Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

i'm trying to get my drummer to get some electronic drums. he's wants to up grade to a better acoustic set. My suggestion was based on recording and sound management in live preformances. mainly recording so what do you thing. Oh i not a drummer. I'm a guitarist.

Electric is easier to hook up and tear down. Sound/tone-wise? Depends on the drummer and the set, tbh. I've been proven wrong when I said electric always sounds bad.

I've worked with 2 drummers that used them. The 1st was great, cuz he'd clearly thoroughly checked out their capabilities & used them well. The 2nd hadn't, & it showed...sounded flat, poorly mixed, & awful.

1 thing a drummer can't do with electric drums is play a proper sidestick on the snare it just ain't the same, the benefit to electric drums is you can play with a lower stage volumn this gives the soundman more control they take up less space in your car and on stage. It comes down to preference I have to say most musicians prefer playing with an acoustic kit we are just used to them. Electric drums sound way thinner on stage especially if you use in ear monitors you don't get that bleed thru the earbuds and this can freak you out and make the acclamation time very unpleasent untill you get used to them. They are not really any easier to set up.
If you play heavy music you will not like them.

Honestly, I've never sat down and played them in a serious setting. Kinda messed with them at Guitar Center a few times, that's about it.

Personally, I'm an old-timer that prefers my acoustic set. If at this point in my experience, I can't control my own volumes and intonation, it's time hang up the sticks and forget it!

I suppose sound guys love em for a variety of reasons, but I'll keep mine for a variety more!

Steve-o has gone back to skins man.

What J said rings true. Nothing Steve did with the electronic matched what he is doing with his new set. especially on the HEAVY STUFF

I've played with a drummer who had both acoustic and electric, and I have to say, electric drums are cheesy as...Well, anyway, I understood that he played them in places where volume was an issue (apartments, coffee shops, mom and dad's basement), but they just didn't sound right. I watched a band play at an open mic a couple years ago using electric drums. It was acoustic guitar, fretless bass, and "Def Leppard" sounding electrics. Horrible!!!

A lot of these testimonies are clearly referring to older electric drum sets.

The newer electric sets are very good. A lot has changed even in the past couple of years.

You can get heads now that have a gel filling in them that makes them respond just like a real skin. Sampling has become so much better in the past decade that you can now get electric drums that sound "real", and don't sound like Def Leppard. Most electric kits now come loaded with multiple kit samples and most are very high quality. You can also replace samples with even higher quality sample packages via computer interfaces, etc. And the cymbal technology has changed so much; you can program the cymbal triggers to respond with different samples based on where you hit the cymbal.

Electric drums have an added benefit: you can practice with headphones.

A decade ago I wouldn't have considered electric drums worth a darn. Now, they're very, very good. I definitely think any drummer considering buying a new set should at least do the homework and research the electric sets thoroughly before buying anything.

The more expensive electronic drums are "samples" of actual drums not an electronic approximation. If stage volume and overall sound mix is an issue than I would have to side with the electronic drums. It all depends on the drummer.

A previous poster was right in saying that things have certainly got better regarding the quality of electronic kits, but, .the real problem for a drummer is that of monitoring, real drums talk back at you, so to speak, and so you'll need really good monitoring to get the same sort of feedback (I don't mean the squeely kind ). It can work..but its not just a case of plugging them in and off you go.....
If you could rent a set for a couple of gigs, that'd be by far the best way to go I think, rather than spending the money and end up not satisfied.

Cheers

Nos

As a guitarist I sometimes play on a preamp unit instead of an amp. Its not the same as an amp.

I would think if a drummer grew up with real drums he would prefer real drums.

From working a lot in my tiny studio I agree with Nosmo but to a point.
Yes the drums provide feedback but also that resonance provides a timing problem if the live band does not have suitable monitors in place.

Also electronic drums are very unforgiving which I feel can only make you a better player.

If I could afford it I'd have an electronic kit for Rehearsal/Recording then use the real deal on stage.

Before drums I used a chair with a vinyl covering. Its amazing what sounds can be produced from just a vinyl seat cover not to mention your Moms sofa of an evening.

At the end of the day its personal choice isn't it? There are some really good drummers on the video section here and on You Tube.

I'm a fan of a combination, if you have like 2 tom's and a floor that are electric you can still practice a lil bit in volume restricted settings, you can do interesting things with them, and you still have your real kit to bang around on, but no electric cymbals, that's for sure, nothing looks better then moving brass and MORE COWBELL!!!!!!!

The nearest I ever came to hybrid was using rota toms and having to play along with a pre-recorded drum track live.
I think Phil Colins used a Hybrid once but stern followers booed him for it.