Electric kits

I agree the rubber is silly, but hurting wrists are only a technique issue. You can't believe how many times that comes up on e-drum forums. And the only solution is to correct your technique. I for one think it's a good thing. =) I have never had hurting hands since and it isn't like you need a special technique for rubber playing. No, you just need to really know how to play with free strokes. Rubber absorbs more energy than a cymbal wanting you to hit it more forcefully, but if you don't know how to hit it without absorbing the energy to your hand, you will have hurting hands. I had it bad, like 5 mins playing and then I had to stop for the night. I think in many ways e-drums are good for practice. This rubber thing is one, mesh heads being silent is one, you can adjust volume which is good for your ears. Then of course you can setup any sound to any pad. Makes it really easy to practice 4-way coordination for example and you can setup closed hihat voices on your bass drum pad and work on your precision. The possibilites are quite endless.
Its not technique its the mind set of playing real drums. I find if i back off on hitting the cymbals the problem goes away. I still think they suck.
 
Its not technique its the mind set of playing real drums. I find if i back off on hitting the cymbals the problem goes away. I still think they suck.

That's what they all say... Yeah, they suck. But at least we don't have wear ear protection in rehearsals.
 
That's what they all say... Yeah, they suck. But at least we don't have wear ear protection in rehearsals.

True! My guys want me to gig with a TD3 kit. Um..NO. More room for them on tiny stages is why. No no no. My acoustic kit sits pretty tight I think.
 
...OK slightly off topic...

...but I have a friend who plays drums and he thinks that electronic drum kits are cheating.....

As stated above....cheating who? Many in this world do not have the "luxury" of being able to keep acoustic drums. So many, in fact, that Roland is the largest drum manufacture in the world, and they don't make or sell acoustic drums at all. If it's play an e-kit, or don't play at all. Embrace the guy playing the e-kit.​
I've played acoustic drums 40+ years. I love drums. I started playing the e-kit 5 or so years ago. And I love them too. Try getting a DW (or any acoustic kit) to sound like tabla, conga, udu, birds chirping, waves crashing on the shore, or a helicopter flying a search pattern in stereo, all at the push of a button and/or a tap of a pad.​
 
...can anyone please give a few arguments as to why e-drums are not cheating...

You have to have a set of rules before you can cheat. This topic has been beaten up to death in e-drum forums so it's getting a bit boring. Valid counter arguments are usually: take away the mic from the singer, tell your bass and guitar player to switch acoustic and your keyboard player to get a new acoustic piano and then use absolutely no electricity. At least Keith Jarret would be pleased (he has said electric instruments are just toys, as much as I respect Jarret, I have to say in this respect he's an idiot).

But for most of us we don't have to use any music related arguments. For me for example, I couldn't play AT ALL if I didn't have my e-kit. Or I could only play 4 hours a week at our rehearsal space. So hmm. My choices are: 1. be a lousy drummer with great acoustic kit with great sound or 2. be a decent drummer and be able to practice and for now play a silly plastic kit that sounds decent enough to gig. Wonder which I chose...

I always get a rush of adrenaline from this discussion. First thing I was asked by a very good ELECTRIC bass player when I went to studio with our band was: "when are you going to get REAL drums". I wish I had had more quick mouth back then and just say to him "when are you going to have a real bass then?" but instead I used half an hour to explain my problems with practicing in my apartment and stuff like that. Again I want to punch someone... I gotta by myself a punching bag.

E-kits bring us a new generation of drummers. Not because of the sounds or anything related to them being electric in nature but because of now we can play where ever we need to. In couple of years there are actually drummers who don't live in a cave or woods but be just ordinary people like rest of the musicians, living in the city omg. =P
 
E-kits bring us a new generation of drummers. Not because of the sounds or anything related to them being electric in nature but because of now we can play where ever we need to

True enough. Thing is, is it harder to transition to an acoustic kit after practising on e-drums or on a rubber practice pad kit?

There was a thread while ago (can't find it now) about the difficulties of adjusting back to an a-kit after practising on v-drums. Yet, you never hear of people saying how they struggle to adapt to normal kit after playing a set of rubber pads.

Is that because they expect a kit to be be wildly different to pads so there's no expectations? Or is it because lazy habits can form since it's easier to get a great sound on an e-kit? Or maybe, if you can get things sounding good on a pad, then translating those moves to a beautiful set of real drums is inspiring?

I don't know the answers. What I do know is e-drums are more fun, and therefore more inviting, than rubber pads that go "thud". That would get people playing more often. But they are also much more expensive, require more smarts and effort to set up, and usually take up more space.

I'm leaning towards a pad setup but the fat lady hasn't sung yet (you don't want to hear me sing, either :)
 
Just checked online at a local store. It seems That the Alesis DM5 costs less than the Roland V0Drums Lite - and has 530 more sounds. No contest.

The reviews of the Alesis sometimes complain about glitches and not being able to stand up to heavy punishment, although others give it glowing reports (I'm not a heavy hitter anyway). The only advantage of the V-Drums Lite as far as I can tell is they are simpler and more compact.

Pol, do not buy V-Drums Lite. Terrible pedals. Go and see D and ask him what he can do. Forget Alesis and Yamaha, go with Roland. D knows all about the E kits. Talk to him first.
 
True enough. Thing is, is it harder to transition to an acoustic kit after practising on e-drums or on a rubber practice pad kit?

Luckily I can compare a's and e's weekly and when I first got my e-kit I noticed I had the habit of playing too much with my fingers because of the bounciness of the mesh heads. But soon after that I began to practice purely wrist strokes and after that it really doesn't matter what the material is what I play. Of course from material to material the feel is always _a bit_ different but I think it's not that a big of a deal if you can at least once in a while try out the different feels. Your body remembers. I played quite a bit with acoustics on christmas and it was fun and I can get a lot of different sounds from the drums. It's like 3D where e's are 2D. =P But again, the better your control is, the less you notice any negative difference. Think of Jojo playing on the peperoni pizza on his DVD. =) People have used practice pads for decades, how's that any different?
 
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