what are some future predictions you think will happen to future e drums

SkullDrummer

SkullDrummer

Active Member
electronic drum sets will soon be better than acoustic drumsets, what do you think they will do to e drums to make them better than acoustics?
 
Before even thinking about the question - I would have to first express my disagreement with introductory premise... "electronic drum sets will soon be better than acoustic drumsets" Maybe they will be.... someday. But soon? IMO not even remotely.

In the 40+ years since the introduction of the Syndrum, the most significant adoption of e-kits have been as a low-noise practice alternative. Of course, we see them on stages usually as part of hybrid kits, on small gigs, theater pits, churches (again because their low noise potential), for demo work, and for programming in the studio - but still all of those appearances are limited and selective.

Of course, we hear lots of sampled drums on recordings - but I really don't get a since that any great number of those performances are created from e-kits - but rather just being programmed from a keyboard.

Meaning - for most higher profile work, where a drummer is getting paid to "do our thing" live or on a session, the lion's share of that work means playing acoustic drums.

And yes, maybe that will change in the future, but at the snail's pace that this is progressing, I can't imagine e-kits supplanting acoustic kits for a long, long time.
 
Most of film photography got replaced by digital and now smart phones.. But a lot of people still swear by the old ways. New technologies had to get cheap and widely available to catch on. So I think the most important is the price, not some new invention. Even though edrums evolved a lot, the good stuff is mostly unattainable for everyday people and the whole segment is largly judged based on the cheaper kits most can afford or try. Both the electronic features and the computer parts (processor, sample storage and quality) has to become significantly cheaper to create a market where innovation can be turned into profit. A lot of things are already available, but are not yet feasible.
 
I can't see electric drums ever being "better" than acoustic drums; they may soon be more prevalent (for the low volume reasons reasons dcgrigger mentioned, above), but not better. Why? Because drummers will always be pushing the limits of the instrument, and the electronics will always have to catch up.
 
to me it is like a crescent wrench versus a ratchet....

which one is better? did the new-fangled ratchet make the old school crescent wrench obsolete? No. They are still around. And used a lot

It's all about the right tools for the job.

for me though, the thing that will always make acoustic drums eclipse electronic drums is: when electricity is gone, I can still make noise with my acoustic drums. Electricity is not a permanent source of energy
 
Totally different instrument. A Korg synth is not "better" than a Steinway Grand. Edrums are a synth you hit - and you don't buy a synth and only use the "piano" preset.
 
^^ This ^^
Acoustic drums are not 'the old way'.
Synthesizers started out trying to mimic flutes and trumpets, but soon musicians found they were better at making new, never heard before sounds. An electric piano like The Rhodes has not replaced acoustic piano, it is something new. Yeah, touring bands used sampled pianos, but that is ALL about convenience and cost, it's not because the pianist prefers a midi keyboard to a real piano.
At the moment e-drums do not sound as good as drum software for replicating the acoustic drum sound. I can see an argument for drum software for recording. People sometimes don't have the room to set up real drums, don't know a good enough acoustic drum player, don't own enough mics or mic-pres. Again it's not because e-drums or drum software are better, it's because it's cheaper and more convenient.
 
I agree that electronic drums are a different instrument than acoustic drums. Acoustic drums will never become obsolete. However, the new Roland V-drum with TD-♾️ will become obsolete out-dated in about three years. Same with the next one, and the one after that.

I had three film camera systems: 35mm, medium format (6x7cm) and large format (4x5 & 8x10). I used them for about 20 years. Only once did I send in a camera for repair. In 2003 I bought my first digital camera body for $8000 (no lens). Yes, the price affected my sphincter. The camera became outdated by 2006 by another $8000 camera body. They also used different communication cables and every new model had a different cable plug (USB 2.0, Firewire 800, Lightning cable, etc.) so I had to get another computer if I wanted to work tethered (very common for my line of work).

Electronic devices always become outdated. How many cell phones have we all been through? And where are those old phones now?

Phone_landfill.jpg
 
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The main weak points are lack of detail and some poor sounds.
At the moment drum software sounds better than the average e-drum brain.
In the end, you'll never get as much detail and variation in a sample or e-drum as you can coax from an acoustic drum or cymbal.
Unless some new technology is invented.
 
The electronic pads have been embraced and incorporated with acoustics for a good while. Alex Van Halen has used them for decades

zefw6sqegaxq5gd79vdt.jpg
 
Chris Whitten said:
The main weak points are lack of detail and some poor sounds.
At the moment drum software sounds better than the average e-drum brain.
In the end, you'll never get as much detail and variation in a sample or e-drum as you can coax from an acoustic drum or cymbal.
Unless some new technology is invented.
Click to expand...

and the feel of any electronic "cymbal"...the best ones were the old Zildjian cymbals that became the "silent" series
 
cbphoto said:
I agree that electronic drums are a different instrument than acoustic drums. Acoustic drums will never become obsolete. However, the new Roland TD-♾️ will become obsolete out-dated in about three years. Same with the next one, and the one after that.

I had three film camera systems: 35mm, medium format (6x7cm) and large format (4x5 & 8x10). I used them for about 20 years. Only once did I send in a camera for repair. In 2003 I bought my first digital camera body for $8000 (no lens). Yes, the price affected my sphincter. The camera became outdated by 2006 by another $8000 camera body. They also used different communication cables and every new model had a different cable plug (USB 2.0, Firewire 800, Lightning cable, etc.) so I had to get another computer if I wanted to work tethered (very common for my line of work).

Electronic devices always become outdated. How many cell phones have we all been through? And where are those old phones now?
Click to expand...
That's one side of the coin. With digital camera you have a huge amount of convenience and possibilities not available before. Even with an iphone one can shoot and immediately see dozens of good pics. With film it's almost a dollar per frame these days. Similarly, one can get an increasingly passable simulation of many thousand-dollar kits sampled in top studios, and download a dozen of them for the price of a steak. Even if it'll never be like the "real thing", it may offer benefits that people care more about, and that might tip the scale one day.
 
Can e-drums emulate a drummer using brushes? (asking for a friend)
 
Doraemon said:
That's one side of the coin. With digital camera you have a huge amount of convenience and possibilities not available before. Even with an iphone one can shoot and immediately see dozens of good pics. With film it's almost a dollar per frame these days. Similarly, one can get an increasingly passable simulation of many thousand-dollar kits sampled in top studios, and download a dozen of them for the price of a steak. Even if it'll never be like the "real thing", it may offer benefits that people care more about, and that might tip the scale one day.
Click to expand...
My point was: electronic devises are expendable. They are designed to be expendable.
 
SkullDrummer said:
i should rephrase and say what improvements do you think they will add to e drums to try and make them better?
Click to expand...
The improvements they will add and the improvements they should add are not one in the same. Rather than companies trying to make e-kits look like acoustic drums, I think they should focus more on designing a simple to use module that accepts drum software of your choice, whether it be EZ Drummer, Superior Drummer, or some other VST. To me, the advantage of an e-kit is its compactness and access to a variety of different sounds that can be played quietly under headphones. I have no interest in an e-kit that's packed into full-size drum shells. Who are we trying to fool? Does it really matter that they look different? At this time, I feel that e-cymbals are still the weakest link, even on high-end e-kits, in terms of replicating the response of an acoustic kit. You just can't get the variety of sounds and subtle differences with today's electronic cymbals compared to acoustic cymbals. The responsiveness of electronic hi-hats still weak on most e-kits I've played. The ability to replicate the sound and responsiveness of brushes, rods, mallets, etc. is also needed as e-kit technology moves forward.
 
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