Looking for an electronic drum kit for son-in-law

I am looking for an electronic drum kit for my son-in-law and need some help. I don't know anything about this but want to buy a good quality kit. Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

Let's start here;

How much do you want to spend?

Question #2: Is this for playing around at the house, or is he a professional that gigs out?

kestrou

Question #3: Does he own an acoustic?

I sent you a PM. I deal for both Pintech and Hart. Both are equally good quality and are MUCH cheaper options than Roland. With Pintech, you will find their customer support 2nd to none! If you get time, visit:

http://www.edrumforum.com/

This forum has a wide variety of guys who use everything from Roland, Pintech, Hart, Alesis to DIY stuff!

Brian

Just because they're cheaper doesn't mean they're better. Maybe you could make some more valid points of value versus Roland?

I've played Roland, Yamaha, and Alesis kits. My personal preference was for the roland. I found them easier to navigate the brains and just more natural feeling. If I remember correctly, the pads on the Alesis kit I played were Hart. They seemed OK, but the sound module was outdated.

I have a Hart kit with a Roland TD-12 and it is fantastic. I'm waiting for a new Pintech ride as we speak (thanks, Brian) and will report on that when it arrives.

Thank you for the replies, to start with he doesn't have an acoustic set at present. He has in the past, but doesn't have the room in his apt. not to mention the noise issue. I'm looking to get the highest quality kit, one that he might be able to gig with in the future if he wanted to. As far as price, I was hovering around the $600 range but could be flexible for the right product.

You might be able to find something used for $600, but it won't be anything special. Mid-range will be around 1700-2000, would be my guess. Roughly 3k for the hi-end stuff. That's pretty much what this stuff costs.

Roland largely owns the market. Their sound modules are good, but I don't have much faith in their pads and stands for road worthiness. Too much plastic under stress.

Yamaha makes a comparable kit which seems more durable, and a little cheaper. They are definitely worth checking into. The new DTextreme III is quite nice from what I've heard, which means you might be able to find some used DTextreme II's for a good price. Check around.

A new company called 2Box, which is made up of the same people who created the highly prized Ddrum kits, is releasing a kit called the DrumItFive, which looks like it will be amazing. However it may be difficult to obtain in the states, and I don't know any pricing info on it. Check them out though. http://www.2box.se/index.html

The Hart and Pintech pads are cheaper and made of more durable materials than the Roland. Some people don't like the response they get from them, but such things are very personal. Some people can't stand the Roland mesh pads either.

Also, you need to consider sound amplification. If he's just going to play at home, then a decent pair of headphones will do the trick. Gigging however is another story.

Any other questions feel free to ask.

If you want something in that price range that is decent, you'll need to go used. A module makes all the difference, too. A Roland TD-12 and above will give the most realistic effects and playability but those go for $800+ used. Roland TD-6 or a Yamaha DTExpress or something Brian might suggest from Pintech might work. For realistic feel, mesh heads are preferred to rubber pads (by most drummers).

If you find something on CL in your area, post and we can give you some opinions.

If you really want to do your research, look at www.vdrums.com

Something like this could be a very good deal: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/msg/758789232.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/msg/751833467.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/msg/753218435.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/msg/755890180.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/msg/757830104.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/msg/758091104.html

http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/728171609.html

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-DTXplorer-Electronic-Drum-Set?sku=490906

little yamaha action.

Very true, that's why I didn't say they were better. Same same features, same function, but nearly 1/2 the price. Pintech's drums made from a cast metal shell that is nearly indestructible, they have external gain controls on the individual drum, the're made here in the US and when you call to get help with your product, you're going to get someone on the phone!

Don't forget to check out Traps Drums.

Might I say, what a nice dad-in-law you are! I've seen dads search out equipment, but not too many of the in-laws. Wow! Very Cool...I commend your effort...

I have a Roland TD-3 which I bought used for $700 and it's great for what I need. I would also consider the Yamaha DTXplorer for about $700, and would look into the Pintech and Hart for comparison - my pads are all rubber and mesh would have been nice.

I've got a customer who has a TD3 kit in mint condition that he is looking to sell. You could probably get a pretty good price on it! I'm not sure of the exact model number, but it's the kit with mesh snare and rubber toms. Shoot me an email brian@hopedrums.com

I almost forgot about him. He is in the process of building a custom Pintech kit and just got the TD12 module in and his Gibraltar rack so he is running out of room!

Brian

The other question is if he is going to be using it for recording seriously, if so then in my opinion there is only one real option in my opinion is the TD-20.

The reason I say this is outputs. All of the other brains only have 2 or maybe 3 outputs max. This means that if he is going to be doing multi track recording he will be limited to mixing before the records. This greatly limits the ability to mix a great sounding song.

With the TD-20 you get:

Kick-mono

Snare-mono

Ride-mono

Hi-hat-mono

Crashes-stereo

Toms-stereo

This means you can record individule track as you would with an acoustic kit and mix normally.

I have been playing electronic kits for about 8 years, My first kit was a Roland TD-10, then the top of the line and still a great kit.

I then decided I wanted to looks of another brand so I sold it and bought a Roland TD-8 brain and another manufactures kit

I never got it to trigger as well as the Roland kit did out of the box.

I worked and tweaked for months, I got it close but never really where I wanted it. Both Roland and the other companies tech support were great but the was always that gray area where the Roland rep could not help be nor could the drum manufacture.

I finally got to the point where I decided I wanted to play the drums not tweak them. I sold all of it and bought a Roland TD-20 kit. I have no regrets.

So if I were personally to give advice I would say buy a kit where all the components come from the same manufacture, they are all built to work together and when you call tech support they are responsible for everything.

Do you have neighbors that would get pissed? If not, buy an acoustic, they can be had for much cheaper, and he will learn how to actually tune, touch, and work a drum. It's pretty hard to learn to get clean even doubles on an e-kit, when he hops on a real one he'll find out they're not so clean and not so even.

The compression does tend to smooth out a lot, I would have to agree with that.

But I still love having my e-kit, Nothing like complete privacy when I practice. Not worrying about bugging any one. It is a great way to practice for sure.

There's nothing wrong with E-kits, i wouldn't want to make an album with one, but they're great for quiet practice or maybe even a live gig or two. But think back to when you got your first kit, imagine if it was a cheapie roland TD3 or the like, and that was your only kit for years while you shedded and practiced your ass off. It just doesnt seem right, like you're crippled from the get-go.

im personally a fan of the yamahas, but theyre a bit pricey for the ones i like. i would go with the roland if i were you.

and by they way, im sure any guy would be lucky to have a father in law like you! my girlfriends dad hates me!

2box is the kit you want to be waiting for! simple as that. If your son in law is into toy town sounds/kits etc then fair enough go for the Roland and Yamaha, all they seem to be is gimmicks. Who really wants a Michael Jackson backing track which every time you hit the cymbal you get a Yeeeooow!. The sounds are (some may dis-agree) but awful imo!. I find the kits very childish and outdated.

I currently own a Ddrum 4se kit and the sounds (considering how old the kit is) are vastly superior to any other edrum kit around.

2box are basically ddrum which is why i know this new kit will be amazing, from what i've seen of there Prototype kit the sounds are great. The other great thing with the kit is, it's completely open so you can download your own samples via a pc/mac editor, the only other kit that can do this is the yamaha dtextreme III which i believe has only got 256mb of memory which is useless if you want to store any decent sounds. The 2box kit is apparently coming with 2 or 4GB memory. Also you will be able to use the likes of BFD and toontrack through the module. It will use 24bit sound whereas the others only use 16bit (maybe wrong?).

If you want a kit that is professional and sounds the business then i'd save your money and wait for this, he would not be disappointed. I'm just so excited about this kit being a ddrum player and waiting so many years for a ddrum 5 and the long awaited rumors of there being one, and it's finally coming

I wonder when 2 box will be in the US.