Do any drummers actually enjoy performing on e-kits?

That’s insane! I thought the Texas shuffle demo was sweet. If I was made of money, I’d have a set tomorrow.
 
is that a piezo sensor in your tom tom or are you just happy to see me?


 
Chris Whitten said:
The transition is as different as acoustic piano to electric piano.
I have hung out with a few guys who get incredible dynamics and detail out of their v-drums, but they are playing them every week.
I think the main advantages for gigging is that you achieve a consistent sound, from venue to venue, room to room. Stage volume is much reduced or eliminated. You can dial in sounds that emulate the drums on the record.
I don't know anyone who gigs with software like Superior, even at the highest level. It's just too fragile to insert laptops and software. Properly dialled in an electronic set can sound fantastic in concert.
In the studio or at home - drum software like Superior - all the way!
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Nice summary and one that I would concur with from my experience using them exclusively on some dates with my previous Top40/Rock/Party cover band.

Dial in both the pads/modules and the FOH system to match and it sounds pretty awesome.

Would I use them exclusively over an acoustic kit in a professional/touring situation? - probably not - only primary reasons being that I like to add a bit of showmanship and also really dig in/rock out on the drums and cymbals - I'm far from a "basher" but the assurance of the build of an acoustic kit and metal cymbals vs. a pure electronic kit (even with the road-worthy reliability behind Roland gear) wins for me. I would definitely augment and do a hybrid kit if the music demanded it.

In short, I thoroughly enjoy my time behind e-kits at home and for in-town gigs - quite satisfying going through the process of emulating recorded sounds and hearing them with the rest of the music. Garners a lot of compliments.
 
Played my first gig with an ekit last night and the band didn't respond well the 1st half of the night. The 2nd half they did better, but were mostly negative. Leader didn't express much opinion.
Everybody was aware of what an ekit would and wouldn't do for stage volume.

The drum mix was so low and monitors so weak that the bass and guitar couldn't hear the nuances of the snare dynamics. Same here for me. The crowd told me they couldn't hear much of the kit the 1st half.
Roland vDrum TD6V mesh kit.

Sound man held it back almost all night. I dragged in a hihat and 2 crashes the last half due to sound issues. My ekit crash levels weren't loud enough and he was stingy with volume already.

Last quarter of the night he turned the kit up some, maybe to balance with the real cymbals/guit bass levels(?) but the final few songs the bass player turned his amp up to make people listen to him more, so the sound guy turned the bottom end PA down which made my kick quieter while returning bass to the same level as before he turned it up.

We have to control the PA for me to use an ekit live again.
The levels of some elements need adjustment.


I took a large powered monitor because the venue is notorious for lousy monitors. They still effed the signal to the mon and it had to be held down to almost nothing.
 
2 hit wonder said:
Played my first gig with an ekit last night and the band didn't respond well the 1st half of the night. The 2nd half they did better, but were mostly negative. Leader didn't express much opinion.
Everybody was aware of what an ekit would and wouldn't do for stage volume.

The drum mix was so low and monitors so weak that the bass and guitar couldn't hear the nuances of the snare dynamics. Same here for me. The crowd told me they couldn't hear much of the kit the 1st half.
Roland vDrum TD6V mesh kit.

Sound man held it back almost all night. I dragged in a hihat and 2 crashes the last half due to sound issues. My ekit crash levels weren't loud enough and he was stingy with volume already.

Last quarter of the night he turned the kit up some, maybe to balance with the real cymbals/guit bass levels(?) but the final few songs the bass player turned his amp up to make people listen to him more, so the sound guy turned the bottom end PA down which made my kick quieter while returning bass to the same level as before he turned it up.

We have to control the PA for me to use an ekit live again.
The levels of some elements need adjustment.


I took a large powered monitor because the venue is notorious for lousy monitors. They still effed the signal to the mon and it had to be held down to almost nothing.
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that sounds like pretty much every story I have heard from guys who used e kits at gigs....
 
For what it's worth, I am a 100% fan of edrums for live performances. I love the fact that my sound is perfect FOH and in my ears and I can quickly tweak the bass and treble of my entire kit to suit the venue. My ears and bandmates are all in agreement too.
 
For those who are used to playing gig on e-kit ; to get through the mix, do you tweak the kit dynamics? I was thinking of lowering the pad sensitivity and push up the volume to get more range on high velocity playing.
I was also wondering if a subwoofer amp would be a nice (but heavy) addition. Today, the kit goes through a stereo PA (plugged in mono) and a wedge monitor for me.
 
Some people are gonna want a sub or nice full range speaker for stage presence with an ekit. My band didn't know how to play with no drums sound on stage.
 
Tamaefx said:
I come to play more and more on a Roland TD-11. In small venues and rehearsal. The main problems are : dynamics, level between each elements, hi hat, cross stick / rim shots sense.
And volume control! On an acoustic you know the power you deliver, the cutting. With an electro it’s blurred and depends a lot on the PA and the sound guy.
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There is a huge difference Between a TD-11 and a TD-27 starting with positional sensing, digital pads, more available configurations etc.
I have both modules so I speak from experience. You should only have the sound guy configure sound volume levels as he has NOTHING to do with dynamics from an e-kit perspective. Also you can get some dynamics out of the TD-11 not great but not completely useless.
 
ive played on Rolands before and they are good. the mesh heads give a little to simulate real drums. That Kit in particular that you are going to play is probably the best one on the market. So enjoy!
 
After using a Roland mesh kit on 1 gig known for having poor monitoring and watching the rest of the players struggle with the lack of dynamics on stage (and I even brought a well powered 15" PVX DSP for the stage) it made me reluctant to ever use one with this band again. The sound guy gave total chit for a line to the powered speaker. It was nearly useless and still totally in his hands.

The band could probably reluctantly adapt, but they would never prefer it unless clubs just demanded it. If I have to carry a powered speaker for the stage, I'm saving nothing in space and weight. I'd rather carry a 20" kick in 1 hand and 2 toms in the other.
 
mikyok said:
E drums are a get out of jail card for me. They're nothing like the real thing. Yet they're creeping in at an alarming rate.

It's the next big purchase for me but not anything crazy like 8k.

There's way too many things that can go wrong on stage with them and you're entirely reliant on the brain
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Not once in 36+ years of playing e-drums has a brain ever failed me. A pad yes a brain never. and I have used several brands too.
 
doggyd69b said:
Not once in 36+ years of playing e-drums has a brain ever failed me. A pad yes a brain never. and I have used several brands too.
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Even a pad going is too much of a risk for me for the cost of them.

E-drums 36 years ago must've been interesting
 
mikyok said:
Even a pad going is too much of a risk for me for the cost of them.

E-drums 36 years ago must've been interesting
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The pads that have failed me were from drums that I borrowed, I have never have my own pads fail me either. Yes there were Edrums since the early 80's clearly not anywhere near what they are now but there were table top versions as well as pads that felt like literally hitting a board because that was pretty much what you were doing.
 
Paul Blood said:
So the band leader just bought one of these for me to play our gigs with:

V-Drums Acoustic Design VAD706GE Electronic Drum Set - Gloss Ebony - Sweetwater

Looking for Electronic Drum Sets? Sweetwater has Easy Payments, FREE Shipping, and FREE Sweetwater Support for Electronic Drum Sets!
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

He didn’t really give me any choice in the matter, but seemed confident I‘d love it. I think of electric drums as good for home practice but not really great for performance.

just for the record, I never get complaints about my volume or sound. Anyways, the band leader says an electric kit will be a good selling point for future venues, and will easier than using microphones on acoustic drums, better for live streaming ….. Oh well, it’s not my money.

Any tips on adapting to e kits? We do use in ear monitors, no stage monitor, if that makes a difference.

My maiden voyage with this kit is this weekend. No rehearsal, I’m just going cold. Wish me luck!
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o the question Do any drummers enjoy performing on E-kits?...
He does:

 
TheDrummerFromAmsterdam said:
Legendary producer Butch (and drummer) is out on tour with a fully E-Kit.

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...Last saw 'em 5-odd years ago and he was using full ekit then and been using estuff for longer. Means the band can use many different drum sounds to match with their recorded output. #joysofedrums
 
I hate it, and I only use mine to practice in an apartment. It's not so bad until you hop back on a nicely tuned acoustic kit and experience everything you've been missing. The e kit just doesn't respond the same. I actually prefer practicing on my Meinl Marshmallow pad for technique stuff because it feels more like a snare drum imo.
 
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