New kit wanted - not sure where to start!

S

sj107

New Member
Hi All (please bear with me...!)

I'm picking up my sticks again after a few years out, having sold my acoustic kit about 5 years ago when I finished gigging, and retaining a practice e-kit which I thought would keep me going. The reality was that it was so awful, especially for an 'only' kit, I just didn't play it at all and ended up selling that on a few weeks ago.

I am now looking to buy an e-kit, just for use at home and recording, but which has an authentic feel, something that can be hooked up to an amp if required but mainly I'll be playing through headphones so it needs to have bluetooth capability.

My budget is £2000-£2500 and whilst I don't mind if the kit is new or in good used condition, I envisage keeping it for a while. It's been mentioned that I'm not looking for a musical instrument but a piece of 'tech' which is fair comment however I think that was the point that I realised I am way out of my depth when it comes to where to start looking. I'm drawn to Roland as a reliable and authentic-feel well-known e-drum brand but they are expensive and of course, I want the best for my limited budget.

I started down the YouTube route but as the channels are pushing sponsored products, everything is of course 'the best, most realistic sounding kit'! The ones I came across were also several £1000.

My gigging days are over but I would like a decent kit that I actually want to play. I would just like as near to an acoustic kit as possible for my money. Space not an issue. If this is completely unrealistic, feel free to say so although any genuine advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
You don't say what your old kit was that was so bad. Based on popular opinion and reviews I would stick with Roland or Yamaha for reliability and sound.

While I have an acoustic kit and play it whenever I can, I also have a Roland TD17KVX kit that I play every day. I've played it for a few years now. It has the features you need. It sounds good(ish), it has bluetooth, and feels like a solid midrange e-kit should.

I have considered upgrading to a Roland TD27KVX, but for the extra money I can't see doing it at my skill level. Maybe one day. Until then This TD17KVX is just what I need to keep the neighbors and family happy.
 
It would be helpful to know what practice e-kit you were using in the past that was so awful. This would help readers eliminate kits with similar limitations. Although I have moved on from an e-kit because it didn't respond in the same manner as acoustic drums, particularly the hi-hat, snare, and ride cymbal, I still think Roland and Yamaha are worth considering. You're likely looking at kits with mesh heads, although Yamaha's TCS heads are rather nice, but the feel can be quite different depending on whether they are 1, 2 or 3 ply. Your best bet is to check out these kits at a local shop, or finding one used in your area. I would not buy an e-kit without trying it out in advance.
 
You might also consider a converted acoustic kit - mesh heads, triggers, and a module.
Cymbals could be either/or. Hi-hat is usually the trickiest.
 
You can get a brand new Roland vad103, Roland vad307, Efnote mini, or Efnote 5 all for between 2000-2500. They are all very nice kits with different positives, negatives, and sizes all depending on your personal preferences.
 
Square said:
You don't say what your old kit was that was so bad. Based on popular opinion and reviews I would stick with Roland or Yamaha for reliability and sound.

While I have an acoustic kit and play it whenever I can, I also have a Roland TD17KVX kit that I play every day. I've played it for a few years now. It has the features you need. It sounds good(ish), it has bluetooth, and feels like a solid midrange e-kit should.

I have considered upgrading to a Roland TD27KVX, but for the extra money I can't see doing it at my skill level. Maybe one day. Until then This TD17KVX is just what I need to keep the neighbors and family happy
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the advice. My old e-kit was a session pro. Definitely entry level.
Square said:
You don't say what your old kit was that was so bad. Based on popular opinion and reviews I would stick with Roland or Yamaha for reliability and sound.

While I have an acoustic kit and play it whenever I can, I also have a Roland TD17KVX kit that I play every day. I've played it for a few years now. It has the features you need. It sounds good(ish), it has bluetooth, and feels like a solid midrange e-kit should.

I have considered upgrading to a Roland TD27KVX, but for the extra money I can't see doing it at my skill level. Maybe one day. Until then This TD17KVX is just what I need to keep the neighbors and family happy.
Click to expand...
 
roncadillac said:
You can get a brand new Roland vad103, Roland vad307, Efnote mini, or Efnote 5 all for between 2000-2500. They are all very nice kits with different positives, negatives, and sizes all depending on your personal preferences.
Click to expand...
Thank you, will definitely check these out.
 
Cheers for the helpful advice 👍
Square said:
You don't say what your old kit was that was so bad. Based on popular opinion and reviews I would stick with Roland or Yamaha for reliability and sound.

While I have an acoustic kit and play it whenever I can, I also have a Roland TD17KVX kit that I play every day. I've played it for a few years now. It has the features you need. It sounds good(ish), it has bluetooth, and feels like a solid midrange e-kit should.

I have considered upgrading to a Roland TD27KVX, but for the extra money I can't see doing it at my skill level. Maybe one day. Until then This TD17KVX is just what I need to keep the neighbors and family happy.
Click to expand...
 
Here is the states, the Roland VAD 506 is being discounted heavily. I'm not sure if this is the case elsewhere, but that is a kit I would look at if I were to get back into e-drums and wanted more of an acoustic kit vibe.
 
Roland and Yamaha mentioned in this thread. So here's the main difference.

Roland uses synthesized models for sound, and generally a proprietary cable snake to connect pads to the module.
Yamaha uses multi-layered samples for sound (up to 120 samples per pad), and individual cable to connect to the module.

You want "authentic feel" - so I assume you mean you want something that "feels" like a Mylar head on an acoustic drum. As feel is very subjective, I'll always recommend trying a load of things out. Many would suggest Yamaha's silicone (TCS) has are closest to Mylar in feel. You may prefer the feel of the mesh heads from Roland, Yamaha etc - you may find that mesh is bouncy, you may love it.

Similarly, sound is subjective and down to you and your ears and preference.

Your budget is more than enough for your needs. I'd happily gig a £500 kit with no qualms.

I would strongly recommend getting to a music store or visiting sellers of 2nd user kits and hitting some things. Don't know where you live apart from UK; in London, for example, the Roland and Yamaha stores are a couple of hundred metres apart (Denmark Street and Wardour Street).

ps. "I'll be playing through headphones so it needs to have bluetooth capability." - don't use Bluetooth to monitor your drums - latency - hit drum, hear drum some time later. Use a cable - it's not like you're running around :)
 
Last edited:
Wit
sj107 said:
Hi All (please bear with me...!)

I'm picking up my sticks again after a few years out, having sold my acoustic kit about 5 years ago when I finished gigging, and retaining a practice e-kit which I thought would keep me going. The reality was that it was so awful, especially for an 'only' kit, I just didn't play it at all and ended up selling that on a few weeks ago.

I am now looking to buy an e-kit, just for use at home and recording, but which has an authentic feel, something that can be hooked up to an amp if required but mainly I'll be playing through headphones so it needs to have bluetooth capability.

My budget is £2000-£2500 and whilst I don't mind if the kit is new or in good used condition, I envisage keeping it for a while. It's been mentioned that I'm not looking for a musical instrument but a piece of 'tech' which is fair comment however I think that was the point that I realised I am way out of my depth when it comes to where to start looking. I'm drawn to Roland as a reliable and authentic-feel well-known e-drum brand but they are expensive and of course, I want the best for my limited budget.

I started down the YouTube route but as the channels are pushing sponsored products, everything is of course 'the best, most realistic sounding kit'! The ones I came across were also several £1000.

My gigging days are over but I would like a decent kit that I actually want to play. I would just like as near to an acoustic kit as possible for my money. Space not an issue. If this is completely unrealistic, feel free to say so although any genuine advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
With that budget you can buy a cheap acoustic (the acoustic sound won't matter) get some triggers from drum-tec.de also get a Roland TD-27 module from them, buy some r-tom mesh heads and some Lemon or Roland cymbals and you have yourself a very nice looking e-kit. (of course you will need stands or a rack for the cymbals too). Finally get yourself a free VST such as Khrim drums or Steven Slate Drums Free edition and drum with proper sounds until you can afford to buy something like this:

The video below is my current kit with the default module sounds so no VSTs yet.

 
Square said:
You don't say what your old kit was that was so bad. Based on popular opinion and reviews I would stick with Roland or Yamaha for reliability and sound.

While I have an acoustic kit and play it whenever I can, I also have a Roland TD17KVX kit that I play every day. I've played it for a few years now. It has the features you need. It sounds good(ish), it has bluetooth, and feels like a solid midrange e-kit should.

I have considered upgrading to a Roland TD27KVX, but for the extra money I can't see doing it at my skill level. Maybe one day. Until then This TD17KVX is just what I need to keep the neighbors and family happy.
Click to expand...
for the $$ I think it's worth it, but buying the module and the 3 digital pads is more expensive than just buying a complete TD27 kit. I got lucy and found mine as a store demo for $1500.
I recommend instead that you just buy yourself a good VST and use that, your drums will sound amazing and you will enjoy playing much more.
 
wildbill said:
You might also consider a converted acoustic kit - mesh heads, triggers, and a module.
Cymbals could be either/or. Hi-hat is usually the trickiest.
Click to expand...
Not really you can get the hi hat components from Go-edrum in Amazon or from Drum-tec (those will be the Roland which are a lot more expensive)



That kit works perfect with Roland modules ( I have it but of course I don't use it anymore since I bought my TD-27).

I believe there is also a kit for Yamaha (the wiring is probably different if I am not mistaking).

The mesh heads:


The bass drum trigger/triggers: footblaster.com

The rest of the kit triggers:

drum-tec.de or drum-tec.com

the cymbals:

you can get low volume metal cymbals and use the goedrum kit to convert them to electronic or just buy rubber cymbals with built in electronics:


the rubber cymbals:


Those (the Lemon brand) get very good reviews.
 
roncadillac said:
You can get a brand new Roland vad103, Roland vad307, Efnote mini, or Efnote 5 all for between 2000-2500. They are all very nice kits with different positives, negatives, and sizes all depending on your personal preferences.
Click to expand...
Out of the box the Roland will be the better kit (superb triggering) but I would still go for a converted acoustic kit since the sizes will be accurate and you will have no compromises.
(To me is only for looks because even my rubber pads from the TD11 felt fine for me to play, of course not as nice as mesh or acoustic drums but still playable). What didn't feel playable was the Yamaha TCS pads but others swear by them..

This guy's kit is an acoustic kit with mesh heads and triggers:


 
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electrodrummer said:
Roland and Yamaha mentioned in this thread. So here's the main difference.

Roland uses synthesized models for sound, and generally a proprietary cable snake to connect pads to the module.
Yamaha uses multi-layered samples for sound (up to 120 samples per pad), and individual cable to connect to the module.

You want "authentic feel" - so I assume you mean you want something that "feels" like a Mylar head on an acoustic drum. As feel is very subjective, I'll always recommend trying a load of things out. Many would suggest Yamaha's silicone (TCS) has are closest to Mylar in feel. You may prefer the feel of the mesh heads from Roland, Yamaha etc - you may find that mesh is bouncy, you may love it.

Similarly, sound is subjective and down to you and your ears and preference.

Your budget is more than enough for your needs. I'd happily gig a £500 kit with no qualms.

I would strongly recommend getting to a music store or visiting sellers of 2nd user kits and hitting some things. Don't know where you live apart from UK; in London, for example, the Roland and Yamaha stores are a couple of hundred metres apart (Denmark Street and Wardour Street).

ps. "I'll be playing through headphones so it needs to have bluetooth capability." - don't use Bluetooth to monitor your drums - latency - hit drum, hear drum some time later. Use a cable - it's not like you're running around :)
Click to expand...
The TD-27 has built in Bluetooth and I don't perceive any latency. (in the video I posted above I am using YouTube via my phone to play the band's video and the audio from the phone is going to the module via Bluetooth).
 
To begin with... feel; Roland are mesh heads, Yamaha have the silicone TSC heads. Start with trying each out to see the difference. To me (and not everyone agrees!) the TSC heads feel closer to medium tuned mylar heads (the air bubbles in the silicone 'push back' in a similar way... apparently), whereas the mesh heads I find too bouncy.
Consequently, I've gone for the Yamaha DTX6K3-K. All TSC tom/snare heads, BD is ingenious as it's designed to mimic a bigger kick the harder you hit it and a 'proper' HH (well, as much as it can be!). The sounds are great and it lets you layer samples. I've been using it live and in my home studio (and for everyday practice) for two years. No real issues and I love it.
Of course Roland make great kits as well but mesh just doesn't do it for me. Sound wise I wouldn't worry about a difference between the two as they are both excellent. At this price range I would say it's all down to which feels the best for you.
 
Rockdrill said:
To begin with... feel; Roland are mesh heads, Yamaha have the silicone TSC heads. Start with trying each out to see the difference. To me (and not everyone agrees!) the TSC heads feel closer to medium tuned mylar heads (the air bubbles in the silicone 'push back' in a similar way... apparently), whereas the mesh heads I find too bouncy.
Consequently, I've gone for the Yamaha DTX6K3-K. All TSC tom/snare heads, BD is ingenious as it's designed to mimic a bigger kick the harder you hit it and a 'proper' HH (well, as much as it can be!). The sounds are great and it lets you layer samples. I've been using it live and in my home studio (and for everyday practice) for two years. No real issues and I love it.
Of course Roland make great kits as well but mesh just doesn't do it for me. Sound wise I wouldn't worry about a difference between the two as they are both excellent. At this price range I would say it's all down to which feels the best for you.
Click to expand...
I tried the TCS heads and to me they felt nothing like my acoustic heads, they were more reminiscent of the old Simmons hexagon pads which were made of wood covered by a very thin rubber coating so they were very stiff and hurt your wrists when playing them for long. By contrast the mesh heads felt much more like acoustic heads. Maybe you need to tune tighten the mesh head (you can do that on most mesh head kits) so that they are not as bouncy. once you do that you get much closer to acoustic feel, they are not as bouncy.
 
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