Drummers: Anyone use an electronic kit?

[Craven Sound]

It's time that I put a little more effort into my playing- I found a bunch of super cool guys that I really click with both musically and personally. We can only get together two to three times a month and for convenience, I've been leaving my kit where we get together. It's easy for them to practice regularly since their instruments are really portable, but I have no such luxury.

Space in my home is limited, so at this point, another full blown kit is out of the question. Digital kits seem to take up a very small amount of space, and can be played virtually at any time, and I think would be a great way to sharpen my skills. I would like to gather some information, and I don't have $4k to spend on the latest Roland- minimal budget is necessary.

Tactile Response on a budget kit- Will this hinder learning the instrument?
Durability- I'm not a heavy hitter, but just aren't sure.
Sound- Any good? Will probably use headphones at home.
Gigging capable- maybe not as a complete set, but as an add on to the acoustic set (think: effects)

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[tonefight]

Personally I wish all drummers would use them. Its so much easier to control the sound as far as volume/ stage volume goes as well as you don't need as much PA to get a good sound. I use an Electric guitar why are you drummer still using acoustic drums ?

[ToonaRockGuy]

Personally I wish all drummers would use them. Its so much easier to control the sound as far as volume/ stage volume goes as well as you don't need as much PA to get a good sound. I use an Electric guitar why are you drummer still using acoustic drums ?

I use acoustic drums for a few reasons...

1. I have my own sound. My kit sounds like my kit, and nobody else's.
2. I get tired of watching guitarists mess with their amps to dial in their sound. I set up my kit and boom, there's my sound.
3. I get tired of watching guitarists mess with their pedals when their stuff cuts out. I set up my kit, hit something, and IT WORKS. Every single time.
4. I have the ability to play using something called "dynamics", which means that I don't have to play at forte when the rest of the band is playing at pianissimo. I listen, and follow the dynamic level that is happening onstage.

Any other dumb questions?

Craven, an inexpensive electronic kit is great for practicing. Any fears you have regarding durability are unfounded, you'll be fine.
Response is gonna feel different, but as long as ypu are learning tp control rebound and using proper technique, you'll do well.
Sound all depends on what brain you get to run the kit, there are great ones out there from Roland, Yamaha, Pearl and several others. Do some research and I bet you'll find a sweet kit in your price range.

[DrumAndDestroy]

electronic drums look gay

[tonefight]

[Any other dumb questions?

As a matter of fact yes I do.

1) How long does a sound guy spend dialing in "your sound"
2) How many extra speakers, mics, compressors, gates and power amps does it take to push an acoustic kit in a large venue ?
3) Why does the stage volume always revolve around the drummer ?
4) Do you know how loud those cymbals are on a tight stage when you are standing at ear level ?
5) I hope you realize this half serious and half ribing in good fun.

[ToonaRockGuy]

[Any other dumb questions?

As a matter of fact yes I do.

1) How long does a sound guy spend dialing in "your sound"
2) How many extra speakers, mics, compressors, gates and power amps does it take to push an acoustic kit in a large venue ?
3) Why does the stage volume always revolve around the drummer ?
4) Do you know how loud those cymbals are on a tight stage when you are standing at ear level ?
5) I hope you realize this half serious and half ribbing in good fun.

And here are your answers:

1. On a full PA show, about 15 seconds per drum, depending on the soundman. Good heads, proper tuning and good technique make a soundman's job much easier and he won't have to dial in too much. Plus, most sound guys in the area know me, but I do spend time before the show begins talking with the sound tech and letting him know what I would like to hear. I always arrive early to a full PA gig and get to know the soundman if I'm unfamiliar with him, and he with me. If we can get on the same wavelength prior to soundcheck, it makes everything go much quicker.

2. That depends on the quality of the sound reinforcement. A good soundman will bring just what he needs. A less experienced one will try to cram a Metallica PA into a room the size of 30 Something.

3. Because drummers are the engine that drives the train known as the band. The singers and guitarists may be out front being the stars, but the band goes nowhere without us. But listening to your fellow bandmates is key to a good performance. Nothing is more satisfying than a huge crescendo to a peak, then slamming that bad boy down to pianissimo in an instant, perhaps in a good slow blues jam. Volume does not equal intensity, but it can play an very important role when used correctly.

4. Yep. You guys hear them at a high level when you step close to the drumset. I hear them at a high level all the time. That's why I've lost about 50% of my hearing in each ear, and suffer from bouts of tinnitus. Ce qui sera sera.

5. Absolutely. That's why I winked. But I was being serious, too.

[Jasaoke]

I am not a drummer, but:

Our group has been using a set of Roland V-drums regularly for two years + for practice and gigs and I've worked with them as an engineer.

Response is gonna be different.
Durability is outstanding.
Sound is great. Dynamic and expressive; wonderfully controllable from a mixing point of view. Depending on the brain, you'll get several 'kits' from timpanies and tablas to 808s. You can turn them down.
You can check out their gigging capabilities this Friday @ Pellegrine's.

(I totally just pulled off an ON TOPIC plug of my band

[floodcitybrass]

I had the opposite problem - not enough stage volume.
I think E drums are ok if the drummer ensures that all members can hear. So that means the drummer needs to carry more speakers/wedges/amps.

Putting 1 speaker pointing straight out is not a good solution for a large band like ours.
Ideally we would need 2 or 3 wedges by the drummer pointing outward to cover the stage.

Running E drums in floor wedges just muddied up the monitor mix. Usually I go closer to your monitor to hear myself more (not to hear more drums).

[Mysterytrain]

Toonrock...

This is freaking funny! Love it!

2. I get tired of watching guitarists mess with their amps to dial in their sound. I set up my kit and boom, there's my sound.

[RobTheDrummer]

It all pros vs cons. You can practice quiet and have a billion sounds to mess with. However, they don't feel the same and they are very expensive for a good quality setup. It comes down to personal preference and function. For me, I like them for messing around on, but I don't like the feel for live applications, and some of the sounds can be "generic." However they keep getting better.

[songsmith]

We sell e-drums to two general groups, with some exceptions...
1) Churches. The average church is a wonderfully reverberant room with lots of hard surfaces and a cathedral ceiling, which makes for excellent-sounding spaces for acoustic drums, they can hardly sound better anywhere else. Old people do not like this. No matter how quietly the drummer plays, it's TOO LOUD, dagnabbit! E-drums give the soundman a volume fader (though the elderly still usually aren't satisfied...).
2) Parents of teen-aged boys, and sometimes, the dads. This saves relations with the neighbors, the wife, and I've seen it a lot of times over. It's worth the $700, time and time again. Generally, the kid doesn't know any better, because he's not locked into the feel and volume of an acoustic kit by 25 yrs of experience. Everybody happy. This accounts for probably 75% of the e-drums I've sold.

The exceptions: ...Bands who figured out that e-drums and Pods are the solution to the age-old onstage volume-wars... "moguls" (usually twenty-something hip-hoppers who think they're going to be the next Suge Knight)... and hobbyists who need everything to fit in their Honda Fit.

I like 'em. The tech has come a looooong way in the last decade, and they deliver what they promise, finally. That said, I like acoustic drums and cymbals, too... they synch with the room acoustics, and sometimes that's a beautiful organic thing, depending on the room. It's kind of like cars v. motorcycles, both get you to your destination, which one you should choose depends on weather, season, road condition, etc... no wrong answer, depending on which one gets you there BETTER for you.

[lonewolf]

Rhythm section problems solved:

[hicksjd9]

I kinda feel like an analogy is in order. I'm thinking back to the heydays of the 35 mm camera and the appearance of the digital camera on the market. I can remember photographer friends (and reading posts by photographers online) saying that the digital camera would NEVER be a substitute for the 35 mm. EVER. Digital cameras were a toy to them...

Fast forward to today...

They ALL use digital cameras. Sure they might use a 35 when they feel artistic, but the digital version eventually outpaced the analog. I think that the same thing will happen to drums or, at the very least, the two (acoustic/analog and digital/midi) will become blended to the point that you will have to look for a kit without some digital (read: midi) features.

I give it 20 years.

Drums aren't quite as troublesome to get good midi sounds out of as many other instruments. The only holdout is the "machine-gun" snare, and they've pretty much taken care of that on the upper end kits. And, as with all electronics, upper end kits today are the lower end kits of tomorrow.

Sure, it will never feel the same. Unless of course you get a set with mesh heads. So, maybe it will?

There are simply too many advantages to edrums for drummers to ignore them forever.

Or, I could be wrong. Who am I to try to understand the mind of a drummer.

[RobTheDrummer]

Mesh heads don't feel the same either.

[whitedevilone]

With no big Bass drum where am i gonna prop my foot when i do my guitar solos?

[lonewolf]

Mesh heads don't feel the same either.

*feels Rob's head*

Nope, it doesn't, lol.

[lonewolf]

With no big Bass drum where am i gonna prop my foot when i do my guitar solos?

On your in-ear-monitors.

[RobTheDrummer]

Just like wearing a condom doesn't feel the same. lol

[windburn]

electronic drums look gay

lol but seriously...i agree they LOOK gay as hell

[Craven Sound]

Mesh heads don't feel the same either.

*feels Rob's head*

Nope, it doesn't, lol.

He didn't say Mush Heads!! That's Tyrone, not Bellwood.

[Hawk]

The subtle nuances one can control on a real kit has not yet been achieved on an electronic kit. Same with cymbals (real vs. electronic). I don't believe the dynamic range of an electronic kit is equal to a real kit (unless you consider the volume knob). But as far as dynamic control via drumsticks, the real drum has the better dynamic versatility.

On the other hand, companies like Yamaha are constantly striving to make the electronic closer to the acoustic kit. When that happens I might consider it. But they don't look as good as acoustic kits.

[sstuckey]

The subtle nuances one can control on a real kit has not yet been achieved on an electronic kit. Same with cymbals (real vs. electronic). I don't believe the dynamic range of an electronic kit is equal to a real kit (unless you consider the volume knob). But as far as dynamic control via drumsticks, the real drum has the better dynamic versatility.

On the other hand, companies like Yamaha are constantly striving to make the electronic closer to the acoustic kit. When that happens I might consider it. But they don't look as good as acoustic kits.

I agree it is going to be next to impossible to replicate what I can do with an acoustic kit vs an electric one in terms of dynamics. However, as was the case with another band, I truly only have two dynamics...hard or really hard! So that volume knob sure woulda come in handy!! And I also have to agree....they look really, really gay!!!

[onegunguitar]

And I also have to agree....they look really, really gay!!!

So...it would fit you then...GAY!!!

[sstuckey]

And I also have to agree....they look really, really gay!!!

So...it would fit you then...GAY!!!

Thanks buddy...I love it when your bandmates have your back like that....doooooooooouche!

[ToonaRockGuy]

Don't worry Steve, anyone associated with Naildriver knows that it's ToddDale who is gay. And I mean Adam Lambert boy band gay. G-H-E-Y-gay. LOL.