Getting taken seriously with an ekit

ericgtr

Member
As some may recall I posted about trading in my ekit toward a new Mapex acoustic kit. I have been actively seeking bands on CL by responding to ads that interest me. I have a demo I built up that I send out that includes several videos of me playing to various songs from Rush to The Police, all on the Roland TD9 KX ekit. The sound quality is great and easy to record, that's one thing I really loved about them but I almost always get replies asking if I have an acoustic kit, which is one of the main reasons I changed over.

However, now all my demos need to be recorded again acoustically so I have to go through that whole setup. I've always maintained that an ekit is just like a guitar, electric or acoustic, you still have to know how to play it. But I've learned many simply do not take it seriously.
 
I played Electronic kits exclusively for 20 plus years. I don't even take them seriously any more. There was a time I would argue profusely with people, trying to justify there existence. Not any more. I would recommend doing a new video on your new kit. The stigma is still there, and I don't see it changing anytime soon. Electronic kits are mostly for guys at home to make them feel like they are Superman on a kit, that is much easier to sound good on than an acoustic kit. When I listen to my old recorded stuff now from my TD10, that I thought was the bomb years ago, I just grin, thinking how canned it sounds.
 
The question is, why do you need anyone to take you seriously?
If people are technology snobs then let them live in bliss.

Anyone that actually matters will respect it.
 
You should have kept the ekit.

1) quiet practice so you don't annoy people.

2) ease or recording

3) If you can place the pads around an acoustic kit, that is more sounds

4) Record on your ekit, then when someone asks, "Do you have an accoustic kit?" You can answer, "Yes!"
 
So may acoustic kits are mic'ed when playing live, and EQ'd gated etc that the drums may as well be electric.
 
I would've love to have kept the ekit but I just couldn't afford both so I made the choice to trade toward the acoustic kit. I have soundproofed my room enough to where it doesn't bother the neighbors or my wife. It's what I've always played anyway and going back to it after a stint with the ekit took some adjusting. I am with Sticks in some ways on it, it's almost like a toy with canned sounds and for me the lack of dynamics became really obvious when sitting behind an acoustic kit trying the same stuff. It's like I am having to re-learn a lot of things, not a major deal but I was taken aback when I first changed back.
 
Thats funny, I didnt get picked up by a couple bands because I didnt have an e kit and they said the acoustic kit would be just too loud for most of the venues they play. A set of td-12 is my next kit as soon as I can afford it as i find the feel and dynamics very close to that of an acoustic plus they have a bit bigger look on stage. Several of the top bar bands around here are now using roland v-guitar technology as well so they can have the exact sound needed for each cover being played and with in ear monitors they are doing live fade outs and fade ins which is pretty cool imo.
 
The question is, why do you need anyone to take you seriously?
If people are technology snobs then let them live in bliss.

Anyone that actually matters will respect it.
Because he is trying to get a gig! When was the last time you saw a big name band use one on stage? People, including myself don't even like when Neil uses his. This has nothing to do with being a technological snob. They don't look as good, sound as good, feel anywhere near as good. My buddy has a TD20 fully equipped, and recently he got back into acoustics as well. He bought a Bubinga elite, and he now realizes it is night and day different. They are a good practice tool, and easily controlled in small environments.
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention. I have 11 thousand dollars wasted on my E kit, that is now pretty much obsolete. My buddy spent close to the same on his, that is on its way to being obsolete. If you do want some that actually sound like drums, you are going to have to spend a lot of money on them. Then yours will be on their way to becoming obsolete. You might as well just by acoustic drums.
 
Here is mine.
IMG_0518.jpg


Now it collects dust, never being used.
 
These look better, sound better and feel wayyyyyyyy better.

1020.jpg
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention. I have 11 thousand dollars wasted on my E kit, that is now pretty much obsolete. My buddy spent close to the same on his, that is on its way to being obsolete. If you do want some that actually sound like drums, you are going to have to spend a lot of money on them. Then yours will be on their way to becoming obsolete. You might as well just by acoustic drums.
Damn dude that's a nice kit (both actually) I feel like I gave the ekit a fair shot, and like tard mentioned some people do really prefer them and I get that. It's more work to lug around, harder to record with and loud as all hell but to me that's the beauty of it and now that I'm used to it again I'm in love with the natural sound, nuances and feel.
 
Damn dude that's a nice kit (both actually) I feel like I gave the ekit a fair shot, and like tard mentioned some people do really prefer them and I get that. It's more work to lug around, harder to record with and loud as all hell but to me that's the beauty of it and now that I'm used to it again I'm in love with the natural sound, nuances and feel.
The hi hat and the cymbals are just so hard to get right on the e-kits. I would rather play my e-kit than a four piece acoustic though. :)
 
The hi hat and the cymbals are just so hard to get right on the e-kits. I would rather play my e-kit than a four piece acoustic though. :)
That's the biggest adjustment, the offset on the ekit is black and white and you nearly have to open it wide up just to notice it. Now my hit hatting is all sloppy because of it!
 
That's the biggest adjustment, the offset on the ekit is black and white and you nearly have to open it wide up just to notice it. Now my hit hatting is all sloppy because of it!
E kits really give you that sense that you are doing a lot better than you really are. It is easier to transition from acoustic to e kit, than the other way around.
 
Here is my first one. Roland TD7. It actually got me playing drums again way back when.

scan0006.jpg
 
As some may recall I posted about trading in my ekit toward a new Mapex acoustic kit. I have been actively seeking bands on CL by responding to ads that interest me. I have a demo I built up that I send out that includes several videos of me playing to various songs from Rush to The Police, all on the Roland TD9 KX ekit. The sound quality is great and easy to record, that's one thing I really loved about them but I almost always get replies asking if I have an acoustic kit, which is one of the main reasons I changed over.

However, now all my demos need to be recorded again acoustically so I have to go through that whole setup. I've always maintained that an ekit is just like a guitar, electric or acoustic, you still have to know how to play it. But I've learned many simply do not take it seriously.


That digital music is taken seriously is demonstrated by the fact that The Hammond B3 Organ, the Rhodes Electric Piano and the Hohner Clavinet all went out of production when digital keyboards first came on the scene.

That electric drums are taken seriously is demonstrated by the ongoing success of bands like Kraftwerk and Devo.

Most of us prefer the real McCoy though, when it comes to drums.

.
 
It's all a case of what kind of music are you gonna play, and what kinda sound do you wanna have. If the bands you wanna get into want you to have an acoustic kit, then that's what you need.​
There are plenty of electro/techno/industrial bands that have drummers on e-kits. But if you're not trying to pursue that type of music, don't expect Bubba's Blues Band, or most bands with "traditional" musical offerings, to embrace electronics. Musicians, are not, on a whole, that open minded. Nor are they that well educated to what's going on, in other parts of the world. And rightly so, I guess. If all your gigs are within 50 miles of Po-dunk, USA ... then you really don't need to know what 10,000 kids are raving to in Ibiza.​
But if you do know what's going on, in the rest of the world, it might at least make you a more interesting conversationalist.​
 
I would rather play my e-kit than a four piece acoustic though. :)
That's funny. I had a 4 piece Ludwig set for, literally, 50 years and loved it for 49 of them. And I just took some "leftovers" (2 Tama toms and a Sonor bass drum) that I wasn't using, added one of my snares, and made another 4-piece with that. I love the simplicity.
 
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