Sorry mate but you're talking out of your a**e. I got one of the latest E450 kits in May, sure it needed a couple of settings changing but probably unlike you I read the manual that came with it and now its great.
For 400 quid I got what I wanted and I am happy, I gave it a 9 because it would have to have come with a tall blonde to achieve perfection!

My main interest in this kit came from the fact that I have been drooling over the Roland mesh V-Drums for a long time, but can't afford them. This kit is much cheaper and I expected it to be a less featured alternative. I also was unfamiliar with the brand name. I realized later that I had seen their "Silent" practice kits before but hadn't any need for one. This kit looks great in the pictures and I couldn't wait to try one out. In real life it looks like a practice kit with triggers attached to it. The white Roland shells look much more "stage-ready". The brain doesn't allow sound editing which doesn't bother me since I'm looking to control Native Instruments Battery 3 with whatever kit I buy. Although if I had the V-Drums the sounds are good and flexible enough that I would use them. The sounds and loops on this are only good for practicing in my eyes. I would think that this is what the designer had in mind for the function of this kit. I have to say that if I were buying a kit for a teenage learner this kit would be perfect and is in the right price range. Certainly a better option than the "T-Shirt over each head" technique that I had to incorporate! As far as what I am lokking for, an electronic kit to record and perform professionally with, I am going to keep saving for the Roland kit. The playability and sounds offered her are more entry level. But still, the price tag on these is pulling at me to say "maybe..."

i too have had this problem! If you were willing you could simply remove the blue plastic cover from the cymbals and study their components. You will find that a very flimsy and poorly attatched component has simply fallen off. You can re-attatch this with super glue. Either that or the wires that make up the circuit have snapped at contact, again you can easily repair these with solder or a "bodge" job with sellotape.

I wish Traps had put more effort into these things coz i imagine they've had a ton of complaints regarding this issue!

Conversation with Traps to resolve the cymbals issue; they were more than willing to supply two new cymbals even though warranty was expired but once they told me the problem: a wire coming adrift from the pizo unit; which was easy to solder back on so I did this myself. My son is delighted once more hence they get 9 out of ten.

I bought my son this drum kit and overall he's very pleased with it; the flexibility of the brain being the key to it all. He also has an amplifier attached so he practices with his band as well as in "silent" mode on his own. The downside of the kit is that the cymbals seem to be a weak link in that within a couple of weeks one had failed; now 13 months down the line two more have failed. Alchemy have ignored my request for information and I have no choice but to purchase two new ones; has anybody else seen this problem?