Electronic Drums - for Recording...

[shackrock]

So I had an awesome Mapex kit a while back...but I sold them when I left for school.

Now, I'm doing a lot of recording again, and want a drum set so badly...I'm tired of sequenced drums, and the samples that I have.


sooooooo, to make my life easier, I'm looking for an electronic drumset to accomplish the following:
*Recording. I'll want to be able to record each drum, cymbal, etc. on a different track (all at the same time)...so multiple outputs. I'll also want it to sound as realistic as possible!
*Feeling. I would hope that it feels at least similar to a real drum set.

I've never looked into electronic drums much, so any at all feedback or guidance in the right direction would be great.

I am certain that, at this point, I do not want to spend anything near 1000...less than 500 would be ideal, but then again I know I get what I pay for...

[BlackHawk2029]

make or buy some triggers - alesis i|o to connect them to the pc via USB - either BFD or DFH. that's your best bet. screw the module and use your pc as the sound source..... record to MIDI track. that way if you dont like a certain drum in the mix you can change it out. I know DFH actually has the samples seperated like a normal mic'd kit, so you have your track for each drum (toms are in groups) and overhead, room, and hihat mics. I believe BFD is similar. The Alesis Trigger i|o comes with a copy of BFD light as well iirc.

[shackrock]

hm...This does sound cool. But, I want it to play like a real set (ie, set it up like a drum set...not just hitting pads on a desk)....what part of what you said allows that to happen?

[Kirk Markarian]

Originally Posted by shackrock

hm...This does sound cool. But, I want it to play like a real set (ie, set it up like a drum set...not just hitting pads on a desk)....what part of what you said allows that to happen?

You can build your own drum frame too - you don't have to leave the pads on the desk. Or, you can buy pads and stands - the pads probably will mount on cymbals stands. Or, if you are daring, you can make a pipe rack or a wooden rack to mount the pads on. You will set it up like a drum set.

[BlackHawk2029]

yep. grab some cheap drumshells, like a 10" and a 12" with the edges already cut, chop 'em into 3rds , and that'll give you 4 toms, kick, and snare. or two kicks, three toms, and a snare. get some mesh heads, some piezos, some 1/4" jacks, and some foam, build a bridge to throw in there, slap it together, mount it off some cymbal stands or a rack, and WHABAM there you go.

[BlackHawk2029]

you can also use those stagg practice cymbals to make your cymbal triggers, and you can throw a tape switch on the bottom if you want them to be chokeable. http://www.toontrack.com/forum/tt.aspx?forumid=52 there's all kinds of good info here on how to do things, and how to wire these bad boys up. Building your own is a lot cheaper, and much more rewarding.

[shackrock]

hmmm...this does sound pretty cool. To be honest though, I don't know if I have the time or "want" to do that all right now. haha. Which is kind of why I wanted a quick e-drum solution in the first place (don't have to deal with drum mics, just plug it in!).... I'll have to think about it.

So you guys are really against the whole 500 dollar electronic drum kit pacakges? haha

[elly-d]

buy a decent real kit and some mics second hand, it will feel real and sound real. or buy an electic kit and it will sound almost real and feel almost real but you will know it isn't. that sort of stuff bothers me but not everyone. my opinion is that if you are making live sounding music i.e not electro then don't use electric drums it just sounds awful.

but hey do what you want to do.

[Kirk Markarian]

Originally Posted by elly-d

buy a decent real kit and some mics second hand, it will feel real and sound real. or buy an electic kit and it will sound almost real and feel almost real but you will know it isn't. that sort of stuff bothers me but not everyone. my opinion is that if you are making live sounding music i.e not electro then don't use electric drums it just sounds awful.

but hey do what you want to do.

I'm in the same boat as elly-d here. I hate electronic drums. I hate the way they feel and the way they sound. I've never felt good playing them. EVER!!!

$500 can buy you a used kit and some cymbals if you look hard enough. You can get some really nice older used kits for very little, and then spend some money on some decent cymbals, which you can also get used if you really work at it.

[LemonTree]

I bought a cheap electronic kit about 4 months ago with ezdrummer's DFH and haven't looked back. In hind sight I wish I'd saved a few more weekds and went for the roland TD3, only because they are built a bit sturdier, they don't play any better or sound any different through DFH.

The advantags of rcording midi means one accidenal rim hit in a performance can be fixed with the click of a mouse, no need to retrack the whole song again.

I have to say the overall sounds in DFH are some of the most realistic I've heard. Nobody can tell if I used the electronic kit and DFH or a real kit in a session just by listening. You also have full control over the mix of the kit with ezdrummers mic mixer with seperate channels for kick, snare top, snare bottom, as many toms as you have in the kit, overheads AND a room mic.

[shackrock]

Originally Posted by LemonTree

I bought a cheap electronic kit about 4 months ago with ezdrummer's DFH and haven't looked back. In hind sight I wish I'd saved a few more weekds and went for the roland TD3, only because they are built a bit sturdier, they don't play any better or sound any different through DFH.

The advantags of rcording midi means one accidenal rim hit in a performance can be fixed with the click of a mouse, no need to retrack the whole song again.

I have to say the overall sounds in DFH are some of the most realistic I've heard. Nobody can tell if I used the electronic kit and DFH or a real kit in a session just by listening. You also have full control over the mix of the kit with ezdrummers mic mixer with seperate channels for kick, snare top, snare bottom, as many toms as you have in the kit, overheads AND a room mic.

Yeah so that sounds awesome to me... can you tell me what cheap kit you bought? ha

[BlackHawk2029]

Originally Posted by shackrock

Yeah so that sounds awesome to me... can you tell me what cheap kit you bought? ha

Just keep in mind, you'll need a way to get that MIDI into your pc, via your audio interface if it supports midi, or through a cheap 1x1 usb or firewire midi interface.

[Mistral]

If you want something that feels somewhat like a real kit, you're gonna have to spend more than 1000. Look into the TD series Roland kits.. the TD3 has a mesh snare and opening hi-hats. As you go up the series, you get more mesh heads for stuff like toms, but obviously costing quite a bit more. TD3 will probably put you back about 1500 new, but you should be able to find some good used deals on em. Really, rubber pads are for the most part fine, I bought Yamaha DTXplorers over a year ago, and they're really good for midi recording. For your price range I'd probably have to say something like the Alesis DM5 drumkit's latest revision, make sure it is the one that came out this year, not the 2006 kit..

[LemonTree]

Originally Posted by shackrock

Yeah so that sounds awesome to me... can you tell me what cheap kit you bought? ha

Session Pro DD505, also marketed as the Legacy DD505 and half a dozen other names