binky_bass Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 13 minutes ago, Bankai said: It depends at what volume it’d be. Low volume it’ll be fine I imagine. I was just thinking more it could be an opportunity to get something with a bit more heft that can play double duty as a FRFR monitor for bass performance, or vocal monitor, etc. Any recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankai Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 (edited) 12 minutes ago, binky_bass said: Any recommendations? Keeping it still cheap, I’d probably go for the pro version of the box monitor. https://m.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pro_mon_a12.htm?o=56&search=1610317697 It’s a bottomless pit where you can spend as much money as you want really. That sort of thing should do you, but if you want to spend more you’ll get better. Edited January 10, 2021 by Bankai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 I think the pedals are the biggest compromise on the cheap kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 Re monitor I used the Roland PM3-V which despite being VERY heavy is small, does a great job with kick even at low volumes, and has two HF monitors. I never giggled with it, but it would be up to the job for small events. I also use it is a bass amp occasionally. Russ, I’d sell you mine but it would cost a fortune to courier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 11 hours ago, binky_bass said: I already have a great pair of studio headphones (AKG K702), but would like a monitor as I prefer to hear the sound it an open room and not via headphones (though I will use the headphones from time to time for sure!) I only have a small room to shoe horn this into so the playback won't be super loud, I'd thought that this 120w monitor would be able to produce a decent sound and a low-ish volume without bass clipping. Do you think it would suffice for a small room as an alternative to headphones when I don't want to wear them? IME a monitor for home use is a complete non-starter if you have potential noise issues with you neighbours. To be able to properly hear the drum sounds being generated over the noise of the sticks hitting pads will require turning it up to nuisance volume levels. For at home you will need to stick to headphones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 6 minutes ago, BigRedX said: IME a monitor for home use is a complete non-starter if you have potential noise issues with you neighbours. To be able to properly hear the drum sounds being generated over the noise of the sticks hitting pads will require turning it up to nuisance volume levels. For at home you will need to stick to headphones. That is true, one of the reasons I sacked my e-kit was that to get the best out of it for anything other than headphone use it ended up being as loud as a normal kit; too little amplification (or poor quality amplification) meant you heard the noise of the kit above the noise of the drums if you get my drift. I always felt that whilst with a real kit noise of kit and noise of drums are synonymous (possibly wrong word there), with an e-kit the two were often at odds. I didn’t explain that very well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 3 minutes ago, Beedster said: That is true, one of the reasons I sacked my e-kit was that to get the best out of it for anything other than headphone use it ended up being as loud as a normal kit; too little amplification (or poor quality amplification) meant you heard the noise of the kit above the noise of the drums if you get my drift. I always felt that whilst with a real kit noise of kit and noise of drums are synonymous (possibly wrong word there), with an e-kit the two were often at odds. I didn’t explain that very well I totally get that. However the potential for playing non-traditional percussions sounds from a drum kit is the main point of electronic drums for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted January 11, 2021 Author Share Posted January 11, 2021 What's your thoughts on the below set up? And what do you think a 'good price' for it would be? It might be an option... Everything in the picture is included in the potential package deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 39 minutes ago, BigRedX said: I totally get that. However the potential for playing non-traditional percussions sounds from a drum kit is the main point of electronic drums for me. Yep, I totally get that as well On reflection the mistake I made, despite doing a whole lot of research into the best kit for my money, was believing that e-drums were going to be a low noise solution for rehearsing and recording traditional drum sounds (jazz, rock and blues). This was in part because none of the genres in question require either an especially 'big' or non-traditional sound, but also many drummers I'd like to have used them to rehearse/record simply did not like playing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 14 minutes ago, binky_bass said: What's your thoughts on the below set up? And what do you think a 'good price' for it would be? It might be an option... Everything in the picture is included in the potential package deal. It looks decent, except is that a real snare drum, in which case it's a fail on the be-kind-to-neighbours basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted January 11, 2021 Author Share Posted January 11, 2021 Right, I've done the sensible thing (a hard thing to do!) I've picked up (local and socially distanced) a 1yr old pre-owned Millenium MPS-850 with a Mapex stool, and a few little extras for £275 all in. I think at that price I can really give it a good go, and if I want to go for something Roland etc in a few months I can always shift this on an break even fairly easily. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankai Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 That’s a good price! Leaves you a nice bit spare to pick up a double pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 4 hours ago, binky_bass said: Right, I've done the sensible thing (a hard thing to do!) I've picked up (local and socially distanced) a 1yr old pre-owned Millenium MPS-850 with a Mapex stool, and a few little extras for £275 all in. I think at that price I can really give it a good go, and if I want to go for something Roland etc in a few months I can always shift this on an break even fairly easily. Good shout mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaRik Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 I've also taken the plunge into electronic drums but went a slightly different route and opted for the Alesis Crimson II kit - hopefully it'll arrive later this week. My theory is that if I actually splash some cash then I'll be much more likely to stick at it, where a cheap/used kit that only cost a couple of hundred may sit there gathering dust and I wouldn't be too bothered. Our drummer is a drum tutor and I'll be taking lessons with him on a weekly basis via WhatsApp. I must admit that I'm looking forward to getting stuck into something that I've been fascinated by for years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 (edited) I did look at the Alesis Crimson II myself. It got some good reviews, however the reviews on the Millenium MPS-850 were very convincing. I've now played it for a few hours and I must say that it feels far better, and sounds far better than you'd expect to get at this price point. I did also read that the Alesis stuff is made in the same place as the Fame and Millenium kits, so that would suggest a lot of parts crossover but probably with better chassis for the pads. Edited January 12, 2021 by binky_bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 On 11/01/2021 at 11:07, binky_bass said: What's your thoughts on the below set up? And what do you think a 'good price' for it would be? It might be an option... Everything in the picture is included in the potential package deal. Well it's not the best sounding printer out there but once it's fired up it's pretty fast! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 Obviously I meant the wash basket... 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankai Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 Updates a week later, how are you getting on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 (edited) The kit is fine, for me and my purposes it's more than enough for a good while! I picked up a different, throne type, stool and added a Gibraltar double kick pedal. So as it stands it owes me £375 including the kit, throne and pedal. My Roland 60w cube is perfectly fine as a small monitor when not using headphones so there was no need to buy a separate one. All in I think this option was the best option, far cheaper that new and far far cheaper than Roland. The mesh heads feel tight and responsive, maybe a little more bouncy than an acoustic kit. It feels like good value for what was paid and you can't say fairer than that! Been tring to put in 30-60 mins practice a day after work, still very much enjoying it! Edited January 20, 2021 by binky_bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 3 hours ago, binky_bass said: The kit is fine... That's excellent. Well done, old chap. You are now at least partly responsible for my searching for (and hopefully, finding...) a similar Good Deal to upgrade my Alesis Nitro Mesh kit. GAS..? Possibly... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankai Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 If they’re too bouncy reduce the tension on the heads until you get a realistic rebound and hopefully that’ll solve it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaRik Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) This is the Crimson II kit that i ended up with...and already added a 4th 8" rack tom and a 2nd dedicated ride that will be used as a china type. Absolutely loving learning to play drums which is sort of scratching a life-long itch if the truth be know. I have no idea of the drum-learning curve - how long it should take to play off beats (before and after the beat), open hats, simple 4/4 open handed, hi-hats triplets as a fill - I don't know where the hell I am in relation to what's good/bad/indifferent progress but I know I'm having a load of fun and it's taken about a week to get the hang of the above on a 4/4 beat! Lessons have proved to be a good thing in terms of technique, exercises to ensure progression etc. (I have also cabled wrapped the cables nicely - it was day one and I wanted to hit things!) Edited January 25, 2021 by DaytonaRik 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 @DaytonaRik - Nice! That's now almost the exact same set up as my kit, I added a double kick which is great fun to play with. So long as your having fun thats all that matters! I've played my kit for about 30 minutes everyday since buying it and I have noticed a marked improvement, I'm able to keep up with most tracks from 'Keep The Faith' by Bon Jovi, with the exception of a few of Tico's fills and hi-hat moves. When I started I was just about able to muddle through a few Weezer tracks. Keep on smashing dem (fake) skins! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaRik Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 After a 3-4 days of 30 mins a day... video-1611530897.mp4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said: After a 3-4 days of 30 mins a day... That's darned good, and pretty much rock-steady. The key is to go s-l-o-w-l-y, as you're doing; it's by far the fastest way forward. S-l-o-w is the new fast. A word..? There are two schools of bass drum pedal: heel up and heel down. I see that you're 'heel up'; it might be worth doing exactly the same exercises 'heel down'; this brings into play different muscles and tendons, and is very useful for expression and finesse. As it is, you're 'burying' the beater into the skin; it's useful to have the beater strike, then come off the skin, without rebound, in the same way as your sticks don't stay down on the drum head. Discuss, maybe with your tutor..? A looser grip of the snare stick (a more supple wrist..?) would be something to think about, too, right from the start. Again, your tutor will have advice on these minor points. Good Stuff; here's my usual encouraging phrase... 'It's the first forty years that are the hardest, after which things, sometimes, tend to get slightly better'. You're doing well. Edited January 25, 2021 by Dad3353 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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