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Electronic Drums

Started by QuadGod083, May 26, 2002, 12:15 PM

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QuadGod083

Hello, Bart.  It's me, Adam Blevins back from a long hiatus from the Drummer Cafe.
I have a question for you about electronic drumsets.  I am probably going to be purchasing one in the next month or two and I would like your opinion.  I will be using the drumset mostly for practice (since it is a lot easier to practice to sequenced music at a reasonable sound level), but also for live performances and studio gigs, though not very often.  I am on a somewhat limited budget (i.e. $2000 - $2200) so my choices are quite limited I have almost decided to buy a Roland V-club set along with the Roland personal monitoring system.  
So my question is this:  Given my needs and my budget, what is your opinion on the electronic drumset I should buy.  I have also been looking at KAT and Hart Dynamics sets (although info on Hart is quite scarce).  Any input you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Bart!
--adam--

Bart Elliott

There's no question in my mind that the drumKAT is far more powerful than the V-drums. I'd rather not go into all the pros and cons at this time ... but if you visit  http://www.alternatemode.com]Alternate Mode  (makers of all KAT products), you can see just what the KAT can do.

The only real draw back I can see about having a KAT is the physical apperance on stage ... and perhaps the ability to place the pads in a position so that it's laid out just like acoustic drums. If you don't care what it looks like on stage (the V-drums actually like a drumkit because of the pads), then what you've got to decide is whether it's important for you to be practicing having to move 2+ feet to get from your snare to the floor tom ... rather than 8 inches ... just as an example.

The feel of any electronic drumkit is NOT going to respond and feel like acoustic drums. Companies are doing well at working towards this, but personally I think it's impossible. The way the head and air moves within a drum ... not to mention the feel of sound pressure coming from the drum ... the list goes on and on.

So that's my take on it. I thought long and hard before I bought my drumKAT, although the V-drums where not on the market back then. I would still choose the drumKat ... and if I had the money and wanted an electronic kit that laid out like an acoustic kit, I'd probably go with the ddrum.

You need to also know that the drumKAT comes with NO SOUNDS, which can be good or bad depending on want your immediate needs are ... and of course, your budget. If you need sounds with the budget you mentioned ... you may want to look at the V-drums. Maybe forget about getting the monitoring system and just get the drumKAT and a sampler. These days, most samplers have head phone outputs. You can by a cheap Mackie mixer if you really need more versatility.

You can always purchase the monitoring system for live gigs ... and who knows, you may not really need it since the sound reinforcement system can provide what you need. Obviously you may not have as much control as you would like ... but with a few paying gigs you can purchase the monitoring system for yourself.

So ... in my opinion ... I think you should get the drumKAT and a sampler of some sort. With your interest in electronic music and studio work, owning your own sampler is a REAL plus. I've got an AKAI S6000, but you don't have to go that extreme to start out.

Hope this helps a bit.

Good to have you back!