E Drums Advice Please

[Mickster]

Hey......I could use some advice. I'm looking for an electronic drum set to be used live and for recording. My budget is under $1000......the more under the better. I need mesh heads and some degree of durability and reliability and good sound of course. I don't need the best ever created........but I need to avoid the crap.

So......ask me what you need to know.....as I'm not sure what to tell you about my needs.

[Mickster]

Ok....I'm a little surprised that no one has any input. Is my question too broad?

[jimmys69]

I would start looking for above that budget quality level for a used kit. Last thing you want is crap that you can't resell for same or less because it isn't adequate.

Just a general comment. I have no model recommendations.

[Guitargodgt]

I would look for a used Roland TD-9 kit with some mesh heads (there were a few models, some had all mesh while others had only a mesh snare).

I agree with jimmy69 here, cheap isn't what you want based on what you said.

[Mickster]

To be honest......I had no real idea what the budget low end should be to assure some quality. Thanks guys.

[Gtoboy]

To be honest......I had no real idea what the budget low end should be to assure some quality. Thanks guys.

Look for the best Roland or Alesis you can find used in your price range. Just my opinion. I am not a drummer but have played both and find them both good sounding and playable. They wont replace a real kit for some genres but you can always record them as midi and sub in VI sounds or print them and sub samples or whatever.

The cost/budget goes to A; the sound module and B: the triggers . Velocity sensitivity on both gets better with more cost creating more realism.

Here's some sales hype but also some good info:
Electronic Drums Buying Guide | Sweetwater

[Chili]

For recording, you can probably get just about anything and get some decent sounds out of it. For live use, you need something that's going to take some road rash and not fall apart after the 2nd gig. I don't know edrums at all, but I'm thinking you'll be looking at the higher end of your budget.

I am interested to see what you settle on. Keep us updated.

[Guitargodgt]

If I was going to buy a another e kit there are 3 things I would not compromise on.

1. It would be a Roland. Sure there are other names that do the e kit thing well (I've played Yamaha's higher end kits as well as the older alesis dm10 kits, I still prefer a Roland), but Roland just seems to be the least headache to get it reliably triggering and working with the software I use (superior drummer). Roland's sounds are pretty meh TBH but I do not care about the sounds inside the module.

2. It would have the VH11 for the high hat setup. I currently have an FD-8 pedal that goes along with a regular cymbal and it sucks. It really sucks. $160 and it's broken with no reasonable way to get it fixed ($$$). The bigger reason though is the VH11 plays significantly better (friend has a TD30)

3. It would have at least a triple zone ride. Because dual zone rides suck.

That said I'm one of those weirdos who made my own mesh head tom triggers to replace Roland's rubber toms so I couldn't care less what it comes with for toms.


So honestly something as old as a TD-9 would be fine in my opinion and I've seen them for less than a grand. The downer is that it's an older kit. The good is I know it won't be a shitty experience.

[Tadpui]

I think $1000 gives you several options. It's been a while since I've shopped for ekits, so I'm not sure if anybody has released anything new and awesome in the recent past.

I've had Yamaha's entry level kit for several years and it's still kicking. It's got the rubber pads but honestly they don't bother me. Nothing about the kit feels like a real kit anyways, so I just approach it as a different instrument. I just use it to trigger drum VSTi anyways, and it actually rocks. It's held up nicely through a few moves, but I've never gigged with it (lord help the band that would have me as their drummer )

I think that if I were to buy again, I'd want to find a kit that accepts both USB and 5-pin MIDI, to give a little more leeway regarding how long of a cable I can use. It'd be aweaome to be able to use a 25' MIDI cable instead of being limited by the max functional length of a USB cable.

Good luck in your search!

[Guitargodgt]

Just bopping back in to say I upgraded my HH setup to the Roland VH-11 and it was totally worth it. Function and feel are a huge upgrade.