Should I buy an e-kit?

Jimlovedrums

Junior Member
Hello everyone..I would like you to tell me your opinion on the following matter..I own an acoustic Granite drum set,which for me,it's not good at all..its sound (especially the tom ones) are really awful..So I was thinking of selling them and buying a new electronic drum set..but I'm not sure..From the one hand,an e-drum set would be usefull by the time I have problems with some neighbours and it would give me the opportunity to record our gigs songs by the time we already own a cheap console,instead of going to a studio and have to pay a lot..From the other hand though,I think about the feel that they say(it's not the same) and the lives we play(I will need cymbals and the bass pedal,or even worse the whole drum set)..So what would you suggest me to do?Buy an new acoustic drum set or buy an electronic one?
 
As always the correct asnwer is "it depends...".

I am not familiar at all with Granite drums so i don't know the quality, capability, or sound of your baseline. From what you say, you are unhappy with the sound in any event.

Is it either / or or might you consider having both acoustic and electric drums at your disposal which is to me the best option.

I may be able to offer meaningful advice with a little more information.

Croc
 
Having both is better, even if they both are not good.

Not to sound like a jerk, but if money is a problem, then the e-kit you can afford is probably not going to be all that good.

I mean, the low end (under 1000) e-kits by yamaha and roland are certainly nice, but if you are serious, you are probably going to be wanting a $2/3000 e-drum kit.

You can get a MUCH better acoustic kit with far more toms/cymbals (if that is your thing) for that price.

I have a td-3, i don't see buying anything less than a td-20/30 as enough of an upgrade...and yet i don't have 2000+ dollars to spend. Much easier to upgrade acoustics. To upgrade an e-kit, the module is key, and top end modules are 1500+ MINIMUM used.
 
Actually, the correct answer for you at this point in time is "No".

Regardless of what kind of drums you have, proper heads and tuning is always a must. I have this feeling you bought some stock off-the-shelf beginner's drumkit and you don't know how to tune, or you don't know how to tune and it has bad heads (beginner to intermediate drumsets never come with good heads - that's how they save money and pass the savings on to you, the player).

In my experience, I can take any kit and put goods heads on it and make it sound great. You need this experience. Forgive me, but your post has 'beginner' written all over it, so I'm making the assumption that you haven't been playing long enough - because if you were, you'd know how to make your kit sound good, or at least work within the limitations instead of just writing the kit off as sounding awful.

I also think people use the neighbours as an excuse to get into an eKit. I've always played acoustic drums and my neighbors never complained. I was cool about it and never played before 10 in the morning, and usually stopped by 8 in the evening. And I would also go out and say 'hi' to them and have friendly conversations too - showing them I'm being rational about my playing, and getting them more on my side.

And the problems with eKits - you will spend more on the eKit and amplification than you would on a good solid acoustic kit with good cymbals. And regardless of what all the marketing people will tell you, an electronic drumkit will not feel like an acoustic set. It's a separate animal and should be treated as such. The fact that you hit it with sticks is about the only similarity to acoustic drums.

I'd also look at the end product - not alot of people use eKits on gigs, so you should play what you're going to use in front of an audience.

But really, it's all up to you.
 
~What Bo said.~

A e-kit will not help you with your tuning issues.
Some of my favorite drums are inexpensive ones.
Examples of inexpensive drum kits that I play are
Sonor Safari.
Ludwig Club Date SE Fab 3 2012 edition.
Tama StageStar entry level kit.
I have a kit that I pieced together with 4 ddrum Dios toms and a Pearl Forum bass drum.
It sounds awesome!
I simply installed quality heads on these drums and tuned them properly.

I own an $800 v-drums lite kit that I use for learning songs and personal practice
It is very useful for that purpose.
An e-kit with amplifier that I would perform with would cost well over $4000 and it still couldn't replace a modest priced acoustic kit.
 
Actually, the correct answer for you at this point in time is "No".

Regardless of what kind of drums you have, proper heads and tuning is always a must. I have this feeling you bought some stock off-the-shelf beginner's drumkit and you don't know how to tune, or you don't know how to tune and it has bad heads (beginner to intermediate drumsets never come with good heads - that's how they save money and pass the savings on to you, the player).

In my experience, I can take any kit and put goods heads on it and make it sound great. You need this experience. Forgive me, but your post has 'beginner' written all over it, so I'm making the assumption that you haven't been playing long enough - because if you were, you'd know how to make your kit sound good, or at least work within the limitations instead of just writing the kit off as sounding awful.

I also think people use the neighbours as an excuse to get into an eKit. I've always played acoustic drums and my neighbors never complained. I was cool about it and never played before 10 in the morning, and usually stopped by 8 in the evening. And I would also go out and say 'hi' to them and have friendly conversations too - showing them I'm being rational about my playing, and getting them more on my side.

And the problems with eKits - you will spend more on the eKit and amplification than you would on a good solid acoustic kit with good cymbals. And regardless of what all the marketing people will tell you, an electronic drumkit will not feel like an acoustic set. It's a separate animal and should be treated as such. The fact that you hit it with sticks is about the only similarity to acoustic drums.

I'd also look at the end product - not alot of people use eKits on gigs, so you should play what you're going to use in front of an audience.

But really, it's all up to you.


Well the truth is that yes,I don't know much about tuning,because I always play with mutes on my drum set (because of the neighbours) and I never see a difference.As for the heads,I have changed them..I saw a small improvement but still didn't like the sound of it..I have been drumming for 2 years by the way..
 
E-kit for practice at any time of day or night, priceless. Use them for gigging? Has its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage to any e-kit is the cymbals. The drums especially with mesh heads are pretty darn great. They will or can sound just as good as an acoustic or normal drums. Ive used my Roland TD9SX kit on 6 gigs I think, maybe more. The hi-hat sucks, and the other cymbals sometimes dont trigger. Your sound guys and other band mates love them because they can control your volume levels. They do also play differently because hitting e-drums as opposed to regular drums and cymbals all your timing will be slightly off and if you have a hard tome adjusting to that then it wont sound very good. I was able to overcome this easily, but if you play a e-kit for a long time then switch back to a acoustic kit you will definately notice a difference, especially in the cymbal department.

As said above, if you can get a used e-kit, and they let you play on it a while to make sure everything is triggering ok, then go that route. Otherwise they cost ALOT or money to buy new. Been there and done that!
 
Just to throw a third option in, you could convert your kit to electric, and if you want to go back its just a case of dropping the triggers out and putting the real heads back on

Edit : Just to add to that, this is mine, while you wont be cutting your drums up the principle is the same : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGjSU1CWcYg (its me playing on it to a drumless track as the music)
 
Just to throw a third option in, you could convert your kit to electric, and if you want to go back its just a case of dropping the triggers out and putting the real heads back on

Edit : Just to add to that, this is mine, while you wont be cutting your drums up the principle is the same : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGjSU1CWcYg (its me playing on it to a drumless track as the music)
Interesting trigger set-up Mezzo, great to see people getting creative with their A2E's!
To the OP- There's nothing better than jamming at 3 in the morning with an E-kit if you damn well feel like it (no need to restrict your practice hours) but ultimately you need to make a list of advantages and disadvantages for both A and E kits and see which one comes out on top for your situation.
 
This is a great question, I'd like to ask what is your goal in playing edrums.. Mine is simple, I want drums to sound great in any room, concert hall etc. .I want control over the volume in small rooms, I don't want to have to mic every drum ( I only use real cymbals). There are lots of choices, I've been playing all kinds of edrums for over twenty years, and have spent and wasted thousands and thousands of dollars...If you are looking for a real looking set cause they are the only choice in my mind are Space Muffins by Boom Theory. If you play in Jazz or use your snare for more than just playing on two and four, but need the nuances, need to play brushes, no snare on the market edrums I'm talking about here will give you the sound and playability you need.. Here is a solution presented to me by Al of Boom Theory...He is building me a set of Space Muffins and to go along with the kit is an acoustic snare. I play jazz, there just isn't an edrum snare including space muffin snare that will allow you to play brushes. Roland lied about this, and I like Roland stuff, but as yet the perfect module and edrum snare does not exist, if it does I'd love to know.

There is nothing I've ever used that tracks like Space Muffins, they are gorgeous drums but they're edrums..The module you pick is a huge deal, don't skimp, yu won't be happy if you do..The DDrum 4SE by Clavia is the only module I've used including top end Rolands that track perfectly, but you gotta have the right edrums, my pick Boom Theory. The sounds in the DDrum 4SE especially in the Mega kits are stunning. Just some of my thoughts, trying to save those of you who are new to edrums a lot of money. Everyone has their favorite stuff, because I've played everything out there my choice after 40 years of drumming is Boom Theory drums and the DDrum 4SE module..Hope this helps..Steve Amatucci
 
Great first post Steve. Good info there. Welcome to the forum.
 
I say yes, because there are many times you can play the eKit, all by yourself, nice and quiet, when it would not be possible to make a lot of noise with the drum set.

Well, that's stating the obvious, but you'll see. electronic drums are a lot of fun and very useful.
 
Absolutely. Nothing like practicing at 2 am just because you feel like it. Something that's impossible on an acoustic without waking up the neighbours.

- Reggae Mangle
 
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