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iDoDrums.com e-Kit Buyers Guide I often recommend to my Students that the best way to start learning to play the drums is on an electric kit. I think a huge part of this is due to the amount of control you get over your new instrument. It is far too easy to lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve on a big, loud, acoustic kit, but on an electric kit, you can put on your headphones and practice any time of the day or night, and when you get tired of that, put on some silly sounds and play some more, it’s all part of learning how to play. This guide will go through what to look out for in an e-Kit before you splash out on your new piece of kit, take a look below at all of the parts.
Crash Cymbal
Rack/Mount
Module/Brain
Ride Cymbal
Hi-Tom Mid-Tom Hi-Hat
Lo/Floor Tom
Snare Drum
Hi-Hat Control Pedal
Bass/Kick Drum
The parts listed above are absolutely vital for your electronic drum kit (e-Kit)before you buy one please make sure it has all of the items listed below. What’s in the Box; Green – Module/Brain, Hi-Hat Control Pedal, Mounting Rack Orange – Snare, Bass, Hi Med & Floor Toms Blue – Crash & Ride Cymbal, Hi-Hat
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What do I get? It is important to know what you are going to get when you buy your first e-kit. Because what you get with it can vary. With most entry level kits you tend to get included; the Drum pads, Cymbals (usually 2 Cymbal pads and the Hi-Hat pad), the Rack/Mounting system, a Bass pedal and a Stool. So usually you can set the drum kit up and play it almost right out of the box.
What are Electric Drums? Quite simply, an Electric Drum kit is a Drum kit made up of electronic pads to make practice much quieter. These pads have a great deal of technology inside them, to turn your playing into drum sounds by way of triggers. These triggers are velocity sensitive and sit inside the rubber or mesh surface that you are hitting. What’s great about electric drums is that as competition heats up between the major brands, the budget kits are sounding better and better and much more realistic than they used to, which is great for a beginner, meaning that even an entry level e-Kit can give you what you need to get going. IMPORTANT: I ADVISE THAT YOU CHECK THE KIT YOU ARE BUYING HAS VELOCITY SENSITIVE PADS, THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR PRACTICE AND PLAYING. The Velocity sensitivity means that when you hit a pad, it knows how hard you are hitting it and will react accordingly, whereas if the pads are not velocity sensitive, the kit will play out the same volume and sound whether you hit it hard or soft, which makes practice more frustrating, especially as you advance.
The Drum Brain/Module The Drum Brain is the most important part of an electric drum kit, this is where you plug all of your pads into, it turns the hits into sound and holds all of the information that your kit needs to work. Your drum brain will come with a set amount of drum kits installed onto it, so you can go through and pick your favourite sounding drum kit, and most will allow you to mix and match sounds to make your own kit. You can usually cycle through the installed kits as you
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play to decide which you like the sound of best. The amount of kits installed on the brain will depend on the quality of the kit that you buy, so check this out when you do your research.
Features There are lots of things that you can do with an Electric Drum Kit which you can’t do with an Acoustic, I will list them below. Play your Music; - One of the best things about having an e-Kit for me is having the chance to plug my iPod straight into the brain, meaning I can play along to all of my favourite songs, can’t get better than that! Headphone or Amp; - Just because you have an electric kit, it doesn’t mean you HAVE to play quietly, I know lots of people who play them live, by plugging them in to an Amplifier. So I suggest that an e-Kit is really the best of both worlds, great for silent practice, but also great for playing for people through an amplifier, so no need to worry about needing an acoustic kit! Metronome; - A key part of learning to play drums is learning about time, check that your electric kit has a metronome in the module, so that you can make sure your playing is in time, as well as being able to work on your speed. A really important part of the kit. MIDI; - MIDI is an incredible piece of engineering which allows your e-Kit to interact with other things, such as your Computer, for example. There is software out there which has Drum Sounds which when you plug in your MIDI kit, you can play and record onto your Computer without any need for Microphones. A great tool, and something I am using more and more. I use my MIDI kit with software called SuperiorDrummer, Google it for more.
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The Pads There are two types of pads which you can get on the electric drum kits out right now, you can get either a Rubber pad or a Mesh head. There are pros and cons of each type; Rubber: Reliable rubber heads, these pads will never let you down, I have had rubber pads on my electric kit for years and I have never had a single problem, they are really easy to adjust in terms of volume and sensitivity. The main downside to a rubber pad is the sound, the rubber pads are definitely louder than mesh heads, but they are still by no means loud, especially compared to an acoustic kit. Mesh: The main thing about a mesh head is the reaction between the stick and the head, it feels much more real than hitting a rubber pad as it has more give in it, much like a real drum head. The other main point is that they are so quiet, I use mesh heads at the studio, but they are on an acoustic kit, and so still have a bit of noise to them, whereas the ones on e-Kits are incredibly quiet, great for practicing next door to neighbours.
The Companies There are a few main, reliable, companies out there, so I’m going to list them for you, but don’t think that other kits aren’t worth looking at, what I suggest is that when you see a kit you like and within your budget, check it out on YouTube, that’s the best piece of advice I can give, this way you know the ins and outs of how the kit sounds and whether the person is recommending it or saying stay away. The main e-Drum companies are.. Roland Yamaha Alesis And a great budget company which I highly recommend checking out – Millenium
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So what do I recommend? Taking everything we have discussed here, I have always suggested to a budding drummer, that they don’t go for the cheapest drum kit on the market, there are sites where you can easily get hold of an unbranded drum kit for little over £100, but have always found that people who do own a drum kit like this, have no motivation to practice, the kit tends not to sound very appealing, or is too difficult to get set up properly, often really putting people off.
I hope you have found my guide helpful in one way or another look out for more guides in the download section, for ways to expand your drum kit when you find your style and start looking to upgrade your kit.
Please don’t hesitate to email me any questions...
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