Donner’s DED-20 is a roll-up drum pad that fits in your backpack

Donner DED-20
(Image credit: Donner)

As any roadie will tell you, the problem with drum kits is that they’re big, heavy and take time to set up and break down, which makes them less than ideal for taking with you and practising on when you’re out and about. Fear not, though, because Donner has a solution - the DED-20 roll-up electronic drum pad.

The pad features the standard drum kit pieces - snare, crash, ride, hi-hat and three toms - and also comes with two pedals (for the hi-hat and kick, presumably). Its sounds are samples of real acoustic drums, and you even get built-in stereo speakers.

A 3.5mm headphone output is included for when you want to practise privately, and you can also output MIDI over a standard jack and USB. There’s a recording function, too, though you’re limited to capturing just 3 minutes of your playing. You can listen to 12 demo songs, and there are nine accompaniments.

The DED-20 is made from a soft silicone that’s designed to keep noise to a minimum when you hit it with the supplied sticks, and it also ships with a power adapter (it’ll run from a power bank, too), a USB data cable, a 3.5mm audio cable and the aforementioned pedals. You also get 40 free drum lessons courtesy of Melodics.

The DED-20 costs $69/£69. It seems that it's currently sold out on the Donner EU website, though it is available on Amazon in the US.

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Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.