Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

I like real drums best. Real drums with triggers are cool too. I like HUGE drums, 18 and 20 for toms huge - that's just me, I love the sound of big drums.

I originally wanted to be a drummer, so I live it vicariously through others to an extreme. LOL!

I can see it being a real advantage. Sounds easier to set up and tear down, and not having a mic on everything does eliminate potential feedback problems. Being able to play both might give you more options for recording as well. Sounds like it really worked for you, that's what it's all about. Good job. Later...

Thanks Bob.

imho, electric drums are very useful in the small venues.

My old band used them when the room had a low ceiling, or was just tiny, and it really worked for us. (Our drummer was truly great, too)

But damn, don't they look funny on a stage!

We used the real drums w/triggers in the studio a few times...also very useful...especially when you need to move or remove the odd hit. There was one song that was driving us crazy during the mixing for hours, & we couldn't figure out what was wrong, until my buddy decided to try moving one snare snap. Then, everything just fell magically into place. We played it for the drummer & he couldn't even find where we did it. I think it was cuz that's what he meant to play...

I'm a drummer first, and play guitar as a hobby, and I own both a high-end Roland V-drum kit, and a Pearl acoustic kit. I find that the v-kit is a perfectly acceptable substitute for acoustic, providing that:
1. You are using mesh-head triggers. (for a live feel when playing)
2. You have to have a filtered subwoofer tap, and subwoofer for the bass
and low tom sounds, or else you don't get the 'feel' of a real drum kit.
(this applies only to live situations)
Some of the main advantages are:
- Being able to get clean recordings where the drum track contains only
the drums.
- A variety of percussion instruments available at your fingertips.
- The ability to easily play under any instrument, even an un mic'd
acoustic guitar, in a live situation. (most of today's drummers have
never learned the playing finesse necessary to 'play under' other
instruments).
Having said all that, I have to add, that as a long-time drummer, I still prefer to play my acoustic kit.

The idea of V drums is great. You could set them and plug in a couple of wires and every night they sound the same, and you have volume control.

On the other hand this weekend I was talking to a drummer friend of mine about starting another band and what did he think about electric drums and he said if you get rid of your amp I'll get rid of my drums. I guess its kind of the same thing.

That's very true, and I feel the same way, but then I learned my craft playing in small combos with little, or no amplification, and my original lessons were traditional 'swing' jazz, so I had to learn how to play under other instruments......When your lead guitarist and bass player are cranking out 1,000 Watts or more, it's not really hard, but try playing an acoustic kit in a three-piece combo where the highest output is less than 30 Watts, in small venue.

AS an old timer that has major hearing loss after 30 years of playing live at loud volumes; I’m leaning towards quieter stage volumes. We now go ‘direct’ without miking amps (as well as not having to lug them). Now my monitor is where I hear everything at a controlled volume. The couple of times the drummers I’ve gigged with had electronic drums I actually liked it. With the exception of them not hitting real cymbals, which make it harder to see cues.

Lower stage volume has its benefits. One would be, having to ability to still hear high frequencies at 52 (I can’t hear crickets anymore and have ringing in my ears 24/7).

Another is control. Your sound guy will be able to do a much better job for you when not fighting the additional feed back of all the extra mikes and or the bleed through from the stage; especially when the guitarists begin their “I can’t hear myself so I’ll turn up wars”.

Remember guys; protect your ears, once it’s gone it’s gone, trust me on that one.

According to the feedback that I get from my drummer friends: electric kits make you sloppy because every strike is a perfect strike sound wise.
Which I guess is their way of saying that the dynamics just arent there.

I am glad you bumped this one ZIP. We are very pleased so far with the results of Steven using the Electric kit. Though I can see tha validity of most of the negative points made here, most can be or are negated in our case by the ease of transport, availability of diverse sounds, and the ease of recording and monitor levels have been a great benefit. The hardist adjustment thus far seems to be the Bass drum tone and level.
And for Steve-o to aclumate to having no rebound on the strikes.

I think most drum brains leave a lot to be desired in terms of sound... and this holds them back. the roland is about the best out there but it's synthetic and no sub for good samples. I freq use a td9 pad kit to fire real drum sounds thru an emu. Once you get access to bob clearmountain / big fish / beta monkey one hit sounds... you'll never go back.

Is an elec kit a sub for a real kit? never.

I've been fortunate enough lately to be jammin with two different high-end drummers in two different projects (too bad they won't let me put any of our recordings up on here yet: Damn!). Both of them prefer digital sets in the studio as opposed to acoustic for the sheer fact that they are less of a pain to deal with and they provide a much more precise sound at speed than the acoustic ones do. When it comes to actually playing a show though, they both prefer the acoustic sets primarily for stage presence. I'm no drummer, but this is just what they prefer...Both of them have monstrous speed and technique as well.