Electric Kit

[Lukerz]

Has anyone had any experience with electric THIS (http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/P/2999/DTXPLORER+ELECTRONIC+DRUM+KIT)kit?

I'm looking to buy my first drum kit and would prefer electric because of the bonus features it holds (metronomes, programmable kits, no need to tune, songs to play along to etc.). The one above is within my price range and has MORE than enough features to keep me happy for quite a while. If you have this kit or have played on it before, is it any good? Do you recommend it for an beginner / intermediate drummer?

Another question, can I add more drums to an electric kit? Like just buy another pad and program the correct sound to it? Is that possible? Are there enough ports to plug it in, or are the drum kits only designed for the pads they come with?

Also just one more question, you can use a double bass pedal like THIS (http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/P/PEDG003/6611DB+DOUBLE+BASS+DRUM+PEDAL) on an electric kit, right?

Thanks for the help guys, I know I asked alot so I appreciate it a million :)
-Luke

[Chippy569]

the double pedals work

tho the cheapest way is DIY...

http://www.inkinc.hostedz.com/images/drums/Ekit/KickBridge4.jpg

[Lukerz]

I've been thinking about building my own e-kit but I'm hugely busy with exams coming up, plus I'm not exactly 'DIY savvy', so I don't think building a kit would be the best option for me *chuckles*. Also my kit is going to be a present for getting good grades in my exams coming up in the next few months, so for me, what ever option I choose, will be free anyway, so may aswell avoid the hassle of building one.

Also thanks for confirmation on the double pedals mate :)

But yea, back to my first post, anyone got any experience on the kit?
-Luke

[Chippy569]

i tested one at my local 'shop, and it was... OK i guess. the hats would drive me nuts within an hour.
if you've played an acoustic kit traditionally, those rubber pads will weird you out. be careful with your wrists - Zildjian makes some Anti-Vibe sticks that really do help on those pesky pads!

[Pauly]

I don't think you can add any more pads to the dtxplorer. If you can, it might only be 1 more. I'm not a fan of the rubber pads, mesh heads definitely give a greater feel.

I'm hoping the number 1 reason you're getting an electronic set is for noise restrictions. The novelty of an electronic set wears off rather quickly. However, its great for silent practicing or merging with an acoustic set.

[Lukerz]

Cool, thanks for the replies people.

I know this map seem noobie, but that's what I am :D, so can I just ask what a mesh head is? I hear of them alot but have no idea what they are. And yes, my mum won't let me get an acoustic kit because they are too noisy, though I will be buying one after I get an electric.

-Luke

[Pauly]

Mesh heads are heads made out of mesh. They're like flywire. The picture Chippy posted of his bass drum has a mesh head on it - you can see through it.

The advantage of mesh heads are that they give a rebound that resembles an acoustic drum's rebound. Rubber pads are a tad more noisier and give a strong rebound that isn't as realistic. You'll generally end up pay more for an electronic kit with mesh heads though(such as the Roland V-drums).

[dairyairman]

i have a dtxpress III, which is one level up from the dtxplorer. the dtxpress III pads and hardware are the same, but the module supports a lot more sounds and kit configurations.

i use my dtxpress kit a lot for practice because i have space and noise issues to deal with. i like it a lot, but like everyone will tell you it's definitely not the same as playing a real kit.

i know on my kit i can add one more trigger pad. i'm not sure about the dtxplorer. and yes, you can definitely use a double pedal with that bass trigger. i use an iron cobra with mine and it works fine.

a mesh head is similar to a regular drum head except it consists of a woven material that is very quiet when you hit it. some of the more advanced electronic kits use them for triggers. you can get mesh heads for an acoustic kit too, but then your kit will be quiet all the time, unless you don't mind changing out all the heads when you need to play with your band.

[Lukerz]

Cool, again thanks for the replies people :D

There are some electric kits in a store not too far from me, I'm gonna go try them out when I can, and I'm pretty sure one of them has atleast one mesh head, so I can see the difference myself.

Thanks for all the help guys :)

[pitchfork]

Would your mum allow you to get an acoustic with silencer pads to cut 90% of the noise?
If not roland makes absolutely ace electronic kits, the cymbals on electrics always sound bad but i suppose you can't reallly get round that.

[HighOnFire666]

I have the roland V drums electronic set. I dont have the one with all mesh heads, mine is the one with the 1 mech snare head but it has more sounds than the lower model one. The advantage of having an electronic set besides the sound is that you can hook it up to another synth through MIDI and do some increible sounding stuff like playing other instruments on the drums, or you can use MIDI to trigger sounds into a sequencer recording program like Sonar or Fruity Loops. Electric sets are also WAYYYYYYY easier to record with (I'd definately know) There are so many options for the sound too, its not just like what the drum sound comes as is all it can sound like. You can set the reverb, the room type, gate time, compression, and a lot of other factors to make it sound good. I played that yamaha one in the store for a few hours because I spent a lot of time before i made my decision to by my set, and I'm lad I got mine. The yamaha one doesnt have any "fun" sounds and the regular kits dont sound to good at all to me. Seriously, get the roland V drums set. Get the one with the 1 mesh snare head unless you can afford the all mesh headed one. The redular pad one isn't that great. I think its the TD 6 but mine has 99 present patches but all the ones i looked at online only say 64 presets. Wierd?? Anyway, yea it rules. The yamaha one doesnt come close, really.

[Fimbulwinter]

i know on my kit i can add one more trigger pad. i'm not sure about the dtxplorer. and yes, you can definitely use a double pedal with that bass trigger. i use an iron cobra with mine and it works fine.
Are you sure about that? 'cause I use a DTXpress II and I can add two pads.
If you have this kit or have played on it before, is it any good? Do you recommend it for an beginner / intermediate drummer
As said already you'll never get the same feel or sense of dynamics as you get on an acoustic set. But it's absolutly fantastic if you have to keep the noise levels down. You'll be able to develop coordination just fine. And it's alot more fun to play on digital set then with mesh heads. Plus, it's very smoothe to add a background track via a regular mini-stereo cord. I've wired my set to my computer so I can play to mp3s.

However, you won't develop the same kind of streangth in your arms, wrists and fingers because the the sticks rebounds on the pads rebound alot easier than on an acoustic set.

Blörghalo, can't be arsed to read through so bear with typos and what not~

[_Austin_]

Save your money, unless you need an electric kit to keep noise drastically down; dont buy one. The novelty wears off very quickly

[Lukerz]

Are you sure about that? 'cause I use a DTXpress II and I can add two pads.

As said already you'll never get the same feel or sense of dynamics as you get on an acoustic set. But it's absolutly fantastic if you have to keep the noise levels down. You'll be able to develop coordination just fine. And it's alot more fun to play on digital set then with mesh heads. Plus, it's very smoothe to add a background track via a regular mini-stereo cord. I've wired my set to my computer so I can play to mp3s.

However, you won't develop the same kind of streangth in your arms, wrists and fingers because the the sticks rebounds on the pads rebound alot easier than on an acoustic set.

Blörghalo, can't be arsed to read through so bear with typos and what not~

Thanks mate, really helpful. It won't be a while until I get a kit anyway, so I have plenty of time to make up my mind but at the moment the DTXplorer looks like the one that I'll be going for.

[dairyairman]

Are you sure about that? 'cause I use a DTXpress II and I can add two pads.


no i'm not positive. let me put it this way. i know i can add *at least* one more pad to my dtxpress III, but i've never tried it.