Are electronic drums good to learn on? I am wanting to learn the drums (aged 23 late starter I know) and thought maybe an electronic set would be good as they'd be quiet so I don't annoy the hell out of my housemates and thought it would be cool to have different sounds on them. I also like the way you can plug in your mp3 some claim to play along easily to your favourite tracks.
Any advice from you experinced people would be very much appreciated.

Nic

The only aspect mising from electronics is a real rebound
The closest thing to real drums in the electronic world are kits with mesh heads like the Roland V-Drums
However, they still do not respond in a truly acoustic sense, so there are still some subtleties that you will no be able to learn
But, then again, who says you have to follow any rules
As long as you progress, it doesn't matter if you play a real kit or not








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i_love_freefall wrote:

Are electronic drums good to learn on? I am wanting to learn the drums (aged 23 late starter I know) and thought maybe an electronic set would be good as they'd be quiet so I don't annoy the hell out of my housemates and thought it would be cool to have different sounds on them. I also like the way you can plug in your mp3 some claim to play along easily to your favourite tracks.
Any advice from you experinced people would be very much appreciated.

Nic

Hey, some people start at 50.
I haven't got much expirience with eKits but they are good found very little sound.








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E-Drums will work just fine to learn on. Rebound is awsome, so when playing the same thing on an acoustic kit, you'l have your work cut out for you! It takes alot more finger strength and control on acoustic kits, which you will want to strive for after hearing what you can do on E-kits!

All my home practice is on my E-kit, when I go to band practice its on my practice acoustic kit, so I really push hard to achieve the same rebound results, it just makes you a better, stronger player. My Gigging kit is my "Baby", a Mapex Studio Maple double bass 8 pc kit...finely tuned and very responsive, and feels almost like my Roland kit.








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Would you say that doubling my practice time on an electronic kit would help finger strength and control on the acoustic ones?

keith bushey wrote:

E-Drums will work just fine to learn on. Rebound is awsome, so when playing the same thing on an acoustic kit, you'l have your work cut out for you! It takes alot more finger strength and control on acoustic kits, which you will want to strive for after hearing what you can do on E-kits!

All my home practice is on my E-kit, when I go to band practice its on my practice acoustic kit, so I really push hard to achieve the same rebound results, it just makes you a better, stronger player. My Gigging kit is my "Baby", a Mapex Studio Maple double bass 8 pc kit...finely tuned and very responsive, and feels almost like my Roland kit.

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i think electric its are terrible to learn on. if i only played onb a n electric kit, i would thin i was the cleanest drummer in the world. then i'd go on a normal kit and be like "what the f*ck is wrong with me"








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Quote:

i think electric its are terrible to learn on. if i only played onb a n electric kit, i would thin i was the cleanest drummer in the world. then i'd go on a normal kit and be like "what the f*ck is wrong with me"

to me, it's kind of the opposite. (unless I'm understanding that wrong)
Because with an acoustic kit, you have the actual sonic properties of acoustic sounds being created physically, I feel there's a certain 'pillow-iness' (not sure how else to express it) to acoustic drums. The envelope of the tone is a bit 'softer,' maybe looser even. With electrics, I get the feel of a very compact, tight, 'hard' envelope to the sound. Because you don't have the actual acoustic envelope to the physical sound- you have the digital hit, very precise.

I don't know if that makes a lot of sense, because to me this is more of an aspect I feel, rather than hear. But it's always given me the impression that greater accuracy is needed with E's; I would think they'd show weaknesses much more obviously than acoustics. Kind of like electric guitar with distortion; acoustics have a bigger/softer envelope that allows more room for error than the clean guitar/digital drum counterpart where more precision is needed.

I could be wrong though. And I base this on using a high-end E-kit tweaked to your playing style, not necessarily some of the toy offerings that are out there these days.

I do believe you can learn the basics of rhythm and time-keeping on a E-kit. Some techniques may yield minor differences, but you can definitely learn how to drum on a good E-kit.








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I very much agree, a fine tuned E kit has soooo much more to offer than an acoustic kit, but in the same respect there's a personal connection (especially for me, I play a custom kit) to your a's and quality of sound and feel that you just can't get with the E kit. I think if you are schooled in both versions of the instrument you can be a very well-rounded musician.

The Amazing thing about E kits is being able to hear what the kit sounds like from in front of it, what it sounds like on a recording and what aspects to it you can change, with the different mic'ing, rooms, levels, effects, sizes and tensions even different percussive elements and depths that you can change and explore it'd be silly to pass up the opportunity to own one of these. I use an e-kit for practice and for band practice, I don't think I'd ever use one at a show but if need be I think it would stand up to the challenge just fine. I'm actually incorporating my E into my A setup for my band while we perform eventually, once I figure out all the capabilities and junk. There's a lot to these especially the td-10 and 20 models. Or really any model with COSM aspects and mesh heads.

It's no different really from playing on practice pads, and everyone does that.

I think what xdose is getting at is that with an electronic kit, you can pretty much hit the pad anywhere and get the same sound, whereas on an acoustic kit the drum can make a TON of different sounds depending on where on the head you strike. Most electronic pads are small tho, and that makes for better accuracy, and I do agree with the opinion that one has to play more precisely timekeepingwise when working with electronic/sampled sounds. So there's give and take. I wouldn't expect to jump on an acoustic kit and be completely in tune with all the subtleties of playing it. This goes the other way too. Some acoustic kit players jump on an electronic kit and get all bent because it doesn't act like an acoustic kit. Well, it's not one, it's a different instrument with different personality traits.

It should be alright but when you play on a regular kit it should
feel really diffrent.

xdoseonex wrote:

i think electric its are terrible to learn on. if i only played onb a n electric kit, i would thin i was the cleanest drummer in the world. then i'd go on a normal kit and be like "what the f*ck is wrong with me"

So true, so true!

Only thing about playing on an E-kit is the transition from going to an E-kit to an acoustic kit is a little wierd like sound control for example:
You only need to touch the drum to get a moderate to loud sound, It's completley different on an Acoustic kit.








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I don't agree with the implication that an E-kit is more forgiving than an Acoustic kit. One of the beauties of the E-kit is the ability to record. So when you record yourself and then play back you may hear all sorts of timing errors - I know I do! This is a great learning tool.

Davo

Davo-London wrote:

I don't agree with the implication that an E-kit is more forgiving than an Acoustic kit. One of the beauties of the E-kit is the ability to record. So when you record yourself and then play back you may hear all sorts of timing errors - I know I do! This is a great learning tool.

Davo

I'll agree with this. In this respect, it is a good tool.

The guys on here are offering you some pretty good pro's and cons. The only thing I can think of to add is that electronics are great for if you live in an apartment or at home and the folks don't want to hear you practice, then you can play through headphones. Also, e-drums are rather pricey, especially the ones with the mesh heads, so if you're on a budget, that is something to consider.

My eight grade summer, I learned the basic beat by tapping my feet and keeping time with my hands on my knees. Then once I entered high school, I was able to use the high school's set at home. So, if you want to start with an electronic drum set, I say do it, others have started out with much less. I also live in an apt. complex so I'm doing some research for an electronic drum set. Anyone have any good input on just a set to practice on for a broke college student, let me know. Semper Fi Thurston








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DrummerZ wrote:

i_love_freefall wrote:

Are electronic drums good to learn on? I am wanting to learn the drums (aged 23 late starter I know) and thought maybe an electronic set would be good as they'd be quiet so I don't annoy the hell out of my housemates and thought it would be cool to have different sounds on them. I also like the way you can plug in your mp3 some claim to play along easily to your favourite tracks.
Any advice from you experinced people would be very much appreciated.

Nic

Hey, some people start at 50.
I haven't got much expirience with eKits but they are good found very little sound.

I'll second that (the 50 thing that is) never to late

Okay, my two cents worth. For your situation, keeping the noise level down, electronic drums are great. Roland makes a kit "HD-1", that is geared to a beginner. It takes up very little room, is inexpensive for an electronic kit, and has the mp3 feature you were speaking of. On the flipside, you really don't have many options on how the kit is set up. I own a set, and for what it is, it works well, but if you want to experiment with where you set your ride cymbal for example, you are limited; at least with the HD-1. When I first started playing, I didn't own a drum....it was a practice pad made of wood with a piece of rubber glued to it. It worked, it was quiet enough, and I could practice. It was several years before I owned a kit. It all boils down to money, and volume, and can you learn on it? Absolutley you can learn on an electronic kit; will it be the same as an acoustic, no, but you can learn and build up some chops until you take that next step. Everyone has there take or opinion, this is mine, and I hope that it helps. Oh yeah, go to the store and try them both out,acoustic an electronic, if you haven't already done so already, then you have a feel for what others here have expressed.








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I think the only advantage to edrums is coordination and dexterity development. I learned to play on the dashboard of cars and school desks, until I bought my first set. Luckily, by then, I wasn't completely annoying everyone, cuz I had a little skill. I could at least kick a beat or two. I sure didn't know anything about feel and acoustics and all that.

So, maybe learn on an electric kit - which will be very quiet - and see how coordinated you really are. You can easily learn independence of the hands and feet and have a simulated sound to hear what it sounds like. Then, move to an acoustic kit for further development - learning the feel and sound variations, etc.

Or, if you can make some noise and not bother the neighbors, just get the good old acoustic set right off the bat.

i think that acoustic kits r the best to learn on cos of the rebound and stuff like that, my electrics r spot on to just stuff around and figure out some thing, but i like acoustics beter, mainly cos i use them live

electrics r good to practice on, but i wouldlnt say get em first, get a proper kit first (now i know some of u will get there and b 'electrics r proper') acoustic kits i find are better, but thats me








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Everybody agrees...E-Kits and acoustic kits are verymuch different, we all know that. Lets get to the core of the question that was asked; are e-kits good to learn on? Yes. What you need to ask yourself before choosing an e-kit vs. acoustic is this:
When I want to practice everyday, will people bitch about the noise?
How much can I invest on something thats big enough to play (5 pc kit w/ cymbols?)
( 5 pc e-kit...$700.00-1000.00 / 5 pc acoustic w/cymbols...$400.00-700.00)
How much room do I have availiable?
Which kit is better suited for set-up/teardown, from home to practice to gigs?
Cover all the basics that come with drumming so you end up buying what you need...not what you want...that'l come later, trust me. As for me, I own an acoustic practice kit for band practice, another acoustic kit for gigs, and my roland e-kit for practice at home. I love my e-kit. I can practice any time of day or night and not bother anyone, so I usually average about 10-12 hrs of practice a week, which has increased my drumming skills tremendously. Either kit will plant a drummers seed in you, so plan your moves (and your money) wisely.








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One thing that people seem to overlook, is that if you plan on jamming out with other musicians in the near future, which you WILL want to do, an electronic kit would require speakers and cables at an added expense. The cheapest monitors i have seen retail for around $150 ea. Also, if the musicians turn up, it may not be loud enough without the use of an external amplifier. But i guess this is a little off topic, considering this thread is about weather or not they're good to learn on, but i hope this information is helpful.

Hey don’t knock the age thing I am 38 and have only been playing the drums for about 18 months and I have a Roland TD 6V. The main advantage is that it is silent practice I don’t disturb the neighbours and I don’t disturb my Wife, and it’s not just the volume but if you are learning a new rhythm or just practicing your rudiments the repetitiveness can be very tedious for people around you very quickly. I have just got an acoustic set (PDP X7) the main difference at first was the size of the drums (sounds obvious I know, but they take up a lot more room than the electronic kits each drum is just so much bigger than an electronic pad) you are hitting a lot larger area and the tone changes depending on where you hit them this can be a bit off putting at first but I have quickly got used to this and have not had many difficulties in adapting. I still use my electric most of the time and my drum tutor also uses an electronic kit for all his pupils as he has more control over the volume. To sum it up I think that electronic kits are great to learn on and enable you to practice whenever you want and not worry about disturbing others, unless of course you have no neighbours and live on your own in which case I’d suggest you go out and buy what ever kit sounds best to you.