Electric or Acoustic Drums?

OnlyGrace

New member
Hey all, I'm sure there are many different opinions on this one, and I'm also sure this has been asked before. I'm not a newbie to recording, but I am to drums. I currently record just about everything except drums. So I was thinking if I got the acoustic I would have to by overhead mics, a kick mic, a snare mic, etc. So why not go electric? I mean is there a huge difference in sound? I mean I will be able to save $$$ on mics. Can you tell it's "electronic"? I play Christian/Ballad/Acoustic music if that helps. Thanks in advance :)
 
just get some real drums. you can get by with a couple of mics, no need to mic it all up unless you're freaking Rush.
 
My Opinion

I have been a recording drummer for over 20 years.
I also play Bass and some guitar.
I much prefer a well played Acoustic kit in a nice room over an electric kit for music styles as you describe.
Having said that,drums are perhaps the hardest instrument to record if you want them to sound good. If you don't have a good room and the ability to isolate something that puts off 110 decibels,I'd reconsider the electronic drums route.

Unless you are willing to devote a ton of time and experimenting on mic placement and room treatments, the simplest way to get a nice sound is the E-Kit. At least the sounds are pre-sampled and sound consistently good.

I like the Acoustic kit because of the nuances I get, but if you are just a beginner you won't be concerned with that till you have a lot more experience. You will contending with the fundamentals of playing. Plus if you record the kit via MIDI, you have timing correction available to you .

Yes, there are a million threads on how to mic a kit with 3 or 4 mics in a pukey room, but unless you are REALLY set on doing everything yourself, I would actually suggest you join a musicians collaboration site and get a fellow musician to lend their talents to yours.
To me it is a win - win situation. you don't have to learn a 10th instrument and you won't have to invest a $1000 in drums and cymbals plus 4 to 8 drum mics.
They get the opportunity to use their talents,experience and investment to add to someones else's works.

To me it is boring to do everything yourself. Everything has an unwanted "sameness" to it.
It is more refreshing to have others join in on your music creation...to me at least.

If you want further input on the collab sites, give me a shout.Otherwise...I guess I'll shut up.
 
Hey all, I'm sure there are many different opinions on this one, and I'm also sure this has been asked before. I'm not a newbie to recording, but I am to drums. I currently record just about everything except drums. So I was thinking if I got the acoustic I would have to by overhead mics, a kick mic, a snare mic, etc. So why not go electric? I mean is there a huge difference in sound? I mean I will be able to save $$$ on mics. Can you tell it's "electronic"? I play Christian/Ballad/Acoustic music if that helps. Thanks in advance :)

I prefer acoustic drums but due to not having the space or a good room, I use electric drums. Even me, being a newbie to recording, can tell (hear) that the are electric drums, but since I just record for myself, I'm satisfied. Although they do have a good sound IMO.
 
I'm kinda in the same boat as TMix and Po Boy.... I prefer an acoustic kit but if I didn't have a decent room and was just starting out, I'd definitely consider e-drums.

They don't sound the same but they are tweakable.

my 2c...
 
This is what I can tell you about my experience with both.

I, like you, had been hesitant to record acoustic drums in a less than perfect room so I had done the electronic kit route triggering samples.

I have played and recorded both electronic & acoustic drums for the past 20 plus years. I record in a small basement studio that has a concrete floor, a low (~7ft) acoustic tile drop ceiling with just a carpet on the floor, and reflective wall surfaces. So, I invested a significant amount of money (well over 4K) in an electronic rig that included, Hart drums, Roland TD-20 & TD8, and every drum sample software package you can think of. This setup produced real feel/sounding drum tracks that I was happy with (or so I thought).

However, all that changed when I had an opportunity to record a demo for another band that used acoustic drums. I was utterly amazed that I was able to capture a decent drum sound (the way they sounded in the room), right out of the gate. This gave me tremendous hope. After much researching and tweaking, I use the recorderman overhead setup and have consistently got very good sounding drum tracks in a room that is less than optimal.

Sine then, I’ve invested in a new acoustic kit and have never looked back. The electronic rig has since been relegated to my practice/workout crap out on kit. I wish I just had tried acoustics straight away, I would have never spent the 4K on the electronic rig; although, I would have invested that cahs in some other studio gear.

If you have Acoustics, I'd recommend spending some time trying to record them before running to an electronic solution. Even the high-end Roland brains (e.g. TD-20) do not produce anywhere near "real" sounding drums on recodings so if you go electronic, you will end up triggering samples (i.e., DKFH, BFD, Addictive) therefore, don't waste money on a "high-end" brain just for MIDI.
 
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Electronic drums are for electronic music. You don't need the best room and acoustic treatment to get a good to great drum sound. You do need ears and the right mics to do it. It will take time to get the productions right, effort too.

So much of recording drums is post production anyways. You will just need to develop the mindset that what goes in is not always what comes out.
 
Nope. Not joking.

Just use dynamics and close pattern ribbons and you'll be alright.

Oh and don't suck. That's important.
Besides the not sucking part, I totally disagree that a good room is not important for getting a good drum sound. Maybe you can post something you recorded in a shitty, un-treated room.
 
There is a track of mine somewhere in here playing in the mp3 section. Use the search. It was recorded in my living room. It was not a nice living room.

You can dig that out and hate on it for awhile.

My point for the rest of you is that you can get a good sound from a less than stellar room. Don't let that be your excuse. Studio B at electrical audio is just a big concrete floored warehouse basically. The inside of most drum booths sound like shit when you are playing there.

If you are a good player you can just listen and adjust your playing to the room. Then if that works for the piece than so be it. Personally I am going to be recording music nearly every day whether or not the sound/vibe/mojo is there or not. It's what I do.

I believe that after doing it for so damn long that I could take some reasonable preamps, 57s or whatever and get a good sound about anywhere.

I do like great drum sounds made with mics that I don't own. I like a big room with stereo coles 4038s way up high and some nice warm condensors on the kit, I go to a studio to get those sounds. But at home you can still get good sounds, very usable. Think about it, how did they get those sounds on motown records and what not. Some of those studios were quite rough.

Regards.
 
There is a track of mine somewhere in here playing in the mp3 section. Use the search. It was recorded in my living room. It was not a nice living room.

You can dig that out and hate on it for awhile.
Nah, if you don't want to post something, I'mnot going to bother searching for it.



If you are a good player you can just listen and adjust your playing to the room.
That's ludicrous.
Personally I am going to be recording music nearly every day whether or not the sound/vibe/mojo is there or not. It's what I do.

Me too, but that's not the point. It's got nothing to do with claiming that a good room is not important to getting a good drum sound.

I believe that after doing it for so damn long that I could take some reasonable preamps, 57s or whatever and get a good sound about anywhere.
I'm glad you believe that. But until you post something, I can't believe it along with you.

But at home you can still get good sounds, very usable.

I agree. This is not an argument about home studio vs. "pro" studio. It's about the importance of treating a room.
 
I see the trolls are out!

It's called Jimi Hendrix, I think. But you won't listen anyway right ?

You're correct, I don't waste time on haters.

Have fun bitching. I've got a track up on the mixer right now, and I just got the new blow out behringer v verb. Which is sounding pretty damn good right now. Suprisingly good really. I am sure you have your mind made up on that as well though. I gotta go now and do some work.

Montreal is a nice town, there are some nice electronic acts there. Maybe you should go dancing, helps with the blood pressure.

See ya guys.
 
I see the trolls are out!

It's called Jimi Hendrix, I think. But you won't listen anyway right ?

You're correct, I don't waste time on haters.

Have fun bitching. I've got a track up on the mixer right now, and I just got the new blow out behringer v verb. Which is sounding pretty damn good right now. Suprisingly good really. I am sure you have your mind made up on that as well though. I gotta go now and do some work.

Montreal is a nice town, there are some nice electronic acts there. Maybe you should go dancing, helps with the blood pressure.

See ya guys.

And maybe you should change your diapers and take the souse out of your mouth. This is an internet forum. People will disagree. That's all that's happening. It's nothing personal, I just think you're full of shit and a total blow-hard.

Using Jimi Hendrix's drum sound as an example of how "great" drums can sound proves to me that you're talking out of your ass. I'm a huge Jimi fan, but Mitchell's drum sound is not something that should be used as an example...besides the fact that they were recorded in a studio, which makes your "point" even more assinine.

Now, I guess you're not going to post an example of your drums recorded in an un-treated bedroom, are you? I didn't think so.:rolleyes:

Keep whining, it goes well with the rest of the idiocy you're posting.:D
 
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