new here and to electric drums

[MonkeyChops]

Hi everyone, let me first say that there is an unbelievable amount of info about electric drums on this forum and some very knowledgeable and talented people as well. I've been interested in electric drums for probably going on 10 years, mainly as a practice solution. Since having 3 kids in the last 6 years my house has shrunk as well as my opportunities for playing my acoustic set. I'm now very serious about picking and buying a good electric set. Since around October of last year I've been heavily studying the electric drum scene to try to get the best possible set for my needs, and also saving the money to make it possible. This site has been invaluable to me during this process. I decided to join up with this great community to get some more direct advise and to hopefully return the favor by contributing to the community when the opportunity presents it's self.

So I want to emulate the set I already play, that being:
5 piece with double bass pedal, ride, hi-hats, 2 crash, & 2 splash.
(Actually right now it's down to a 4 piece and 1 splash to save room and I used to play with a fast crash over the hats but that was before kids. )
The splash cymbals are not a must but it would be nice for them to be a future upgrade option.
These are the musts for my electric set:

1. must sound good
2. must be good quality
3. must be upgradable
4. must have hats, ride, & 2 crash cymbals
5. must have 3 toms, snare, and bass
6. cymbals must be at least 2 zone (3 zone preferred for ride)
7. snare has to be at least 2 zone and at least 10"
8. bass must accommodate a double pedal
9. must be compact
10. must not be crazy priced

Price is always a problem but I'm willing to spend more for quality and to get what I want. Last thing I want to do is buy a cheap set and not be happy with it. I almost pulled the trigger on a dtxtreme iii set for 2k but it was more than I wanted to spend, a bit overkill, and probably bigger than I'm wanting. Although I could definitely see myself upgrading that big and bigger once (if) I get more room. The more I think about it, the more I think a dyi job may suit me. Lots of people around here seem to be nuts about vst and it does sound appealing. This way I could start small and expand and upgrade as I go. Maybe just buy a module, rack, kick, snare, and hats to start with. At least I could practice beats and rudiments with that. And this way I could make it as compact as possible. What module would give the most bang for my buck to connect a set to a computer? I have plenty of computer hardware laying around, I'm pretty sure I could build a compact computer and maybe add a touch screen later. On the other hand, I know next to nothing about building a vst set. Any advise here would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

Welcome to the forum. Your wishlist is going to merit a higher end kit I believe. There are alternatives going with used and DIY that can help keep the price down but a module needs to be decided on first when doing a build or piecing a used kit together.Now, to me it sounds like the DTXIII/TD-12/or 2Box DrumItFive may be a nice choice of modules for you to look into. Then see if you can find a whole used kit at a deal or if buying separate pieces or a DIY build is best.

[Some Day Grey]

Welcome to the forum.

By the way, there's a tradition here - when someone posts the term "electric drums", I post the following in response:



Welcome to the club of those who have been zapped...

[MonkeyChops]

Heh, I almost said vdrums but I didn't want to sound redundant in the title. Consider me zapped

@Danial, is there a modual that is made solely for the purpose of hooking to a computer that is good? I know there's that alesis usb module but I've read bad things about it. Any reason why a ddtxtreme 2 wouldn't fit my needs in lieu of the 3? They seem to be much cheaper and more available in my area (Ohio). Thanks for the tips though, I was actually looking at a td12 set that was a ex-display model at my local guitar center. Get this, the guys boss wouldn't bring it out from the back because it was all boxed up and was the same as the pictures they were showing me so there was no need. I was like, "well, I'm not going to buy something I can't see first" and they still wouldn't get it 0.o I really hate guitar center. Is 2box a uk only thing? I can't find much in the states about them. Is it really orange only?

[Hercules]

, is there a modual that is made solely for the purpose of hooking to a computer that is good?

One of our fellows on this forum is the man:

http://www.megadrum.info/

[saku]

2box is ghastly orange only, but is beginning to be distributed in the US,

The megadrum can be tricky to set up. Research it thoroughly before taking the plunge...

[tisgnitch]

...and saku was going to say 'welcome to the forum' too.....


daniel is the man for megadrum - ask him all the questions you can think of....

[rasoo]

2box is ghastly orange only, but is beginning to be distributed in the US,

The megadrum can be tricky to set up. Research it thoroughly before taking the plunge...

'Ghastly"... says you....

Pfft... I don't look at it when I am playing and HEARING how it performs.....

[tivi]

i have an old Roland PM-16 still in good condition, will this work for BFD or orther drum software? only problem is the PM-16 does not have the hi-hat control input

[Fullback32]

Welcome to the forum MonkeyChops. Deciding what to get can definitely be a daunting task. FWIW, reading over your post, you sound more like a DIY candidate to me. I say this as you stated that you wanted to emulate what you have now. Well nothing will do that like DIY. Of course, along with that goes time and probably some frustration as you learn to do it, but there are lots of fine folks here who have gone the DIY route that will certainly help you.

I wanted a more acoustic looking/feeling kit myself so I went the Hart Pro route as I am way too impatient to DIY. They are not inexpensive (though slightly less expensive than Roland), so as you are trying to keep overall investment down, they may not be right for you. Hell, for a DIY project you could get a real cheap drum set from a pawn shop and turn it into a first class e-kit.

Whatever you decide, we look forward to seeing your kit!

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

Welcome to the forum MonkeyChops. Deciding what to get can definitely be a daunting task. FWIW, reading over your post, you sound more like a DIY candidate to me. I say this as you stated that you wanted to emulate what you have now. Well nothing will do that like DIY. Of course, along with that goes time and probably some frustration as you learn to do it, but there are lots of fine folks here who have gone the DIY route that will certainly help you.

I wanted a more acoustic looking/feeling kit myself so I went the Hart Pro route as I am way too impatient to DIY. They are not inexpensive (though slightly less expensive than Roland), so as you are trying to keep overall investment down, they may not be right for you. Hell, for a DIY project you could get a real cheap drum set from a pawn shop and turn it into a first class e-kit.

Whatever you decide, we look forward to seeing your kit!

Yep....DIY.....Hart...or even Diamond Drums if you want new at much more reasonable price than Roland. Shoot Dave even sells 2Box modules with his kits if you decide to go this route.

As for MegaDrum...I've been out of that loop for quite some time( I do know they have made some significant advances since I last used it) but you will still need a laptop and sound card that all works well together in order for it to work....and has been said, a MD does have a steep learning curve depending on the brand of gear you use it with. Personally if I were gigging and set on VST/Sample type "real" sounding drums....I would go with 2Box module (orange or not) for the quality sounds I was used to and module reliability and ease of use. For me....Computer based VST play is just to unstable and unreliable IMHO for live gigs. Your mileage may vary but I , myself will never take that chance as long as 2Box is still around.

All that said....I'm just a hobbyist at the moment so My TDW-20 modules suit me just fine for reliability and should I decided to...they will trigger software wonderfully too....but, like I said, I doubt I will ever go that route without a 2Box.

[Padowan]

Monkey - Welcome!

A pleasure to meet you, and you have found the right place to get answers...for sure!

[MonkeyChops]

This goes contrary to my own description of what I wanted in an electronic set and to the suggestion of the forum but I got a HD-1. It's actually a lot of fun and fits my criteria for being compact very well. The price was the deciding factor here: $250 with a set of rocketfish wireless headphones. For that price, I think it's a great start into the world of vdrums. I know the pedals are a lame duck but I'm thinking of getting a megadrum down the road and upgrading each pad and getting a nice kd-7 or kd-9 and fabricating the rack to accept it. I just played for an hour and a half after the kids bed time so I'm pretty happy right now . Good times, thanks for all the suggestions and support, I'll keep in touch with any upgrades I attempt with this entry level kit. I may just sell it for a profit and get something better too, can't beat the price!!!

[hairmetal-81]

Welcome to the forum MonkeyChops.
Enjoy your newly acquired HD-1 for the time being, the urge to upgrade will kick in - ...soon enough!

[KennyinDundee]

Welcome to the world of edrums and this superb forum monkey! Enjoy your kit!

Kenny