Drummers!!!Electronic or Acoustic?

Hey drumming community. I'm a bassist and thinking of getting a drum set to record with and use live for some alternative rock kinda stuff. My budget is under $1000 and I want this investment to last. I've been looking at both kinds of sets but I don't really have the practice space where I'd be able to record with an acoustic without disturbing neighbors. After much deliberation I'm leaning towards Electronic--- Alesis DM10. While roland kits are better, so I hear, the Alesis has more pads and in that price range looks a helluva lot better. Playing live I know it is unorthodox to use vdrums and it would likely look strange, so I'd want it to look as least strange as possible. Another reason I want to get vdrums is because of the sounds I can get from it. Using electronic influence in the songs can be a cool innovation in my music, and I would like the option to do so I think for some fancier beats. Also, the setup and transportation is a lot easier...Will it be worth it to get virtual drums, or is it too ridiculous live? And if so, which set? Thanks in advance!

This is just my personal opinion, but I would not get electronic drums unless you have noise restrictions (neighbors, etc.) that would prevent you from using an acoustic set. And I wouldn't play live with e-drums unless I absolutely had to.

But like I said, that's just me. I'm not saying e-drums are bad...there are some fantastic e-kits out there, and I know plenty of drummers who use them and even play live with them. But if it were me, I'd go for the acoustic set if it was a feasible option.

IMHO if you are going to go electric and play them live your budget will need to be allot more than 1000. E drums are generally more expensive than acoustic, and you will still need a pedal and throne as these usually don't come with e-kits, check used.

Hey joemans it is up to you whatever it is you want. I prefer acoustics for many reasons.
1- you don't need electricity
2 -I like tuning my kit
3 -You can play anywhere
4- it's the real thing
I have a friend who has a Yamaha DT Express 11 e-kit and they sound great for practicing with head phones cause they are quiet and you can pick the sound you want from maple to birch etc plus you can plug I-pod into it and play along. I have played on it and it is cool but to me it is too perfect to play live with other members and not crazy about the looks of it and feel. This is just my opinion. Also, say you are playing live and the power dies or you get a short in your module then you are screwed as for acoustic if a head breaks which is not very often but it does happen ,you can change fast and go again. Good luck cause there are a lot of good e-kits out there but it will be you to decide which one.

I agree with the other guys, mostly. If you end up doing a lot of gigging with the e-kit, it's only a matter of time before you're going to want "the real thing". There's just something about it. You feel a little bit more... authoritative behind an acoustic set. And even tho the e-kit will turn heads a first, you'll definitely demand a lot more attention behind a nicely tuned/miced acoustic kit any day.
As far as recording, I know that an e-kit is SO much easier to just plug in and go. You can literally start tracking drums instantly, and that's nice; but for the most part it's pretty clear that an e-kit is being used on any given recording. And maybe that's okay. But it's not that real drum sound you'll hear on most rock records.

I think that an e-kit is an awesome ADDITION to a nice acoustic setup. I totally get what you're saying about being able to incorporate endless atypical sounds with the e-kit, and am all for it. But nothing is like getting on stage behind a REAL drum kit and rocking the hell out.

I see Pearl is selling conversion kit to make a acoustic into a e-kit. Maybe you can look into that then this way you have both. They are called EPad kits

I use my ekit for practice if I get bored with my acoustic kit. For me, it didn't boil down to one or the other since my living environment allows me to play an acoustic kit without any restrictions. The ekit for me is just another tool in the box I can use but if I had to choose between spending $1000+ on a kit, it would be an acoustic kit for sure.

I bought an e-kit (Roland) about three years ago to use as a practice set in my apartment. They sounded great, but for some reason, I never really enjoyed playing them much. So I sold them, bought a well-used Sonor Force 3000 set and put mesh heads on it. Although I don't have them triggered and can't hear them when I play, I enjoy the feeling of playing an acoustic set similar to my gigging set. And I have, depending on the venue, thrown the Remos back on them and taken them out gigging.

My suggestion would be to consider doing someting like this because of your budget. You'll find tons of great used kits out there. Hope this helps a bit.

Phil

Hey, thanks for all the suggestions everyone :) Sorry I kinda forgot about this post, so it's been a couple days. But while I do think it would feel a lot more natural behind an acoustic set can I still play acoustic drums without disturbing people? I live in a house with 5 other people and it's not connected to any other house. they're about as close as most suburban houses though. I'm actually not so worried with those in my house, but will neighbors complain/hear it well? What if I used hot rods? And I want to use the drums to record at home also, so practice pads won't really be an option. And my budget is pretty limited, I dunno how cheap soundproofing can be :/ Let me know your thoughts, thanks!:confused:

As long as you aren't playing really early or really late, I don't think anyone would care. Unless you have some bad neighbors. Or you aren't particularly good.:icon_lol: