My thoughts for 1st time buyers

Intruder

Senior Member
Ok, This may turn into what some may consider a ugly rant. Just a warning! Don’t flame me (too much)!

First some background, About 10 years ago my wife (wonderful as she is) asked me why I always bought the cheapest low-quality crap I could find then spend my time complaining, fixing, replacing the stuff.
My answer was simple I didn’t have the $$ available to buy what I really wanted. She said that it seems that you do because you end up spending more to make it seem as good as the top of the line stuff but still complain about the outcome. This was true for most every purchase I made be it electronics, clothes, food, cars, etc.
I am not wealthy by any means nor am I considered arrogant by anyone that knows me (as far as I know)LOL.
But, (oh gosh here it comes).

I keep seeing posts here and on other forums from folks wanting to “get into electric drums” because of the noise levels of acoustic kits. Fantastic! Welcome to our world! Then starts the questions what is the best setup that sounds as good as an acoustic kit for under $200 bucks euro, ca, or other. “I am just starting out, I don’t have the $$, It’s only for a while till I get more $$, I will upgrade later”. Then after the purchase “It doesn’t sound right, what to buy to make it better (cheaply), why wasn’t I told, etc.”

I suspect that there are a lot of kits sitting around in garages, basements, land fills, kids rooms, etc. due to bad purchases made in the first place. Also a lot of would be drummers that gave up on the idea of becoming the next Neil Peart. All due to not making a good purchase decision.
I would think that the reasons for this are due to the companies producing crap, the economy, human nature, etc.
I wish that companies would be more truthful in advertising products maybe with putting some standards such as age level, experience level, performance level, etc. But that is not going to happen!

So, here is the thing if you want a Rolls Royce don’t buy a KIA. If you want a Harley don’t buy a Honda. If you want a diamond don’t buy a crystal. If you want a Roland td-30 don’t buy a Simmons SDXpress2.
There is nothing wrong with the KIA, Honda, crystal, or Simmons but you cannot expect the quality or performance of the others in comparison.
It really seems that especially with electronic drums you get what you pay for from each company. If you buy the cheapest model you get the lowest performance and it makes sense that it works out that way. The best advice that I can give to new e-drum buyers is get informed by asking questions, try it out in person and keep your expectations in line with the amount of $$ you are willing to spend!

The next thing that comes to mind is all the posts lately such as “ I just went and spent $3000 on a new kit, what is the best sounding speaker (under $50) should I buy to sound as if I am at a rock concert?” If you just bought a Rolls Royce are you really going to put $10 hub caps on it? Think about what you are doing and expecting from the purchase!
I bought an Epiphone Les Paul guitar not a Gibson or an Acme (do they make guitars?)LOL. The result was acceptable ( I’m a drummer not a guitarist ) but I also did not buy a $20 amp for it! I listened to the Gibson and others and made a decision based on what I was going to use it for and the amount of $$ I was willing to spend. The same goes for my TVs, cars, motorcycle, coffee maker, computers, etc.

I have to conclude that my wife was right (must we tell her that!)LOL 10 years ago. I have great toys that will last and I am happy with every purchase I have made since applying the no cheap crap rule. If I go shopping and cannot afford what I want I save or find another acceptable route be it used, DIY or other compromise as a means to an end.
Electronic drums are more expensive than acoustic drums. They make toy acoustic drum kits and also toy electronic drum kits it just so happens that there are more choices in toy electronic drum kits. Where you draw the line between toy and not toy is a matter of opinion when it comes to E-drums.

Electric drums don’t sound like acoustic drums. DUH!?. Electric guitars don’t sound like acoustic guitars either!
VSTs (by the way) are recordings of acoustic sounds made into electronic sounds by (magic) and sound different also (not better not worse just different) YMMV and please, please!! RTFM! It came with one for a reason or can be downloaded somewhere.

Rock Band and Guitar Hero are games! BUT, for a few bucks you CAN hook up a $9000.00 E-drum set to them and have a ball! If it can be done why not?

Sorry if I touched a nerve (not really!) and maybe I was not politically correct somewhere (I don’t care!).

QUITYERBITCHIN!!!!

Now get out there make your purchase and start having some fun and planning your next purchase ( aka GAS ).

P.S. No Cheap Crap! If you’re serious.
 
Like everything in life

"You get what you pay for"
 
No rant Intruder, just the facts. I bought my TD-11KV about a year ago. In retrospect I should have gone with the TD-15KV but I thought I just couldn't justify the cost at that time. I was wrong. I've got almost that much into my "updated" TD-11 but it's still an 11 (looking at upgrading the module now - oh that GAS).

SKK
 
My first drum set is the TD-30. I'm older and so can afford a little more but the main reason was I knew I would grow into it for many years to come.

Chuck
 
I have an expanded TDW-20 and pearl masters so I live in both worlds.

my TDW20 has about 6 extra pads too i think i have 8 or 9 mesh drums on it.. and i agree with what your saying... I wish i had gone for the 30 but the deal was just too good to pass.

the only thing i disagree with are VST's sounds 1000x better than any module on the market today. if they didn't for you they were not set up right or you had the wrong vst/library. you just cant compare to what a high end computer with a few hundred gig of samples can do to a roland/yamy module.......

NEXT gen modules may sound pretty close to vsts I am thinking
 
I have an expanded TDW-20 and pearl masters so I live in both worlds.

my TDW20 has about 6 extra pads too i think i have 8 or 9 mesh drums on it.. and i agree with what your saying... I wish i had gone for the 30 but the deal was just too good to pass.

the only thing i disagree with are VST's sounds 1000x better than any module on the market today. if they didn't for you they were not set up right or you had the wrong vst/library. you just cant compare to what a high end computer with a few hundred gig of samples can do to a roland/yamy module.......

NEXT gen modules may sound pretty close to vsts I am thinking

My problem with VST's is the amount of time spent not drumming to get them to sound great and yes they sound good after tweaking. I think that your average listener is not gonna give a crap that you spent maybe hours getting the perfect sound (to your ears) but rather does the song sound good and can you keep the beat. Unless you play for a bunch of studio sound guys or other drummers they just want to dance, sing along, be entertained.
That is not to say a stock kit will do, the sounds need to be adapted to your style, type of music and the room you are in. If you have a Roland try a vex kit and the sounds need only minutes not hours to sound great.
I have SD2, BFD 2/3, AD 1/2 with many addons for each. They are good but I want to drum not program.
Just my opinion of course!
 
... back away from the (insert delivery system here) ... relax, breath, it's okay....

When you ask someone for advice or their opinion you are going to get "The World According to Them" and I have to confess that I am guilty of expressing myself in such a way as that... but I (and many others) speak from a reference point rife with decisions good, or bad. It's called experience.

Do what you like...

If E-drums are what you crave... crave on.

If E-cymbals float your boat... sail on

If E-rim shots are your thing... get over it, they don't exist... at least not on the rim...

If E-drums give you any sort of tactile feedback you find acceptable... that is excellent news indeed.

Go for it.
 
I am impressed with the quality of some newer inexpensive gear.

I agree the quality is coming up on the lower end stuff. Technology is catching up with the over-pricing tactics of companies. That is a good thing but the profit is still had on the backs of the hard working, under paid labor sect.
Isn't progress wonderful? Only the shareholders and lawyers get paid well!
 
I have some vex packs for my Rolands.... they beat stock... but still are nothing like vst's


The learning curve for vst's take a bit... and learning the setup...

now that said... I have a laptop that just stays with my td20. And i have presets. so i just leave it on all the time and it takes 0 time for set up..

if i power it on.. it autoboots my DAW, and i just select a preset that i like. I really only use a few.. unless i want to try some fun stuff with different drums..


the biggest thing is the price (laptop,cables,vsts,daw,) if your into purchasing and not pirating

and the learning curve........ you need to know computers, DAW(recording software), MIDI, VSTS, and the software that you use be it superior,BFD, etc.

I cant go back to stock sounds unless I just want to play a beat or 2... if I am going to play for more than a few minutes its vst every time.
 
A slight caveat to the original post:

It's true you're unlikely to get the end all of e-drums if you're on a budget. But one things for sure, the e-drums world has changed quite a bit in the last decade or so. The kinds of budget kits you get nowadays are pretty much equivalent to or maybe better than some of those older kits. And if you hook it up to a VST, as suggested by beyondbetrayal, the difference between a budget kit and a high end kit narrows signficantly.

There are a few things going for the higher end kits. Mainly more zones to trigger, or finer details such as positional sensing (a Roland exclusive on the TD-12 and TD-20 that is no longer present in the TD-30). These can add a degree of realism to a kit that you would not get from a budget kit. In fact, I think the biggest differentiator is always the hi-hat, which is pretty much useless in most cheap kits and even most intermediately priced kits.

But honestly, the way I see an e-kit, it's a practice tool and not the kit I would take outside for a gig. My main reason for buying one was to play at low volumes, which is the main advantage of an e-kit over an a-kit. As such, I didn't see much rationale in going for top of the line, I bought an Alesis DM10 (not the most expensive, nor the cheapest) and a copy of Superior Drummer 2.0 with The Metal Foundry SDX. Then I upgraded with some Gen 16 cymbals for better cymbals. Here's a track I recorded with it for a lark, I seriously think I saved $2000 by not buying a top-of-the-line Roland, which is a great saving for someone like me.
https://soundcloud.com/arvind-jayaram/judgment
 
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