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As a teacher, I have found that students often start off on a rubber practice pad or seat cushion. Many students with acoustic kits are severely limited in the time and duration of their practice, due to noise constraints. Students who are willing and able to do more practice will benefit from that practice, regardless of what playing surface they are using. The availability of inexpensive mesh head kits like the Alesis Nitromesh, in my opinion give e drum students the opportunity for more hours of practice, the ability to play along to songs with more clarity resulting in better timing, and don't require ear plugs to protect young ears.
So much truth in your comment (and gatekeeping in this video). I started on an entry level Alesis a couple years ago. Videos like this really discouraged me, I remember watching this and feeling like I wasted my time and money. I used Drumeo for lessons and the Alesis built-in metronome graded my accuracy in real time. Really if you're an average person, and you don't want a 1-on-1 teacher, you need the e-kit features (and a mirror) to grade yourself objectively. I finally got an accoustic kit, because people kept saying how different the 'feel' was in videos like this, and have all the best quiet accessories to practice at home. But I never use them, cheap thin mesh heads are awful (quiet cymbals are great though), and things like the RTOM Black Hole are 10x as loud as an e-kit pad. I still have my accoustic kit for playing out, but I upgraded my e-kit to a VAD Roland and keep the accoustic put away most the time. And with most mesh heads being tuneable these days, the whole 'feel' thing is pretty nonsense. I would just say if you can, before starting out on an e-kit, sit down at an accoustic set just to understand how they are typically spaced out and help you understand where to put yours as you're getting started (that is if you even want to switch over like I did, they are different instruments. Ekits aren't 'toys'. It's accoustic vs electric essentially)
Totally agree. And I would add that playing drums should be a pleasure and not a constraint, which was the case for me. Now I can play without disturbing my neighbors and even if I probably don't have a great technique, I have fun and I know that I can still play on acoustic drums. This kind of video doesn't make me want to play anyway.
If I couldn’t get a cheap and quiet electric kit I wouldn’t have been able to discover my love of drums for the same reasons I couldn’t explore the instrument when I was in high school like I wanted.
I had the experience last week of moving from years and years on Roland kits (currently TD30kv) to an acoustic kit. It only took 10 mins to adjust to dynamics and feel for ghost notes / rebounds. Didn't cause me an issue and I expected it would.
exactly as you can more easily adjust because you are already familiar with the patters as sounds change so will your technique slightly to adjust same as any other person alive simply switching between different acoustic kits with different tensions and sounds
Here's my problem with a video like this... as you mention, some people simply don't have a choice but to play on an electronic kit. So someone living in an apartment with roommates might see this video and think "Well, I guess an e-kit will do more harm than good, so I might as well not even start until my situation changes." which could be years, or decades... I know it wasn't your intention - and you made sure to offer up plenty of disclaimers throughout the video - but this still just comes off as elitist and risks turning people in certain situations away from taking that first step towards learning how to play the drums. Basically, I just don't understand what a video like this is aiming to accomplish?
I also feel it's a slap in the face to anyone whose main kit is an ekit. My main kit is a Roland VDrum kit I've had for 16 years, which has had so many upgrades I don't think anything is original anymore. Also, MANY stage drummers use ekit components or entire ekits, and even more use triggering on their acoustic kit.
yeah this kinda put a dent in my dream to be good at electric drums. I live in a town and sound goes through the walls easily :/ i can’t use non electric instruments
Someone who gets air drumming! Finally. Seriously though, air drumming can actually build the muscle tone and coordination. I've seen guys like Sully Erna do it. It really does work even if it looks foolish. My good Vic Firth 5An sticks are heavy enough to make me sore!
This is a misconception .My drumming improved significantly when I started practising on e kits .The integrated click on inbuilt songs in the module really allows you to perfect your timing ,also the smaller pads force you to be more accurate with your hits .The monitor system with headphones and ability to record your self means no mistake goes unnoticed . I also completely disagree with you on the point that you don't have to be as accurate on an e kit because it has a perfect sound coming out , Its the opposite.The sound is clear and focused and you can not hide behind a wall of sound and cymbal wash. Electronic drums also show your imperfections related to the timing.This because each trigger is set to a certain decay or gate length , meaning every sound has an exact amount of time from when it start to when it ends .This higlights your timing issues like nothing else .Granted I gig with ekits
Your right, I have a low end alesis nitro. I also have a Tama 10 PC with 3000.00 worth of k Zildjian and paste cymbals with 700.00 worth of high end demon pedals. Hell my drum heads cost more than that alesis. Now, I love my little nitro because unlike what this guy says it has made me a 1000 times better drummer, your comment above states the reason why. The fact I can plug into a computer without 15 microphones and a 1000 dollar interface. Alesis nitro blows everything he says out the door. Good comment. Been thrashing my nitro over a year, it has become a 7 PC. And I play it every day. My imperial star gets beat up to and the alesis without a doubt has improved my playing way more than my Tama ever could have.
Bullshit. A good drummer can play on a soup pot from the dollar store and get music out of it. My ekit took about 4 grand to build and i can transition to acoustic perfectly. A drummer is a drummer and can play on anything, as long as they study dynamics and how to hold back when necessary from a theory standpoint.
I have no room to set up an acoustic kit so if I want to practice I have to hire a drum practice studio. I have room for an e-kit though and I reckon that even a cheap one would be better than not practice at all.
Ooh that’s tough! I’d agree that anything is better than nothing at all. You can focus on timing and coordination, regardless of the quality of your setup (both great things to work on!). Then later on you can always upgrade your setup. Now if you can afford to regularly rent out a practice space...or you have a friend with a studio or something...that’s awesome! Even if you only do that a couple times a month.
It is important to first develop proper form on an acoustic kit, but if you already have, an electronic kit can be very useful. Practicing concepts, limb independence, and timing can all be done pretty seamlessly on an e kit. Also, if you have a smaller kit with mesh pads, you can always line the toms up farther apart to resemble an acoustic set and tune down the mesh heads to reduce bounce.
As someone that never played the drums and wants to get a set, an e-kit is perfect for me. I need to learn coordination and songs before I can actually learn to play on my own. Also, the sound is a huge thing for me.
25+ years ago, I started on an acoustic setup, but the noise was upsetting to others who were living with me at the time, so I went to an Ekit, and yes, it is a different feel, you couldn't get all the sounds out of those lower end kits(rimshots, ghost notes, fast double stroke rolls ect.) but when I upgraded to a mesh style drum heads, it was a game changer, still the technology was not quite there yet 20 years ago for both sound and the mesh heads, fast forward to now, the kits have become ALOT better sound/trigger/pad wise, you can upgrade the factory mesh heads to drum tec's real feel heads (I highly recommend doing that!) you can buy mesh heads & triggers for an acoustic kit then pick out the module of your choice, the list goes on, and the best thing about an Ekit, is you can have percussion as an option while using a built in metronome...there is no end to the possibilities! so don't become discouraged about this video, this video made me feel that he's saying you can only use a baby grand piano, opposed to an electronic keyboard, or an acoustic guitar, opposed to an electric one. I've been using Ekits for 20 years now, and I can tell ya, it has made my playing far better, better than an acoustic kit will ever do! due to the fact that I never have to subconsciously worry about bothering my roommates/neighbors.
@Cypher NX I agree man.. It's like comparing Samsung and Apple.. They're both great when you get a high level device.. Same here. When drums are bad, it's detrimental to your playing (regardless if it's acoustic or electric).. When they're good, you have a better chance of improving and inspires you to keep going! I do think you should play both. Greetings mate.
Jdb87002_2 Cheap E kit* As a Drummer, I can also go all day with the “dangers of practicing with a cheap acoustic set” and give the acoustic kits a bad rap just for playing on a cheap set instead of doing things right and evaluate them for what they really are. And I don’t think Stephen is doing that here with Electric Kits. Go tell the Drum-Tec Drummer that there’s “dangers on practicing on an electronic kit”. The tool doesn’t make the musician. Was what I was trying to say
Hi Stephen, some good points. However, I understand you use Remo Silent Strokes. These mesh heads suck, because they are bouncy as hell and are especially bad for practicing. The Mesh head on my electronic drum snare is drum-tec real feel mesh head, which feels almost like a real acoustic head. Furthermore, the cheap junk electronic drum kits are not a standard, they are bad advertising for e-drums in general. And since practicing is important, you probably should not save here. You can get a second hand Roland flagship for less than 2K and set it up to react like an acoustic drum set. The outcome is that you will hear every little mistake, especially if you play back a recording.
Well he uses duct tape on the Silent Strokes which reduces the bouncing a lot to the point where it is close to the real feel mesh head from drumtec. Also it depends on what you want to play. If you will gig on an e kit then buy an e kit and if you want to gig on acoustic drums then get a practice kit like Stephen has. Also some just don't have a lot of money to spend for a good e kit around 2k. For me that is the case. I had less than 1k to spend and so I got a Pearl Export kit which was used but in a great condition for not much money actually and then put on the L80s, Silent Strokes with duct tape for toms and the Black Hole meshhead for the snare and kick. I ended up with a 900$ solution and I looked at the e kits I could get for that money. Now I am glad that I never got an e kit. I saved money and I am practicing on the kit I would play on for gigs. That was at the beginning. Now I upgraded to a Pearl Decade Maple kit and sold the Export. Still with that new you end up with a 1.5k cost and used you can get to 1.2k. Still better than the e kits you can get for that price.
I've been that guy, dreaming of it for years... and now the dream is true ! ^^ Air drumming is the best friend of beginner, it has helped me more than I could expect becoming a "decent" drummer
I'm almost 50 and I am just starting drum lessons for exercise. I have no illusions or dreams of performing, I just like the drums. I wouldn't mind eventually having an acoustic kit (and a place to play it), but for now I am happy looking for an e-kit to just bang around on.
Why would I spend $500 on a practice kit that takes up lots of space and sounds like crap? Practice is different than rehearsal. Agreed that E-kits play different from acoustic kits but how long does it take to figure that out anyway? If you can't transfer E-kit skills to acoustic kit skills on a moments notice maybe you shouldn't be playing gigs?
I started playing the drums 3 years ago on an Alesis $700 kit. I agree with you 100% Stephen when you said that it isn't good to learn on an e-kit. I recently bought an acoustic drum set and immediately noticed that I was having trouble dealing with the feel and bounce of the heads. I originally wanted to get an acoustic set but the family wasn't having it so in came the e-kit. Good job on this video and good information for new drummers.
Just giving my opinion on e-kit for practice. I bought my first e-kit 4 months ago and love practicing on it as I always practice with music so plugging my phone in and playing along is very easy. It has not affected playing on an acoustic kit one bit. I currently am playing in a 80's/90's rock band but I practice with everything from Steely Dan and Kansas to Ozzy, Iron Maiden and Dio. I must also say I have been playing in the bar scene for 47 years so I am very experienced as a drummer. I did not get a high end kit, I bought the Alesis Nitro for about $400. The kit is light weight but works for now.
Fast forward to 2023, and there are some pretty great e-kits out there.. you can even do a hybrid kit or, transform an acoustic kit to a e kit with triggers. And that way, you kind of get the best of both worlds.
I love my Roland TD11KV. Agreed with most comments. I would add that as we age, the e-kit is safer for our hearing. Snare drum can be brutal on the ears!!
in my situation, im gonna start heading to the place I get my lessons and play acoustic there for a couple hours for "Real practice" adn then play along to some songs at home on my Td-17KVX. So i can be gig ready! :) Great video, im starting to binge them now!
I played acoustic kits for over 25 years, I like most other drummers was not sold into playing with electronic pads due to their limitations and price. I bought a Roland kit, and it has a mesh snare and rubber toms, i added extra cymbal pads and now it has 7 cymbals and the 5 piece kit, in the beginning it was hard for me to get used to playing the rubber pads, i have a decent module so it does have very realistic dynamics, if you play away from the center it does sound very much like a real drum would react with varying sounds depending on where your stick hits. This forced me to be more precise when hitting the pads so i was able to hear the proper samples, I also had to be consistent with force to obtain an even volume, going back to acoustic drums, I realized how much that had helped me, it seemed so much easier, almost not challenging enough. The one thing i will agree with is that the "Perfect sound" of an E-kit will spoil you and when you go back to an acoustic no matter how good, you might be disappointed. Modern E-kits have almost overcome all the limitations that separated them from acoustic. i also love the ability to have different sounds for different songs, the time saving of not having to tune, the fact that in order to carry "real" drums capable of giving me the variety i enjoy with an E-kit i would need a roadie and a big truck, Features like a built in metronome that will check my tempo and help me improve, the ability to record very quickly, being able to control the kit's volume, being able to add a track to play along without the need of much more than a phone and a 1/8 to 1/8 cable . IMHO those are all good reasons to use an E-kit. In the end practice with what you can (noise limitations, budget) and have fun.
Thank you for this video. I've been looking for a reason to get an acoustic kit rather than an E-kit, and didn't realize that the combination of pads, cymbals, and mesh heads were both available and affordable. Now I can get that cheap kit, spend a little extra on the equipment listed, and play something that not only translates better to playing, but also looks much better in the apartment than a tangle of plastic pads and wires.
I agree with low-end e-kits. But for mesh pads and normal kick pad and hi-hat (td12 and newer), you can get same dynamic range and feel - especially using VST plugins. In Superior drummer 3 you can even set different snare zones for snare sound. BFD3 good too. And best thing is that you can try out different cymbals, snares and drums + record them with e-kit. You can't do that with practice kit ))))
Came here because recently returning to playing drums and I have an e kit. Alesis nitro mesh. I dig your dynamics idea about practicing without headphones and volume adjustments. That's smart. I do have a deeper question of why are e kits still looked down upon as not professional? It tends to come off as a bit snooty. Like when folk artists gave Dylan grief for using an electric guitar instead of an acoustic. When I had an acoustic not only was I runnning into extra costs of new heads but also if you want a different crash or ride you are spending a ton of money on one sound. Then you factor in all the mics needed for both live and recording, plus mixers and all that. Suddenly those 2k drumsets don't look as expensive. Most even low end ekits like mine can also use midi to have a different module for the sounds. I feel like acoustic kits are only winning in action and looks. No doubt ekits haven't really reached the feel of acoustic. But honestly I've seen many live performances when an acoustic kit is using triggers anyway. So I guess I'm confused at the stigma of ekits not being professional when they kind of do more for modern drummers and are a bit more practical. Who knows, maybe one day they will be as accepted as electric guitars.
This is so true and it was a wake up call when I jumped from an Ekit to an acoustic on stage and bombed. I now learn via ekit and transition to acoustic when the house is empty
Stephen,i played for 30 years then had to stop bough an e kit play it for five years thought I was buddy Rich joined a band and purchased an acoustic kit and I was totally lost the point your making is spot on
i like the roland td17kvx i got.. i dont think i sound better on it in many ways.. theres advantages to both.. think people just need balance.. for me its been great for every one just plugging in direct to a mixer and not having to set up a ton of mics.. alot of people with e kits i know are fine drummers on acoustic kits.. IF youre really only kncoking 500 dollar e kits then yeah i cant disagree but your sorta lumping them all in one..
What I learned going from entry level e-kit to accoustic: the whole 'feel' argument is bogus gatekeeping. The feel changes more when playing on accoustic heads tuned for rock vs jazz. Mesh heads are nearly indishtinguable nowadays at almost every price point
This video reminds of a major mistake years ago when I decided to spend about $1000 on an Alesis Kit, it sounded OK for practice, then attempted to jam on an acoustic drum set at a music store, it just felt really awkward. After deciding to sell it, and go for a real one to basically almost start from scratch on sound and dynamics (like you mentioned), I just never go back. Awesome channel, Stephen. Thank you for sharing thoughts of wisdom.
Completely agree and here's my experience... I've been playing for a few years and would say I'm at beginner/intermediate level. I recently picked up a 2Box 5 for really cheap, it's a decent quality e kit with mesh heads. I got it because I want to practice everyday and like most regular people I can't practice on my acoustic kit at home due to neighbours etc. So I found I was able to play faster with far less effort on the e kit which translated into me having negative experiences at weekly band practice on my acoustic kit. While I eventually adapted to the hand difference I continued to have trouble with double kicking. As I'm currently working on trying to increase my feet speed, I'm spending a large portion of practice time on it and my struggling with swapping between kits persisted. It was very frustrating, was having a negative effect on the enjoyment of playing and was killing my motivation to practice. After my bassist had the idea, I eventually opted to remove the e kit kick drum and slot an actual bass drum in there instead. I filled it pretty heavily to minimize the sound without completely ruining the rebound and viola, I have a hybrid practice kit and am back to happily progressing everyday.
I've been playing guitar for 10 years and I recently started playing drums and I have an electric kit and I got it because I don't know how to play and I don't want to make any noise
The Puertorican Beast Jonathan Ayala as a new player, its okay. When you progress further into drumming tho, i would advice you to get a real drumset. Afraid of making noise? Buy a Sonor kit! Affordable, small and has sound that is good.
I would recommend getting an acoustic kit asap. You shouldn't give a crap about how you sound atm because you're learning and it takes time to get good. I felt the same at first (I got my first proper kit when I was 7) but when you're in the zone you dont care about with other people hear
Dylan Edwards if he lives in a apartment and wants to play drums without complains, then it might be a little important to not «go all in into the zone».
Or....practice on an e kit and perform on an e kit. Set up time at gigs is reduced by at least 1/2 and sound is always consistent. E drums have come a long way.
I know of a left handed drummer who uses his leccy kit at gigs, as the house kit, or other band's kits are always set up for right handers. Sets it up in front of the house kit, in minutes.
He's completely right in this entire video, but it really depends on your situation. I have an Alesis Command X kit which isn't that bad, that i use for practice in the house. I have an acoustic kit out in my garage with the L80s and black hole RTOMS so my entire acoustic kit is entirely more quiet. The issue is I have a family and simply can't just go out into the garage to practice whenever I want, but I CAN practice on my electric kit in my house with my son running around for a good amount of time. I just do practice books on my electric kit, then only practice actual songs when I'm able to outside on the practice acoustic kit. besides your dynamics being messed up from using an e-kit, what's happening to me that's way worse is my hearing standards are all messed up because of the electric kit. What I mean is that I am used to perfect sound samples from the electric kit when playing, then when I go to the acoustic kit it just sounds god awful. I really don't want to drop hundreds of dollars making it sound better, so I am just stuck at the moment in that hell.
I respectfully disagree from the standpoint of beginner vs semi-professional. I’m playing on the Roland TD-17KVX price point is $1.6K and it’s a great kit. The feel is closely realistic however I am aware of the differences in feel. I’m limited in space and noise levels so for me it’s my best option and I highly recommend this kit.
Hey dude, as someone who's got an e-kit that's wondered about a lot of what you hit in this video. Cheers for sticking it out amidst any negativity. This is some seriously insightful stuff. I'm very much looking forward to enjoying more of your educational content.
Spot on. I have a decent e-kit, Yamaha DTX, and it’s a dust collector. I would say it’s only value was that it was a stepping stone to a real kit. (If you’re just playing in your apartment for fun, ekits are cool, and he made that point) The ekit did inspire me, and helped me discover a talent, but I outgrew it very quickly. Once I started on real drums, I immediately realized how limiting ekits are. The dynamics just aren’t there, and it’s VERY difficult to pinpoint weaknesses. Every hit on an ekit is “right”, so you could be dynamically horrible and inconsistent, but sound perfect- not a recipe for improvement. You can definitely work on speed, rudiments, and such on an ekit but it doesn’t translate. If you really get into what practice is, and muscle memory, and repetitive motion, etc, etc, the fact is an ekit may do more harm than good (IF you want to be a real drummer). When you practice anything seriously, it must be apples and apples, no oranges allowed. If your goal is to JUST make a beat and play ekits for life, then this video isn’t talking to you, so don’t be offended. This is aimed at folks who might think “I’ll just get an ekit and become the next Bonham and hit the arena circuit tours”- no, you won’t. Here’s a guy trying to save you money, save you from making an expensive mistake, AND steer you toward a solid choice for becoming a solid drummer... where is the negativity there? Who could be offended by that? Say thank you, hit the like, and go buy a drum set. Nuff said.
When I first started playing I picked up a used DW go anywhere practice pad kit for $40. Acoustic set ups have never been an option due to space issues in my apartment. Over the past few years I've picked up cheap e-kits before (just never had the wallet for a nicer one) but almost every time I ended up going back to that old $40 practice pad kit. I never had a real reason why, it just always "felt" better. Now I think I know the reason: dynamics. As crappy as that kit was I always knew what I was getting out of it was exactly what I was putting into it. Right now I have a super cheap roland kit which has served me well enough (mostly because I now have the opportunity to go to a studio a couple times a week and play on a real kit, so I've been able to keep myself honest) but every now and then I get tempted to go back to the old pad kit. We'll see how long I stick with this e-kit.
i am one of those people who have no choice but to use my e kit. so i want to thank you for the hints and tips on how to translate to a acoustic kit. i was lucky i played an acoustic kit for few years growing up so io have some idea on what to do .
As a member of one of the largest Int'l E-drum Facebook groups that exist, I guarantee, the biggest Danger Is an arrogant drummer, of any stature and rank etc. who thinks they know everything and can never be wrong. Period!! I started playing on stuff that wasn't even a actual drum like Wayne Brenan mentions below, for 5 years, then played mostly acoustic kits for 30 plus years, I've had full practice pad kits with small cymbals in the 70's to hard rubber Simmons kits in the 80's and 90's and Rolands V-drums a few years later. But it wasn't until 5 years ago I could afford a Real-Feel Mesh head Rolands kit TD 30.... I've play most forms of acoustic Rhythm instruments from round the globe with sticks and with empty hands. And I'm still learning and I am actually playing a kit like never before. And that's after being away from a kit for 7 years due to medical reasons. E'kits saved my drumming abilities and I had almost lost them, and I'm not the only one.... If you really want to learn the truth about the E'Kit situation Join a Group like the one I belong to..... facebook.com/65Drums/photos/gm.777432852690460/1162862333911256/ It's administrated by Justin Greenawalt, an awesome young Rhythmatist (Stewart Copeland's word and the title of his "85 solo album), and Instructor. The group consists of approx. 5,000 members with some of the best Rhythmatists/Instructors in the world !! With a combined knowledge base of 1000's of years of experience. And in the last 4 or 5 years a large percentage of the members are Acoustic kit drummers who have rebuilt their kits, from the shells up, into E-kit conversions. Never have I ever heard any of them say anything like this. It's usually something you hear a mis-informed Acoustic Elitist that will make any kind of negative statement regarding E'kits. "It takes a drum community to raise a true drummer. " - A.J.L.
Dangers? Well risks maybe, but the suffering sustained in e-kit playing will only do your playing harm, if at all. Any alternative to your performance kit may corrupt or confuse your style. Even a practice pad is an analogue of a drumhead. Agree that due to ergonomics an e-kit works easily in a compressed workspace and those critical ergonomic distances between you and each element of a kit are very easily compromised. You can place then toms side by side and speed your playing up with little effort. Add to that the different-to-acoustic playing surfaces of those same elements and there’s a skill shift that you have to calibrate to in your playing. E-kits are generally lighter (non-hybrids etc) and are almost suitcaseful in physical volume and hence appeal to players who simply cant support an acoustic drum suite. I regard the acoustic kit as the performance machine and e-kit as the extensive practice tool or augmentation to the former. As a solo musician/composer if you want to create or record performance an e-kit can take each trigger you stick and make a valued musical statement. The acoustic route often takes considerable hardware overheads and skills to match in addition to the software artistry that the e-kit player can plug into. Both have their value, and they’re both here to stay.
Mudge07 I agree with you on the solo artist part, I trigger kontakt with my custom e-kit and I think I'd be an idiot to start splashing out on not only an acoustic but also the overhead, room and drum mics. That said I have considered moving more into a hybrid set up to get closer to the feeling of a real kit, but its not an urgent matter.
Having a hissy fit doesn't add to the discussion. Some players are tied to exact ergonomics others are more flexible, simply using another kit that's not identical in every way is a deviation. Most players using both acoustic and e-drums have tolerance to it, and progress.
These are good points but a few suggestions in my opinion can lessen any difficulty transitioning from one set to another. Spacing was my biggest problem over the years; e-kits have small racks and you can't adjust your toms or cymbals where you have them on your acoustic set. I fixed this problem by putting the e-drums on acoustic hardware. You also don't want to buy cheap e-kits (like he said) because they come with small hard rubber pads for cymbals, drums or both. Even higher end Roland V kits come with hard rubber cymbals despite the top of the line mesh drums. Cymbals are the hardest to emulate realism so get the "real"cymbals that swing, choke and have multiple zones. Get e-kits with larger drum sizes like 12" +. Use a quality kick pedal. Above all, adjust. Every e-kit can double trigger, drop out, crosstalk or have unrealistic velocity when adjusted poorly. Loosen or tighten the heads for feel. There are people on here that have e-kit realism you wouldn't believe. And it will only get better over time. One of the greatest attributes of an e-kit is that you aren't stuck buying a whole new kit every time a new model comes out; you can use it as a straight midi controller and sample Superior Drummer or Addictive Drums, etc. And this means you can upgrade your pieces as they improve. If you're happy with the Roland TD11KV but they come out with a super realistic hi hat for a new (expensive) model, go buy the hi hat. Most of the cost of an e-kit is in the module. I have also found that what you hear through the headphones has a huge impact on the experience as a whole. I used to use triggers on my acoustic drums and it didn't matter that I was on a "real" acoustic set. When there were missed triggers, double triggers or crosstalk it ruined everything for me. I sat there playing like a statue because I was on pins and needles trying to control velocity and triggering errors. These days I get on a well adjusted e-kit and I just go for it. Stage presence, hit hard, the whole 9.
Great tips! I think the spacing issue is one that hits me hardest when playing on a TD30-or-lower house kit. I’m pretty tall, and I like drums and cymbals spaced out. When everything’s bunched together I end up feeling very constrained. I‘d definitely do what you mentioned and try mounting the pads on acoustic hardware instead. Great point about the sounds as well. It’s cool that you can always change them, update them, and adjust them as much as you want. I’d list that as a “pro” of an e kit, just for versatility’s sake.
Great video and good information if in fact your goals are to use an eKit to practice and then play live with an acoustic kit. If your goals are to practice and play live on an eKit then I think that changes things a lot. The concept of "Dangers" as you've described does not apply. The whole eKit vs Acoustic kit thing reminds me of electric guitar vs acoustic guitar. Very different in the dynamics of how you play but both are real and valid instruments. I played acoustic drums for my entire life and right now I'm having a blast practicing on my eKit (Alesis Stirk Pro) with the intent to use them to play live gigs. Just wanted to add my thoughts to an excellent discussion.
Michael Samman Obviously he was talking about using e-kits to practice with, but playing live with an acoustic kit. Of course if you are playing live with an e-kit, then you want to practice with an e-kit. That's just common sense.
I agree and that's why I clearly started my post with "Great video and good information", I also decided to offer my own observation regarding the use of eKits, sounds like we are on the same page.
Good luck using your e kit live, I've seen many more drummers bring pads into their setups and some with half an e kit on stage and audiences are really liking them I feel, there was a time that you just couldn't replicate certain sounds live but now its all possible with how far MIDI has come.
Thanks StickySprite, I agree completly in terms of how far MIDI has come and what it will allow us as drummers playing on eKits to do live. I'm stoked about taking the ekit onstage and I've been reading a lot regarding preparation to ensure that my sound comes across the way I want it to. My first gig I plan to record and post so it should be fun!
Good video. Dynamics is the key here. I've playing on an e kit for 5 years now at church. My dynamics are gone. Ultimately that's my fault for not paying attention to it. I'm afraid of an acoustic kit now lol. Good tips, I'll definitely try them out.
I've been drumming for 10 plus years. I agree for a beginner its better to practice on an actual drum kit. But honestly even I started at a young age on pots and pans, tvs, and anything else I could tap a pencil or stick on. I've had my share of experiences with kits and I agree they are different and at the beginning stages of drumming when your ears and muscle memory are not developed you should practice on a ekit and think youre buddy rich cause its true you'll get on an actual set and sound like ringo lol(not talking down on ringo( not talking down on mr. Starr he's probably the richest drummer in the world) or the drummer for keys and krates(not trying to talk crap bout him either but he was off during s performance multiple times and as an ear drummer I could hear it and haven't let him live it down since). But for an advanced drummer who has already programmed everything in their mind will get on an ekit and play it just like they'd play an acoustic and it wouldn't have to feel the difference. It's hard to get a rim and snare shot at the same time on an e kit but when you've played it a thousand times on a kit your muscle mem will know what it feels like to do it successfully and you'll be able to do it on an ekit just the same as a real one. I honestly feel like I get better practice on an e kit because of size feel of pads and sound its like when you run laps with ankle weights on. When you take them off you run 10 times faster and can go 10 times longer. I even prefer ekits rather than acoustic kits for performance and not all cheap kits are total shit I have a Simmons 500 I got for just over 100 dollars and I've created many productions with this kit and have many covers I am going to be uploading soon on this kit i have an even cheaper sound x 1450 I have 2 videos of on my channel (yes this kit sucks in sound quality but I got 2 great covers from it. You can click my name and view them on this channel if you'd like) so I would say if youre experienced on an acoustic set and you bounce frequently there won't be much difference in your playing. Overall still loved the video and honestly agreed with some of what was said even subscribed so I can see more of your content.
You should've mentioned the advantage of e-kits as well. Record everything, hear every mistake you're making. Listening to yourself while you're playing is not the same as listening to your session afterwards. I have a TD25, and it's not exactly the same as acoustic, but I do try to play with less bounce as well sometimes, so that I don't become lazy. But I can assure you, I've played acoustic for years, and I've never had the amount of progress I got as I'm getting now that I can easily record with high quality. As you said, the recording is of such great quality, the flaws in my playing are really exposed on the recordings.
That’s awesome that you’re recording yourself! That’s such a great way to generate tons of personal improvement (often in a much shorter amount of time as well). I’ll totally agree with that point. Sounds like you’re using your e kit to the best of its ability, which is great. I think if I were in your shoes, I’d try to couple that with some occasional playing time on an acoustic kit if possible, just to practice precision, tone, etc. But that’s just my two cents :) Often that’s not possible, though, so sometimes you just have to do the best you can and work with what you’ve got (like me ad my practice kit haha!). But yeah, being able to easily record is definitely a pro of electric kits. You don’t need mics and a good room to record a clean drum sound.
helemaal nicks That's a really good point... I know for myself, practicing on an e-kit has allowed me to progress and practice techniques to build my confidence that otherwise wouldn't have ever been tried since there was no access to an acoustic kit. Anyone should be able to anticipate there being a difference in a real acoustic kit, so from there it's just adjustment and not learning it from scratch... And you're right, recording on a high quality digital kit actually exposes flaws more than hides them, where I've found acoustic kits are sometimes easier to bullcrud your way through a slip or messup because of the dynamic of the sounds.
I've been exclusively practicing on a cheap e-kit for like 5 years (after 2 years of acoustic) and every time I played on an acoustic set again (usually on festival gigs) I felt I was waaay too loud. But the alternative was not to practice at all (small dorm room, was lucky to even keep my e-kit!) so I still improved my skills. However I'm now very bad with tuning and drum sound on acoustic kits...
the worst part of drums is that they cannot be really silent. >:/ for people with tinnitus it's difficult to practice on real drums, even with hearing protection on I can't stand being at a real drum set for hours a day... or even really for a few hours a week. an electric kit over a little monitor is much easier on my war-torn ears. :/
Been using an e-kit for like 3 years now and the only issue I had till now was the fact that cymbals don't feel the same when playing live. Either way, I can't use my acoustic kit cuz I live in an apartment. Great video.
I played on nothing but my electric kit for about a year. I felt seriously handicapped when I went back to my acoustic set. It feels completely different. everything is so much closer together and the feel of the rubber pads is so much different.
RU-vid won't let me give you 215 thumbs up to offset the haters! But thanks,from the bottom of my heart! I've been going crazy! Trying to find a decent e kit! I played drums/guitar 20 years ago,picked guitar up 2&1/2years ago,drums 2months ago moved&you have an idea where this is going! I love your channel!
I'm a 70-year old retiree, mainly a guitar player but I've purchased a bass and bass amp to go along with my many acoustic and electric guitars. I have a DAW and interface so I can record onto my computer. My other important factor is that I play on the main level of my home and really don't want to set everything up in my basement. So, if I get too loud I hear about it from my neighbors. For me it seems like the e drums are the way to go. I can record them and create bass/drum grooves to jam with on my guitar which is probably my main interest. E drums can be played quieter, although I'd get a drum amp and not use headphones, and they are easier to feed the DAW. i do take music seriously and am always trying to improve but I don't have plans to become a professional musician, especially as a drummer. So I can work on improving my skills within these limitations. Just because I don't plan to be a professional gigging around town does not mean that I am not serious about the quality of my playing whatever the instrument. I've just started and I've been hitting my practice pad for about a week mainly working on singles but also doubles, paradiddles and just playing grooves and trying to work in simple fills and variations. I like the idea I saw in another of your videos about having a bass drum pedal because I think working that in will really make my practice closer to the real world of playing on a kit.
Everything about this video is absolutely true. I own an electronic kit, and it took me a long time to realize this problem, and now my assumptions have been confirmed. Thanks for the video!
I been using a Alesis pro strike E kit for the past six months, I was very weary on using it at first being accustomed to the traditional drums. I've used it in a few live scenarios now and so far it's proved to sound good live, it has multi trigger ranges and I can also do ghost notes, but my biggest concern again is the feel of the rubber Cymbals, I'm still trying to get use to that feeling. But the mesh heads are not to bad. But all in all its a pretty nice Ekit.. I still love acoustic drums more tho
origionally a lead guitarist and vocals . can play bass keyboards,sax, and so on . been drumming 3 month and already better and faster than the last drummer in the band im in now. and hes been drumming aprox 8 years.i practice loads on an e kit. and i find it makes the acoustic kit easier to play and play it with the correct feel and sound levels . so ive been told by my expierienced band members. ive always learned any musical instrument fast. but good post for those who need it'
Well I've been playing on acoustic kits for years, and I always thought e-kits were bad, and fake and such...but now that I live in a small apartment, and don't have the space for an acoustic kit, I bought an e-kit. I'm still gonna practice on both, and the e-kit is more like a "for fun" thing for me. I don't think it has any effect on you if you play on both regurarly. But the volume part is a very great idea, I'm gonna try to adjust the volumes of my e-kit :) So yeah, practicing ONLY on e-kits and then expecting to be the same on an acoustic kit, is not right. But if you play only one and perform with only one, or you play both I think it has no effect on you whatsoever.
I used to play live kit all the time during gigs. Not my own equipment, there would be a set ready for use and I would just use that and I do just fine. Later in life, in an apartment, got an e-kit...messed up my playing so bad. I stand by this video and the logic 100%
I can partly agree. I started playing acoustic drums (really bad kit) way back in 2006. Couple of years later I started living in an apartment and it's been like this ever since. Practicing was hard. It was just me and the practice pad and (occasionally) my acoustic drumset. Two years ago I got Yamaha DTX drumkit and though I know its limitations, I can easily switch between acoustic and electronic kits. The trick is to remember all the movements from acoustic drums. So I'd say that every drummer should start from practicing on acoustic set, remember the feeling and imitate as much of it as possible on the electronic kit. This is the part of the video I definitely agree with. It takes imagination, practice and time to "slide over the difference" but everything's worth it as long as it keeps you in the game. It's hard, but it is possible to keep in mind the difference all the time.
Stephen, I am forced to practice on an e-kit. The one benefit is that I actually practice with my band and we are making progress on being able to set up an acoustic kit sometime after the new year. Another hurdle I face is practicing on kits that are not my gig kit. The solution I have arrived at is to set my kit up 1-2 days before a gig and just play. Headphones on, jamming out to the radio or a playlist for a couple hours. However, when we get ready to record I am going to need some concentrated time with my kit to reduce time in the studio. Anyway, keep up the great videos! They help me and I’m sure a lot of other drummers as well!
Your right about Ekits and i agree on what you said. There's advantages and disadvantages but if you know what it is you can learn from them both... I gig with a acoustic kit and practice at home on a Alesis Strike Pro kit. I set up my mesh heads as close as i can to my acoustic set but no matter how close i get it , it's not the same as a acoustic set. But as long as i get some warm up time before a gig on my acoustic set , i'm good to go.It's the same with piano players not all keyboards feel the same and even with guitars , i've known some really good guitarist that are only good on electric but suck on acoustic... but the really great ones are great on both. Playing electric and acoustic kits helped me learn to adapt to different situations , like when i show up for a gig and end up playing someone else's kit. I like your channel because you bring up things that others don't and you do a great job doing it... keep up the good work.
I agree with this. that's exactly why I practice on my E-SET the way I do. #1 Never use headphones. Always a live amp. I just turn it down so I can evenly hear both natural strikes and the sound of the amp both. seems to work well for me. Plus I am using the VAD504 so that helps LOL
Might I also add that the "unrealistic" nature of playing on an e-kit (particularly a low end one) can actually hurt your hands. The response from a cheap e-kit in my experience was so bad that it actually got painful playing on it due to the fact that the "kit" didn't absorb shock or rebound like a normal kit, so all of the force would go back into my hands.
with all due respect, that sounds like a technique problem. You should be able to bounce a stick off of a concrete floor and feel nothing go back up through your hands.
I had (still have, but I'm trying to sell it) a Yamaha DTX500 with the better snare pad, hi-hat controller etc and totally agree with you. I always missed playing my real kit. The e-kit just doesn't have the response or nuance. Having said that, I treated myself last June and bought the Roland TD-50. That cost me the best part of £5,000 ($7,000), but it was worth it. It's an astonishing piece of equipment. It feels like a real kit, responds like a real kit and is a joy to play. The one thing that's still not so good is the hi-hat, even though I shelled out the extra £500 ($700) for the better one. Until they bring out a digital hi-hat controller, that will remain a problem. Anyway, I enjoyed your video. By the way, I've been drumming for 45 years (!), so I do know what I'm talking about. If you asked me now which I'd prefer to use, I'd say the Roland unless I could use my own kit. Studio I'd always choose my own kit, but where I'm faced with poor quality kits or stage sound, I'd go with the Roland. I know you were talking about low end kits, so these comments aren't criticisms of your video, just thought you might be interested and to know your contribution is appreciated.
From my own experience, I agree. I have owned a Roland V pro kit for many years as well as acoustic drums. No matter how convenient and fun electronic drums are, there is nothing like the suptle nuances of a real drum and cymbals. The feel is like day and night.
I started off on a Roland TD1KV. Am moving to an acoustic kit now - going through a lot of trouble to import RTOMs and a set of Sabian Quiet Tone cymbals (saves me $200-300 on each of those even with shipping charges to Oz), plus spending on a mixer and a mic set because I love playing with a backing song and recording - watching my mistakes is a great way to improve. I couldn’t agree more. I would have learned a lot more if I’d started on an acoustic kit than on a Roland - love the Roland, but it simply feels soooooooo different when I play an ancient acoustic Tama poplar kit at my drum teacher’s place. E-kits have their place - and that place is not great to build technique - although it’s an ok place to practice a technique one has learned on a real acoustic kit. Thank you for confirming my thoughts on this - I needed to hear this from someone on RU-vid 😉
Thanks for the video!!! I have a friend that wants to buy a e kit and since im an acoustic guy i told him 25 % of what youve mentioned in this video. I then showed him this video and this made him change his mind, Thanks. You put really useful information. You spoke the words i couldn't explain to him. Thanks for the drum lessons too.
I think it depends on the situation. If you are living in an apartment where the sound will disturb others then people prefer electronic drums and when you have a big house in which sound is not an issue for another person then the acoustic kit is preferable .
i just got an alesis nitro mesh kit for 340 and it rocks my guy. made a simple isolation platform out of 2 4x4 sheets of half inch plywood and 8 fucking dog toy tennis balls from the dollar store. its helped isolate the noise carried through the rack and the kick pedal pretty damned well. btw, the snare has two zones and velocity sensors so it has pretty good dynamics!
As someone who had to learn on the Ekit because of space and noise i was getting half decent before i transitioned to a Acustic and now I'm starting from scratch
I totally agree with this and think you articulated it well. I have an ekit. I tend to use it for learning songs. Once i have them down, i always have to bring it to my acoustic kit to get the dynamics down. Ekits can be helpful but if you plan on playing accoustic kits, you really need to spend time on the A -kit to master the precision and dynamics. Its a different beast than an ekit. Ekits are more forgiving ;) Thanks for posting. Good job!
Very biased video here. I have to respectfully disagree with a lot of these reasons. My Strike is a beast. Hasn't effected my playing whatsoever. The sizes are very close to the same as acoustic (14"snare and floor toms, 14"&16" cymbals) and TBH when I play an acoustic kit I feel like freaking superman lol faster on the kick and super precise rudiments. I think this video is only talking about beginners using beginner bottom barrel e-kits. If youre not learning from the ground up on an e kit that whole "too light on the snare and too hard on the cymbals" argument goes away because you'll already know what an acoustic drumset sounds like... If you have your e-kit dialed in so the parameters are dynamic and volumes are mixed properly you won't have those problems. Pretty simple fix actually. Unfortunately once you put time into your e-kit it can have 10x the benefits of a "practice kit" so... Ya a GOOD e-kit and a little time spent dialing it in IS WORTH IT GUYS.
SiREN2173 Agree with siren here. I love my e-kit and find it a excellent tool to better my skills. I do realize there are a variety of differences, but none hinder my playability. When I slide into acoustic kit, it takes very little time to get accustomed to that particular kit. I just don’t see any demons with E-kits.
SiREN2173 I personally do not like e kits for the fake sound, even when I recorded on a real kit my snare would be a replaced with a sample. it's also a lot easier turning a key rather than finding drum sounds I don't tune to anything particular but the sound I like and so far I can only do this on acoustic. also don't understand a practice kit, I play my full set everytime or on my knee
Im a drummer as a hobby, with a £1099 ($1,521) Alesis D10 - with the full sized mesh pads - and I do know what he means. I turn my crash down, so it sounds like what it does in a song, where only the accented hits will ever overpower my snare. I think for those like me who cant get a sound proof room - is to take lessons, where they'd most likely have an acoustic. I used to do this, although i quit about a year ago.
I've been playing accoustic drums for over 30 years and brought a Yamaha DTX450 2 years ago. I find the transition from one to the other quite seamless and the quiet practice advantages of an e kit far far outweigh any head rebound issue. Ok for the first 30 seconds it all feels a bit strange when swapping over but otherwise my playing ability has improved enormously since the arrival of the e kit. The DTX450 is excellent by the way and would highly recommend it if you are considering an e kit.
I started out playing on a Roland... in the 1980s Hated it. Graduated to a Rogers acoustic. Huge difference. Never looked back. I love the little oddities and changes acoustic kits have. The only advantage I saw with drums was volume control. ( But I hate using headphones when I practice.) Now, things like quiet practice heads, and quiet cymbals solved that problem.
Those Silentstroke heads and Zildjian L80s dont feel anything like real acoustic. I tried them and returned them before buying an ekit. My Roland heads and cymbals feel more realistic.
after practicing on my yamaha dtx 522k for 90% of the time for the last 3 years and then actually recording myself playing songs on my acoustic kit recently. I can definitely agree with this video. There's alot of (bad habits) you can develop without even realising it playing only an e kit. The best thing you can do is record everything you play and listen to how you can improve. on both types of kits
Oh dear.... you seem to have upset a lot of people in the comment section :-o I am an old git and had 20 years under my belt before e kits were even invented (well... commercially available at an affordable price, anyway). I own one now and wouldn't be without it. I work full time so try and practice before I go to work (some neighbours still in bed) and after I get home in the evening (neighbours kids in bed) so no eKit would mean no practice (except maybe on the pad). Practice is always better than no practice so for me the e Kit is a really, really useful tool. Apart from that I agree with everything you said, pretty much. I'm really glad I didn't learn my technique on one. I've seen drummers sounding great on e kits when they are playing certain types of music, say something with a dance beat, but I play jazz these days and the idea you could play jazz on an e Kit at a gig is laughable... there is no comparison.
I have practiced on e-kits for +15 years. My main e-kit is in the $4000 range (Yamaha) , but I also play my acoustic kits fairly regularly. Living in an apartment really requires a good e-kit if you want to practice a lot. That said, a budget e-kit for $500 doesn't quite measure up to a high-end relative that costs 4-5 times more. I DO NOT like mesh heads, but prefer Yamaha's TCS for feel and response. Better than a practice pad, and also catching every ghost note. Trying to translate this to the acoustic kit is not as difficult as it may seem. The most forgiving thing between an e-kit and an acoustic is coordination practice. The main issues as I see it: - ERGONOMICS: if your e-kit is setup a different way (normally is) with the pads much closer and eveything within good range it'll take some adjusting. Reach for the cymbals. Optimally you would bring out the measure tape and mimic the physical distances (that you have at your acoustic kit) between all the drums on your e-kit perfectly. - DYNAMICS: to some extent yes, since press rolls are hard to perform on an e-kit. But your average ghost notes should absolutely be on par with your acoustic counterpart. How the cymbals respond might be an issue, the hihat being the most crucial thing (and the one part which most clearly separate budget e-kits from higher end e-kits, really), but also the ride, since acoustic cymbal always respond differently depending on the properties of the hit (force, angle ...) that preceeded the hit you are about to do. What you hear is not always what you get if you haven't invested enough time to prepare your module and are using logarithmic or exponential velocity curves everywhere you might be disappointed. The analogy of e-guitar vs acoustic guitar is not as good as the analogy between e-piano/keyboard and an acoustic piano, since the piano - in essence - also is a percussive instrument. Bottom line: I will obviously continue playing and practicing on my DTX900, but also on my Gretsch and Premier.
Great job, I will add that even with the Roland TD50, TD30 the dynamics are set to be louder than acoustic. If you play a half inch on the Roland snare it is dynamically louder than a acoustic plus they use alot of digital effects that make it unnatural. You cannot emulate every detail on electric cymbals like a acoustic. The biggest complaint I've had to address with seasoned drummers that never played electronic drums is why they are so sensitive, dynamically different and artificial sounding. Younger Drummers today that grew up on digital drums don't understand that, If they play soft and it doesn't sound loud like a Roland then they assume the kit is defective. I've used the Roland TD20 and TD30 for years and I've learned to lower the sensitivity to closely match a acoustic and turn off all digital effects so it sits in the mix better, many seasoned drummers then understand it and love it but younger drummers I've worked with think there is something wrong with the kit because it sits in the mix and they think it should be on top of everything.
I just got my new low end E-kit and I immediately felt what you're talking about. Still, I believe if you're experienced enough, you'd catch those differences and use the E-kit solely for practicing your technique and rudiments without having the mindset that your practice is by the book and that it's complete. For me it's nothing more than a few additional practice pads that just help you keep your form when not in the studio.
Some of us are just learning to play for fun and cannot have an acoustic kit where we live. Electronic drums are good for this purpose. I have no plans for performing anywhere except in my living room. Thanks for the tips about using the kit silently.
100% disagree with this dopes opinion piece.I have been playing for well over 20 years bought a $500 Yamaha kit and use a 50/50 balance between acoustic and E KitOn my ekit I spend countless hours working through grooves, fills, etc and have no problems transferring to the acoustic set.also seen an improvement in my stamina and chops due to the less bounce on the ekit.
I just priced out a Ludwig Breakbeat's kit with hardware, at $709. So you're talking $1146 or the price of a decent e-kit. The best part about an e-kit is it's all self-contained and pretty much silent, except for some taping noises.
MTKnight I'm not sure if i completely understand what your point was, but an acoustic kit won't run you a shit ton of money on Craigslist (I got a SPL on Craigslist for $120. Snare, high hat, bass, floor tom, the two other toms, crash, and ride cymbal)
