v drums or persevere with live drums

[L mandrake]

Hi guys
I'm a guitarist and play drums enough to record my own stuff. I love recording live drums but it comes with its own frustrations given my set up. Ive got an opportunity to buy a set of roland td10's for $2000 (can). Ive used them b4 and have liked them a lot, but again they have a few things that can be frustrating. Any views on whether that would be a good route to take or should I just keep on with the acoustic set. Is the price a bargain or is that the going rate these days? Think he paid over $3000 two years ago.
Thanks

[bubbagump]

I don't have a good answer... but what I find is a good indicator is what things are going for on eBay. Check out completed auctions and see what folks are paying for similar items currently.

[iceyflame]

well you could spend the $2000 on better recording equipment/mics to be able to make the live drums sound good enough, and those mics could double up to be used on other instruments when overdubbing.

this seems a better choice seeing as your not actually a 100% drummer, and only play them to back up your guitaring - it wouldn't seem worth it to pay $2000 for a drumkit when you don't/can't play much. good luck anyway

[Zorlee]

DO NOT buy an el-kit. You can't get good dynamics!
I played a TD-20 (The best Roland kit, very expensive) the other day, and it was okey. But the cymbal response and dynamics were terrible!
You get MUCH better results with a entry-level kit with some decent sounding cymbals, new drumheads and good tuning.
I would never buy an electronic kit! I hate them...

But whatever floats your boat man! This is only my opinion!

[L mandrake]

Thanks guys, the scales were tipping against the v drums and your input just reinforced my decision. Besides, I just bought a new snare (pearl signature series) and I love it. First time Ive gotten a really usable drum sound.
Iceyflame youre right 2 grand can get a lot of good mics and toys, what was I thinkin
Cheers

[mikeh]

If you already have an accoustic kit and have a room you can play them in (including family/neighbors that allow you to make noise) then you may be better off staying accoustic. As indicated, if you have $2,000 to spend you could make some nice upgrades to you kit and to your mic collection, etc.

I own a TD10 kit which I use to record, rather than my accoustic kits (I have 3 very nice accoustic kits). I live in a condo and much of my recording is done at night (often very late at night) and there is no way I could track accoustic drums.

While geeting a good accoustic sound can be a challange and can be costly for the right mics, enough input channels, etc - if you can get a good accoustic sound an electronic kit will never touch that.

Whenever I track my accoustic drums in other studios I'm always reminded of the limitation of the electronic kit.

[L mandrake]

I know what u mean. I used the td10 for recording most of my songs , I found it very convenient and overall the sound was great. The cymbal sound was a constant headache, but not only the sound the inconsistency of all the cymbals and the drums, sometimes too loud sometimes too soft. But in general they made my life easier. I live in a small cabin in the bush and I power everything with solar, so my recording set up is geared toward that. It all works very well but I only have 2 inputs on my 12 track studio in a box(everything in one unit draws less power) . So the v drums with the potential for a completely mixed sound with one or two lines out worked perfectly. I would bring the studio over to my friends place (the v drum owner ) and lay down all the drum tracks, little fuss. Setting up a separate mixer uses more power and is more of a hassle. A new recorder is in the works.
But now after recording my acoustic drums it is hard to go back.

Thanks for your input

[NegadivOne]

Definately stick with a live kit. Ive never heard an electric kit ive liked.

[TheDewd]

The trick with electronic drums is to use REAL cymbals and set the processing to a minimum on the el-kit (no reverb. no delay, no chorus lol...) then mix it like a real drum at the board. It gives good results, but it's obviously a little "PCM" sounding.

[pandamonk]

Originally Posted by TheDewd

The trick with electronic drums is to use REAL cymbals and set the processing to a minimum on the el-kit (no reverb. no delay, no chorus lol...) then mix it like a real drum at the board. It gives good results, but it's obviously a little "PCM" sounding.

And have the tapping of the pads picked up by the overheads?

[TheDewd]

Originally Posted by pandamonk

And have the tapping of the pads picked up by the overheads?

Actually, I always high-pass my overheads at about 2k so this wouldn't be much problem as long as the drummer realises he doesn't need to bang the shit out of the pads like he does on a real drum.
Overheads are made to be high passed and high frequency enhanced, at least for the music style that I do, which is pop, hard rock, alternative, metal and prog. If you play jazzy stuff, then you need an acoustic kit, obviously.

[slidey]

I record live drums. I also have a TD10 kit that I have used a lot & got the sounds to a point where people asked what kind of kit it was being used in the recordings

also the advantage of the TD10 is the midi recording...if you're not to sharp as a drummer you can edit the parts before you take the mix, oh yeah & to have complete level control over the drums with just a stereo feed to the desk

as with all things in life there are pros & cons

[mikeh]

I find picking up the "click" of the sticks hitting the pads through overheads (when mic'ing acoustic cymbals) to be of minimum concern. Since the attack of the stick hitting the pads happens at the same time as the triggered sound the pad sound is hidden (or rather simply becomes part of the sound). In fact at times it actually can be a good thing. If you were to hear only the sound of a stick hitting a plastic drum head (with no sound from the drum), you get the same basic sound of a stick hitting a pad - so that is a very real part of the percussive sound.

I agree that turning off the effects in the drum module (with the possible exception of compression), sending a dry signal to the board and then adding effects can get a better sound. When I record my TD10 I take all 8 sends to the board.

Certainly the main advantage of e-drums (beyond relatively silent tracking) is the ability to record the MIDI performance and then make sonic decisions later. There have been many times when I ended up changiing a kick or snare sound after hearing the mix with other instruments added. With acoustics once the drums are recorded you are pretty much committed to that sound.

That being said - a well recorded, good sounding kit in a great room will always sound better than an e-kit.

[Supercreep]

I'd only want an electric kit if I could have both.