Starting out with E Drums, looking for some general guidance...

P

Philaiy9

Junior Member
Hi, I'm looking to move into an apartment which will obviously not allow me to practice my acoustic kit so I thought an E kit might be in order. Ideally, I'm looking for something that feels and sounds as close to an acoustic kit as possible. It would be great to practice several hours a day on this kit and then be able to go into a jam session without the feel of the acoustic kit feeling super foreign (not sure if this is possible). I'm asking this because I played on my friend's cheapish Roland kit with EZ drummer and while the sounds were good, I thought the tracking and dynamic range was very disappointing. It had a very hard time picking up my buzz rolls and softer strokes. I'd also like for the sound module to have a high degree of tuning customization--preferably separate tension for top and bottom heads and ability to adjust the snare wire tension (again, I don't know if this is possible).

How much should I be looking to spend to achieve what I'm looking for, and are there any particular kits you have experience with and recommend? Should I be looking to buy after-market e cymbals? Maybe put together my own kit with cheap acoustic shells, mesh heads, and triggers? All in, I'm comfortable allocating $2-2.5k on this if it's a kit that feels and sounds great--I definitely want to minimize the tears from missing my acoustic kit back home. Would like to use my vintage Ludwig Speed King and matching hi hat pedal with it if possible.

Thanks in advance--I apologize for sounding like a newb but this feels very far out of my realm.
 
A lot of things can be tuned (heads, velocity curve, various trigger settings). Best if you can find a TD27kv v1 - with digital ride and snare - for cheap somewhere ($2699 at GC, maybe ask for 15% off) (v2's digi hihat is nice, too, but plus 1k). You can add other brand cymbals (e.g. Lemon), but kits are cheaper as a set. If noise (or space) is a concern, I wouldn't want acoustic shells, but if that's important, than you can build your own, too. In that case I'd consider the Alesis Strike (kit or just the module), too. Would you also use a VST? Can you visit a store to try some kits?
 
One thing to be aware of is that these kits aren't totally silent. Rubber cymbals generate noise when struck, and the bass drum on these kits can generate significant vibration. I bring this up because many people assume they can practice for hours with an e-kit in an apartment setting. If you have people living below you, they will likely hear you practicing. The same is true if someone lives in another apartment that shares an adjoining wall with yours.

If you want to maintain a consistent feel between your e-kit and your acoustic kit, I'd recommend looking into one of the Yamaha kits with the silicone pads. They're not as bouncy as mesh heads. When I played an e-kit, I had a hard time going between it and my acoustic kit because the mesh heads were way too bouncy, which impacted my technique.

For $2k - $2.5K, you'll get a decent mid-level kit such as a Yamaha DTX6 (or DTX8 for $300 more) or Roland TD-17KV. However, neither of these comes with what would be considered a "flagship" module, so you may have to compromise on the features you're looking for.

As harryconway mentioned, check out 65drums on YT. He has some decent videos that walks you through the different options for a given price range. Justin has experience with all of these kits, and can give you a pretty good idea of the features and limitations of each.
 
Stock "what kit" post for your delectation.
---

Get the one YOU try, like the sound of (so you don't end up having to buy a computer + extra hardware + loads of software), like the feel of (mesh vs silicone etc) , has the functions you want (download and read the manuals), and fits your budget .

(....and not one with an evil proprietary cable snake, obs).

You ask on here, you'll often just get a list of what people own as being the "best" (aka buyers' Stockholm) 😉

Like buying cars or shoes - you need to try 'em - so get to some music stores....

Oh, and get 2nd user for more for your money.

AND - IMPORTANT - remember an ekit is NOT an acoustic kit. Totally different instrument, like a Korg synth is not a Steinway grand.
--
disclaimer - I have something from everyone - no axe to grind. Been smacking ekits live since '86.

opinion bit only the brave read on.... Roland and Yamaha for reliability. Roland uses modelled sounds and evil cable snakes / Yamaha has multi-layered sampled sounds (up to 120 samples on each pad) and individual inputs. If you want "sounds as close to an acoustic kit as possible".... then def a sample-based kit and not a modelled one.
 
I went the conversion route for my at home practice kit. While the feel is somewhat different, it is close enough that I have no problem alternating between them and my acoustic kits. With my module, the sound quality is mostly dependent on the "speaker" system - excellent with IEMs, acceptable through my cheap drum amp.

Roland TD-17 module, Drum-Tec Real Feel 3-ply mesh heads, DDrum triggers and Lemon cymbals. Total cost of conversion was around $1300, not including acoustic kit and hardware.

PS. I don't claim this to be the best. Only what I have done and am satisfied with. 😉

A2E conversion.jpg
 
The onboard brains play pretty realistically. The downside of that is the sounds aren't anything like as realistic as drum software.
If you want your existing touch to be translated into things like buzz rolls, then staying with the onboard sounds is the way to go.
Drum software isn't great in that area, but possible with a lot of tweaking on both the v-drum sensitivities and the drum software settings.
Moreover - v-drum kicks generally thud and boom. I don't imagine you'll be able to play for any length of time without annoying neighbours, especially if you live above ground floor.
 
Thank you for all the replies so far. For those who have mentioned that the kick transmits a lot of vibration, is that something the tennis ball riser can mostly solve?
 
LarryJ said:
I went the conversion route for my at home practice kit. While the feel is somewhat different, it is close enough that I have no problem alternating between them and my acoustic kits. With my module, the sound quality is mostly dependent on the "speaker" system - excellent with IEMs, acceptable through my cheap drum amp.

Roland TD-17 module, Drum-Tec Real Feel 3-ply mesh heads, DDrum triggers and Lemon cymbals. Total cost of conversion was around $1300, not including acoustic kit and hardware.

PS. I don't claim this to be the best. Only what I have done and am satisfied with. 😉

View attachment 133210
Click to expand...
That's beautiful! How would you say the acoustic volume is compared to a non-converted e kit?
 
Chris Whitten said:
The onboard brains play pretty realistically. The downside of that is the sounds aren't anything like as realistic as drum software.
If you want your existing touch to be translated into things like buzz rolls, then staying with the onboard sounds is the way to go.
Click to expand...
What drum software are you comparing with what kit? I found VSTs (like Superior Drummer) way superior in sound (or in many cases being the only acceptable option). Apart from the special case of digital pads, the module and the VST get the same digital data to trigger sounds, so they should not differ much in response and dynamics can be adjusted. But I agree that VSTs need / offer a lot more tweaking and rarely are a simple plug-and-play solution. I think they original purpose was studio recording and not "module sound replacement" as people use them these days. BTW, if someone goes that route, a lot of people recommend the Edrumin interface (no onboard sound, but very advanced triggering and compatibility with almost any brand), which is back in stock right now after being mostly unavailable for years.
 
VST take a lot of tweaking. V-drum brains are pretty plug and play, that was my point.
I much prefer the sound of VSTs, but then I'm also not trying to play the same way I do on an acoustic kit.
 
Philaiy9 said:
Thank you for all the replies so far. For those who have mentioned that the kick transmits a lot of vibration, is that something the tennis ball riser can mostly solve?
Click to expand...
Depending on what bass drum your e-drum comes with, it can boom and thud pretty loudly.
 
Philaiy9 said:
Thank you for all the replies so far. For those who have mentioned that the kick transmits a lot of vibration, is that something the tennis ball riser can mostly solve?
Click to expand...
It's usually a problem for downstairs and there are many DIY options and some special (e.g. beaterless) kicks that can help. Talking to the neighbors can also be beneficial (if they're nice).
 
Philaiy9 said:
Thank you for all the replies so far. For those who have mentioned that the kick transmits a lot of vibration, is that something the tennis ball riser can mostly solve?
Click to expand...

Usual from me - use a beaterless kick. KU100, KT9, KT10, FatKat etc. Or a Triggera Krigg with your acoustic kick pedal.

 
Chris Whitten said:
The downside of that is the sounds aren't anything like as realistic as drum software.
Click to expand...
Depends if you're using a modelled kit (Roland for example), or a multi-layered sampled kit (Mimic, ATV, Efnote, Yamaha, etc. A DTX-PRO for example puts up to 40 real samples on each zone on each pad). But, yes, all this shizz is subjective and down to each user's preferences and needs. (me: I've never brought a computer on stage - I prefer hardware. And I'm like you - not trying to limit an ekit to being a ye-olde akit.)
 
Last edited:
Philaiy9 said:
Thank you for all the replies so far. For those who have mentioned that the kick transmits a lot of vibration, is that something the tennis ball riser can mostly solve?
Click to expand...
I've just done that with my e-kit and I'm sad to report it's not a complete solution.

I've found it will definitely take out the lower frequencies so you go from an almighty "boom" to more of an annoying "whack" to the poor soul downstairs (I'm fortunate it's just my long-suffering wife down there as I don't think a downstairs neighbour would put up with it for very long).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top