What electronic drum features are "wasted" on a beginner?

[ColdFusion]

Getting equivalent sound quality that I was used to from ekits in such an easy manner is an ongoing issue though. Endless research, disappointing purchases etc.

I've been pondering this for a while now and I've realized that the sound we are enjoying from the V kits, is what you would get from an acoustic kit after running the notes through full mics and post. If you spend enough time on a v-kit your ear will get used to (get spoiled by) that post-production studio drum sound.

I finally gave up on tweaking/purchasing my acoustic kit to sound like "album drums". Chances are we both have great cymbals that would sound super clean if we were monitoring ourselves in a full studio.

having to wear headphones to reduce the natural kit volume does seem to defeat the object of acoustic kits-

To mitigate the V sounds spoiling my acoustic drumming experience I set up a few Shure mics on my acoustic kit and monitor myself though IEM.
So my ears are protected, but not plugged. And the really nice part is that my modest mic array produces a good image and smooths out the noise like I'm listening from 30 feet away.

 

[doggyd69b]

I think that the great and consistent sound of electronic kits is wasted on beginners because it deprives them of the opportunity to develop feel and touch insofar as striking the drums is concerned.

You just have to lay the notes down in the proper order to sound good on an e-kit. Not so on an acoustic kit, by a long shot.

That is more true for certain music styles than for others. Example Eloy Casagrande stupidly beats the crap out of the drums the whole time zero dynamics yet you can ask anyone and they think he is great.

 

[doggyd69b]

Lots of long replies that I didn't read here but my opinion is that you should be playing acoustic drums if you are just learning. EDrums are just nothing like actual drums when it comes to the feel of it.

I don't know why everyone insists on perpetuating this. Acoustic and current e drums are not that different. Everyone still acts as if the drums felt like the octagonal wood simmons pads from the 80s. Even the Roland rubber pads feel like a tight tuned head, very close bounce, with higher end pads you get positional sensing so the dynamics argument is also not that true anymore specially with the new digital pads (the ride and the snare) and I guess eventually they will offer digital toms as well, also worth considering is the Pearl e/merge. Having played both acoustic and electronic drums since the 80s I can tell you that for a live gig when we used acoustic sets it was way harder to get a good sound than when we used electronic literally just plug and play. And yes I know how to operate a mixer and where the best mic places are. Acoustic drums are limited when compared to electronic... you have practice tracks, metronome you can record to a usb stick, add external sources and the most important you can control volume. Less and less there is a gap anymore. My adjustment from one to the other and back only takes seconds and for me no noticeable difference. All this may not be true for you but it is for me.

 

[yammyfan]

Having played both acoustic and electronic drums since the 80s I can tell you that for a live gig when we used acoustic sets it was way harder to get a good sound than when we used electronic literally just plug and play.

This underscores my point exactly and I don't meant that in a combative or condescending way.

I think that lack of exposure to acoustic drums is detrimental to one's development. E-drums are better than nothing but just barely, in my experience.

 

[doggyd69b]

This underscores my point exactly and I don't meant that in a combative or condescending way.

I think that lack of exposure to acoustic drums is detrimental to one's development. E-drums are better than nothing but just barely, in my experience.

In the end 99% of the audience doesn't care if you play acoustic or electronic, they only care if the bands sound good. I also said that all of that was true for me maybe not for you. I don't need to use drums to practice and improve, for me is all in my head, I figure things out then I immediately am able to play them.... that is how I learn, very different than most....I haven't played in 2 years but I am still better now than I was back then because I learned new things that I can apply the moment I play a kit either acoustic or electronic. That has worked for me since the first time I played.

 

[ColdFusion]

I think that the great and consistent sound of electronic kits is wasted on beginners because it deprives them of the opportunity to develop

You just have to lay the notes down in the proper order to sound good on an e-kit. Not so on an acoustic kit, by a long shot.

I get it now, your main point is very good. And even my own experience should inform me that it's still objectively better to learn to play the acoustic drums skillfully before you ever touch a V kit.
The teacher in me cringes at the thought of recommending a new student go V-kit only.

 

[Doraemon]

Why does everyone assume the only valid reason for people to learn or play drums is to become a professional drummer touring with some top band on big stages with acoustic drums? Let's say a kid wants to play along to songs or maybe stream drum covers, and need a ready-to-mix professional sound with 6 cymbals in a 4 sqft space for $300... And why do people (in general) who have zero interest (and often knowledge) in edrums need to take every opportunity online to dismiss them and preach about "real" drums? There are plenty of pros and cons to each.

 

[yammyfan]

Why does everyone assume the only valid reason for people to learn or play drums is to become a professional drummer touring with some top band on big stages with acoustic drums?

They don't.

And why do people (in general) who have zero interest (and often knowledge) in edrums need to take every opportunity online to dismiss them and preach about "real" drums? There are plenty of pros and cons to each.

Whom exactly are these people who have no knowledge or interest in e-kits, anyway? I'm not getting that vibe from this thread.

 

[Arkansmay]

Why does everyone assume the only valid reason for people to learn or play drums is to become a professional drummer touring with some top band on big stages with acoustic drums? Let's say a kid wants to play along to songs or maybe stream drum covers, and need a ready-to-mix professional sound with 6 cymbals in a 4 sqft space for $300... And why do people (in general) who have zero interest (and often knowledge) in edrums need to take every opportunity online to dismiss them and preach about "real" drums? There are plenty of pros and cons to each.

I don't see that. I haven't seen preaching. I commented in the thread, but I owned a set of Roland Vdrums with the TD10 for years. My comment stands. Its a fact that I don't like electronic drums for reasons based on experience. You are free to like them if you like them.

To be more accurate, whats really going on, is people getting hurt feelings for some reason because people don't like what they like and they try to justify a preference for whatever it is. It's unnecessary.

Every time I give an opinion, it's an opinion only. If I present a fact, I try to make damn sure it's a fact before I present it. For example, it is a fact that EDrums are not the same as accoustic drums for a variety of reasons. That is a fact. They respond differently to input very differently than an accoustic set, that is a fact. My opinion is that I prefer an accoustic set. My opinion is that to properly learn to play the drum set as an instrument, you should learn on an accoustic kit, simply because they behave so much differently.

Its a fact that if you want to play an edrum kit, (or any brand of drums, or anything) that's what you should do. Don't act like the rest of the world needs to share your preference as if it's superior.