How to Make Electronic Drums Sound More Like Real Drums

Advances in electronic drums have made it possible to use electronic drums in the recording studio and on stage. With a few adjustments, electronic drums can play and sound more like a real drum set. By selecting the right type of drum trigger and adjusting settings (including MIDI velocity, drum self-rejection, drum-specific rejection, gate, reverb, and trigger sensitivity), electronic drums can feel and play more like a real drum set.

Things You'll Need

• Your drum module's user manual

Instructions

1. Adjust the velocity curve for each drum. This will increase or decrease the dynamic ranges of each drum trigger.

2. Turn off the self-rejection setting for all drums and cymbals. When self-rejection is on, only one drum will sound at a time; if you play two drums at once, one drum will be muted.

3. Increase specific rejection for all drum and cymbal triggers. Specific rejection helps prevent crosstalk between triggers.

4. Adjust the channel gate. A tight gate will cut off the sound of the drum before it develops. Making the gate stay open longer will allow the sound of the drum to develop more.

5. Adjust the reverb on each drum. Make sure the reverb sound is consistent throughout the drum set.

6. Adjust the trigger sensitivity. A higher sensitivity will increase the available dynamic range of each drum, but it could also increase crosstalk between drum triggers.

Tips & Warnings

• Use samples of real drums.

• Use the MIDI-out to trigger drum sample libraries when recording electronic drums.

• Use mesh pads instead of hard plastic pads to increase dynamic range and sensitivity.

References

• Yamaha DTXPress owner's manual