How hard can I hit electronic drums???

Keystone

Member
Its been a long while since I have shown my face around here..not on purpose though :). Anyway I just picked up my first electronic drum set, a Hart Prodigy set with an Alesis D5 module. Its not the greatest set, but its not supposed to be, I love my acoustic set and nothing can replace a good ol Ludwig Classic maple, but I can't take that to an apartment..
So my question is.....

How hard can I hit the mesh heads?
While I don't destroy drum heads or drums, I hit pretty hard, especially when I get into what I am playing. Should I just get some super light sticks?

P.S. I know I'll never be the greatest drummer, but either I am just not used to playing an electronic set or its really picking out my flaws. I am sure glad I got a mesh head set though, I played hard rubber trigger sets before and it felt waaay to different from an acoustic kit.
 
I'm wouldn't say I'm a particularly hard-hitter, but with e-drums there's no need to be (I understand that it's just your playing style though).
I use mesh heads and play metal (so hard hitting is implied) and haven't had any issues, having said that I do use light sticks (7A).
Not familiar with the Hart kits but my only concern would be that the cones MAY become damaged over time with constant heavy strikes and may need to be replaced. If they're as tough as the Roland mesh pads though you should be OK.
 
I hit my Roland mash heads bloody hard sometimes, at least as hard as when I'm playing acoustic drums, I'm using 5Bs for sticks so I reckon you'll be fine if the heads are good ones. :)
 
I kind of wondered about this too since I recently bought an e-kit.
I have a mesh head on the snare only and I hit it hard sometimes like I do with my acoustic snare.
Aside from having a different bounce feel it behaves like an acoustic drum. If I hit it to hard it does a simulated choke. The Kevlar mesh head can take it no problem. I don't worry about going through it. The electronic components of the drum can also take it.

So just like when playing an acoustic drum there is no point in hitting beyond a certain pressure because the drum will not make more sound.
 
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Thanks guys, I'll buy some lighter sticks just to be safe. I personally don't think there is any comparison in terms of feel to an acoustic set, the Hart (and many other e sets I played around with) felt like toys in comparison, but its a tool, a virtuoso instrument. My only complaint is the hi hat sound it sounds soo artificial with repeated hitting.
 
You know if you hit very hard, it limits what you are able to play. To do fast, expressive, dynamic and difficult things you have to play a different way, and your electronic drums can be stadium loud no matter how gently you play them. It may be worth practicing playing gently when no-one is looking. You might find it is a life-changing experience.

I used to hit hard back in the Seventies when we had a half deaf guitarist with a giant stack of amps. It ruined my style and destroyed my skills and it took me while to get my chops back after that. So I am speaking from experience.
 
Unless they are mesh heads I wouldn't hit too hard. It wont damage a rubber head but it also wont do your wrists any favors.
 
When I first started playing E-drums, it was on an early Roland TD7 rubber-pad kit- and I just _decimated_ the pads there. I think I discovered every possible way to break the pad in the snare position, up to and including having the snare pad break right off of the L-bracket mid-tune. For the last few months I used that setup, I'd take a spare pad to all the gigs- I had to switch to it quite often.

My problem was that I do dig into the rim constantly for my snare work, and that was just asking too much of that poor little plastic bracket piece, back in the dawn of the E-kit era. The TD7 pads also didn't do much to support the internal wiring, and they would go abruptly dead when the flying leads from the piezo transducer to the jack would fatigue and fail due to the vibration.

When I bought my Hart kit and kissed that TD7 goodbye, that all ended: the Hart Accupad pads were a lot more robust, and their internal wiring is nicely supported to address the fatigue issues.. In 10+ years, I've only had one pad (the kick) have an electrical failure on my original Accupads. The newer Pro trigger models (like my snare) are better still. My touch has lightened up quite a bit over time as well- but I'm still not a delicate drummer...

Now, don't get me wrong: the modern Roland mesh pads are certainly a *huge* improvement over the rubber pads, and when I've played them I've liked them well enough. But I still like my Hart 13" mesh-head snare sitting on a proper snare stand better, so that I can use the rim the way my lizard-brain has learned over the years. Regardless of the manufacturer, anything that uses a plastic bracket sitting on an L-rod for the snare worries me. In my hands, its life would inevitably be nasty, brutish, and short.

Your mileage will certainly vary. But if you are a hard hitter, you might find yourself looking down at a dead pad now and again until you get things sorted out to your liking. One size does not fit all...
 
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