Acoustic vs. Electronic

Sticks&Thrones

Junior Member
I know some people already know all about this, but have you guys seen what electronic drums have come to? I recently moved into a basement apartment and couldn't play my acoustic set, so I looked into electronic drums. I had looked them a few years ago and wasn't impressed. But I ended up just getting a cheap Roland set for $350 and long story short, I loved it and upgraded to a higher-end set in about a month. I'm not saying they replace acoustic sets, but the higher-end sets (Roland TD-30KV is pretty much the best one) come pretty close to imitating an acoustic set in both feel and sound. If you haven't researched these, I'd look them up on YouTube or go to your local Guitar Center and test one out. They really are amazing.
 
Your post sounds like a cheap advertisement.

I know some people already know all about this, but have you guys seen what electronic drums have come to? I recently moved into a basement apartment and couldn't play my acoustic set, so I looked into electronic drums. I had looked them a few years ago and wasn't impressed. But I ended up just getting a cheap Roland set for $350 and long story short, I loved it and upgraded to a higher-end set in about a month. I'm not saying they replace acoustic sets, but the higher-end sets (Roland TD-30KV is pretty much the best one) come pretty close to imitating an acoustic set in both feel and sound. If you haven't researched these, I'd look them up on YouTube or go to your local Guitar Center and test one out. They really are amazing.
 
I practice at home on a TD-20 kit with 10" and 12" toms (a KX kit) which pretty much suits the job real fine. I used it before for rehearsals with the band and even on some live occasions. Nowadays i do rehearsals on an acoustic kit again and it's a difference day & night...
I really love playing the Roland but to say it has the same feel? Noway.. not even close..
It's just a different musical instrument
 
Acoustic kicks electronics a$$ everyday and twice on sunday.
 
I completely dissagree.Even the best E kits out there can't compete in feel and sound to a good acoustic kit and cymbals.Not even close.

Steve B
 
I really love playing the Roland but to say it has the same feel? Noway.. not even close..
It's just a different musical instrument

Exactly. I've played close to the best Roland can offer and it definitely doesn't feel the same. It's just different and works better for a lot of situations than acoustic. I wouldn't take it to a club gig just like I wouldn't take an acoustic set to a contemporary worship service.
 
I love my ekit for practice...I can practice way more than I used to. There is no comparison to the real thing, though.
 
They are getting better but they do not replace the acoustic drums/cymbals for many types of music including jazz. They aren't nuanced enough. Brushes?.....not yet...
 
Certainly ..... different strokes for different folks. There are probably millions of people who, because of living situations, can't play an acoustic. And for them, it's great that the e-kit is there ..... so at least they have something to play.​
I pretty much look at electronics as a whole different instrument. I don't ask the e-kit to replace my acoustics ..... rather ..... they offer an alternative. They embellish the acoustic. I have two Korg Wave drums and two Mandala V1's. And an old Tama Techstar 305 (honest analog synth. madness). And a Roland SPD-S. My Yamaha and Roland e-kits, I don't use, anymore. Who knows, maybe someday I will.​
 
Alright guys, don't get angry haha. As other people have pointed out, I did say "comes close to imitating." I didn't say it's the same thing, and in fact I said something about it not replacing an acoustic kit. Obviously an acoustic kit is better. But the new high end electronic kits are really nice. Yes, the cymbals are definitely the least realistic feeling part. However, I can't use an acoustic set in my apartment, and my electronic set is definitely doing the job in the mean time. In fact an electric set has its pro's. I can change the sound of whatever drum or cymbal whenever I want, which is definitely nice. Once I'm in a position to use acoustic drums again, I will. But I'll still keep my electronic set.

The point of my post was just to tell people about the improvements in electronic drum sets, and to make people think about researching them in case they're in a similar situation as me.

By the way, you CAN use brushes on the new Roland drum sets.
 
Last edited:
I'm coming from 7+ years of playing on an e-kit (Yamaha DTXpress III Special). I have been playing my Gretsch kit for the last nine months and I haven't missed my Yamaha one single bit. In fact, I sold the kit and put the money back into my acoustic kit - with the exception of a couple hundred bucks I gave my wife to have some fun with... Hmmm, I wonder what she did with that money by the way?

Anyway, the Yamaha was great for playing and not disturbing anyone, but the sound and feel was something I didn't like.

I don't worry about bothering the neighbors anymore.
 
I think most of us would go for an A-kit if noise wasn't a factor but sadly it is for most of us.
I've all but forgotten what it's like to bash away on an A-kit and not having to worry about mis-triggering/ double triggering, hotspots, etc.
At least I get to play on acoustic tom sizes by going down the A2E route (trying to get the best of both worlds).
 
I dont even touch my ekit at all, except when recording. Theres nothing quite as simple as plugging two jacks in and getting a big, fat drum sound in about 20 seconds - but even for lower volume playing, I'll just use cool rods on my accoustic kit. As has been stated - the feel just isnt there.
 
I completely dissagree.Even the best E kits out there can't compete in feel and sound to a good acoustic kit and cymbals.Not even close.

Steve B

Nope. I used to play a top of the line e-kit. I liked some things about it, but it didn't seem like a real set. It kind of looked and sounded like a drum set, but it couldn't compare to a real acoustic set. Having said that, I would love one for practice when it was not or when I needed to be able to play quietly.
 
Nope. I used to play a top of the line e-kit. I liked some things about it, but it didn't seem like a real set. It kind of looked and sounded like a drum set, but it couldn't compare to a real acoustic set. Having said that, I would love one for practice when it was not or when I needed to be able to play quietly.

Yep. I owned the Roland TD-10 V-Drum kit when that was the thing to have. It was the most expensive practice pad kit I ever owned ($5500 was the going rate back then).

How I solved needing a real-feel silent practice drumkit? I bought a Sonor Safari and outfitted mesh heads on it. The cymbals got neoprene pads. Felt real enough, and made no noise.
 
Back
Top