Do you own (or want to own) both acoustic and electric kits?

lowdowner

Senior Member
I'm thinking of buying a second kit. One to practice on when my other half is relaxing and not wanting to hear my painfully poor drumming - so obviously I'd go for an electronic kit. I'm relatively new to drumming and have only played my much loved Mapex Saturn IV MH Exotic in Black Burl (I'm just boasting here, it's a stunner!)

Just wondered if many other people had both an acoustic and an electronic kit and whether you played both regularly and if not, if that because the e-kit just can't compare?

Would I end up with the electronic kit just gathering dust or is it worth getting so I can practice exactly when I want?

Do I have to pay an extortionate amount just to get something even vaguely close to the beautiful Saturn loveliness?
 
At my stage of the game, anything electronic is akin to buying a Nordic track exercise machine. I'd be all into it in the beginning, but a few months down the road it'll become something I hang clothes on.

I think you would save a lot more money by just getting yourself a little Pearl Rhythm traveler practice kit since it comes with cymbal mutes and mesh heads and practice on that. It'll be a little more bouncy than your regular drums, but that's closer to your acoustic drum feel than a bunch of rubberized pads would feel, so your technique doesn't really change.

De-program yourself that you have to hear some kind of drum sound when you hit something. If you're practicing, the tactile feel of the kit is more important, and this will translate better to when you actually play your real acoustic drums.

Of course, you can do what you want, but for my money, the rhythm traveler makes more economic sense.
 
I've seen three avenues that people take:

1: They buy a cheap eKit (Example: the $300 Behringer) as a practice-pad set. They sound wonderful if you think of them as practice pads and not as a drum kit. In the same vein, Chef Boyardi Ravioli are delicious if you think of them as dog food and not as real ravioli.

2: They buy a mid/high range eKit so that they can use it as an eKit or add eKit components to their acoustic kit in a hybrid setup. It's probably the most flexible.

3: They convert an acoustic kit to an eKit with SilentStrokes and Gen16's. There are some pretty positive reviews on the forum of this configuration in that it 'feels' more like an acoustic kit than an e-kit.

I have a funny feeling that there's no right or wrong answer, and it's purely personal preference. I'm probably going to end up with Option #1 in a bit.
 
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I started out playing on a Yamaha Xplorer kit that Mr Madge gave me for Christmas one year, as a surprise. He did his research, and it ticked all the boxes in terms of realism/value for money.

By Easter I'd bought an acoustic kit. I kept the e-kit for a few months because I thought it would come in handy if I ever wanted to practise when other people were home, but Mr Madge and our offspring learned to ignore me, and in fact said offspring simply don't wake up (they're late teens/early 20s).

If I could afford a REALLY good e-kit, I might get one, and I can see why people do. But there's always the impact noise, and from what I've been told, that is actually less ignorable than the noise an acoustic kit makes.

It may be that more depends on one's neighbours than on the people who share the house. Barking dogs are WAY more irritating if they belong to somebody else.
 
If I didnt have an e-kit I would only get to practice at band practice, and thats not what band practice is for.

People can bang on all day about e-kits not being the same as an accoustic kit, we all know that, It matters not. Set up the pads the same height and distance apart you have your drums and cymbals and its great home practice, and the only practice I can get cos I live in a normal house with other people and neighbours.

Trying to suggest that an e-kit's pads have anywhere near the same volume as an accoustic kit is simply ridiculous.

If people are so worried about the pads not feeling like a real drums why do they also advocate spending hours on a practice pad?

The e-kit is a great practice tool if you dont have daily access to a practice studio. Buy one.
 
Hi
I got myself a Roland TD-something 4 years ago with the goal of practice at home; since we share rehearsal room with 2 other bands and it is not very close to home I do not get there more than once a week. Soundwise the Rolands are very good and the mesh pads are actually quite good too, but it is NOT like playing an acoustic kit, it takes a long time to adapt to playing the a-kit after hours spent on the e-kit. And they make some noise too. Still, they keep me somewhat in shape although I guess a practice pad would do that to. But that wouldn't be as fun!
 
2: They buy a mid/high range eKit so that they can use it as an eKit or add eKit components to their acoustic kit in a hybrid setup. It's probably the most flexible.

This would be why I buy any e-kit or e-components. I do a lot of theater work and it would be great to not have to carry around tons of percussion toys to get certain effects, or to have access to sounds of instruments whose size would not permit their use. However, nobody would probably agree that a pad can replace an acoustic instrument in all circumstances, and I treasure the nuance and variation that can occur endlessly with the acoustic instrument.
 
Let's put it this way.

I did what you're talking about, built myself a roland system from parts and ebay. For a few months, the novelty was really fun, but honestly, at this point, I don't even plug it in. I play the pads as if it were a practice kit. Mis-triggers, cross-triggers, dropped notes, poor dynamics and lack of really being able to pull sounds from various things got old quick.
 
I have yet to find a quiet yet faithful reproduction of a drum set that does not create bad habits when used extensively.

True sound insulation is a time and $ consumer...and renting makes it fairly impossible to eliminate any sound emanating that might upset a partner trying to relax.

I tried very hard for 30+ years...sucks to not live someplace where you can make noise.
 
If I didnt have an e-kit I would only get to practice at band practice, and thats not what band practice is for.

People can bang on all day about e-kits not being the same as an accoustic kit, we all know that, It matters not. Set up the pads the same height and distance apart you have your drums and cymbals and its great home practice, and the only practice I can get cos I live in a normal house with other people and neighbours.

Trying to suggest that an e-kit's pads have anywhere near the same volume as an accoustic kit is simply ridiculous.

If people are so worried about the pads not feeling like a real drums why do they also advocate spending hours on a practice pad?

The e-kit is a great practice tool if you dont have daily access to a practice studio. Buy one.


I have to agree with this. Since I bought my ekit, a Roland TD 11kv and added an extra crash cymbal to mirror my acoustic kit set up, I have put much more time into practice without annoying my neighbors and more importantly my wife. The practice has easily translated to my acoustic kit playing with no "feel" issues.

I spent far more money on a drum studio in our last house. The Roland kit is a small investment compared to the money I spent modestly soundproofing my garage in our prior home. Sure, I would love to have another studio, but even there I could not practice into the night like I can now.
 
I have both - actually I have 3 acoustic kits and a set of Td-9 V-drums. While the electronic kits cannot match or replicate the feel of acoustic, they do offer some benefits. I can practice late at night on the electronics. The electronics also allow me to record my practice sessions so I can listen back and critique my playing.

I use them for practicing. So for my purposes, the V-drums do not take the place of acoustics any more than a practice pad would take the place of a snare drum. But it does offer another option for practicing late and allows you to easily record your practice session.

Jeff
 
There are times when I can't play acoustic drums. That's when I play my electronic drum kit. I'm happy, the neighbors don't complain. It works well for me.

I also like having about 50 drum kits sounds to choose from on the ekit. They sound different and I can change kit sounds in moments.
 
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I have an older TD-12 and also acoustic and both get plenty of use. LOVE my e-kit and have become a better drummer for having played and practiced with it for almost 8 years. Never replaced a pad or anything.
 
I have no desire for an e-kit. For what they cost to be worthwhile I could buy a great acoustic and mega cymbals. My playing time is limited but still like acoustic drums.
 
I had 4 kits recently. 3 accoustic and 1 electric. (too many) lol

When i first got my TD20 i used it so much.. as time went on it would be the td20 or my pearl masters..

with 3 kits its even hard because i can only play one at a time... if your doing it to keep noise down it will work.. then live drumming use the acoustic.

I loved mine, use some VST programs for sounds and they sound just as good as an acoustic kit and the flexibility is insane. I even used it to record a full album and it sounds amazing.

I guess the guy saying he had misstriggers and issues didn't have it set up right or didn't have a high end one perhaps.. I never had miss triggers or any problems.

start off with a cheap one used.. if you like it you could always upgrade.
 
Okay, I got to make a bit of a statement here:

<stands on soapbox>
Electronic drums should not be thought as "a practice instrument." Its a completely different kit with greater imaginative capabilities, sounds, composition aspects, etc. than an acoustic kit could ever bring to the table. Do you think an acoustic guitar player buys an electric guitar "to practice on"? Does a pianist buy a keyboard to practice on? No. They buy the other instrument as a means of creating music that they never could with their acoustic counterpart. Electronic instruments are not a replacement for their acoustic counterparts, and should not be looked at as some sort of quiet practice instrument because their volume can be controlled with a dial. They are different instruments and should be used for the creative possibilities they offer. Please, before you begin shopping for an electronic drum kit, ask yourself if you are looking for something to expand your musical possibilities with sounds you can't get with your acoustic kit, or do you just need something to practice rudiments and sticking on without disturbing others around you. Because if its the latter, just buy a practice pad, or put mutes over your acoustic kit and save yourself the money from buying another instrument.
<get off soapbox>

Now that I have that off my chest, I have both electric and acoustic kits. Both are great tools. One does not replace the other. They offer different creative possibilities and I think owning both is a fantastic idea to create fantastic music.
 
Not entirely true. Guitarists buy electric to be heard in large venues or for louder types of music. I will go out on a limb and say that most e-kits are used for practice or for low volume situations, not for large venues or metal music. The comparison just doesn't fit. I have never seen an electric kit by itself for large rock venues and have never seen a guitarist in the basement with headphones on his electric guitar. Apple and oranges.
 
Not entirely true. Guitarists buy electric to be heard in large venues or for louder types of music. I will go out on a limb and say that most e-kits are used for practice or for low volume situations, not for large venues or metal music. The comparison just doesn't fit. I have never seen an electric kit by itself for large rock venues and have never seen a guitarist in the basement with headphones on his electric guitar. Apple and oranges.

Nope... cant agree with that at all. Do you really think rock 'n roll would still be played on an acoustic guitar if it was only played to small groups in small rooms? They can mic and amp acoustic guitars to play huge arenas, but electric guitars are used why? Because its easier to plug in to an amp? Nope. It's because the acoustic guitar is not giving the sound and creative possibilities that the electric guitar brings to that genre of music.

Different instrument. Different sound. Different creative possibilities. One is not better than the other nor will one replace the other. They both serve different purposes and can create different music.
 
No interest in an e-kit here. I'd rather spend the $$ on another acoustic kit meself - I already have two kits in my postage stamp sized apartment, and with the possibility of moving to a house in the summer it opens the floodgates to having room for more!
 
I got a Roland about 8 years ago after a long hiatus from drumming. I lived in a townhome attached to another unit on both sides and was beyond rusty. I was not fit for public consumption. To be able to practice on not just pads but on a true kit config was invaluable, and an acoustic with mufflers would not have fit in our space. When we had guests I just moved the ekit to the closet so I could open the futon.

Eventually I set up my a-kit at our band's practice site and was able to leave it there with the Roland at home. Since we were a cover band, being able to play with my iPod through headphones allowed me to have songs ready when we got together. My wife could hear some "thumping" when I played, and the neighbors never heard a thing.

Now I have my 7 pc set up in a nice practice space in my basement. I can play it knowing it doesn't disturb our neighbors, but there are still plenty of times when I play on the ekit. I have small children who won't sleep through acoustic drums, and a wife who doesn't want to hear them at 10 at nite. The ekit is still good for learning covers, and I use the metronome with both kits. When she is upstairs my wife can't even tell I'm playing.

It's great for original work too. I use it to record groove ideas and I plan on getting a MIDI adapter so I can use it with garage band.

Obviously my ekit has been good to me. On the cons side I'm tall so it's kind of cramped for me (the other side of the portability coin). And of course the feel is different. I've had some trigger issues so I wouldn't want to rely on it for gigs, but it's also 8 years old and I've given it a beating. In my current situation I would probably start with drum mutes d/t the $, but back when I got the ekit it was my only real option. It was great to have then and still is now, for the same reasons and more.
 
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