[1]

I know fuck all about them, so bear with me.

I want a decent kit that I can run to DKFH/Battery for triggers - basically, I don't care what the brain sounds like that much, because the actual samples will be from software on my machine.

I'm looking at this:

Roland V-Compact Series TD-4S Electronic Drum Set and more Electronic Drum Sets at GuitarCenter.com.

"The amount of muffling can be user-customized as well, from '70s-style choked funk to open-cannon stadium rock."

lol: because I want to play open-cannon stadium rock! :metal

What I want is more pads, and less brain. (heh) With that kit, I'd want a second kick, one more tom and one more cymbal. Am I better off building a kit from scratch? Can you even do that? :lol:

 

[Shikaru]

If you're wanting a second kick especially, you'll need to buy it separately. Most kits I've seen tend to only come as 5pc ones with the 2 cymbals and hihat. I'm not sure if that roland brain has enough inputs for an extra 3 pads as well, so you might end up having to upgrade that too.

I have only limited experience with e-drums really. I have an Alesis DM5 pro kit. The pads are nice, feel a lot more like real drums than mesh heads, but they're slightly louder as a consequence. The rack is sturdy enough, and the DM5 does me pretty well although is kind of limited in expandability (used it live last week to trigger my kick too). The cymbals on the other hand can suck on my nads and burn in the fieriest pits of hell :yesway:

2 of them broke, got them repaired under warranty, and now two of them are broken again and I'm out of both warranty and patience :scream:

 

[1]

Are all pads the same, in terms of connectivity? Eg: Can I just build my own kit from scratch, and then get a brain that matches the amount of channels that I want to send?

 

[eleven59]

Are all pads the same, in terms of connectivity? Eg: Can I just build my own kit from scratch, and then get a brain that matches the amount of channels that I want to send?

Yep, pretty much, AFAIK.

 

[Drew]

Could you swap the kick pedal on that kit for a double bass pedal, or do they not work that way?

 

[1]

I think I can just buy a kick w/a pedal with two pads, so that's probably what I'll do. :yesway:

The more I Google around, the more I'm set on just building a kit for myself instead of getting a package.

Edit: Unlike your sister. She always gets my package.

 

[robanomoly]

If you don't already know how to play drums, I would highly recommend getting a Korg nanoPad. I find it way easier to finger-tap a drum part on the nanoPad instead of using a keyboard or drumset. Plus, it's inexpensive and won't hog up a lot of space.

 

[Shikaru]

If you don't already know how to play drums, I would highly recommend getting a Korg nanoPad. I find it way easier to finger-tap a drum part on the nanoPad instead of using a keyboard or drumset. Plus, it's inexpensive and won't hog up a lot of space.

But playing drums is mega fun

 

[7deadlysins]

But playing drums is mega fun

:agreed:

Probably first of the year i'm going to invest in a cheap USB electronic kit, double bass pedals so I don't have to program drums anymore. I used to be a drummer and am still quite a decent drummer IMO. :yesway:

 

[eleven59]

I'd love to get one of these to hold me over until I can afford/have room/ability for micing real drums :lol:

 

[7deadlysins]

I'd love to get one of these to hold me over until I can afford/have room/ability for micing real drums :lol:

I'd go with an Alesis kit over that, you can't really add pads nor a double pedal or anything.

 

[eleven59]

I'd go with an Alesis kit over that, you can't really add pads nor a double pedal or anything.

It's re-programmable to use the two pedals as both being kicks. But you still raise some good points about upgradeability.

 

[7deadlysins]

Speaking of Alesis, have you thought about this Chris? This is what I am looking at. The brain is just USB, so no sounds, and quite a bit cheaper than the Roland stuff. Probably doesn't feel as good as a Roland, but going through the same samples its obviously going to sound the same.

Alesis USB Studio Drum Kit at zZounds

If you don't mind spending the $$ needed on a nice Roland, I would actually go with Pearl's new kit instead. Everybody is raving about it, it feels like a real kit, and the drum brain, though you don't want to use it is supposed to be pretty excellent as well.

 

[Shikaru]

^^^ Everything I've heard about the Trigger I/O hasn't been very good. Although if those pads are the same as on my Alesis kit they're actually quite good when it comes to feel. Not real drum heads, but they feel a lot more like it than mesh heads do.

Chris, if you're not totally set on getting a full e-kit, you could always get a cheapish real kit and convert it with internal piezos :yesway: A bit of work, but there's plenty of guides on the net about how to do it and I've really only heard positive things from people who have.

 

[Kim]

Also, I would rather get a double bass pedal and use whatever spare connections for more cymbals.

 

[105]

Sometimes the kicks won't trigger cleanly with a double pedal, so having two kick pads is a good idea.

 

[Kim]

my drummer has a roland 4kx with an upgraded mesh bass drum, I've yet to hear it misfire.

 

[Alan]

It depends on the kick trigger. Some of them loose sensitivity the farther out you get from the middle. My roommate bought an Alesis DM6 to learn to play drums on, and grabbed a double pedal to go with it. It seems to work alright for him, but he also is pretty heavy footed. Unfortunately for him, the DM6 brain has no extra inputs... the cables are all bundled together into a 25-pin D-sub which connects to the brain.

 

[Cassidy]

I'd love to get one of these to hold me over until I can afford/have room/ability for micing real drums :lol:

A friend of mine has this. He has the same problem many of us do; lives in an apartment that means he can't make noise. That kit really does stop the thumping transferring downstairs. He sits it on a little riser he made with plenty of blankets and cardboard to absorb the shock.

The kit is really awesome. I installed DFHS on his computer for him with Reaper, and he's now using those sounds instead of the mostly shit ones that come with it (although the acoustic and rock kits are in no way unusable).

The only drawback with it is its lack of expandability. The pads are all essentially hardwired in to the brain (not exactly, but all pads plug into an interface that won't accept more pads).

Also, one of the pedals has stopped sending high velocity hits. He's a real light player (massive Dave Weckl and Steve Smith fan), so it's not his hitting that's caused it. It seems to be one of the cables that's failed, but there's no way to replace that.

 

[Cassidy]

Also, for the mechanically and electronically savvy, there are tutorials on Toontrack's forum on building your own V-drums. I think the thread is called V-drums for free. They explain how you can basically make your own for very little money (although not free ).