Advice on Electronic Drum Amp

Steelydad

Junior Member
Just bought a DTX560k. Waiting for it to arrive. Started playing again after a long layoff, and need to be able to play without disrupting my homelife. I have the requisite headphones for that purpose. However I know that much sooner than later I will want to buy an amp that will give me a good tingle when I play it at home, and if for some reason I want to jam with some friends will give me some halfway decent volume. Odds are that would be rare.

Two questions. First, any suggestions for an amp/monitor in the $500 range? Roland P! 10 or Roland Pm30 any good? I want something that won't sound tinny.

In the meantime I have a 15 year old Fender guitar amp, think it was $300 back then. Will,it work with the drum kit? Will I destroy the amp by using it with the drum kit?

Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks.
 
you don't really want to mess with a guitar amp much. Besides, the bass will sound terrible on it, especially the kick drum.

I have owned both of the Simmons amps. I am very impressed with them, especially considering the price. I got the 50w Simmons and later upgraded to the 200w when I saw it used on CL for $175. The 50w leaves a lot to be desired in terms of total quality. The 200w is much better. It has a sub, 2 mid range speakers, and 2 tweeters. It has a lot of functionality in terms of 1/4 and aux in. You can independently adjust the bass/treble/mid/sub, and then also adjust the drum and input sources so you can balance the Mp3 player and drum kit. It also has outputs for a PA system.

I have used the 200w to play gigs. At 50% volume it is loud enough to play outdoors with a full band and doesnt lose any sound quality. If you are playing a bigger room, you will probably just plug into a PA anyway. Even the 50W is more than adequate to play with some friends at home.

I looked at the Roland unit you mentioned, but it was just too expensive. I thought the Simmons did very well, especially considering it is half the price of the Roland kit. The nice thing about the Roland kit is the high range speakers are separate from the kit, so you can move them around. But in the end, I would rather have them all in a compact unit, like the Simmons.

Overall, I would only suggest shelling out the big bucks for the high end stuff if you are a total audiophile. But then again, why not just get a nice pair of headphones for a lot less?

Here is the amp I am talking about: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/simmons-da200s-electronic-drum-set-monitor
FYI: I use a Roland TD-4 ekit
 
A Roland "Drum Amp" is the same as a Roland keyboard amp, but a little more expensive.
You can get a really nice Roland KC series Keyboard amp at a reasonable price and it will sound great.

Stay away from using a Guitar or Bass amps...
Guitar amps are made for a high-end instrument, so your Snare and Cymbals will sound great, but you will not get the proper low end for the Kick and Toms, and you run the risk of blowing the amp.

The same applies for a Bass amp, geared for a low-end instrument, the kick and toms wil sound good, but cymbals and snare will be muddy. Again, running the risk of damaging the amp.

Because drums have extreme highs and lows it's always best to use a keyboard amp or PA, as they are essentially the same thing. You will get a better overall sound, and will not damage your gear.
 
I bought a JBL EON 315 powered PA cabinet for my electronic drums. It sounds very nice when loud, but the fidelity at very low volumes could be better. Its handy for playing recorded music at a party, where a home stereo does not have the wattage to cope, and it's a good unit for small gigs too. I have a pole stand to get it over the heads of the absorbant crowd.
 
I love Roland gear. I own three PM-1's and three KC-100's. Both are rated as 60 watt amps. For drums, the PM-1 has the edge over the KC-100. Better low end. Larger speaker and cabinet. PM-1's ran me about $350 each .... KC-100, about $250 each. Solid, workhorse amps. In my studio, I run drums and bass thru the PM's, and guitar and keyboards thru the KC's.​
If you're gonna jam live, of the two amps you mentioned, I'd go with the PM-30. The PM-10 just doesn't have the juice to compete with "a band". Lets face it, bands tend to get loud. And that's why, in my studio, I have six amps. I control how loud people are gonna get. No one brings an Ampeg SVT or Marshall half stack into my place. My studio, my rules.​
 
Roland amps are really expensive for what they are. Another route is using a keyboard amp. I bought a Behringer 300w. PA/ Keyboard amp. for around $300.00 and it works great! It's plenty to play with a band and much less expensive than the Roland amps. And, because it's a PA, I have even run singers through it with no problems.
 
For YEARS I have used a 60 WATT Peavey keyboard amp. KB60.
I find that for sturdiness, durability, volume, prize and size, they are tough to beat, those Peavey amps.
I've used the Roland... dunno... when you crank em up, no low end... I can rehearse at low volume with mine.
 
Thanks for all of the advice I am deciding between the Simmons Da200s and the Behringer k3000fx. Several owners of the Behringer said they had had speakers fall off and other mechanical issues so I am kind of wary.
I guess the Simmons is safe. I gotta have something other than head phones to hear my playing on!
 
I've found a peavey 300 ED, the 200W SIMMONS,
and a Peavey KB300 keyboard amp here locally for sale... all around
$200, all used.

weight is not a huge concern as I don't plan on
moving much once it's set up.

appreciate any advice on what sounds the best and
advantages/ advice on running a system into a mixer before
inputting into the amp.

this will be used with a Yamaha dtxpress lll.
thanks.
 
I really wouldn't use anything smaller than a Roland KC-550 if I had to go the combo amp route. But I usually use my own PA system, with two Yamaha B15 speakers, a Crown XLS1500 amp, and a nice little Allen & Heath ZED mixer. Good stuff.
 
Can someone attest to the quality of the Simmons 200W amp when running music and drums through it? I've actually been considering this option, but been to lazy to get to Guitar Center to try it out.

Thanks, Defender

I have not, I am sorry. But, I got the Simmons last week. You cannot go wrong with it. I was using the Roland KC350 which was fine at low volume levels, but the sound at any level of the Simmons is simply in another league altogether.
 
I have a Roland KC-550 which I scored for $300 locally. Works great at home and live.
 
I have a Roland KC-550 which I scored for $300 locally. Works great at home and live.

When I was playing electronic, I used a KC-550 also.............it's a great amp. If you look around, you can find them used between 250 and 300 bones
 
you don't really want to mess with a guitar amp much. Besides, the bass will sound terrible on it, especially the kick drum.

I have owned both of the Simmons amps. I am very impressed with them, especially considering the price. I got the 50w Simmons and later upgraded to the 200w when I saw it used on CL for $175. The 50w leaves a lot to be desired in terms of total quality. The 200w is much better. It has a sub, 2 mid range speakers, and 2 tweeters. It has a lot of functionality in terms of 1/4 and aux in. You can independently adjust the bass/treble/mid/sub, and then also adjust the drum and input sources so you can balance the Mp3 player and drum kit. It also has outputs for a PA system.

I have used the 200w to play gigs. At 50% volume it is loud enough to play outdoors with a full band and doesnt lose any sound quality. If you are playing a bigger room, you will probably just plug into a PA anyway. Even the 50W is more than adequate to play with some friends at home.

I looked at the Roland unit you mentioned, but it was just too expensive. I thought the Simmons did very well, especially considering it is half the price of the Roland kit. The nice thing about the Roland kit is the high range speakers are separate from the kit, so you can move them around. But in the end, I would rather have them all in a compact unit, like the Simmons.

Overall, I would only suggest shelling out the big bucks for the high end stuff if you are a total audiophile. But then again, why not just get a nice pair of headphones for a lot less?

Here is the amp I am talking about: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/simmons-da200s-electronic-drum-set-monitor
FYI: I use a Roland TD-4 ekit


+ 1 on the Simons. Dragged mine all over the world, it stood up great. Got bounced around a lot, still works the same as when it was new.
 
I just got the Simmons DA200S today, so I can't speak for its reliability yet.

I did a fair amount of research, starting from scratch and looked at most of the options.

I was concerned about the Simmons brand name quality before I started reading all the reviews on this unit.

I was in the stores a lot recently trying out every imaginable kind of amp - LOL

Settled on the Simmons. I'm sure there are other e-drum amps that sound better, if you're willing to pay a lot more. But this one hits the sweet spot - for both price and sound. All frequency ranges that drums, cymbals, and percussion instruments are capable of producing, are pretty faithfully reproduced. It's got 5 speakers in it with the amp putting out 100 watts to a 12" down-firing woofer (that really works - it puts out bottom end whoop-ass), and 50 watts each going to a pair of 6.5" mid range speakers, and a pair of 2.5" tweeters.

I also tried running a bass guitar and keyboards through it (at separate times). It's just awesome on the bass compared to the crappy little practice amp I've been using. And it sounds better to me than most of the dedicated combo bass amps I've tried. Must be the extra speakers giving it a bit more shine.
Keyboards need to be dialed in with eq a bit, as they can get overly bass-heavy with certain sounds.

It's a tad bit heavy if you'd be lugging it around all the time. But its got a lot of good stuff in there. Sounds excellent. And if it holds up in the long run, I'm sure I'll be very happy with it.

Details here: http://www.simmonsdrums.net/da200/


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