electronic drums...i need help

[colman75]

I'm not a drummer at all, but my wife is and is interested in electronic drums. I'm trying to find some used electronic drums, but don't really know what models I'm looking for. I want to get something that sounds really good, but don't have the budget to buy the newest technology. Can someone list some older Roland v-drum models that would sound pretty good? Or Yamaha.....anything that sounds good. Please note, I don't know the difference between different models of v-drums. Which reminds me, are the Roland TD-5 and TD-7 actually "v-drums"? Any advice would be appreciated!!!

[ackthbtbthotmail.com]

I have a roland td-7 that suits my recording and occaisional

gigging purposes just fine. They can be had for $800-1000 used, depending on accessories. None of the Yamaha kits i've tried had any semblance of good acoustic sounding drums. Surprising really, as they make good gear in most departments.

The TD-5 would be a bit cheaper, but the sounds aren't as good, or as plentiful. And the kit is smaller.

 

As for the V-drums, they are the best on the market, IMO, but are much spendier. I think the Td-7 would suit the Mrs. just fine.

[larrytkennedyexcite.com]

I have to agree and disagree with the previous post.

Yes, the -5 and -7 Rolands would be good choices, if you could find a full system used.

I own a Yamaha DTXpress kit, which is available at discount for about $1000, and feel that it produces a perfectly acceptable acoustic drum and cymbal sound.

 

Is the DTXpress sound as good as V-drum sounds? Nope - and a Chevy doesn't handle as well as a Mercedes!

 

V-Drums and Yamaha's new DTXtreme are indeed the top-of-the-line stuff - great sounds and feel! But, you'll spend $2500 or more for the least expensive stuff of "V-type", and you're unlikely to find these used.

 

I guess the question would be what does your wife want to do with the electronic drums? If she'll be playing for a long period of time, she will tire from the hard rubber pads of the non-"V drums". If playing for short periods (15 to 45 minutes) or with a few minutes break between songs (such as during a church service), the hard pads will be fine.

One suggestion - I find I do better "comfort-wise" with electronic pads if I use a smaller stick, such as a 5A.

 

Feel free to e-mail me if I can be of further assistance.

[Jazzman]

Hi colman75, just some more to think about.

 

If you are looking for an electronic set for the wife, I'd go for the gusto! V-Drums, and here is my take on this.

 

Expensive but as good as it gets for the real thing, headphones and all. Of course there are other types of electronic sets, but the triggers are not all that good. By this I mean the rubber pads my not allow the triggers to react properly to get the stick action required. Some triggers of yester-year were not that responsive as of the ones of today. You will find through further investigation that you need to apply constant stick pressure for the triggers to respond. The harder type pads, I believe would best be suited for rock type songs where you don't need to hear a lot of stick action..........but if you need to play jazz,R&B,easy listening types where a lot of stick action is required or the wife has this potential, get the V-Drums.

 

Don't get me wrong, most sets of today sound good but if you are doing intricate stick action the response to the action will be choppy, and may get her upset especially if you don't apply the same pressure to the pads all of the time.

 

In addition, Roland makes cymbal pads that react the same as the real thing, or very close to the real thing. They have 3 points or triggers on the cymbals along with the ability to mute the cymbal with the hand.

 

I've played on these several times at a local music store drum shop and I must say that the sounds are cool as well as the action that I'm looking for to my studio work. I plan on getting a set soon. I'm not in any hurry right now, other studio expenses taking up my extra cash, along with my two sons in college.

 

All in all, take the wife to visit some proshops and try out a few sets and see what I mean. Once you play on V-Drums you will have a hard time getting your wife off of the throne.

 

Anyone else can churp in and add to my way of thinking.

 

Good luck my friend. Peace

 

Jazzman

 

[ 12-22-2001: Message edited by: Jazzman ]

[Passeist]

I've spent a bit of time (too much) shopping around for a reasonably priced set of electronic drums to use as a practice kit and I've come to the conclusion that such a thing doesn't exist.

 

Yamaha's DTXpress kit comes the closest, but...

 

For about 33% more, you can get Roland's TD6K kit. In Canadian dollars, that means I can spend $1500 on a high-end set of practice pads, or I can spend $2000 on a stage-worthy set of electronic drums.

 

The Yamaha kit isn't terribly responsive. Light strokes just drop out of the mix. If you increase sensitivity, hard strokes are interpreted as multiple strokes. The kit comes with a dual-zone snare pad, meaning the centre and the rim of the pad have two different sounds, but no one at the store could get the dual-zone feature to work. Also, the sounds of the Yamaha kit are a bit cheesier than the cheesy Roland sounds.

 

I looked into building my own drums and using an Alesis drum module, but once I factored in all the parts, the cost of the module and a few $ for my time, there was no real saving.

 

The best alternative to the Roland kit that I've seen is an acoustic set played with brushes. Far classier, but not adequate for the beer soaked music I need to practice.