Drum issues!!!

[GreenDank]

I've read the threads, I've scanned ebay, froogle, musician's friend's scratch and dent department, pulled my hair out, etc., and the problem still remains: what to do about drums these days (for rock/metal music)?

First I used a Lynn Drum (spelling?), then I used to use a boss dr-550, then I used Fruity Loops. Then HotStepper. Lastly Rhythm Rascal. Now I'm stumped. My choices:

-cheap beginner or used drum set
-the Yamaha dd55 (looks OK but does it really sound and feel good?)
-the ion piece of crap looking v drum set (it just can't be good)
-an alesis sr16 (can you say "80s?")
-keep using rhythm rascal (so tedious...)
-get an alesis d5 and make my own trigger set
-maybe a midi trigger (but then I'll have latency problems...)

I've been putting off my next recording because I'm so hesitant to open up a computer program to click in my drums again using the mouse. It takes forever to really get a song down, and even then it's kind of obvious it's canned. Plus it FEELS fake as hell when you're doing it - very hard to get into the groove.

[my2cents]

go to a place that gives drum lessons and ask who wants to record some metal tracks using their own drums. you won't have to buy anything.

[Treblinka]

Nothing beats a well set up drum kit, but you have to take in account mic'ing, acoustics and the overall price of a decent sounding kit/DAW.

I had a Yamaha DD-55 for a time and loved it to pieces when living with other, shall we say more studious housemates who wouldn't allow a drumkit in the house. Basically the thing sounds great, can be fully configured to play double pedals and adjust the weight of the sound produced. The only downsides was that wear and tear becomes a problem if you're a heavy hitter á la metal and i, personally bought mine second hand and there was an issue with one of the pedals not making any noise when pushed. This was easily fixed as i found out from the person who bought it off me and if i'd of known a bit more about electronics i would've kept the machine myself.

[PhilGood]

Why is your heart set on electric drums? Is it the ease of tracking? Noise factor? Space?

I realize that micing and acoustic set gets difficult, but metal always sounds better with a real kit.

[GreenDank]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

Why is your heart set on electric drums? Is it the ease of tracking? Noise factor? Space?

I realize that micing and acoustic set gets difficult, but metal always sounds better with a real kit.

space is a factor, and noise too, although I guess I could find times to record when it's just me home. real drums would be more fun and would ultimately sound better if I got some decent mics too, but I probably couldn't leave them up in my "studio" (aka the office/computer room) all the time due to space restrictions. I also dread having to buy drum heads down the road too...

[Chris Shaeffer]

I've been a guitarist for almost 20 years, bassist just about as long, and have been recording since almost day one...

And I *just* finally bought myself a drum set about a week ago. I've been around drums and gotten enough practice to be dangerous to myself with them, but I've also been lucky enough to find friends who were willing to record for me. Kinda sucked, actually- the first time I set up my mics on a real drum set I couldn't go back to using programmed drums for my final tracks. I still use MIDI drums (Drumkit from Hell, Reason) for writing and arranging... but now I can attempt to actually pley them myself.

So I bought some used drums. $250 (less than I'd pay for BFD, which I was also considering) for a Tama Camco set with Sabian B8 crash, ride, and hats. Old but very well taken care of. I'm having a blast with them and it feels good to be learning the real instrument. Its just so much more fun to learn and do the real thing than spend hours with the mouse tweaking MIDI notes...

Its feels great to be learning, adding the last major part of rock music to my skills. And I don't think it will be too long before hopping on the kit and laying down a useable beat will take *less* time than programming and sound WAY better- even with the cheap kit I have. Even a simple beat on a real kit blows the socks of sampled drums.

Anyway, that's my experience of it. But then my bias is that I've used electronic drums for years and have gotten tired of them- and space, noise, mics, etc. aren't an issue for me. I'm going to have trouble down the road when/if my space situation changes!

Take care,
Chris

[GreenDank]

thanks for the input chris (and others too!) - I think you struck a chord there. I actually can somewhat play drums already, and I really love getting behind a real kit. I've played guitar for about 15 years, but I've always been a wannabe drummer at heart - I wanted a kit growing up, but it was too loud for my parents. I think that stigma stuck with me through the years, and I've always disregarded it as an improbable thing to have. But, you're right. I should just get a real kit and start learning more and having fun with a real instrument instead of a plastic facimile. I know I'd enjoy them a lot.