Anti-Praise for E-kits

Midnite Zephyr

Platinum Member
Anytime I have to play an e-kit, I just cringe at the thought of it. Sometimes practice situations force me into playing one, and I just never like it. I even owned an e-kit at one time. I could never get into it, and it just sat in the corner for months until I traded it for a Marshall Amp.
 
I guess you had the wrong E-kit / setup then!
 
My feeling is that the <=$1000 edrums are basically trap kits-that make some noise. I feel that way about my DTX532. I think of it as a $1000 practice pad, and as a practice pad, it does pretty darn well. I can see it being used in a hybrid setup as well if a multipage won't suffice.

It's the >=$2000 eKits where things begin to get interesting. I can only hope that some of the money we're spending now goes back into R&D for the next generation of kits, and eventually the price of the usable stuff becomes more realistic.
 
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Well, you know my story - I had the Roland TD10 when it was the bomb, and I deemed it the most expensive practice kit I ever owned. It was ok, but when your heart is into acoustic drums, that's just where it is.

The more level-headed folks here realize that they both have their place, and I could be one of those too, but at what cost? Spending 6K on a V-Drum kit just so you can be in the space where they're necessary just sounds desperate to me. I don't want to play for somebody that bad that I'm willing to say, "I got an eKit if that's what you want".

Screw that.

I play acoustic drums. If someone is looking for en electronic drummer, I'll give them phone numbers of people who are willing to do it for them. If they really wanted me, then they can take me for what I do.

And you know what? Once I took that kind of stand, no one asked if I had an electronic kit (if they asked me anything at all). It's like I got a different set of friends, which was good.

People have asked if I could do a hybrid thing (like Pat Mastellotto or Buford did), and I kindly tell them the rate goes way up because mixing the two is an even bigger PITA. I'm surprised people ask for that stuff when they're only willing to pay $100, ya know?
 
My feeling is that the <=$1000 edits are basically trap kits-that make some noise. I feel that way about my DTX532. I think of it as a $1000 practice pad, and as a practice pad, it does pretty darn well. I can see it being used in a hybrid setup as well if a multipage won't suffice.

It's the >=$2000 eKits where things begin to get interesting. I can only hope that some of the money we're spending now goes back into R&D for the next generation of kits, and eventually the price of the usable stuff becomes more realistic.
You do need to spend big money on an E kit to get the real drum kit feel. I had a borrowed Roland TD-6 for a while to use at my cottage where noise was a concern. The kit was a joke and I ended up buying Roland TD-30K. Not cheap although buying from RMC Audio saved me a considerable amount. I love the kit as it plays like a real drum kit but I would never take it out on a gig. It serves it's purpose and is plenty fun. E kits are all overpriced no question about it.
 
I've been playing one for 4 years. I admit for me the standard pads were a bummer vs a real kit.

I kept the TD30 module, bought a nice budget yamaha gigmaker, installed triggers and mesh heads, problem solved. And by selling my v-pads I made money in the process.
 
when your heart is into acoustic drums, that's just where it is.

Yep, but I have been in situations (as an electric bassist) where the E-kit made the gig happen because the drums needed to be there, no questions, no EQ issues with mic setup, just plain there. And they worked. Almost zero articulation and very little finesse but they can drive a beat down a logging road and EVERYONE is gonna know it.
 
Anytime I have to play an e-kit, I just cringe at the thought of it.

If you are ever in Phoenix, stop by and I will change your mind. :)


After being away from the drums for a long time, I was having trouble getting my A kit to sound good. It was set up in a bad room and everything was loud as fuck and resonating so bad I couldn't tell if I was playing good or not. I wondered if I had forgotten how to play or if I never really played well. I tried to play with some music with headphones, I tried dampening the drums...I tried everything.

When an E kit was suggested to me, my exact response was, "blasphemy!!"

But, being an open minded person, I picked up a cheap ($300) used rubber pad TD6 kit on craigslist. The minute I plugged them in, I was sold. I could now hear every single stroke instead a blur of resonance. I could plug in mp3's and work on getting back in shape. I could play at 2AM if I felt like it and I got hundreds of hour in very quickly.

I got together with a couple other players and, because of the E kit, we could play thru a decent PA until 10:30 PM with no disturbing the neighbors and no ringing ears and the mix sounded great. You could hear the vocals!!

I of course upgraded a few times and ended up converting an A kit to electronic. Those tiny E pads are.....stupid. If I play someone's A kit sitting in at a gig, it's not really any different as long as it's a decent sized place, not a coffee house. The thing I don't like is not really knowing what the volume is out in the crowd. With the E kit, I can hear exactly what's going on.

Every band I've worked with over the past couple years has eliminated stage volume by running everything through a PA in order to achieve a consistent mix and the E kit fits in perfectly. To me, the mix is more important than the players skill level. I have seen many good players sound like hell. I have heard many good singers get completely buried. IMO, it is all based on the drums. They are freaking loud and they set the bar for everything else.

I have tried to go back to the A kit several times and have had the E and A set up side by side and I always go back to the E kit.


For a live gig that requires mic'd drums, that is just a bunch more open mics on stage. I know that pros do it but I'm at a level where we need to take care of our own mix and I don't want to be chasing down hums and feed back all the time.


Also, You can build a conversion kit very inexpensively. A used TD 20 is under $1000. On off brand A kit is under $100 plus $40 per drum to convert the drums. Throw in a few pads and cymbals and you have a top of the line sounding/looking kit with a volume control for $1500

Also, I just discovered the super reverb'd snare sound that dominated 80's rock. I feel like a god when I play it because often, a simple single snare hit is on top of everything else in the song. :)

Also, also, you can record without even getting off the throne. Wireless mouse, and click record. Make a mistake, start over again without getting up.


OK....where am I going with this?

Oh yeah....anti praise....


Uhhhh...you have to learn the controls and push some buttons. That sucks.
 
This thread is just going all wrong. I apologize, fellow e-kit haters. These guys probably play e-guitars too.
 
On my last trip to the US, I had a try on the very latest well known brand's top of the line kit. The toms & bass drum were kind of ok, but the snare was just horrible, even with it's supposed multi zones & dynamic reproduction. I dare not even mention the "cymbals". Yes, I'm highly biased, but the kit was way north of $6,000, & I couldn't help compare it to what that sum of money could get you in a certain Akit drum brand I'm rather familiar with.

Being a realist, of course, Ekits have their place, & in some situations, are superior to Akits, especially in terms of sound choices outside of a studio environment. I'm never in those environments where the Ekit offers advantage, but good luck to those that are :)
 
Yeah, they suck. :)


Way expensive, too.


There are no loud drums, only loud drummers.
 
I've made the same mistake TWICE now, I ended up keeping the e kit for a few months and only playing it a few times then selling it on Craigslist BOTH times!
The cymbals sounded like absolute shit, there were ZERO dynamics and it felt nothing like an acoustic kit.

After my last e drum venture I played some of the higher end E drum kits and not only was there a solid dynamic range but they felt similar to an acoustic kit and the cymbal sounds weren't THAT bad!

To get an E kit that sounds and feels like an acoustic kit you're going to have to invest more than $600!
 
In the future, we might as well marry robots and have sex with them too.

You'll have to read the manual carefully though...

robots%20cyborgs%20android%20technology%20cyberpunk%201280x800%20wallpaper_www.wallpapermay.com_35.jpg


... looks like a complicated relationship :)
 
There are no loud drums, only loud drummers.

Well that's stretching it a little bit lol.

I guess I'm more a part of the anti-e-kit brigade.

I owned a 2box while I lived in Sydney. I played it once a week when my originals band came around to practice... it sounded very good, had all the dynamics I could ask for but the physical kit was a bit on the flimsy side. The bass drum wasn't secured from the top which was horrible because it would flip and flop around. I had access to a real kit in a practice room about 2km away and so I would always just go there.

If I was to buy another one I think I would get the TD20, the module is nowhere near as good as the 2box but I'm more worried about the physical kit feeling solid.
 
I feel that playing on an e-kit has really ruined me as a drummer. I started out with a cheap one, an Alesis, and it's quite limiting, no dynamics whatsoever. Whenever I play on an acoustic kit now, it feels like a giant buzz machine, so much vibration and sound. And placement of those tiny pads on a rack is nothing like an acoustic kits, which makes the transition even more difficult. To boot, I've got horrible drumming posture, I don't even hold the sticks properly, something I've been meaning to remedy with some youtube videos.

On the plus side, it's a trade off between playing at home and not playing at all. I'm glad I got started on something at least and plan to upgrade to one of those top-of-the-line Roland kits, wish I could opt for one of Andy's Guru drumsets, but I'd never be able to play it outside. Here in Singapore, you play on a house kit when you play outside, so no scope of being able to use it outside my apartment either.
 
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