Should I buy electronic drums?

Voldemort

Junior Member
Hi all,

Currently, I don't own a drum set due to living in an apartment. I use my church's drum set to practice about 2 or 3 times a week. At home, I have a practice pad that I use for learning the basic rudimental things.

I've been thinking about getting an electronic kit to use at home, which will allow me to practice everyday and get more practice on the drum set, instead of just on the practice pad. However, I have played on an electronic kit or two (mostly the V-drums from Roland), and they "feel" much different from an acoustic kit - especially the hi-hat.

I'm worried that if I practice too much on an e-kit, I might later on struggle on an acoustic kit. Maybe I could still practice daily on the electronic kit, but then take time once a week to practice on the acoustic kit at church.

Also, the better electronic kits offered by Roland and Yamaha are expensive ($1500 and upwards). If I make that kind of an investment, I want to make sure it is the right thing for me.

What do you guys think? Any drummers out there that use both e-kits and acoustic kits?

I've only been playing drums for about a year, by the way.

Any advice appreciated!

V.
 
PS. I hope I posted this question in the right section, but since it is technique related, I thought it should belong here. Hope this is ok!
 
I have a roland TD-8 set which I bought used. I have it fore the sole purpose of learning songs for my band before showing up to rehearsal to practice them. I can put the tunes on my I-pod, pump them into the module & mix them into the headphones & play right along & instantly go back to problem areas & smooth them over, all before showing up to rehearsal which speeds up our rehearsals. I can do all of this at home without disturbing wy wife (as well as our dogs who cringe at the sound of cymbal crashes). My e-snare & bass are mesh head Hart Dynamics which feel very natural, the rest of the pads are Roland rubber bads which do feel different but it's not that big of a deal to me, at least I'm practicing as opposed to not. You do need to balance your practice by using the acoustic drums when you can.
I'd say do it if you have the resources & space, I practice much more now that I have them. Keep in mind that e-drums are not silent, they sound like a set of practice pads & if someone is below you, they will indeed hear it as your playing is transfered through the rack into the floor.
 
Get some but something that has a decent feel for the hi hat. I would be unhappy with anything less than a VH-11 or 12, Hart E Pedal II or Pintech Visulite hat setup. The module is important too; Td-12 and up for me.
 
My friend beggers can't be choosers. I'm sure you've heard the expression. Do whatever it takes, but don't stop playing, if it means playing an e-kit for a while so be it. Just play man.
 
.....living in an apartment. I use my church's drum set to practice about 2 or 3 times a week......I have a practice pad

I'm worried that if I practice too much on an e-kit, I might later on struggle on an acoustic kit. Maybe I could still practice daily on the electronic kit, but then take time once a week to practice on the acoustic kit at church.
If you're worried the e-kit is going to be detrimental to your acoustic drumming, then why cut back from playing the church kit 2/3 times a week to just once a week. If you get an e-kit, play both. Often. I own an e-kit and an acoustic kit, and I treat them as 2 completely separate instruments.
 
If you're worried the e-kit is going to be detrimental to your acoustic drumming, then why cut back from playing the church kit 2/3 times a week to just once a week. If you get an e-kit, play both. Often. I own an e-kit and an acoustic kit, and I treat them as 2 completely separate instruments.



Harry, last weekend I turned into a weekend GC weekend warrior and laid into the new DT EXPRESS they had set up for an hour. It was awesome.. I haven't had this much fun in a long time ( tells you something about my social life .. ).. But really its like playing a completely different instrument. RIght from the stick response, pedal response, hats ..everything.

I really want to know in what way you treat them as 2 instruments?
 
I really want to know in what way you treat them as 2 instruments?

For me, it's like comparing a grand piano to a MIDI organ keyboard. They both have similar "controls", but the sound and the playing feel are way off even if you're running a top-of-the-shelf virtual instrument with the MIDI controller.
 
For me, it's like comparing a grand piano to a MIDI organ keyboard. They both have similar "controls", but the sound and the playing feel are way off even if you're running a top-of-the-shelf virtual instrument with the MIDI controller.

Ya, that's a good example, J. Here's my take on the DT EXPRESS ( latest n' greatest don't remember the model ) :

I found myself playing very differently, and differently to each to each patch too. Sound samples with differing processed effects react differently to your sticks, I guess, and sometimes one feels the midi lag in the response time.

Moving around the kit seems ridiculously easier ( at least to me ), but I was missing that visceral, feel-the-vibration-of-the-drums-in-your-fingers kind of feeling. I preferred playing the E- kit with much lighter sticks too.Also, the ability to play around with dynamic volume on a real kit seems to be less here.
Creatively speaking, E -kits are in a different league. Tons more possibilities .Its a ton of fun to trigger other non percussive sounds from the pads. One needs to put yourself in a different creative headspace, and even think differently in this situation.

Hitting the rubber/mesh pads, I can live with but hitting the cymbals feels godawful. It feels like thwacking giant marshmallows... yuckeepooo..

Harry.........how'd you do reconcile the two , you polygamist!?!
 
Harry... weekend warrior...DT EXPRESS ... But really its like playing a completely different instrument. RIght from the stick response, pedal response, hats ..everything.

I really want to know in what way you treat them as 2 instruments?
My e-kit and my acoustic kit. Pretty much my e-kit is my "dark side". For my avant garde projects. Fits into ensembles involving synthesizers, laptops, samplers, loop stations, etc. (we play that "funny music" that's hard to dance to). My acoustic kit, the more "traditional drummer side". From Stones to STP. Now certainly, cross pollination occurs. But I don't expect my SPD-S or Tama pads to work like, say, my acoustic snares. I've 4 snares to do buzz rolls and flams on. On the other hand, I don't try to get "any" of my acoustic snares to sound like a Korg Wave Drum. But my Tama TS305, short of having a Korg Wave Drum ($3K - if you can find one), is off-the-hook. It's module is an honest 6 channel analog synth.
Harry.........how'd you do reconcile the two , you polygamist!?!
menage de trois, of course. When I shut down my studio/rehearsal space, I sold off most all my acoustic drums. Started my home "drum room" build. E-kit, acoustic cymbals and snares. Well, now enter the Rogers project (90% done) and the Ludwig project. Basic documentation here: http://harryconway.typepad.com/ And the idea of "6 drums for all occasions" comes to manifest.
 
I got a "top of the line and then some" Roland TDW-20 set and am pretty happy with it. It does feel different than an acoustic set, but then most acoustic sets feel different from each other. I'm trying to not get locked in to playing on any given set and trying not to have to rely on any certain set of sticks, drums, cymbals, pedals, etc.

In the past 30 years that I haven't been able to keep a kit or a place to play it. I would really have liked to have an electronic set or even some sort of practice pad kit, it would have helped immensely! Instead I would just practice a little on some pillows and not take it very seriously and developed some very bad habits that I'm working to undo now.

All things being equal I'd prefer an acoustic kit, but all things being equal means that the acoustic kit would come with a studio, a perfectly miked kit, mixer and effects, all manner of percussion, and a drum tech and FOH engineer to keep everything tuned and mixed every time I wanted to practice. Also I would only play gigs where I wouldn't have to worry about playing rock and roll at pianissimo. :)

While some things on the electronic kits are about the same for me the only thing that I really miss on my kit is a great pair of hihat cymbals. I did find that playing the Roland VH12 hihat much better than anything that came before. Still they are harder to play with expression. I have found that the more exaggerated motions that I have to make on the VH12 have made it much easier to play on acoustic hihat cymbals now so they seem to be a helpful practice strategy.

I've messed with some of the less expensive sets - I even saw one set up at Best Buy! They sound pretty good and I think that they would be great for practicing. Most have internal metronomes and some have advanced metronomes that really would help developing time.



Hi all,

Currently, I don't own a drum set due to living in an apartment. I use my church's drum set to practice about 2 or 3 times a week. At home, I have a practice pad that I use for learning the basic rudimental things.

I've been thinking about getting an electronic kit to use at home, which will allow me to practice everyday and get more practice on the drum set, instead of just on the practice pad. However, I have played on an electronic kit or two (mostly the V-drums from Roland), and they "feel" much different from an acoustic kit - especially the hi-hat.

I'm worried that if I practice too much on an e-kit, I might later on struggle on an acoustic kit. Maybe I could still practice daily on the electronic kit, but then take time once a week to practice on the acoustic kit at church.

Also, the better electronic kits offered by Roland and Yamaha are expensive ($1500 and upwards). If I make that kind of an investment, I want to make sure it is the right thing for me.

What do you guys think? Any drummers out there that use both e-kits and acoustic kits?

I've only been playing drums for about a year, by the way.

Any advice appreciated!

V.
 
Dude make your own electronic drums. I converted a pearl export snare into an electronic snare and I swear it is so east. Go to http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=48 to find out how to do it. I can't recommend this approach enough. With the money you save because you only have to buy the module, you can buy the vh-11 hi-hat that moves like hi-hats and is pretty good.
 
e-kits are great if you live in an apartment like you do. ummm, v-drums=amazing, but if you want a less expensive option, check out the yamaha dtxplorer, that was my first kit and it was very good, although i got sick of it after two years, its still a great option. you could also try the simmons. they're very good as well for less money
 
I am sort of electronic-drum challenged (I barely know how to turn half of them on) but I would say it wouldn't be a bad idea. I own an acoustic set at home, and I will stop by guitar center every couple weeks or so--they have mostly electronic kits over there, so I resort to playing those. When I DO get them to work, they work pretty nice. Keep in mind that when playing bass on those, they are pretty loud regardless of having triggers off. (at first I didn't even know I had my bass trigger off when I was playing once, it was still pretty loud) I suggest getting the mesh-type ones, those feel much more natural than the rubber (they have more rebound, like actual drums) Hope I helped a little.
 
I got a Roland TD 9 last month.

Fantastic sounds, great for practise, compact, great fun, can play pretty much whenever I want.

BUT...

when I went on my accoustic kit for a gig recently, it felt really odd and the drums, hi-hat and cymbals seemed enormous. It took a good few songs to 're-acclimatise'.

But the meain point is my accoustic drums, even though they're a good make and well tuned, sounded terrible by comparison,

The thing is you get spoiled with the precise, clincal, studio sound of the electronic drums that 'real drums' with all the buzzing and ringing can't compete.

If I lived in a mansion, I'd practice on accoustic but, having said that, electronic drums are great fun...
 
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