Suggestions and advice on an electric kit for my situation.

Hey, I am a functional drummer, not good, but capable of playing. I need to keep practicing in order to do more gigging (SP?) in a few months. I need an electric kit for practice purposes so that I can be quieter due to my location. My budget is up to a thousand dollars, but I don't know if its worth paying that simply for a practice set. It will, however, get used for some basic jam sessions with people. Part of me wants to get a $500 dollar set or so just for practice, but I don't want the quality to be so bad that it breaks or doesn't even sound good enough to handle while just practicing... Does anyone have any suggestions on certain sets that I should buy/look into? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions/advice!

Thank you,

Calvin

PS: I really do need to stick close to my $1,000 budget.

just get a cheap one, if you are only planning to practice on it then you can get away with spending half your budget, maybe even less

there would be no point in you buying a roland td-9 for example, most people who buy them don't even realise what they're paying for (it isn't incredibly better pads/sample technology)

Hi,
I'd recommend a Roland TD4KX2. I Have used one for over a year now both for practicing and for a few gigs. Mesh heads, simple unit with good drum sounds, very tuneable. practice modes built in if you want to use them. It's just a good solid piece of kit with good capabilities. I've given mine a lot of hammer and it has been moved around a bit too in the back of my car. Still in one piece and going strong.
I don't know what you can get them for in the US but i'd imagine there'd be some good used deals or some new ones still left in some stores at clearance prices now that the line has been replaced. Good luck finding what you want.

I was looking to stay in the $1000 price area myself and settled on the Yamaha DTX530. I'm happy with this kit but like most folks who will respond it's the only electronic kit I've owned. My only experience with Roland is when I tried them out in the store. I decided the Yamaha offered a little more bang for the buck. The hi-hats on an actual stand seems better to than a electronic trigger pedal.

Yamaha or Roland seems to bee the general consensus.

I use a Roland V-drums Lite kit.
You wouldn't want to gig with it but it has all of the basic essentials for a good practice.

You could always go A2E but probably not a good idea if you still need an A kit for gigs.

Hey guys, Thanks for all of your advice and opinions. I appreciate them greatly. I am looking at the Yamaha dtx430k($599), the Yamaha dtx520k ($899), or the Roland td 11k-s ($999)... Im only considering the better ones because of recording purposes.

Two words.

Craigslist, Roland.


And, you will get a lot more practice time in.