I'll do anything that pays, but I greatly prefer real drums and it's not even close.
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Your Thoughts On Digital Drums!
- Thread starter CoffeeLove
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I'm also a drummer and I do like them. A lot.
Most drummers approach them incorrectly though....they try to approach them just like an acoustic set. Sit down and play. But you have to treat them more like an electric guitar with modeling processor vs acoustic guitar. You have to take the time to eq them and set the pad sensitivity to your particular playing style. And yes, most of them can also be used to trigger superior drummer or other software for even more realistic sounds.
That being said, the cymbals definitely aren't as responsive or versatile as they are on an acoustic set; however, the drawbacks are definitely outweighed by the volume control.
I played with a drummer that used an electric kit, but he would use real cymbals with it because he did not like the electronic ones. IMO electric drums are great for small to medium gigs. I would prefer acoustic for bigger gigs.
I've been attempting a drum clinic some years ago done by Omar Hakim. The guy demonstrated what he was doing with its Roland TD20 when playing for Madonna and Jennifer Lopez (in big arenas and concert hall) and was really enjoying it. He was saying he liked the feel and also the setup time ;-) He said he could have used an acoustic kit but he preferred an electronic kit for the job. He's playing acoustic drums with its jazz band in small clubs.
I think e-drums are the same as amp modelers for guitar players. Drummer are not hearing their drums the way it's sounding out of FOH. If you compare a full miked drum in a big theatre (were you are standing far enough to not hear acoustic drums) you will find that they sound the same as e-drums (and sometimes e-drum sounds better because the soundman is not overdoing the kick...). So maybe it's the same for some of you, you are used to ear the "drum in the room" sound and not the FOH sound.
Guitar players who don't like modelers are those how are used to "amp in the room" sound. The sound of the guitar amp in FOH or recording is very far from the sound they ear from the amp on stage. Once they are used to the sound of the miked amp they start saying modelers are sounding the same as the real amp, miked with an sm-57 close to the speaker cab. I'm used to that "recorded" sound and I really like amp modelers.
My band is playing direct to FOH with e-drums and I like that after the night my ears are not ringing anymore. So for controlling the volume it's fantastic and 1-2 powered speakers facing us with FOH mix is usually enough.
We played outdoor show last year and the stage was on the beach. People came to see us when they started to hear the show from the other side of the lake. I had some musician friends in that pack and they said they couldn't believe it was not acoustic drums and real amps until they saw us on stage.
I think e-drums are the same as amp modelers for guitar players. Drummer are not hearing their drums the way it's sounding out of FOH. If you compare a full miked drum in a big theatre (were you are standing far enough to not hear acoustic drums) you will find that they sound the same as e-drums (and sometimes e-drum sounds better because the soundman is not overdoing the kick...). So maybe it's the same for some of you, you are used to ear the "drum in the room" sound and not the FOH sound.
Guitar players who don't like modelers are those how are used to "amp in the room" sound. The sound of the guitar amp in FOH or recording is very far from the sound they ear from the amp on stage. Once they are used to the sound of the miked amp they start saying modelers are sounding the same as the real amp, miked with an sm-57 close to the speaker cab. I'm used to that "recorded" sound and I really like amp modelers.
My band is playing direct to FOH with e-drums and I like that after the night my ears are not ringing anymore. So for controlling the volume it's fantastic and 1-2 powered speakers facing us with FOH mix is usually enough.
We played outdoor show last year and the stage was on the beach. People came to see us when they started to hear the show from the other side of the lake. I had some musician friends in that pack and they said they couldn't believe it was not acoustic drums and real amps until they saw us on stage.
I'd say it's advanced more in the last 5 to 7 years than in the whole lifecycle before that. Anyone claiming that the sound of electronic kits is unconvincing may not have heard one lately. Even the cymbals sound really good now.
On the big stages, acoustic drums are no problem. But at most live gigs the every day working band plays (rock, blues, R & B, pop, etc.), the drums are in my view the biggest reason live music is dwindling. Because ordinarily, they just sound horrible. Harsh. Brash. More often than not too loud. And overall, just hard to tolerate without an alcohol buffer.
Before everybody starts taking aim with their flame throwers, I challenge anyone to listen to some live performances on You Tube. Then listen to some studio recordings. On the studio recordings, the drums are highly impactful, but ordinarily not harsh or brash. Often, the drums sound sweet and chewy. Because high grade microphones and massive signal processing are employed to record them. You may make the same compassion between the average bar band (or even function band) and what you hear drum wise at an EDM club with a massive sound system and music pre-recorded in a sophisticated studio. The facts are, there is no comparison.
I say regardless of their drawbacks, digital drums will in almost all cases sound better at the average bar gig / function gig than acoustic drums, and will make a big difference in how listenable the performance is going to be. Obviously, if you have a great drummer, then the differences are not as noticeable. How many of you are playing with such a drummer?
Before everybody starts taking aim with their flame throwers, I challenge anyone to listen to some live performances on You Tube. Then listen to some studio recordings. On the studio recordings, the drums are highly impactful, but ordinarily not harsh or brash. Often, the drums sound sweet and chewy. Because high grade microphones and massive signal processing are employed to record them. You may make the same compassion between the average bar band (or even function band) and what you hear drum wise at an EDM club with a massive sound system and music pre-recorded in a sophisticated studio. The facts are, there is no comparison.
I say regardless of their drawbacks, digital drums will in almost all cases sound better at the average bar gig / function gig than acoustic drums, and will make a big difference in how listenable the performance is going to be. Obviously, if you have a great drummer, then the differences are not as noticeable. How many of you are playing with such a drummer?
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I absolutely love a good drummer. I get to work with some of the best in the country, and feel very fortunate to do so. When the drums are good, I’m good! It’s beautiful and easy. It’s what I live for!
I’m yet to do a live gig where an awesome drummer shows up with an electric kit.
Good drummers can play any feel at any volume. If the rest of the band are behaving/listening.
If you get to see Steve Gadd live you can appreciate this skill first hand.
I once gigged with a (average) drummer who used an electric kit. He brought his own sound system and turned that thing RIGHT UP! Loudest, nastiest gig ever.
I’m yet to do a live gig where an awesome drummer shows up with an electric kit.
Good drummers can play any feel at any volume. If the rest of the band are behaving/listening.
If you get to see Steve Gadd live you can appreciate this skill first hand.
I once gigged with a (average) drummer who used an electric kit. He brought his own sound system and turned that thing RIGHT UP! Loudest, nastiest gig ever.
I can go either way if the kit is a good kit. More importantly is the drummer though ..
A good digital kit can compete very nicely with an acoustic one.. I thought this take was pretty well presented.
A good digital kit can compete very nicely with an acoustic one.. I thought this take was pretty well presented.
I'm with you on all this. In the average club-with-a-band-in-it, the drums sound like crap utterly.
I went to a party recently where a very busy Denver 80s tribute band was playing. E-drums. I was able to carry on a conversation with my wife the whole time, the music sounded great, and the whole thing was simply an unexpected pleasure.
I bought me a digital drum kit last year and I cannot imagine why anyone would bother playing acoustic drums.
I keep hearing it’s about “volume” I’ve had the good fortune of playing with drummers that could groove down so low you could hear the audience talking. But the whole band was capable of breaking it down like that. But fake is the new real, carry on.
Your right, of course. What you describe will always be the ideal, and superior to any alternative. The problem is, that level of musicianship is just not that readily available today. If it was, there would be no digital drums.
Been in 3 band with exclusively electronic kits (they were Rolands as well) so this is the only reason I'm weighing in...
^This
1) As long as it sounds decent (and lets be honest, there are plenty of acoustic solutions that are crap) and the drummer stays on time, we really don't have much room to complain as bassists. Most complaints I hear is from the actual drummers, who cite that they cannot get used to the feel of electronic drums. Fair point, I don't play them so I can't really fault them for that. I like to see a drummer who uses electronic though, and I'll tell you why...
2) Yes, Yes, and YES! I would also add that the ease of using in-ears with this setup is great. Rehearsals can happen at decent volumes in a home or apartment as well. You are kind of at the mercy of the soundguy when playing a gig, but there are controls on the drum module so you can get some control if you want.
The only thing I really see as a big issue is how many points of failure that you have with a fully electronic kit. Connectors, heads, module, hardware, etc...but if it's all working the electronic kits can be great.
I've played a few gigs where another band on the bill used an electronic kit. They used it strictly to reduce the amount of stuff in the band van and allow more control over the drum sound. This was not a rock band, by the way but a band playing 50s honky ronk country and cajun music...styles where you would expect electronic drums to be strictly verboten. It sounded good to me but most importantly the band liked the sound and the drummer was comfortable with leaving his other drum kit at home.
My only experience with e-drums was maybe ten years ago. The idea was to use them for low volume. Maybe these e-drums were crappy. They were being played through a keyboard amp. By themselves, they sounded great. But with the band they sounded like absolute crap to me. Couldn’t ever catch the groove with the damn things. I much preferred just a snare and high-hat to these things for low volume.
I’m sure there are better set ups than this one I dealt with, but give me a real drum kit any day.
I’m sure there are better set ups than this one I dealt with, but give me a real drum kit any day.
Our go-to sub ( who also subs on sax and keys) has the latest greatest Roland kit in his rehearsal space and it is jaw-droppingly amazing. The tech has come so far since I owned a 1st generation edrum kit in the '90s.
Flipside - he normally uses his old Pearl kit with us on gigs. Partly due to the look, but mostly due to the fact that we play small-mid venues without decent FOH.
Flipside - he normally uses his old Pearl kit with us on gigs. Partly due to the look, but mostly due to the fact that we play small-mid venues without decent FOH.
I play extreme metal and prefer acoustic drums; some things still can't be simulated by computers. I have no problem with triggers on the kick drum or something, and having something like an AKAI media controller to trigger samples like bass drops backing tracks and other sound clips. To me there is a big difference in the sound between a live instrument vs digital instruments coming out stereo/PA speakers.
But if the music calls for it, like The Bangles and other 80s rock then it wouldn't sound right with acoustic drums.
But if the music calls for it, like The Bangles and other 80s rock then it wouldn't sound right with acoustic drums.
Having played more than my share of gigs where the drummer playing acoustic drums had to resort to towels over the heads, damping all tone out of the cymbals, playing with rods or even brushes, and the FOH PA was covered by turning the monitors around to face the audience, I have no issue at all with a good set of electronic/digital drums.
The drummer I play with now started on an Alesis electronic kit. Then, it evolved into a hybrid with an acoustic snare and hi hats. Then came an acoustic crash, then an acoustic kick, then a full Yamaha acoustic kit.
The alesis is digital kit sounded good, but the cymbals never seemed quite right. With the acoustic kit, I noticed a similar trait that guitarist and bassist argue about in a different incarnation (tubes vs. plugins/Kemper/Axe FX/etc): sound can be replicated quite well, but FEEL is a whole other animal. The entire band picked up energy when our drummer went to a full acoustic kit. My Zoom B3n sounds great and is awesome for recording and practicing, but the old UK Trace Elliot adds a feel that emulators can't (and probably never will) capture.
If you live in an apartment though, e-kit all day.
The alesis is digital kit sounded good, but the cymbals never seemed quite right. With the acoustic kit, I noticed a similar trait that guitarist and bassist argue about in a different incarnation (tubes vs. plugins/Kemper/Axe FX/etc): sound can be replicated quite well, but FEEL is a whole other animal. The entire band picked up energy when our drummer went to a full acoustic kit. My Zoom B3n sounds great and is awesome for recording and practicing, but the old UK Trace Elliot adds a feel that emulators can't (and probably never will) capture.
If you live in an apartment though, e-kit all day.
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I've always been good with digital drums, but especially now. The sounds are perfect, and I'm an IEM buff, so win-win.
