Practicing on an electric kit....

Tbonez

Member
I practice six or seven hours a week which is really scratching the surface of what I want to do....I've been looking at and saving for an electronic Roland kits so I can reduce my volume and play longer without driving the neighbors crazy.

I've read some post lately that state practicing on electric is almost useless for acoustic kits because the heads have more bounce and the skills don't translate..Do any of you guys have both kits and is it worth it to play electric in an effort to increase skills on an acoustic?
 
I practice six or seven hours a week which is really scratching the surface of what I want to do....I've been looking at and saving for an electronic Roland kits so I can reduce my volume and play longer without driving the neighbors crazy.

I've read some post lately that state practicing on electric is almost useless for acoustic kits because the heads have more bounce and the skills don't translate..Do any of you guys have both kits and is it worth it to play electric in an effort to increase skills on an acoustic?

Hi. I have both and I highly recommend having an electronic for practice if noise is an issue. You can do a LOT of practice on one of these. No, it's not quite like an acoustic kit. If you play jazz, the limitations are more severe. Brushes and subtleties of the different parts of an acoustic kit are not there. The good news is that many of these things are low volume playing anyway so you can practice them more often on an acoustic kit.

Also, you can play any time which is great if you get an idea in your head you can run to the kit and try it out right away.

I will learn coordination things and do exercises on the electronic kit and then check it on my acoustic one. Also, it makes playing the real thing quite treat!

Like anything else, the better kit you can afford the better it simulates a real kit.
 
I practice six or seven hours a week which is really scratching the surface of what I want to do....I've been looking at and saving for an electronic Roland kits so I can reduce my volume and play longer without driving the neighbors crazy.

I've read some post lately that state practicing on electric is almost useless for acoustic kits because the heads have more bounce and the skills don't translate..Do any of you guys have both kits and is it worth it to play electric in an effort to increase skills on an acoustic?

Not at all. If I did not have an electronic kit my practice would be reduced to once a week at band practice.

Get the tape measure out and get the e kit as close to the setup of your acoustic kit and off you go.

Lots of drummers spend hours on a practice pad and how close to a drum feel is that?
 
I have only played on an E kit once but from most I see thes spacing between toms is ridiculous and that can't be good.
 
Very good info..Thanks! I really didn't want to drop a couple of Gs on an e-kit to find out it is useless. I figured skills that required coordination would be good on an e-kit and things that required "feel" would be worth it. It seems like you guys are happy with it so I will take the leap...
 
I am aware that they can be adjusted. I just wondered why they never seem to be.
 
I am aware that they can be adjusted. I just wondered why they never seem to be.

I guess that would be because, usually, both the pads and rack are smaller so everything has to be closer together - although that doesn't apply to middle to top-of-the-line or custom built electronic kits. Or triggered kits.

Owning both acoustic and electronic kits, I would say it would be better to practice on an E kit than not practicing that time at all. They are different. However, I think it isn't bad playing a different setups you don't get 'rusted' into that.

It is like the discussion between acoustic piano players and keyboard players. Some say playing E keys will ruin their touch on a piano, others say it can expand their skills. Each to their own.

I would recommend try before you buy to check if an E kit suits you. I would recommend a step up from the entry models because of more features and better pads. Although the cheap kits are getting better. The top models are overpriced, IMO.

Good luck deciding.
 
100% agree.

I traded in my e-kit when I got my a-kit and regret it now. It gives you much more practice time. If you can afford to have both, it's perfect.

I used to have a TD4KX (all mesh) which is fine for exercise, keeping in mind that the snare and toms are OK but the cymbals are really not realistic. It's just for exercise, not your main kit.

Get a decent pedal, get a decent throne and decent headphones and off you go.

E-kits like anything electronic lose value faster than a-kits, you may want to look into buying used.
 
If you're supplementing acoustic practice with electronic there's really no problem as long as you're getting some acoustic time in so the feel remains familiar. Some stuff doesn't translate, some does. You can use your time on e-kit to do all kinds of stuff. Independence, linear grooves, stick control, etc. Then when you've worked out the coordination bring that stuff to the acoustic kit and work on how it sounds for real. E-kits can be a good tool but it's easy to fall into the fun trap 'cause they're fun!
 
Agree with many here. Getting an E-kit is an excellent option to enhance skills and practice time. You cannot go wrong.

There's always the option of a Hybrid kit. I know, I know, they still have the mesh head, which I have zero problems. I've been practicing on an expanded Roland TD-15K kit for 2+ years and I'm now at the point of going the Hybrid way. Otherwise, like many here, if I didn't have an E-Kit, I wouldn't be practicing... family ya know.

I'm currently checking out Jobeky and Diamond Drums... and others.
 
I practice on a little ekit and I like it. The volume control is handy. Lately I'm taking the ekit to jam sessions and it is good there too. Yes it's different from an acoustic drum kit but so are bongos.
 
I've owned both. Getting an electronic kit is the best thing I've ever done for my playing. The feel is for the most part similar to real drums, when switching back it will feel a tad awkward for a month or few weeks but after that it's fine. The extra practice time makes a HUGE difference. If you can shell out about twelve hundred for a Yamaha kit, you won't regret it. (I would stick to Yamaha, I wish had when I bought mine)
 
I spend many hours a week on my electric, only chance i have to play my acoustic kits is for band practice or gigs. It is a great tool for working on random things. I always play it and miss the feel of a real cymbal or the dynamics of a real snare but at least im practicing and it sounds fairly decent.

I have an Alesis Dm10 with a mesh head conversion in place and i do love it. in built sounds are ok but once i connect it to my mac and run addictive drums im in a world of happy drum sounds.
 
Ironically it's my modest Alesis DM electric kit which has been the most important drumming investment I have made in my life. More so than any cymbal I purchased, and indeed any acoustic kit (even the Gretsch I currently proudly own).

E drums are fine. They have some limitations. But so what? The advantages they have brought me absolutely swamp any minor irritations I have with them.

In fact I don't even have minor irritations....I just accept them for what they are.

Plus...my cheapo Alesis is better sounding, and better feeling, than probably most acoustic back lines I've played when gigging.
 
Also, give the new Yamaha DTX a try. I've used Rolands since the late 90's and the TCS pads seem closer to acoustic than mesh. It's just my opinion, but I noticed that when I went from practicing on mesh to actually playing, the mesh made me faster than I thought or actually was :) (I TD10's, 20's and etc) The Yamaha TCS pads make you work harder - less rebound. Just a suggestion...
 
In the early days, I spent too much time trying to make my e-kit better. I wanted it to feel and play and sound more like an acoustic kit so that when I went back to my kit, I could play it better than before.

Like I said, too much time and money for too little gain. Upgrading all the parts one by one did very little for the difference in feel, and triggering sounds is really nothing at all like pulling sounds from a real drum or cymbal.

So I stopped trying. I practice on my electronic pads every day, but honestly, I don't even have anything connected anymore or plugged in. I use it like a big practice pad in the shape of a drumkit.

And it still helps a lot. The main thing you get out of the e-kit practice is the overall muscle memory. When you practice a pattern a bunch of times, you get better at it. I know what drums sound like, and all that matters to me is that the notes are in the right place and with the intended dynamic. I can hear all this just fine, and with the metronome clicking away, I can go for hours hearing nothing but the "clak clak clak" of the rubber and mesh. I no longer get annoyed when a hit gets dropped by the module, or when an edge crash registers as a bow hit, or when one part of the kit cross-triggers something else. What I do get is practice.

So anyway, maybe one of those dw practice pad kit stands?
 
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