Most Identical Acoustic Feeling Electronic Kick

Most Identical Acoustic Feeling Electronic Kick

  • Alesis Strike Pro SE

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I'd go with a real kick drum, mesh head plus a clear plastic patch over it. I don't know if it's identical but it works for me.
 
If you had a chance to replace your kick pad, which route would you go to get the most acoustic feeling kick?

The one YOU play and YOU personally like.
The end :)

...bear in mind all my and - indeed everyone's - acoustic kick drums "feel" very different from each other - so it's gonna be down to YOU decide what an "acoustic feeling" actually is! Should my edrum kick feel like my 18" with a Evans Mylar head and no damping, or feel like my 22" with an Ambassador Fiberskyn and a pillow inside, or....?

and then there's the beater to think about. The feel of a beater is just as important (if not more). Felt (with different depths and densities) vs plastic vs etc.... A crappy edrum kick can be transformed in feel with a different beater choice.
 
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The one YOU play and YOU personally like.
The end :)

...bear in mind all my and - indeed everyone's - acoustic kick drums "feel" very different from each other - so it's gonna be down to YOU decide what an "acoustic feeling" actually is! Should my edrum kick feel like my 18" with a Evans Mylar head and no damping, or feel like my 22" with an Ambassador Fiberskyn and a pillow inside, or....

and then there's the beater to think about. The feel of a beater is just as important (if not more). Felt (with different depths and densities) vs plastic vs etc.... A crappy edrum kick can be transformed in feel with a different beater choice.
Agree.
I had a Roland TD-15 with a hard rubber pad and beater. Turns out I really liked it. So much when I made my A2E, I tried to incorporate the KD-9 into my kick shell. That didn’t work, so I went with the conventional route of mesh head, with trigger bar across the center. It took awhile to get use to that (seemed like ridiculous bounce), but I did learn to adjust to that one as well.
 
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The one YOU play and YOU personally like.
The end :)

...bear in mind all my and - indeed everyone's - acoustic kick drums "feel" very different from each other - so it's gonna be down to YOU decide what an "acoustic feeling" actually is! Should my edrum kick feel like my 18" with a Evans Mylar head and no damping, or feel like my 22" with an Ambassador Fiberskyn and a pillow inside, or....?

and then there's the beater to think about. The feel of a beater is just as important (if not more). Felt (with different depths and densities) vs plastic vs etc.... A crappy edrum kick can be transformed in feel with a different beater choice.
That's the thing. Most people do not have the local shops which carry every product, not funds to try everything. I should have just asked if converting an acoustic will give the best feel vs a ready made pad.
 
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That's the thing. Most people do not have the local shops which carry every product, not funds to try everything. I should have just asked if converting an acoustic will give the best feel vs a ready made pad.
still depends on everything. As I said - my acoustic kicks all feel different - there's no baseline to work from. Furthermore my ekicks feel different. And nothing mentioned feels like anything else.

SO the "best" feel - being totally subjective - is still what YOU like. If I say I like the Roland KD8 kick pad with a felt beater, there will be another drummer who will disagree. Is it the "best"? Does the Yamaha KP65 "feel" better?
You might agree with me or them - both totally valid.

Any "converted" kick will feel totally different - choice of head / number of plies / choice of beater / tension / padding used / size of drum shell etc etc.... And then will it feel "better" than a Roland KD10 or a Yamaha KP90 or an Alesis whatever?

So, whilst we're on opinions allow to proffer the following [ those of a nervous disposition read no further ;) ]
- I don't rate conversions (don't see the point of lugging a big ye olde acoustic kick around just use to house a 1.5" piezo). A pre-made kick is built for the job from the ground up. Less to carry. Often more features - like physical output level adjustment and daisy-chaining capability etc, and will dial-in easily.

SO - "if converting an acoustic will give the best feel vs a ready made pad." No. Or maybe. Or just No. Some might agree. Some night not. A ready-made pad will, however, just work out-of-the box with easy to dial-in triggering (assuming it's a quality one!) with no faff :)

(you don't buy a car without a test drive - you don't buy shoes without trying some on....)


If you do want to use an acoustic kick I do recommend the Triggera Bix as a simple, solid, no-install trigger, though - works with any old drum and any old head.
 
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Funny thing about pads... they tend to take on the characteristic of the sound you hear. Within reason of course, you can't expect an old Simmons formica-on-wood pad to suddenly feel all warm and oomphy even if that's the sound you hear. There'll still be some disconnect between the audio and the tactile. But seriously, the pads tend to start feeling like what you hear. The mind and body are funny that way.

As such, it doesn't matter quite as much how a pad feels, especially the kick with various action settings and assorted beater options. You could actually use a soft rubber beater (I have one!) on that old Simmons pad, and it would feel more natural. I think the pad selection matters more for the material (are you going to constantly be replacing a mesh head?) compatability with sound modules (they pretty much all work with each other...) and cost. Truly the simplest/cheapest way is to attach a trigger to your acoustic kick, as long as the live drum doesn't interfere with the volume, and you don't mind dragging the drum around. That would also guarantee a feel that you like.
 
Thanks everyone. What about physics wise? For someone that wishes to learn 300bpm, I feel physics of an acoustic type rebound would be important. Especially if looking to being able to take that technique and move it to an acoustic bass drum.

Bermuda, you mentioned you use a rubber beater, does beater type actually make a big difference? I currently have a Yamaha hard felt beater and perhaps it's not meant for something like the dtx kp125, it's pretty much wearing off the surface of the pad due to I guess the heat friction.
 
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Thanks everyone. What about physics wise? For someone that wishes to learn 300bpm, I feel physics of an acoustic type rebound would be important. Especially if looking to being able to take that technique and move it to an acoustic bass drum.

Rebound is just as much a feature of the beater as the head. Also very much the head itself (Mylar, rubber, mesh+number of plies), the physical size of the head, and also the tension of the head.

Bermuda, you mentioned you use a rubber beater, does beater type actually make a big difference? I currently have a Yamaha hard felt beater and perhaps it's not meant for something like the dtx kp125, it's pretty much wearing off the surface of the pad due to I guess the heat friction.

*ALWAYS* use a kick patch. Any drum, any head, any beater.

Stuff on a Kevlar Falam Slam, for example. A few $£€ is much less than a new head.
 
Bermuda, you mentioned you use a rubber beater, does beater type actually make a big difference?

Beater material and weight, the head tension and amount of padding, and pedal adjustments all make a difference in how the kick/pad feels and plays. In general, I wouldn't recommend a soft rubber beater if you want definition and speed, and you'll need both at 300bpm! A little experimenting will guide you to your goal.
 
Hey so I just bought a 24" used precision co keppler maple 🍁 and looking for mesh heads and an external trigger... Recommendations? Should I have double mesh heads? Or beater side mesh and acoustic resonance? Trying to keep the price for the whole setup under $300, the drum was already $100. I'll be using metal beaters if that makes a difference! Going for speed, accuracy, sensitivity
 
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