Electronic Drum Kits - This Is Now!

The current state of electronic drum kits ...

As those who've read my other Shlogg post will know - I have a history with electronic drums.  I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is and over the years I've made peace with it and try to treat it as a learning experience ;-)

Pearl Hybrid Kit

Today, things are quite different.  I'm sure even the absolute worst electronic kit on the market is better than the absolute best from 20 years ago.  20 years is a long time in consumer electronics and even those technologies from back then that are still around today ... they now cost a fraction of what they did in 1994.
On top of this we have a huge variation of hybrids and a lot of the technology from way back has crossed-over completely.

DDrum Triggers

We had triggers back in the 80's and 90's.  These haven't changed significantly and in fact I know that the old DDrum (the original Scandinavian company, not the modern far eastern company who bought the name!) triggers are quite sought after.  The same might be partly true of Simmons (again, the original English company, not the far eastern one who recently bought the name!) where I've seen their iconic pads go for far more on ebay than they should.  Perhaps it's collectors, perhaps it's art, but honestly - I can vouch for the fact they are not nice pads to play!

The classic Simmons pad

In terms of pad choice and hybrid kits, you can now have a 'regular' drum kit that has jack plugs on the shell to trigger sounds.  You can get cut down wooden shelled kits that are silent until you hook them up to drum module, but look almost identical to an acoustic kit.  Even most top-end  fully electronic kits have pads that look (and feel) much more like traditional drums than they have at anytime since Mr Simmons sent the e-kit mainstream.

Roland TD30

With choice comes competition.  That's not only good for the market and the technology, it's great for our pockets!  You can literally spend anything you want these days.  Just work out what you want to spend, and you'll be able to dial-up at least a dozen kits that come close to your target.  I recently went into my local Maplins and played a £150 kit that plugs into your laptop.  It wasn't wonderful, but it was a working drum kit.  I've also played £10k's worth of Roland drum kit that was truly staggering.  I'm not necessarily recommending either of these options, but I suspect most of us will be shooting for something between the two extremes :-)

An inexpensive USB Drum kit

Why all this interest in Electronic drums again, didn't I learn first time?
Well.  The idea of electronic drums is compelling.  Smaller and lighter than an equivalent acoustic drum set (actually, this is arguable - what amp are you going to use?), they sound the same in your lounge as they do at Wembley Stadium (not a problem most of us have), you can be loud, or quiet, at the turn of a knob (depending on your amp - this is definitely true) and you get hundreds - maybe even thousands of different top-quality drum kits at the push of a button.  That last reason is the real killer isn't it.

Like most drummers, I find practicing a real PITA.  So much so that I rarely do it.  Unless you are lucky enough to live on a secluded island - your practicing is likely to be driving someone crazy.  At least your family and friends, if not your neighbours or your whole street in a built-up area!  However, rock-up to your electronic kit and pull on your headphones and no-one will ever know just how annoying you are ;-)

Neal Peart (the electronic kit is closest to the camera)

Likewise, being able to flick from a Phil Collins sound, to Dave Grohl , to John Bonham , to Aaron Spears .... you get the picture. Some of the most fun and distinctive sounds aren't even drums in the traditional sense.  Anyone seen Neil Peart's solos over the last ten years?  Hell, he triggers an entire Big Band during his solo!  Great fun, and something I find far more enjoyable than 20 minutes of really fast paradiddles ;-)

So, electronics kits are nice to practice on.  They have a niche slot for live performance (my new function band seems a likely candidate) and the prices have dropped significantly whilst the capability has increased many fold.  For myself, I'm not prepared to let go of my beloved DW Acoustic kit.  I've still found nothing that plays like a good acoustic kit and actually enjoy working to get a good sound at different venues, studios etc.  It's an art-form in itself and I won't be parted with it.  But that doesn't mean that an e-kit wouldn't be worth addition to my arsenal.

As a second kit, I'm not looking to invest in a TD30 or get DW to build me a custom electronic shell kit like Mr Peart (above) has done.  I'm looking at the middle-ground, something that I can (re)cut my teeth on.  I'd like something capable that might last me a couple of years, and hopefully teach me what I like (and loathe) about the electronic kits of today - before I go re-mortgaging the house.

Alesis DM10 Studio

The Alesis range has come to my attention.  They will fit you out with something starting at £199 and going up to around £800 .... which is about where Roland kits start off!  I figure the bang-for-buck is pretty high here and whilst it's not cutting edge, you get a lot of value from the fact they are using the tried and tested technologies that have become mainstream.

I'll let you know what I decide, and how I get on with it ;-)