anyone play (electronic) drums??

[geddyentwistle]

i've got an inexpensive older electronic set at home which is great for controlling volume and recording, but doesn't have the "feel" that drummers like

so, i'm thinking about upgrading and don't have any idea what is the best bang for the buck.. electronic with "real" feel

any suggestions??

[giltgitguy]

I have the Roland kit with mesh heads. It's great for practicing, although still missing many of the nuances of a real kit. Seems to be considered to be far and away the best of the digital drums kits.

[ifailedshapes]

I've been playing drums since I was 5, and while I'm more addicted to guitar gear than drums and cymbals, I'm a much better drummer than guitarist. I've got to say I've never found an electronic kit that matches the sound and/or feel of a nice acoustic kit.

If you're just playing rock songs, and the drummer doesn't have much of a dynamic range, then an electronic kit is passable. If you have a creative drummer who plays with true dynamics, then the electronic kit won't convey all of the nuances of his playing.

With that being said, the Roland V-Drums are probably the best option out there.

[ifailedshapes]

I should also mention that my church uses electronic drums every winter. We put on a large Christmas musical every year, and for 1-2 months it's too much work for the production team to be constantly setting up/tearing down the full kit. I have hands-on experience with tweaking every setting on the Roland kit to make it sound its best, and even when it's setup ideally, there are still little things in my playing that don't make it through the PA.

[explorer76]

Pearl has come out with a digital drum set that looks just like a real drum set. Apparently, you can install normal heads and play it like a regular set too if you decide not to go digital. I played one of these sets at GC just the other day. It's a pretty cool option.....but very pricey!

[pater familias]

Originally Posted by explorer76

Pearl has come out with a digital drum set that looks just like a real drum set. Apparently, you can install normal heads and play it like a regular set too if you decide not to go digital. I played one of these sets at GC just the other day. It's a pretty cool option.....but very pricey!

If you're talking about the EPro Set I think they get pretty bad reviews from drummers.

[Elmer]

I hack away at a Roland kit with mesh heads. I'm not a drummer by any means, but it gets the job done well enough. Feels... pretty good but not as good as the real deal, of course. The sounds in the module (mine is a TD-9) aren't bad, but it's easy enough to replace parts with drum software if you're using the MIDI out.

[Lance]

Another vote for V-Drum mesh heads!

[hobbes1]

i recently played a yamaha dtx540 kit in my local GC. i have a roland td-6v kit with a mesh snare that i picked up used for cheap. while i like the volume control and the kids love the funky sounds in the module, the yamaha silicone pads were far and away better, IMHO, for feel vs. the roland td4kv and td9kv they had nearby.
the yamaha pcy cymbals are well regarded vs their roland counterparts too and are cheaper. you should check out digitaldrummer.com (i think that's the address) for a free webzine on all things eKit. also, V-drum forum and drumchat has a slowmoving but useful ekit subforum. those guys have a ton of knowledge.
i have an inexpensive acoustic kit i'm toying with changing the heads to mesh and adding ddrum external triggers. could then plug into the td6v module or, with software, control VSTi on the mac. lots of options....

[62deluxe]

The drummer in one of my bands has a high end Roland kit with lots of extras. I get to play it once in a while at sound checks and such. It is very responsive and very easy to play, but lacks some of the subtleties and doesn't have the dynamics of my real set. Really fast and fun to play though, and sounds great in our band context.
I notice that he has problems with control and dynamics when playing my drums at rehearsals, he's used to using a volume control rather than restraint to manage his volume.

[Tuco]

Anyone have experience with the Hart Dynamics kits? Pricey, but I've read very good things about them.