How to Buy an Electronic Drum Set

It’s amazing what you can buy today in terms of home-recording equipment. What might have cost $10,000 in the past, costs around $1000 today. Of course, you can still find very expensive electronic kits put out by Roland and other companies, but most electronic drum sets (or V-drums) are less expensive and more feature-rich than sets in the past. Here’s a primer.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Determine how you want to use the set. If you’re only using it as a practice set, the brain (or interface) of the drum set is not that important. If you’re using it for recording, you’ve got some other considerations which the next few steps will cover.

2. Investigate the major brands. The best two brands on the market are Yamaha and Roland. Keep in mind price: the lowest priced Roland is $900 (HD-1) and the lowest priced Yamaha is around $700 (the DTXplorer).

3. Be sure to find an electronic drum set with Midi Out capability so you can connect the drum set to a computer or another sequencer to record. USB capability is also recommended because this offers faster transmission of data to a Midi cable.

4. Make sure the V-drum brain is flexible. Not all DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, such as Pro Tools) will map V-drums in the same way. So if you hit the snare drum, it may come out as a cymbal within the software program. There is mapping software available, but as there is no industry standard for drum mapping, this might not always work. A brain such as the Alesis Trigger I/O helps you map one drum at a time on the brain itself.

5. Consider playability. Even though you’re only playing pads, test out a few kits to make sure which is the most comfortable. Roland V-Drums have the best reputation because they employ flexible mesh-heads that more closely mimic the feel of actual drums.

6. Determine if you want single zone or dual zone pads. For instance, a dual zone snare drum can play both a regular snare hit as well as a rim hit. Not all DAWs or drum software will recognize dual zone triggers, so this should be a consideration.

7. Check out drum software such as Addictive Drums, BFD or EZ Drummer. These plug-ins work within your DAW. Instead of digital simulating drums, they are actual samples of drums played in a studio. Check to see if there are demos available so you can look at the interface.

Tips & Warnings

• If you’re triggering sounds within software, get a set that has a velocity sensitive hi-hat pedal. This can simulate the opening and closing of a hi-hat like a real drum set. Cheaper e-drums may not have this capability.