Electronic Drum kit?

[Fletz]

Hi all -
I am a bassist by trade and musician/home recording hack for fun. I am looking to get an electronic drum kit (because, as a bassist, of course I am a frustrated drummer). Do any of you have any recommendations for a kit in the $500-$700 range?

Thanks.

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by Fletz

Hi all -
I am a bassist by trade and musician/home recording hack for fun. I am looking to get an electronic drum kit (because, as a bassist, of course I am a frustrated drummer). Do any of you have any recommendations for a kit in the $500-$700 range?

Thanks.

I did the same thing a few months ago, and I was disappointed at the low end electronic kits. I ended up with a mid-priced Roland with mesh heads that works great.

[Fletz]

How much was the roland? (if you don't mind me asking)

[Rob22315]

Originally Posted by Fletz

Hi all -
I am a bassist by trade and musician/home recording hack for fun. I am looking to get an electronic drum kit (because, as a bassist, of course I am a frustrated drummer). Do any of you have any recommendations for a kit in the $500-$700 range?

Thanks.

My church praise band used the lowest level roland drum kit for a couple of years. I forget the exact model number but its the only one you can buy for around $600 from roland. Its a very small and compact set if you are space limited. Just be aware that it has a small number of kits and the pads are all single sensor. We just upgraded to a TD-9 based set due to a generous gift from the congregation and the drummer loves it. He plays the drums through an old Peavey KB-300 keyboard amp which sounds great in our sanctuary.

Roland drums are great but you will get more for your money for casual use if you go off brand or used. We got $1800 dollars in drums for $1500 from musiciansfriend by doing coupon stacking. The TD9 based set start at 1800, the TD4 based sets go for around 1500 normally. Get the TD9 if you can.

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by Fletz

How much was the roland? (if you don't mind me asking)

I bought mine from Best Buy, and it came with both a discount and $350 in gift cards. If you exclude the cards, I paid about $1300.

The mesh heads are a giant step up in quality from the plastic heads and worth the added expense, IMHO.

[Fletz]

Thanks for the advice, all.

[kraigo]

As a drummer who really prefers acoustic drums, let me say that for $1300 you can get a pretty decent set of acoustic drums - Gretsch Catalina Maple drums and Sabian XS20 cymbals for example. Going used it gets even better, if you live in a decent sized metropolitan area and have a drummer friend who knows how to shop.

An acoustic drumset will age more gracefully and hold it's value better. It will also help you learn how to get a good tone out of an acoustic drumset, which is important if you experience "scope creep" with your drums the way I did with my bass playing (I play in good bands as a drummer, but I earn more money as a bass player).

KO

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by kraigo

As a drummer who really prefers acoustic drums, let me say that for $1300 you can get a pretty decent set of acoustic drums - Gretsch Catalina Maple drums and Sabian XS20 cymbals for example. Going used it gets even better, if you live in a decent sized metropolitan area and have a drummer friend who knows how to shop.

An acoustic drumset will age more gracefully and hold it's value better. It will also help you learn how to get a good tone out of an acoustic drumset, which is important if you experience "scope creep" with your drums the way I did with my bass playing (I play in good bands as a drummer, but I earn more money as a bass player).

KO

Agreed to a point, but for those of us not playing drums for a living, having a volume knob on the drums (or the ability to plug into headphones) helps keep the peace at home and with the neighbors.

[Rob22315]

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

Agreed to a point, but for those of us not playing drums for a living, having a volume knob on the drums (or the ability to plug into headphones) helps keep the peace at home and with the neighbors.

That was our main motivation for going electronic as well. The acoustics in our sanctuary are quite good so an acoustic set tended to overwhelm everythng else.

I find it interesting that the big deal with e-drums is trying to emulate acoustic as much as possible. I knew an engineer who put pressure sensors into the fingertips of a set of gloves and connected those sensors to a drum sound generator. He could rip through drum sounds as fast as he could move his fingers. Maybe the whole drum UI needs to be rethought in the era of electronics.

[ack]

I bought an Alesis DM5 (used) for my son - just as a practice tool for his room. I got a great deal on it online. (roughly $300) It's a good kit, not a great one - but that is subjective. It feels (to me) nothing like the mid-to-high level Rolands that he's tried at some stores. I was actually disappointed (with the sound, not the feel) after setting it up and trying it out at home.

However, my son absolutely loves it, and it sounds great when he plays it. Although it doesn't have mesh heads (the heads are made of a very thick, soft plastic over a metal pad), it has a nice soft feel with a realistic kickback - kind of between the cheap pads and the mesh pads.
I agree that the mesh heads on some of the more expensive kits go a long way towards replicating the feel of actual acoustic drum heads. The sound is all in the module, and the DM5 has an amazing array of kit emulators and percussion assignment choices, that it boggles the mind. I like the fact that you can control the sensitivity & response of each pad as well as the rims.
The kit came with a Pearl Eliminator Kick Pedal (with the cams).

If you have a tight budget and see a DM5 available near you, don't dismiss it - you may like it after sitting behind it.

[oldcatfish]

I have the low end Roland one that I bought for my kids from a going out of business sale at a local music. I play it at least a couple of times a week. It's not great, and is a little cramped (I'm 6'3 and 200 pounds), but it gets the job done...and is very easy to move and store. It has a mesh snare head and the toms are rubber--I totally agree, mesh heads are much more realistic feeling.

If you can afford it, either the mid level Roland or Yamaha are both nice.

And I also agree with this...for any non-serious drummer, apartment dweller, or someone that wishes to keep peace with the spouse--electronic drums are the way to go.

[ksandvik]

I bought Alesis kit some years' ago, mostly to record MIDI information for use with Superior Drummer and similar plug-ins. Alesis are OK but I would invest in mesh-based Rolands if I would spend that amount of money.

[msb3671]

I got a DM7 kit about a year back. Sounds were great, pads tanked. Sold it for a loss... As a home recordist as well, I wasn't pleased with the process of using electric drums. Sounds were great, but no better than 'drum in a box' machines & computers. Always sounded... electric. Especially the brass.

I've been pricing out used acoustic kits/mic set... you can get set up for about the same deal as a new Roland 'Pro' set. But if you do go electronic, go Roland. Go $$$. Spend it up front, get what you want. Good luck!

[mcglyph]

I have a Roland V series kit. Spend 1K or wish you had. Or buy used. You will appreciate having some mesh in your kit. Mesh is only on some kits. The hard rubber for the toms is OK, not great, OK. The hard rubber kick drum pad, just sucks. So you want a mesh snare drum and a kick. If you buy a decent kit you also get decent sounds, cymbals, a better head unit, more expandability options...

[mcglyph]

Also if you are in an apartment be prepared for the very real possibility the drums are not as quiet as you think. They are not acoustic obviously, and the kick drum will vibrate your windows, possibly even the downstairs lighting fixtures. You are hitting something very hard, it vibrates, and there will be sound to contend with. Best of luck to you. Spend more than you think you should, or you you might regret it.

[msb3671]

Originally Posted by mcglyph

Also if you are in an apartment be prepared for the very real possibility the drums are not as quiet as you think. They are not acoustic obviously, and the kick drum will vibrate your windows, possibly even the downstairs lighting fixtures. You are hitting something very hard, it vibrates, and there will be sound to contend with. Best of luck to you. Spend more than you think you should, or you you might regret it.

+1 ... they are not as quiet as I thought either. Similar to playing bass unplugged; it's not the volume, but the clicking and clacking. My housemate commented that he would rather hear the sample sounds vs. me whacking on toneless pads.

[warnergt]

Originally Posted by Rob22315

...We got $1800 dollars in drums for $1500 from musiciansfriend by doing coupon stacking...

What is this "coupon stacking" that people are talking about?

[Rob22315]

Originally Posted by warnergt

What is this "coupon stacking" that people are talking about?

I applied 3 different Christmas coupons to a single order to stack multiple discounts on one drum set.