bass drum pad, an 8″ double-zone snare and rimshot, three 7″ toms, a hi-hat pad with foot controller, a crash, and a double-zone ride with choke.
The sound module includes 25 preset kits, 500 individual sounds, 35 accompaniment songs, a customizable metronome, Bluetooth connectivity, a stereo mini-jack auxiliary input, a USB/MIDI port, a 6.35 mm (1/4-inch) stereo output, a mini-jack headphone output, and an additional trigger input for a cymbal pad.
The pack includes the bass drum pedal, the four-legged metal rack and all the necessary cabling, making it a ready-to-use solution for beginners.
Main features of the Millenium MPS-350 :
- Electronic kit with mesh skins
- 8″ bass drum pad (with pedal)
- Snare drum 8″ double zone + rimshot
- Three 7” toms
- Hi-hat with foot controller
- Crash and ride double zone + choke
- Module featuring 25 kits, 500 sounds, 35 play-alongs, Bluetooth, USB/MIDI
- Metal rack
- All necessary cables
Unpacking and assembling the Millenium MPS-350: installation, rack and supplied accessories
The box arrives well protected, and assembly takes around 30 minutes. The metal-tube rack offers good strength, while the reinforced plastic clamps are easily adjusted with the included drum wrench.
The toms are attached via a plastic rod integrated into the pad, without a conventional L-rod, which may come as a surprise at first. This system provides decent stability, but with limited floor tom inclination. In this respect, the integrated stick holder on the rack is a particularly welcome detail for everyday use.
On the other hand, the supplied sticks are of very mediocre quality (rough wood that marks the cymbals) and deserve to be replaced before first use.
Construction and ergonomics: quality of the mesh pads, metal rack and stability of the kit
The mesh skins provide a natural bounce and reasonable sound level, making the double-zone snare and toms quite usable for the price.
However, the 8" bass drum pad rests against a bar on the rack, generating a distinct and very audible metallic noise with each strike. This defect, especially penalizing in apartments, detracts from the ability to play quietly through headphones, which is an important capability for an entry-level kit.
The supplied pedal is correct and adjustable in inclination, but the kick pad’s relatively high position forces you to raise the whole assembly, which can be tiring in the long run. The cymbals integrate the choke function well, albeit with perceptible latency that becomes noticeable when playing fast.
Millenium MPS-350 sound module: 500 sounds, Bluetooth, USB/MIDI and advanced settings
The module features 25 kits and 500 sounds covering basic acoustic, electronic and percussive sounds. The 35 play-alongs sound very “MIDI" and their triggering is sometimes out of sync with the precount, as can be heard on the example “Song 01 Cool Soul” in the audio extracts.
The navigation is dense, with numerous parameters (sensitivity, crosstalk, scan mask, individual velocity curves, reverb…). However, most advanced settings produce little or no audible difference, making exploration particularly frustrating for beginners.
The Bluetooth app is easy to use. It pairs easily, but can generate buzz and offers limited volume. On the other hand, the AUX input proves reliable and beyond reproach. When connected to a computer via USB/MIDI, the tracking of a drum performance remains limited: fast rolls or complex dynamic nuances can result in ghost notes and omissions. To illustrate this point, I recorded a roll on the snare drum via my smartphone’s microphone, comparing the direct acoustic signal with the MIDI rendering captured in EZdrummer 3 via my DAW. The audio example below clearly shows the discrepancies in the response.
Finally, the metronome is one of the strong points: it offers varied sounds (cowbell, shaker…), adjustable rhythmic signatures and swing, making it a motivating tool for practice.
- Kit 08 Metal Studios00:23
- Kit 01 Pop Stage00:23
- Kit 19 Techno00:17
- Roulement Snare Exemple (Dictaphone-EZdrummer3)00:09
- Song 01 Cool Soul00:43
