In the box, you get the tabletop electronic drum with built-in speakers, two wooden drumsticks, two pedals (one for bass drum and one for HI-HAT), an AC adapter, and an instruction manual. The instruction manual indicates that instead of the AC adapter with barrel connector you should get a USB-C power cable, as well as an audio cable, but neither are present. I did test my own USB-C cable with 65W power source, however, and it was able to power the drums without issue, as well as charge the built-in batteries (one downside is that there’s no indicator the battery is charging unless the drums are powered on).

Setup is straightforward once you take everything out of the box. Remove the protective film on the display, plug the pedals into the 3.5mm PEDAL jack, and plug in either the included AC adapter or a compatible USB-C cable to fully charge the batteries, you’re good to go. You can either play with the included drumsticks or set it for hand percussion.

The drums provide a full set of controls, allowing you to adjust sound properties like tone and reverb. There’s are also demo songs built-in, as well as a metronome to play along to. Finally, you can record and playback your creations.

The built-in speakers have plenty of punch and do a good job of showing off the sampled drum sounds.  You can of course plug in your own headphones or external speakers via the 3.5mm audio output jack. There’s also a 3.5mm audio line-in for connecting an external audio source.

For advanced users, the ODIKALA is compatible with MIDI devices and can be a trigger device or sound source. Of course, since there’s only a USB-C input, you may need an adapter, but otherwise, it should work like any other standard USB-driven MIDI device when interfaced with an external sequencer or computer.

I can’t say enough good things about the ODIKALA drums. It packs a big punch in a small space and has a ton of options with great sound quality. Whether you just want to casually explore percussion like me or are an experienced drummer wanting to practice some slick new drum licks, you won’t be disappointed.

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Opening the box, you’re greeted with the steel drum in a nice, form-fitting padded case. Underneath the case is an 83-page music book, two wooden mallets (drum sticks) with rubber ends, two sets of alternate numbers, and a little bag with rubber finger picks and a mallet holder. It’s a fantastic package, but I was most impressed by how the drum looked, only to then be topped by how it sounded.

This particular drum is available in four colors: blue, navy blue, red, and yellow. I went for the least bold choice in the navy blue, and I’m quite happy with it as it looks quite sophisticated set off against the grey rope mesh border (another stunning touch). While the pre-stuck number labels are a bit of an aesthetic let-down, I do appreciate the inclusion of two alternate sticker sets.

The most important part, the sound, is clean and pure. Whether you use your fingers, your fingers with the picks, or the mallets, the 15 notes in the C key ring true.

The included music book is a nice touch and describes proper technique. Play is accomplished by hitting the right number, although you’ll also want to know basic percussion theory so you can understand some of the additional nuances of proper play.

If you’re looking for a quality steel tonque drum, the WUDIEYIN is a great choice.

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