Playing Electronic Drums

[YamahaPlayer]

Haha don't get me wrong. I despise ekits.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

I'm looking into an e-kit now. Not a fan, but I need to get one so I can practice more kit stuff without having to leave the house all the time. Doesn't need to be big, but must be affordable and not sound too anoying.

TD-4 looks interesting........

[Gaddabout]

I'm looking into an e-kit now. Not a fan, but I need to get one so I can practice more kit stuff without having to leave the house all the time. Doesn't need to be big, but must be affordable and not sound too anoying.

TD-4 looks interesting........

If you have even sized toms, buy mesh heads for a kit. Cheaper and quieter (your neighbors will still hear the tippy tappy of the e-kt).

[john lamb]

If sound quality and affordability are your highest priorities, consider building your own instead of buying one. Run it through a PC/Mac for the brain. That way you have massive flexibility as to which sounds you trigger, and can always update it.

You can just do the mesh head thing with triggers on it.

[DSOP]

I'm looking into an e-kit now. Not a fan, but I need to get one so I can practice more kit stuff without having to leave the house all the time. Doesn't need to be big, but must be affordable and not sound too anoying.

TD-4 looks interesting........

I had a TD-4 for a few months (got it when they first came out) and then sold it. The bass drum pad is really annoying. Not steady enough. I'd rather play on a practice pad. Here's a video I made the day I got the TD-4:

[Tombo 7/4]

begin rant/

I execrate electronic drums. From the Tama Techstar (crappiest ever) I played in a Top40 band in the 80s to any high end kits today. I can't play them for more than a minute.
The whole concept is lame fake to me. If I have to practice without disturbing, I prefer rubber pads.

And live they have no life, no impact, no presence even if you crank the volume. I'm now insulted when I see them on a stage and can't help but think the main reason is laziness or lack of dynamics control.

end rant/

[sejuba]

I used to hate ekits... now I´m actually glad they exist.
if you use them with a good software library, its a whole new ball game.
you don´t need an expensive td20 set... i garantee a td-9 + laptop + software library will do the job just fine.
feel is very important, and that you will only get from a real kit, but you can still benefit from practicing with killer sounds and ok feel which
is in my opinion the 2nd best thing you can have.

give it a go.

here´s proof to back up my ideas:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmeJkJA6 ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIAyTQIN ... re=related

[Christopher]

No love for eKits from me either. Altogether too detached of an experience. I think one of the many things that makes acoustic drums so great is their instant concussive nature. All that air moving is a big part of the vibe. 

The only time I like to use electronics is to trigger samples or other instruments that are anything but trying to emulate an acoustic something. Anything but drums or cymbals. 

They bring another whole set of potential headaches though. Now, you have to worry about midi cables, amps, power cables, sound modules, etc. breaking, on top of our usual heads, sticks and cymbal worries.

Although a different animal than a full ekit, I gigged with a DrumKat as part of my kit for years while in a cover band in the 90s. It was useful for what I needed at the time (triggering MIDI sequences, horn stabs, and stuff like that).

I was happy to start leaving it at home though. I don't miss using it much at all.

Not a fan of what happens to your technique on ekits either. They let you get lazy. Drags, ghost notes and most other dynamic type stuff is much more forgiving on pads as opposed to a real drum.

You get on a real kit after playing an eKit for a few weeks and you notice that you've lost some of your touch. That'swhat I've noticed at least.

Yep. Not a fan.

[sejuba]

this is also killer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giFEKDwe ... re=related

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

These are the reasons I haven't picked up an electronic kit before. 2 mins in a music store is already too much for me. lol

With the Zildjian Gen16 stuff coming though, I hope someone can do something similar for the drums.