E drum gear

[dbaerg]

thought I'd post my e-drum gear on here!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...89742897_n.jpg

Hart Dynamics Professional 6.4 (minus one floor tom) with Roland cymbals
Roland TDW-1 module
Roland SPD SX

Currently using MIDI out with combinations of Superior Drummer, Slate Drums, Abbey Road drums, and Battery 3 drums. DAW is Apple MainStage 3 for live use.

I play in a playhouse that seats about 450, and although acoustic drums aren't exactly overpowering, after one show using a fully digital rig, everyone was blown away with how much the mix opened up, and since we all use in ears, there were no acoustic issues for musicians.

Initially we borrowed a friend's Yamaha DTX700, which was amazing, even with the module sounds, but people still said they could tell they were fake from the sound. So being the stubborn perfectionists we are, we accepted the challenge.

We found this kit online used for a giveaway price. The Hart ECymbal II's were in bad shape and had to replaced, but it was for the better, since the new Roland ride is 3 zone. We also replaced the foam trigger towers inside as they were old and crushed.

With some tweaking on the module for sensitivity etc, we now have an AWESOME sounding kit. All this MIDI magic was a steep learning curve for me, being almost exclusively an acoustic guy before now, but it's really taught me a lot and has started to grow on me.

In Battery 3, we even managed to get positional sensing working on the snare drum trigger, which allowed us to get a LH stir/RH ride on the same drum, using variable velocity and modulation settings. I can actually play brushes on these e drums the way I know how!

Will be using a Presonus AudioBox iTwo for audio out at the gig. Excited to see how this sounds in the PA!

[jgziegler]

You know, I tried telling my band that when you factor in guitar distortion and other instruments, you really can't hear the difference. I have the dtx500, I was going to upgrade to the dtx700, but my teacher offered to let me use his second kit and I got used hats and a ride for 275USD total, so in the end going acoustic was cheaper (I had to buy a HH stand, other stands I already have).

If you have the right sound equipment, and you're not playing very acoustic music (e.g. Jazz), edrums will sound quite fine. Also, as you well know we can make different kits, which is so wonderful. Plus, we can tailor the sound exactly as we want.

The only real minus for me are the cymbals, even with three zones where you hit a real cymbal really changes the sound. That being said, we have band practices in my flat, and nobody tells me to turn the drums down (the guitarist is always too loud!)

Hail ekits!!!

[8beat]

One thing that I like about e-drums is that I hear the same sound as the audience. I also like it that I have about 50 kits to choose from all in one controller.

[jgziegler]

What type of practice tools does the Roland have? The Yammy has this awesome function that measures how 'in' the beat you are, and you can set it so it won't trigger if you are too far out (ive posted about this recently, no responses unfortunately).

The play along songs are pretty good too. I used to play along to the blues ones a lot, and about a year ago (before I got good by practicing properly), I surprised a bunch of people with my skill cause we were playing blues.

Yes, there are some drawbacks in terms of dynamics, but I would definitely recommend my ekit over an akit for the first 2 years of playing.