I must be outta' my cotton pickin' mind, but...

... I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up blowing my "Supraphonic/New Beats/K Dark Ride/Catalina 1-up, 2-down/Leather jacket/Leather boots/Sunglasses/Bottle of bryl cream/Pack of camel's rolled up in the sleeve of a tight white t-shirt" budget...

... on a Yamaha DTX530K

I know, I know... blasphemy. But I know I'm gonna' be in the basement for the next 12-18 months before I show my face in public behind a set of tubes, and I just can't justify going all out right now on an a-kit that's gonna' be more burden than blessing to the other ears in this house for the next year-and-a-half.

Electric drums. Pfft... next thing you know they're gonna' have machines playin' the instrument for us!

Talk me down, man... TALK ME DOWN!!!
 
Pull yourself together man :)!!!!

If volume is your only consideration, get your Akit, put mesh heads on it, rubber matting discs on your cymbals = job done. It then has the same noise profile as the toy (sorry, Ekit) you're thinking of utterly wasting your money on. See, no bias from me whatsoever ;)

p.s. I'm a Camel guy too ;)
 
Why. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Roland is the largest drum manufacturer in the world. And they don't make acoustic drums. Just because some people poo-poo electric kits, the fact is ... on a world scale .... e-kits are here to stay. For a lot of people, they are the only option. You wanna play, do it. Don't let possessions "own" you. You own them. So, if ya gotta sell your acoustic kit .... that's what you have to do. It's not like they're gonna stop making those any time, soon. When you get into a better living situation ... buy another acoustic kit. If your financial situation is solid enough, have an e-kit and an a-kit.​
I own 7 acoustic kits, and 3 e-kits. Plus an SPD-S, 2 Korg Wave drums, and 2 Mandala V1's. Do you think I worry about what "some people" might think? If I want something, I get it.​
 
If volume is your only consideration

Well, kinda'. But you bring up a good point.

A well thought out and put together A-kit has been my goal, so I was content with allowing myself some time to save up and shop for what I really wanted. So for a nearly a month, I've been content with the practice pads.

Then I saw a deal on a cheap little TKO kit, so I picked that up for $50, just so I could hit some drums, you know? But the things sound so horrid, that I ended up stuffing them with pillows. Of course, today while working on some independance stuff, moving around the pillow-filled drum-kit, I realized that playing without musical feedback is pretty boring. I mean, I'm playing the drums, dammit. I want to hear drums!

So I got to thinking - what's going to happen in a couple months when I put that shiny "new-to-me" set in the jam room, only to find that I've only got maybe an hour or so window for a weeknight full-force practice?

Now don't get me wrong - I still plan on putting a damn fine acoustic drumkit in my jam room in due time. But could it be so bad to invest in a decent e-kit first?

Decisions, decisions...
 
For a lot of people, they are the only option.​

That's kinda' where my mind was pointed. I figure investing in the e-kit first may be the best opportunity for me to play music. I'm a pretty disciplined fellow, so I can deal with regimented pad practice and what not to work on the physical aspect. After a while though, it's like I'm valving a trumpet without ever blowin' in the mouthpiece, you know?
 
Well, kinda'. But you bring up a good point.

A well thought out and put together A-kit has been my goal, so I was content with allowing myself some time to save up and shop for what I really wanted. So for a nearly a month, I've been content with the practice pads.

Then I saw a deal on a cheap little TKO kit, so I picked that up for $50, just so I could hit some drums, you know? But the things sound so horrid, that I ended up stuffing them with pillows. Of course, today while working on some independance stuff, moving around the pillow-filled drum-kit, I realized that playing without musical feedback is pretty boring. I mean, I'm playing the drums, dammit. I want to hear drums!

So I got to thinking - what's going to happen in a couple months when I put that shiny "new-to-me" set in the jam room, only to find that I've only got maybe an hour or so window for a weeknight full-force practice?

Now don't get me wrong - I still plan on putting a damn fine acoustic drumkit in my jam room in due time. But could it be so bad to invest in a decent e-kit first?

Decisions, decisions...
yes, I'm sort of with you. My OP was slightly tongue in cheek :)
 
I have one and I think the argument has always been more about the feel and dynamics of playing one vs the a kit (around here it seems anyway). It seems like you are in need of some good drum sounds for a while and this will be a temp fix.

Do you have an amp or can you tie it into your stereo when you want to be and have permission to be loud? My DTX sounds great through the home stereo w/sub.
 
I'm not sure where you are at as a player, but if you need to learn how to play drums (and cymbals) then you should ditch the e-kit idea. I deal with students all the time that got a Roland or something and it really hampered their ability to play real drums. Same for piano students that buy a keyboard: it's a different instrument.

I'm of the opinion that e-drums have some value to drummers that have already put in years of practice on their instrument (ie. acoustic drums), but they do more harm then good to beginners. It may not be a fashionable opinion, but I believe it to be true.
 
I'm of the belief that drums are meant to be held, touched, caressed. Something powered by electricity from your local coal-fired pollutin' power plant turns me off. When I hear e-kit I think of some cheesy mid-late 1980s band hoping that their new video on MTV is the big break into the music biz.

Kidding aside, show the TKO some love. Or, if you can't afford a decent acoustic kit try looking on American Music Supply or zzounds.com where you can buy a kit and make up to six monthly payments with no interest. New Yamaha Stage Custom kit could be had for a mere $150 month probably. Or get some new heads for the TKO and tinkering around with the tuning, etc. Learn to play quieter It's really not that difficult to keep the volume down if you're creative and persistent .... :)
 
I have a Roland TD-9 for temporary use (and just 1.5 years into drumming so far). Although it's fine to play that e-kit every other day or so it's a whole different dimension when I'm practicing with my "mock setup" of what I have:

- snare (mostly & pad on top), 1 hihat, 1 ride, double pedal & kick practice pad. & additional pads sometimes (to simulate toms).

From my experience, exploring how a real hihat and ride feel and sound (there's so many different tones one can get out of them, even depending on the sticks! - try this with an e-kit, you'll get the same sounds every time) is just so more fun and also a much better way to disclose playing flaws/inconsistencies. I'm quite faint-hearted when it comes to volume but a real drumkit is the way to go, even if I'd have to use some damping. I can spend 10-20 minutes experimenting with ride sounds alone and learn something new (or find out which sticks sound best for which sounds). Again, those subtleties get completely lost on an e-kit. There's just that huge lack of finesse.

I'm noticing that I can only implement half of my techniques on the e-kit because the meshheads have way too much rebound, and hitting rubber pads simulating cymbals is no comparison to hitting real cymbals of course.

IMO you should at least get a real snare & hihat.
 
Thanks for all of your replies folks. Appreciate the feedback.

I'm crunching some numbers this morning, and the more I look at this, the more I may end up swaying towards "E- before A-". I've got a "fun" budget of about $65 a week, and I've got a lump injection of about $1000 coming at the beginning of June that's mine to play with.

My little TKO kit (bass, snare, 2-up, 1-down toms, no hardware to speak of) that's currently stuffed with pillows is going to be getting some new skins this weekend. I imagine that it'll make it serviceable, if nothing else.

When I put my drumkit budget together a couple weeks ago, I was aiming for a ballpark price range for either no-frills, mid-range new gear, or some-frills, higher-mid-range used gear. This is what I came up with:

Necessities:
$100 - Throne
$200 - Double Pedal
$200 - Hardware Pack
$200 - Hi Hats
$200 - Ride
$250 - Snare
$150 - Crash

Options to include:
$800 - Shell Pack
$100 - Muffling "stuff" (not sure what this costs - let's say $100)
$1200 - E-kit

Looking at this a couple different ways:

- If I go with necessities first, using the TKO for my shells, I end up with a playable A-kit at the beginning of June. By the end of August, I can invest in the shell pack, and have myself a pretty damn nice A-kit.

- If I go throne / double pedal / e-kit, I end up with a fairly nice E-kit at the beginning of June. Start working on the other necessities, using the TKO for my shells, and I also end up with the same playable A-kit above by the end of September. By the end of the year, I can invest in the shell pack and have myself a pretty damn nice E-kit AND A-kit.

The selling point to me for option 2 is that I can always mix and match between the two. Nice snare, real hats and cymbals, mixed with the electronic set doesn't seem like a half-bad option for those moments when I want to turn up the volume and go to town, as I've still got a couple amps in the basement from my stringin' days.

There's also really no downside to this route either. I'll still end up with plenty of "real" surfaces to play on, and I'll actually have more audible options avalable incorporating the e-kit. As crazy as it sounds, it'll be nice to flick a switch and have some roto toms, effects cymbals, and secondary hats available when my guitar buddies want to jam out some old VH tunes :)

Sounds like I'm trying to talk myself into this one, eh?
 
I agree with the argument that both are different instruments. I can even guarantee you that they are, having owned both in my lifetime. You will learn how to play the eKit and then suddenly, when it comes time to playing a real set of drums, you'll have to adjust, or make such a huge readjustment that it'll take more time.

Ekits are just not substitutes for Akits. There's a reason guitar players own both electric and acoustic guitars, and pianists own synthesizers too. Two different tools to use.

Another semi-argument I don't jibe with is the "my family can't take the noise" statement. I've never met a socially 'timid' drummer. We're all supposed to be about 'loud'; in personality moreso than instrument volume. My entire neighborhood knows I play drums, some of them know I'm good enough to get paid for it. This attitude actually helps you as a drummer to really direct the music being played by the band. If you haven't experienced that yet, it's something every drummer should experience, because that's why you play. Does that make sense?
 
I agree with the argument that both are different instruments. I can even guarantee you that they are, having owned both in my lifetime. You will learn how to play the eKit and then suddenly, when it comes time to playing a real set of drums, you'll have to adjust, or make such a huge readjustment that it'll take more time.

Ekits are just not substitutes for Akits. There's a reason guitar players own both electric and acoustic guitars, and pianists own synthesizers too. Two different tools to use.

Another semi-argument I don't jibe with is the "my family can't take the noise" statement. I've never met a socially 'timid' drummer. We're all supposed to be about 'loud'; in personality moreso than instrument volume. My entire neighborhood knows I play drums, some of them know I'm good enough to get paid for it. This attitude actually helps you as a drummer to really direct the music being played by the band. If you haven't experienced that yet, it's something every drummer should experience, because that's why you play. Does that make sense?

For sure, no doubt about either point. I'm not swaying at all from the idea of getting an A-kit, but getting the e-kit as well let's me play more music, both short and long term. If that means I have to spend more time honing my mechanics for both, no biggie. Hell, this is all still new to me anyway, and I've got all the time in the world.

As far as the noise level, I'm not so much concerned about that as I am with the schedule involved. I've got the standard 8-5 weekday job, plus a wife and kids to help with homework, dinner, chores, and what not. Because of that, a lot of my practice time has always been early morning before work, and later in the evening after the kids are in the sack.

So in the end, it's all about putting myself in a position to play as much music as I want within those small limitations of wife/kids/job/house-with-no-garage, and I think the option of having both kits lets me do that...

... either that, or the wife's going to have to let me build a garage...
 
I'd try to get her into drumming, too. This should resolve A LOT of issues ;-)
 
Pull yourself together man :)!!!!

If volume is your only consideration, get your Akit, put mesh heads on it, rubber matting discs on your cymbals = job done. It then has the same noise profile as the toy (sorry, Ekit) you're thinking of utterly wasting your money on. See, no bias from me whatsoever ;)

p.s. I'm a Camel guy too ;)

This. It's what I do in my small flat with my Sonors. If I want to use this kit for a gig, I just throw real heads on it. I had an e-kit for awhile and peddled it. It just didn't feel right to me. Also the fear of electrocution if I spilled a beer was a consideration.

Marlboro man here.
 
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