Watch it - you can't be the look of a double bass and tux either.
It sure depends "where" though.
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Live with an electronic drumkit . . .
- Thread starter Vandy
- Start date
Watch it - you can't be the look of a double bass and tux either.
It sure depends "where" though.
It depends on how he monitors himself. If on IEMs, E-drums can be a problem solver. If on a wedge or two, he replaces a too-loud good sounding kit with a too-loud poorly reproduced kit. Sound wise, I don't much care for the drums, but don't mind the cymbals. In many cases the ideal would be real kick and toms with E snare and cymbals. (I've never had toms be too loud. Cymbals and snare most always. Kick only a few times.)
I have played in bands with them and I like them...no better or worse then acoustic. However I will say that they still have not been able to copy the dynamics of a snare roll on electric drums. Close but it's just not there yet.
Other side of that coin!
And I've always felt that the cymbals were horrible and that electric kick & toms were great... of course you do need decent equipment & samples. We currently trigger just the kick, either with EZDrummer or the Roland brain, and tweak from there a little.
Snare... ummm, probably not. Unless it's a very straight ahead rock type song, where there is no fancy stuff going on.
My new band's drummer uses a good electronic set and I really like them. Its a pretty good and pricey set so it sounds really good. In my old band, the drummer was really good but had no other mode other than Bam-Bam lol. So live it was a big pain because he was so loud that we needed to be able to hear ourselves so we had to turn up. It became ridiculous.
Now, we can keep the stage volume way down or practice without the volume wars.
Now, we can keep the stage volume way down or practice without the volume wars.
Starting a new band, and wanting to get control of the volume and balance on stage, I was looking into an e-kit, but the drummer nor I really liked the looks, so I’m going to do triggers on the drums, and I just ordered a set of Zildjian Gen 16s for cymbals. I hope this will give us the best of both worlds.
Roland TD 30 (new this year) can do brush swirls. It really is an amazing kit. Hihats move realistically, great sounds and awesome feel. They really addressed alot of the "issues" of older models.
I play both acoustic and electric drums and truly prefer the acoustic kit, but some situations demand different - so I slum it 
. The drum sounds don't bother me, but the cymbal sounds do. Everything is a less actual, if you know what I mean - dynamics are compromised, play styles have to be adjusted, and (no matter how nice the kit) they feel a little like toys.
. The drum sounds don't bother me, but the cymbal sounds do. Everything is a less actual, if you know what I mean - dynamics are compromised, play styles have to be adjusted, and (no matter how nice the kit) they feel a little like toys.
I believe in them enough that I own a set.... not to play... just to play live.
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OVERALL the set may not be the best quality... many times drummers will not fully read how to use the "brain"
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Through the mains NOTHING compares to the sound for small to mid size venues with less than 2 sound crew folks.
The upside is you don't have volume wars...
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OVERALL the set may not be the best quality... many times drummers will not fully read how to use the "brain"
----
Through the mains NOTHING compares to the sound for small to mid size venues with less than 2 sound crew folks.
The upside is you don't have volume wars...
For "looks" you can always use the front of the cage for a banner... covers up the look..
I'd guess 3/4 of the folks in the audience can not tell the drums are VDrums.
Much of this really is stage planning... like IEM there are folks who will object who have never successfully implemented.
I'd guess 3/4 of the folks in the audience can not tell the drums are VDrums.
Much of this really is stage planning... like IEM there are folks who will object who have never successfully implemented.
The 80s band I'm in has been using electronics for the last 4 drummers, and of those, one played them well (had the top end Roland set) and the rest have had serious difficulties with them. Unfortunately the good player also had a very bad attitude.... so we move on. The current player sounds SIGNIFICANTLY better on acoustics, but as has been mentioned before, I think it's a threshold thing. The guy who sounded good on electronics both had the high end set AND was a natural.
For us, the deal-breaker has been high hat feel.
But a big +1 on the cymbal volume advantage for electronics. I like that the drummer sounds competent on the acoustics, I don't like the ringing in my ears that follows practices with the acoustics. Its why I'm going back to IEMs for practice.
For us, the deal-breaker has been high hat feel.
But a big +1 on the cymbal volume advantage for electronics. I like that the drummer sounds competent on the acoustics, I don't like the ringing in my ears that follows practices with the acoustics. Its why I'm going back to IEMs for practice.
A good kit is a must, and then a player and sound guy who know their way around it. If you have those things then it is beautiful thing as far as stage volume and even sound to front of house. My guitar player and I can actually talk on stage while playing easily and it sounds great. As far as looks, I don't think bar band crowds care unless it is some kind of heavy rock crowd that is all worried about appearances and such, for general party bar music they just want things to sound good. YMMV. I am continually amazed on how good some of the kits sound these days, it is not the 80's any more that is for sure.
I love them when they're done right, although they are still lacking for cymbals, IMO. Maybe an electronic set with real cymbals (at least hi-hats) would be the best of both worlds for me.
The guy I played with a couple of bands ago played them exclusively. He claimed he wasn't very good on a real kit (???) but I thought he sounded great on his Rolands. I know he put in a lot of time dialing in his sound (on his own time) & I really felt he got the most out of them.
Here he is at a reunion of his last band. I wasn't there, but that's my singer on this vid.
The guy I played with a couple of bands ago played them exclusively. He claimed he wasn't very good on a real kit (???) but I thought he sounded great on his Rolands. I know he put in a lot of time dialing in his sound (on his own time) & I really felt he got the most out of them.
Here he is at a reunion of his last band. I wasn't there, but that's my singer on this vid.
Found an example of the guy I was talking about. Awesome feel and a great pocket... he just incorrectly thought that meant he never had to work on his parts. You can sound flawless right up to the part where you leave everyone off the cliff (and he had exactly that tendency 
)
Girls on Film
)Girls on Film
I can't actually confirm this?
There's a Roland Video of a very good drummer playing with brushes - but I just can't hear the swirl. I think it's trickery.
Otherwise the kit looks and sounds stellar. Even cymbals. Roland knows what they are doing.
I personally prefer the vibe, effect and sound of a real kit playing behind me, but I think for a busy function band, electronic kits have their uses. My band have spoken about them a few times after a couple of awkward function gigs where volume has been a problem.
A band can only play as quietly as the drums. Sure, our drummer isn't the quietest, but even playing gently can prove loud when there's a restaurant manager next door to the function suite coming in every 10 mins to ask us to turn down even more. I believe I actually told her, my volume is only on '1', if I turn down any more, my amp is going off! Grrrr.
Anyway, with problem venues like this, it would be dead easy to use and electronic kit, DI the bass, amp sims for the guitars and just control the entire mix and stage volume from the PA.
A band can only play as quietly as the drums. Sure, our drummer isn't the quietest, but even playing gently can prove loud when there's a restaurant manager next door to the function suite coming in every 10 mins to ask us to turn down even more. I believe I actually told her, my volume is only on '1', if I turn down any more, my amp is going off! Grrrr.
Anyway, with problem venues like this, it would be dead easy to use and electronic kit, DI the bass, amp sims for the guitars and just control the entire mix and stage volume from the PA.
Ask a pianist to play synth.
Totally different instrument working on the same principle.
Can't compare as they are totally different beast.
That's how I see them.
IME the better kits with mesh are worth it , but cymbals are still not there me thinks if we talk about reproducing an acoustic kit. Can't wait to hear the new Roland kit wich adress this (so they say)
Can you play synth sounds/sampler on an acoustic drum ?
Totally different instrument working on the same principle.
Can't compare as they are totally different beast.
That's how I see them.
IME the better kits with mesh are worth it , but cymbals are still not there me thinks if we talk about reproducing an acoustic kit. Can't wait to hear the new Roland kit wich adress this (so they say)
Can you play synth sounds/sampler on an acoustic drum ?
