DTXpress IV or DTXplorer..the xpress is the better kit..a little more pricey..but worth it IMO..
Grandson going off to college...friends from his band taking their guitars. He is drummer and won't be able to practice with them. Would like to find a good/compact/reasonably priced electronic drum set for him to take with him. Kind of mind boggling to start looking for a set on my own!
DTXpress IV or DTXplorer..the xpress is the better kit..a little more pricey..but worth it IMO..
I'll let the others answer but "welcome Grandma!"
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This is a very tough question because of the variety of options. Electronic drums vary in quality and features from $100 toys to $10,000 monsters.
To play with his friends, he'll need an amp to plug into with decent volume, which will cost about $200-300.
You still need a throne - $100
A bass kick pedal - $100
Any way you go, you're probably going to spend over $1000 for the 'works'.
Something like a Roland or Yamaha kit that comes with it's own stand needs about 4x6 feet of floor space. Maybe a little more when playing. If he's in a dorm, that might be tough to do.
Noise is still an issue, even with e-kits.
Depending on how open minded he is, I might go for something funky like a Roland SPD20 or SPD30. You still need an amp, but space is minimal and because it doesn't include a traditional kick drum, noise is reduced and no need to buy a kick pedal.
Thanks for the welcomes...but should have mentioned I am grandma of "a" drummer, not THE drummer. I will check into the suggestions. Thanks so much.
My recommendation is the Yamaha DTXplorer. It's the cheapest one that's really worth the money, in my oppinion. It's got good sound, good build quality, and it folds up and fits in a closet in just a few minutes. it doesnt take up much space when it's unpacked, and it comes with a decent kick pedal. 600 bucks plus a cheap throne, and you're in business. I've got one and im definitely glad i bought it.
The Yamaha DTX Series are definately the best on the market. If money is not an issue then the DTX Extreme 3 is a really cracking set with eveything grandson needs. The Explorer is more reasonably priced and you can add snare/tom/cymbal pads as required later on. You can obtain a very comprehensive catalog from most Yamaha dealers.
Also depending on what country you're in you can also get some quite good deals with the DTXplorer (mine came with an alesis amp for an extra £80), so do shop around.
Hi gramdma! Welcome to DrumChat. I pieced together my Yamaha ekit from used parts.
Here's what a 5 piece kit looks like broken down. You can see by the pic below how many parts it takes to put my ekit together.
My used Yamaha DTXpress III module is a dated unit ('04 model year) I bought used for $150.00 USD. It came with a plastic mount only.
The pad set is also a used unit. It's a Yamaha DTXpress IV v.2 pad set and I paid $539 USD.
The rack was bought as a new unit. It cost me $199 USD but it did not include a snare stand, throne, tom holders. I already had those items on hand.
Last edited by late8; 01-04-2011 at 02:33 PM.
Here's what I had to find:
Tom holder:
Snare stand and bass drum pedals:
A hihat stand came with my Yamaha DTXpressIV pad set but I prefer to use one with no legs (cost=$99.00 USD).
Recap:
Drum module: $150 USD
Pad set: $539 USD (included a hihat stand and all of the cables and special cymbal holders to mount to existing cymbal stands)
Rack: $199 USD
Throne: $169 USD
Snare stand: $99 USD
Double bass pedal: (new) $379 USD
Last edited by late8; 01-04-2011 at 02:53 PM.
The keywords that stood out to me in your post were "college" and "compact". For this reason, I recommend the DTXplorer above all others. It's Yamaha's entry-level e-kit so, yes, there are better ones like those mentioned above but the better ones do not have the same portability. The DTXplorer has the smallest footprint and is also the only e-kit that's really designed to be folded up and tucked away. Perfect for folks with tight quarters (like a kid in a college dorm).
Personally, I think the DTXplorer is the best entry-level e-kit on the market, hands down. The Roland TD4 (Roland's entry-level kit) goes for $1,000 (DTXplorer is $600) and isn't any better aside from having a mesh snare and swinging cymbals. Even then, it's the mesh snare and swinging cymbals that even the Roland fans don't really care for. The DTXplorer module also has more kits (32 as opposed to Roland's 20). And the TD4's rack is not designed to be tucked away; where ever you put it, it stays.
There are other manufacturers, of course, but none worth mentioning at this price point. The Alesis DM10 is a nice mid-level e-kit for $1,000 but you'll again run into the problem of it taking up more space and not being designed to be tucked away. If that isn't a concern, and you have a $1,000 budget, then the Alesis DM10 is probably a better choice than the Roland TD4.
Overall, if you're looking for best combination of price, features, and space-saving NOTHING beats the DTXplorer.
^^^ SGD's Evans Empire ^^^
Hi Grandma,
I have a Simmons SDS8 set I want to sell,but they are no where as compact as the new e-drums.Good luck finding your grandson a set.You are the greatest!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T.C.
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