Hello,
I'm a 29-year-old newbie drummer. I'm in love with the drums, believe it's obvious I have a talent for them, and intend to fulfill every ounce of my rhythmic potential despite my late start. When I'm not working, working out, eating or sleeping, it's a good bet that I'm practicing. I'm taking lessons and improving quickly.
So far, all I have in the way of equipment is a practice pad and three pairs of sticks. When I'm practicing beats that require more, I do what I'd imagine just about every drummer has done at some point and tap on whatever objects happen to be around me, assigning the role of ride cymbal to the arm of the couch, using my practice pad as the snare, etc. The coordination seems to transfer well to my teacher's acoustic set (which I only get to play on for 15 minutes or so once a week), though it naturally takes some doing to get used to the difference in volume.
It's way past time for me to get a set. I'm torn between electronic and acoustic. If I go with electronic, I'll be able to set the kit up in my duplex and play whenever I want without worrying about bothering the neighbors; however, my real goal is to be good at playing acoustic, and there seems to be a fair amount of controversy over whether the skills you pick up playing an electronic set--particularly one that is less than top-of-the-line--can be expected to fully transfer to an acoustic set. My favorite drummers are jazz drummers, and I want to learn the full range of jazz techniques. When you play with ultra-soft strokes, say with brushes, can most electronic sets even be expected to sense them? How good are electronic sets at picking up tiny variations in volume?
If I go acoustic, I'll need to rent a storage shed and set my drums up inside it. That'll limit my practice time severely, plus I'll need to spend time driving over there. There's also the fact that I'll be paying a monthly fee just for the right to practice.
I don't expect anyone to have any easy answers based on the info I've provided. Just throwing it out there to brainstorm a little. Thanks.
I'm a 29-year-old newbie drummer. I'm in love with the drums, believe it's obvious I have a talent for them, and intend to fulfill every ounce of my rhythmic potential despite my late start. When I'm not working, working out, eating or sleeping, it's a good bet that I'm practicing. I'm taking lessons and improving quickly.
So far, all I have in the way of equipment is a practice pad and three pairs of sticks. When I'm practicing beats that require more, I do what I'd imagine just about every drummer has done at some point and tap on whatever objects happen to be around me, assigning the role of ride cymbal to the arm of the couch, using my practice pad as the snare, etc. The coordination seems to transfer well to my teacher's acoustic set (which I only get to play on for 15 minutes or so once a week), though it naturally takes some doing to get used to the difference in volume.
It's way past time for me to get a set. I'm torn between electronic and acoustic. If I go with electronic, I'll be able to set the kit up in my duplex and play whenever I want without worrying about bothering the neighbors; however, my real goal is to be good at playing acoustic, and there seems to be a fair amount of controversy over whether the skills you pick up playing an electronic set--particularly one that is less than top-of-the-line--can be expected to fully transfer to an acoustic set. My favorite drummers are jazz drummers, and I want to learn the full range of jazz techniques. When you play with ultra-soft strokes, say with brushes, can most electronic sets even be expected to sense them? How good are electronic sets at picking up tiny variations in volume?
If I go acoustic, I'll need to rent a storage shed and set my drums up inside it. That'll limit my practice time severely, plus I'll need to spend time driving over there. There's also the fact that I'll be paying a monthly fee just for the right to practice.
I don't expect anyone to have any easy answers based on the info I've provided. Just throwing it out there to brainstorm a little. Thanks.