Acoustic Drums Vs. Electronic Drums... HELP!

drums32

drums32

Senior Member
Hey, im thinking of selling my beautiful pdp mx 6 piece drumset for like a roland td-3 or a different electronic kit because im getting complaints from my neighbors that im being too loud and i barely get to play...(only like 30 min. to an hour). I love my kit so much but An electronic kit would let me play whenever i want. Any disadvantages from an electric kit? I just need your advice whether to sell my pdp for a roland td-3 electronic kit or keep it. Please comment, thanks

heres an older pic of my kit
 

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anyone else???????/......................
 
Look into a pintech kit at www.hopedrums.com. For the price of a td-3 kit, you can probably get a better mesh kit. The rubber pads on the td-3 don't react or feel anything like normal drums.
 
Any way you could get an e-kit and still keep your acoustics? I know I would be heartbroken selling mine.
 
have u considered just buying head dampers. it would be a lot cheaper and u can keep ur acoustic set. im not a big fan of electronics because actual good ones that sound like an acoustic cost a fortune. so yea.. u should just get head dampers.
 
If there is one thing that I have learned over my drumming career it is that you should never make a gear move based on just your current conditions. As was already mentioned, you can get muffles for your drums and cymbals, and play to your hearts content.

Electronic drum sets never sound exactly like acoustic kits...especially the cheaper ones. I love electronic percussion, but unless you are specifically into electronic music as your main form of experssion, you want an acoustic kit. That is the sound that most people have come to know and love. They also don't feel like acoustic kits, so when you sit down behind an acoustic kit again, it won't be the same. This is true of the muffles, too, but at least you can still have your half hour or so of unmuffled practice every day to keep the feel.

There are too many possible playing opportunities, especially when you are just launching your career, that are only able to be played with an acoustic kit. I found this out when I first bought an electric. I constantly offered to use it in different settings, only to be told that they wanted an acoustic kit. Of course, I had both, so it wasn't a problem, but I would have missed out on a ton of gigs if I only had an electric kit.

Save for an e-kit, but don't sacrifice your only acoustic kit for it.
 
If you sell your acoustic kit for an E-kit, you'll soon be wishing you hadn't.

E-kits are great for practice, and great for recording, but they're not the same. Even if you get an E-kit at home and use it all the time, you'll still want your acoustic kit just for the sensation of playing a real kit when you can.

Not to mention any future bands, or shows you might be doing.

Save up for an e-kit, but don't sell your only acoustic kit to do it.
 
I own and play both acoustic and electronic. I love my electronic kit for practicing and recording. But for live playing acoustic is the only way to go. If you plan on playing in a band I would not get rid of the acoustic kit. If not then an E kit would be fine. It will allow you to practice and hear drums sounds while keeping the volume down.
 
Looking at your "personal profile", at 14, these are probably your "parents" neighbors pissed off at you. Sell your drums, get an e-kit, practice whenever and for as long as you want. You have the whole rest of your life to buy another set of acoustic drums. You'll probably own several.
 
drums32 said:
Any disadvantages from an electric kit?
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Electronic kits are never 'silent'. There is still stick to pad noise. The bass pedal to kick trigger has the potential to put contact noise into floors which can carry through floors and walls. If you can get to a GC or similar, test drive one or several with the sound off and no headphones for part of your testing. That way you will see what I mean. Don't get me wrong, its not 'loud' but there is still potential to annoy neighbors if you're in an apartment situation, or parents if you are in a room above or adjacent to them.

Mesh heads will be the quietest option. However, they carry a little higher price tag. They imitate an acoustic head quite well in stick bounce, etc. The rubber pads work well, but they can be a bit abusive to the wrists if you play for extended periods, and they do have a different 'feel'.

As suggested by others, muting the acoustics is an option that works well too. I had my acoustics muted for several years, and I don't believe my neighbors ever heard me practice. Mutes change the head and cymbal characteristics a bit, but not enough to have to alter your sticking, etc. The downside to mutes is you can't really hear what you would sound like 'au natural'. E-drums allow that.

An advantage of some (many?) e-drums might be that you can mix your drum sounds directly into recorded audio so that you hear your drums and the tracks you're playing to in your headphones together. It gives you the illusion that you are part of the recording. I recently picked up an e-set for rehearsing, and found I can compare myself to the original drum tracks quite easily now. I play a lot of cover stuff, and my e-drums make it easier for me to learn and imitate the original fills. I hear myself at the same volume of the recording.

Just some thoughts
Lyle
 
Im not in a band and i just play at my house for practice and just for fun. I really love my acoustic kit and i got it in october of 2008 but my brother (whose 18) like hits my cymbals with wooden baseball bats to tell me to stop playing (which are probably gonna crack my cymbals soon) and i only got to play for about 10 minutes today because i locked myself in my room while my brother was screaming to stop playing. Its ridiculous but i just like being to be able to play whenever i want and nobody would be bothered I could sit there and play drums for hours. But i feel if i sell my kit and get an electric i might get sick of the e-kit and really regret selling my acoustic kit....., also my acoustic drums just got discontinued so if i sell it its a good chance i wont find the same one unless on ebay. Thanks for the comments....please keep commenting. thanks :)
 
drums32 said:
Im not in a band and i just play at my house for practice and just for fun. I really love my acoustic kit and i got it in october of 2008 but my brother (whose 18) like hits my cymbals with wooden baseball bats to tell me to stop playing (which are probably gonna crack my cymbals soon) and i only got to play for about 10 minutes today because i locked myself in my room while my brother was screaming to stop playing. Its ridiculous but i just like being to be able to play whenever i want and nobody would be bothered I could sit there and play drums for hours. But i feel if i sell my kit and get an electric i might get sick of the e-kit and really regret selling my acoustic kit....., also my acoustic drums just got discontinued so if i sell it its a good chance i wont find the same one unless on ebay. Thanks for the comments....please keep commenting. thanks :)
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If your main problem is your brother, you have a few options. First, talk to your parents. They got you the kit (or let you get it), either way I'm sure some of their money was invested, and if you tell them what he's doing, they should put a stop to it.

Second, you said he's 18. Is he going to college next year, moving out, anything like that? If so, realize that this is a problem that could be moving away in 6 months or so (again, going back to my philosophy of never over-hauling your gear for a temporary condition).

Third, if his problem is with the noise, again, mutes would accomplish the same goal as an electric kit.
 
I have this problem too. Since nany of my friends get complains from neighbors, I don't EVEN have a drum kit!

There's a very great option that your neighbors and parents won't complain about you-that is practice in a drum room/band room. Just go to a music center and I'm pretty sure they have a drum room. This sucks because most of the drums from drum rooms are crap, but it's better than making your family and neighbors annoyed...

You can sell your kit to buy an electronic one too, but I don't like them, because electronic drums sound quite unrealistic to me.
 
If youre not playing out and just using it for practice only, get a cheap ekit off craigslist or ebay. It wont be the same as far as feel or sound, but it will help with the "noise pollution"

I have both an acoustic and an ekit, but play on the ekit 90% of the time because I can throw on headphones and play any time of the day or night. Since I live in a townhouse, I try to be considerate of my neighbors and only play my acoustic kit between 11am and 4pm. I also try to keep the crashing to a minimum and tend to be a bit more gentle on the heads that I need to be on my ekit.

You can also try a set of "hot sticks". I have a pair and they make a big difference in volume. Of course, it's not the same feel as real sticks, but again, if it's all about the volume, it will help tremendously. Just remember, you dont have to beat the crap out of the kit either, especially if others are sensitive to the noise. You can also try to dampen your kit (buy practice/mute pads).

Perhaps you can also start with a discussion with your parents/brother to come to an agreement as to what time you can get 30-60 minutes of practice time. If it's important to you, your family should be supportive.

Oh yeah and what's this about your bro hitting your drums with a baseball bat? That's not cool at all. If did that to my kit, I'd break that bat over their head.
 
If your neighbors aren't total jerks, you might try talking to them. It probably won't help, but you never know.
 
If you love your acoustic kit, don't sell it. I agree you will regret it. (it looks great, by the way).

Electronic kits are great for home practice because of the volume control. But if you do ever get into a band, you're going to need that acoustic kit! And being in a band is such a great thing for a drummer.

If there's really a noise problem, then you might want to consider also getting an e-kit (don't buy new, you should get a good deal buying used). I like Roland V-drums with mesh heads which are great, but others are good too.

If you don't have money for that, then instead (or in the meantime while you're saving for an e-kit) you could get damping pads to put on your drums. many of the drum manufacturers make these (Pearl makes complete sets for kit + cymbals). They will cut down a little of the bounce (your technique will improve though!), and damp a lot of the sound. You can get similar pads for cymbals too. Makes them sound weird, but definitely quieter.

If all of these options are too expensive you could make your own 'sound dampers' by finding some thin foam rubber or similar material and cutting it into circles (I did this when I was living with my parents!).

Good luck!
 
drums32 said:
Im not in a band and i just play at my house for practice and just for fun. I really love my acoustic kit and i got it in october of 2008 but my brother (whose 18) like hits my cymbals with wooden baseball bats to tell me to stop playing (which are probably gonna crack my cymbals soon) and i only got to play for about 10 minutes today because i locked myself in my room while my brother was screaming to stop playing. Its ridiculous but i just like being to be able to play whenever i want and nobody would be bothered I could sit there and play drums for hours. But i feel if i sell my kit and get an electric i might get sick of the e-kit and really regret selling my acoustic kit....., also my acoustic drums just got discontinued so if i sell it its a good chance i wont find the same one unless on ebay. Thanks for the comments....please keep commenting. thanks :)
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DO NOT SELL YOUR DRUMS!! Have a sit down with your entire family and discuss what is going on with your neighbors and brother. I'm assuming that the drums aren't a problem as far as your parents are concerned. Maybe they could talk to your neighbors and figure out a schedule in which you could practice. Is it an apartment or house? If it's an apartment then there should definitely be a discussion, if it's your parents house then your neighbors need to back off. As for your older brother...he should know better. That is something that your folks must absolutely intervene in. If you are willing to acommodate others then everyone else should do the same for you. PERIOD. I have my drums in my four season room in my own home. I never play after 9:00 P.M. or when my baby daughter is taking her afternoon nap. If my neighbors were to ever complain then I'd more than likely tell them to mind their own business because it is my own home. That's just me. Again, there must be a family/neighbor sit down because if you want to make music then you have every right to. GOOD LUCK!!
 
Don't sell your acoustic set. For years, I owned acoustic drums. Whenever I went into the music stores I would sit down at the E-kits and play. Liked it so much that I ultimately sold my acoustic set so that I could afford to buy an expensive Roland E-Kit. The Rolands are absolutely great - however, now when I go to the music stores - I want to sit down and play the acoustics! If you can afford both - do it.
 
drums32 said:
Hey, im thinking of selling my beautiful pdp mx 6 piece drumset for like a roland td-3 or a different electronic kit because im getting complaints from my neighbors that im being too loud and i barely get to play...(only like 30 min. to an hour). I love my kit so much but An electronic kit would let me play whenever i want. Any disadvantages from an electric kit? I just need your advice whether to sell my pdp for a roland td-3 electronic kit or keep it. Please comment, thanks
heres an older pic of my kit[/QUOTE

IF YOU ARE STILL CONSIDERING, PLEASE SELL ME YOU'RE 8" TOM!!! I can't find one anywhere and I'll pay anything

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