The current trend is volume control - getting rid of acoustic drums reduced monitor requirements
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Electronic drums
- Thread starter pedro
- Start date
I've not worked with electronic drums before, but this part is interesting to me. I'm thinking there's no need for drum mics and cables, and reduced need for gates and compressors. Do they just send a single mono or stereo "mix" to the board? If so, possibly fewer channels needed on the board and snake. If electronic drums allow you to go with a Studiolive 16.4.2 instead of a 24.4.2, you'll save $1300 (based on MF prices). This starts to make even the Pearl E-Pro stuff financially viable. Anybody have comments based on real world experience?
Jad...
Exactly... ... we send a single 1/4 to board... all of the drums are mixed at the central unit.
The other big benefit is that when we get all players to go direct, we can eliminate tons of big wedges (since we're not trying to play over snares and cymbals).
Venues REALLY liked them as sound was controlled... we could set up faster be more consistant etc.
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I owned the kit... could fit this... a pa... my direct gear... lights etc all in road cases in a minivan.... load out was 8 road cases...
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The issue is finding drummers who will try them and/or read the manual. Like anything else, there is acclimation.
There are some very cool things that can be accomplished with a VDrum kit and some prep time.
jive1
Commercial User
The best advantage an E-drum has it can emulate sounds that can only be gotten by hitting the drums hard at a more suitable volume. Other than that, I prefer a drummer playing on a real kit who can control their volume. There's lots of nuances in the snare, ride, and hi-hat cymbals that an electronic drum kit can't do.
As far as mic'ing up drums, with proper mic placement you can get a pretty good image of the drums with just 2 overhead mics.
But as a guy running sound, give me an e-kit any day. It makes it SO much easier.
As far as mic'ing up drums, with proper mic placement you can get a pretty good image of the drums with just 2 overhead mics.
But as a guy running sound, give me an e-kit any day. It makes it SO much easier.
Jammed with a drummer friend and another guitarist today. Drummer used his electronic drum kit. Now im no expert on drums, but i had no complaints on how they sounded. It was also interesting when he added some good reverb to the drums!
edrums are great these days.
They do sampled sounds, physical modeled sounds, and synth sounds.
A good drummer can play anything.
A creative drummer can do a lot with edrums
Plenty of drummers trigger on stage instead of mics.
Watch David Letterman, the sound you hear is triggered and has been that way for years.
They do sampled sounds, physical modeled sounds, and synth sounds.
A good drummer can play anything.
A creative drummer can do a lot with edrums
Plenty of drummers trigger on stage instead of mics.
Watch David Letterman, the sound you hear is triggered and has been that way for years.
Our drummer, who is the leader of the band, has both acoustic and electronic kits. He used to exclusively play the acoustic kit at gigs and electronic kit for practice. Then he started using the electronic kit at smaller venues. Then he started using them at larger venues. After today's outdoor gig, I think his acoustic drums are going to be for sale. The load-in is easy, the drums sound great, and you can turn them down. It also makes recording a lot easier.
I was skeptical at first, both about the sound and the looks, but I think we've all gotten over it. Roland makes some fantastic sounding samples. He's taken a kick-drum rim and head with our band logo on the front and we put it right where the kick drum would be.
I was skeptical at first, both about the sound and the looks, but I think we've all gotten over it. Roland makes some fantastic sounding samples. He's taken a kick-drum rim and head with our band logo on the front and we put it right where the kick drum would be.
"looks" are simple...
You can have a poster made... if I remember correctly it's 2 feet x 2 feet... mount it to the front... covers up much of what drummers object to...
For Casinos and Churches, they're now basically expected
You can have a poster made... if I remember correctly it's 2 feet x 2 feet... mount it to the front... covers up much of what drummers object to...
For Casinos and Churches, they're now basically expected
Churches I have to admit I haven't seen a lot of bands; on occasion they set up an "ensemble" with some beginner kid playing on an acoustic kit, thats alright.
As far as casinos, I can't say I know everything, but I go to a few once or twice a month, and whenever I see a band, more often than not I'm seeing the acoustic kit. I think maybe drummers even bring their own kick drum simply to put in front of the e-gear simply to give the traditional image (for ****'s sakes I even saw a band using an ipad for their key parts when they were covering 80s tunes. And it sounded good).
I think we have a few years to go before it becomes a standard.
We use a hybrid drumset - acoustic kit, but we trigger a module (Alesis DM4) for the kick drum. We always get comments on how great the drums sound, and anyone who asks usually also comments on how great the kick drum sounds.
Anyone who can't get a decent drum sound with an electronic kit just isn't trying... or doesn't understand how to use the kit. I compare it to keyboards -yeah a grand piano sounds better than a digital grand, but not enough to make anyone want to haul one around (rock stars excepted).
Anyone who can't get a decent drum sound with an electronic kit just isn't trying... or doesn't understand how to use the kit. I compare it to keyboards -yeah a grand piano sounds better than a digital grand, but not enough to make anyone want to haul one around (rock stars excepted).
The guy that hosts the weekly jam where I've been playing uses electronic drums exclusively and, other than not being able to silence the e-cymbals by pinching them, he loves them. The biggest advantage is being able to control the volume. His neighbors are decidely NOT down with noise and have had the boys in blue stop by and shut us down a few times but since he stopped using the accoustic set a year ago we've had no further complaints. They look kinda cheesy, but he's dialed up some pretty cool sounds. When recorded, it's pretty difficult to tell it's not a real drum kit.
Chokeable cymbals are now available on the lower priced kits. The Alesis DM8 Pro kit I just bought has them. It only cost me $490 shipped and has a $100 mail-in rebate!
Full disclosure: I am really not a fan of electronic drums, and that's based on experiences going from back to a godawful mid-80s Tama kit up through the newer Roland V-series. My personal opinion is that they are a practice tool for apartment dwellers and that's about the extent of their value.
That being said...
The more expensive electronic kits play and sound pretty decent with the exception of the cymbals, which sound like garbage irregardless of price point.
My church went with a hybrid kit (electronic drums and real cymbals) for several years and it worked pretty well. They are definitely worth considering for jobs/venues where volume control is paramount and a small stage footprint with extremely quick set-up / tear down is desired. Also, when channels on the sound board are at a premium and/or the sound engineer is inexperienced or incompetent at properly mic'ing, EQing and mixing a drum kit. Many churches fall squarely within those criteria as do most casino gigs and certain private jobs.
The other thing to realize is, if you are going to go 100% electronic drums you had damn well better be running through a good P.A. with subs or it will sound like the drum loop on a Casio keyboard, no matter how high-end the kit might be.
Now if you're playing venues where image matters, the winner -- always -- is acoustic drums. People do hear with their eyes. True story, band I used to be in, we played the first couple of years with our drummer on electrics and then he switched to acoustics and no joke, the first gig we played about 3 or 4 people independently all came up to us and said, "wow you guys sound a lot better than last time I saw you."
If consistency of sound (more than volume per se) is the big issue then triggering an acoustic kit is also an option. And allows you to retain the stage presentation and onstage ambience of acoustics.
That being said...
The more expensive electronic kits play and sound pretty decent with the exception of the cymbals, which sound like garbage irregardless of price point.
My church went with a hybrid kit (electronic drums and real cymbals) for several years and it worked pretty well. They are definitely worth considering for jobs/venues where volume control is paramount and a small stage footprint with extremely quick set-up / tear down is desired. Also, when channels on the sound board are at a premium and/or the sound engineer is inexperienced or incompetent at properly mic'ing, EQing and mixing a drum kit. Many churches fall squarely within those criteria as do most casino gigs and certain private jobs.
The other thing to realize is, if you are going to go 100% electronic drums you had damn well better be running through a good P.A. with subs or it will sound like the drum loop on a Casio keyboard, no matter how high-end the kit might be.
Now if you're playing venues where image matters, the winner -- always -- is acoustic drums. People do hear with their eyes. True story, band I used to be in, we played the first couple of years with our drummer on electrics and then he switched to acoustics and no joke, the first gig we played about 3 or 4 people independently all came up to us and said, "wow you guys sound a lot better than last time I saw you."
If consistency of sound (more than volume per se) is the big issue then triggering an acoustic kit is also an option. And allows you to retain the stage presentation and onstage ambience of acoustics.
True, even people like Rihanna and Wacka Flocka Flame perform live with real drums. They are a status symbol.
Just one other thing... I have found it's really counter-productive to try and convince a hardcore acoustic drummer to go electric (or vice versa). They've chosen their instrument for very personal reasons (as do us bassists) and if you're asking a drummer to make that radical of a change you had better be extremely tactful and persuasive, expect a good deal of pushback and be prepared to offer a very convincing reason (often in the form of $$) for them to make the switch.
What awful 80's sound???? They haven't had that awful 80's sound since well, ummmm, the 80's. Unless of course you WANT that sound, it is most likely still available. And lots of other sounds too!
Anyone that can't get rid of the 80's sound either doesn't get it, or just isn't trying. (Or maybe has a set of e-drums from the 80"s?)
