Electronic Drum Kit Recommendations

[Joeyfivebags]

My nephew is interested in learning drums but obviously mum and dad aren't too keen on the noise associated, but very happy for him to learn (his sister is learning guitar). Therefore i am after some recommendations for beginner electronic kits budget likely to be around £300 and i think they would be open to buying second hand.

[franzbassist]

I would recommend a used Roland TD kit off eBay or Gumtree.

We picked up a TD6 for my son and it cost just £130, so we added a mesh snare, decent hi hat and an amp for less than an entry level unit would cost new. You just have to bide your time and be willing to collect.

[roman_sub]

or Roland HD-3. Mesh snare makes a big difference.

[Bigwan]

I'm in the process of doing an acoustic to electric conversion on a well used Stagg fusion drum kit at the minute for my home-based silent rehearsal project. So far I'm just over 200 quid (used TD6V module off the bay, DIY drum triggers, second hand Stagg kit and Alesis cymbals off gumtree), but it takes some DIY and experimentation, and I'll probably break the 300 quid mark by the time I'm finished (need pretty much all hardware replaced since the stagg stuff is AWFUL). Just putting it out there as a possible option.

My thinking was it would feel more like a real drum kit. The drummer in my previous band bought a TD3 and gigged it for a while (which was great - nice quiet stage!) but lost interest in it as the feel wasn't right.

[BigRedX]

Bear in mind that electronic kits are only quiet in relation to the noise that an acoustic kit makes.

I've played in bands with a variety of electronic drum kits over the years and have yet to find one where the noise of the sticks hitting the pads don't mask the drum sounds at anything less than very loud hifi volumes. Also you will probably have to find a way isolating the bass drum pedal from the floor, especially if you intend to use in any room that has another one beneath it.

[chris_b]

IMO an electric kit is not the best way of learning drums. Play one after you've learnt but not to learn on.

[Ba55me15ter]

You should be able to get a decent used Yamaha kit for that price too, more or less on a par with Roland. If you really want to bring an electronic kit to life, get a decent USB computer sound interface, connect the kit via midi and listen on headphones using drum sample software, eg. EZDrummer, Superior Drummer or BFD.

[Guest subaudio]

To start learning, anything by Roland is good, but as mentioned, as you progress you quickly grow out of the compact format, especially if you also use a real kit.

I started with a Roland TD4KP but then went hybrid.

I bought a set of mesh heads for my acoustic kit, bought triggers, used the td4 brain "high hat" & crash and upgraded the ride.

Id say building a hybrid kit would be the cheapest way to get a realistic experience, any old acoustic kit will do and brains and triggers come up used.

Also, if you have underneath neighbours, google "tennis ball platform" to stop the vibrations upsetting neighbours.

Edited July 2, 2017 by subaudio

[Guest subaudio]

Theres also "silent" cymbals, Zildjian do a set.
Buy a cheap real kit, replace the batter heads with mesh heads and use the quite cymbals, they are made of metal but full of holes.

With the mesh heads you still hear pitch from the bottom heads but its much much quieter.

I must point out that I haven't played the quite cymbals so don't know how quite they are but certainly a lot quieter than real cymbals.

[mikel]

I practice on a cheap Yamaha e-kit, without it my only drumming time would be at band practice, once a week. Get a cheap one and if any noise is a big issue go for mesh heads where possible. I play mine every night through headphones and it has no impact on the missus in our small house. One of the big plusses with an e-kit is the facility to play your music of choice through the unit and play along with the songs, through headphones. Having an e-kit brought my drumming along in leaps and bounds as its useable almost anytime, an acoustic kit is not if you live in an ordinary house with others close by. The transition from e-kit to acoustic is easy if you place the pads in the same positions you place your drums and cymbals on the real kit.