Making the transition from accoustic to electric, who's done it?

Hi folks,

First post from me. I use to be very active on the old Pearl Drummers Forum back in the day. Anywhooo.

My post is mainly directed at a debacle I'm having. I've got a beatiful kit that I love that I've spent many a year doing up adding to etc. But I think it may have come to the point were I may need to sell it and buy an electronic one. I know if I was to sell it I'd regret it because an electric one doesn't look as good and potenitally may feel a bit of a let down in comparison.
Has anyone ever made the switch to electric and stuck with it? Was it ok or did it feel like you were just potentially just appeasing yourself?
I have a room for my kit but I now I need to sound proof before I can play it again it for my Mrss and neighbours sake lol ( I moved house). However with life being life I need to put my finances to others thing such as wedding stuff (getting married next year) and stuff for doing the house up.

I've attached a few pics of my kit, for a lil tease

I made the shift to an e-kit for about 3 years(moved into a hybrid for a while)

After I proved to myself that the skills between an e-kit and an acoustic set do not fully overlap, I went back to an acoustic set.

Noise in an apartment was the big reason I tried...but it was becoming too easy to ignore progressing on an instrument that didn't have my heart.

Many drummers have successfully transitioned from acoustic to electronic kits, whether for live performances, recording, or creative expansion. The shift often comes with a learning curve, as electronic kits respond differently in terms of dynamics, rebound, and sensitivity. Drummers typically adapt by tweaking their playing style, experimenting with trigger settings, and incorporating electronic sounds into their setups. Some use hybrid kits, blending acoustic drums with electronic pads and triggers, while others fully embrace electronic kits for their versatility and convenience. The transition opens up new possibilities for sound design, silent practice, and integration with modern music production.

Circumstances meant that two years ago, after 20 years of acoustic, I went fully ekit. It’s been a brilliant journey! There’s been an adjustment period, one of the upshots is that my practice has exponentially increased. I’ve learnt new skills , ekits need to be played differently to an acoustic, plus I’m now fully versed in the sound engineering side of samples, sample layering and eq’ing ekits for PAs.
Circumstances are again changing this year and an acoustic is back on the horizon. A reacquaintance period is in order but it’s not taking that long to get back into acoustic playing and I can adjust my playing between the two with ease.
Purely for the ease of practicing late at night in an apartment, an ekit is now a permanent part of my life. I wouldn’t be afraid of dipping your toe into ekit territory.

I am reluctant to move to an electric kit. When I have tried them I find them to be imprecise and sort of mushy sounding, even with the sound dialed in. I saw a video of Vinnie Colaiuta playing around on an electric kit and it sounded like crap. He had this weird smile on his face the entire time as if he was thinking the same thing I was. I'll stick with acoustic drums until I can't play anymore.

Have you considered converting your beautiful kit to electric? Mesh heads, some cheap external triggers, and a controller is all you need for the drums themselves. Don't like it, put the original heads back on.

Here's my Stage Custom bop kit.

LarryJ said:

Have you considered converting your beautiful kit to electric? Mesh heads, some cheap external triggers, and a controller is all you need for the drums themselves. Don't like it, put the original heads back on.

Here's my Stage Custom bop kit.

View attachment 155381

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This! Spoiler alert: This guy has unlimited funds, so consider the source. But I was inspired to consider the hybrid route after watching his kit walkthrough.

I went the electronic route because I needed a quieter way to practice. However, I didn't have a lot of $$, so I opted to buy an Alesis kit that I could afford. It was not as good as the top Roland kit I have now. As time went along, I replaced the alesis pads one by one with high end used roland pads. Then a few years ago I ditched the Alesis brain (by far the highest cost part of elec drums) with a roland td-27 and now I have a great kit. After a ton of research, I found the TD-27 is basically a TD-50 minus one extra aux in, and $1000 cheaper.

So the benefits:
1. Much quieter.
2. Lots of custom options for setting up your drum kits. I love being able to completely change the sound of all my drums with the flip of a switch.
3. The heads and rims are separate triggers so, for example, I can make one of the tom rims play a cowbell sound or clap.
4. If you gig, the FOH guys like the consistency of volume and sounds regardless of venue.
5. Lighter, and easier to setup/ tear down.
6. Rack setup is really cheap to customize.

Cons:

1. It took a while to get used to them, especially the Alesis set I got.

Now I'm hooked and probably wont go back to an acoustic set.

As others have already said, you’ll need to compromise in some things. Some really great changes, other changes need to be uh, adjusted. I would definitely look at the option of converting your kit. I view my years with the Roland TD-15 as the learning curve. My A2E was the next evolutionary step I needed to take.

Rockdrill said:

Circumstances meant that two years ago, after 20 years of acoustic, I went fully ekit. It’s been a brilliant journey! There’s been an adjustment period, one of the upshots is that my practice has exponentially increased. I’ve learnt new skills , ekits need to be played differently to an acoustic, plus I’m now fully versed in the sound engineering side of samples, sample layering and eq’ing ekits for PAs.
Circumstances are again changing this year and an acoustic is back on the horizon. A reacquaintance period is in order but it’s not taking that long to get back into acoustic playing and I can adjust my playing between the two with ease.
Purely for the ease of practicing late at night in an apartment, an ekit is now a permanent part of my life. I wouldn’t be afraid of dipping your toe into ekit territory.

Click to expand...

Cheers for your reply, can I ask what E-kit you're using?

LarryJ said:

Have you considered converting your beautiful kit to electric? Mesh heads, some cheap external triggers, and a controller is all you need for the drums themselves. Don't like it, put the original heads back on.

Here's my Stage Custom bop kit.

View attachment 155381

Click to expand...

That is a brilliant idea. I take it you're using different skin that are exceptionally quiet? How do you find the feel and rebound from the skins?
Is there any triggers modules/ brains that you would recommend over others?

Riggsy said:

I went the electronic route because I needed a quieter way to practice. However, I didn't have a lot of $$, so I opted to buy an Alesis kit that I could afford. It was not as good as the top Roland kit I have now. As time went along, I replaced the alesis pads one by one with high end used roland pads. Then a few years ago I ditched the Alesis brain (by far the highest cost part of elec drums) with a roland td-27 and now I have a great kit. After a ton of research, I found the TD-27 is basically a TD-50 minus one extra aux in, and $1000 cheaper.

So the benefits:
1. Much quieter.
2. Lots of custom options for setting up your drum kits. I love being able to completely change the sound of all my drums with the flip of a switch.
3. The heads and rims are separate triggers so, for example, I can make one of the tom rims play a cowbell sound or clap.
4. If you gig, the FOH guys like the consistency of volume and sounds regardless of venue.
5. Lighter, and easier to setup/ tear down.
6. Rack setup is really cheap to customize.

Cons:

1. It took a while to get used to them, especially the Alesis set I got.

Now I'm hooked and probably wont go back to an acoustic set.

Click to expand...

Thanks for you're reply and that video was really helpful!

I play both electronic and acoustic sets. As others have said there are differences and some compromises. I typically play acoustic live, most practice is on an electronic set and I use both to teach.

I play Yamaha electronic drums and they sounds are great. I love the feel of the silicone pads. Recommend Yamaha or Rolland kits with either mesh heads or silicone pads.

If you want them for live gigs you will need to feed them through a good PA with ideally a subwoofer to get a great sound. Also note that none of the electronic drums that I have seen or played allow brushes and brush work. Hi-hats are often the weak point and I have heard great things about the new Roland digital hi-hat.

Electronic drums are fantastic but they are a different instrument with different capabilities than an acoustic set.

Make sure you play whatever set you are thinking of buying before purchase. Perhaps even rent one to get the feel of the set and make sure you are happy with the change.

Just_dan87 said:

Cheers for your reply, can I ask what E-kit you're using?

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Yamaha DTX6K3-X
To my mind the TCS silicone pads are closer to the real thing than mesh. The BD is reacts differently the harder you hit it (apparently the harder you hit it, it feels like a larger drum), and it has a stand mounted HH. It's not the same as an acoustic but you don't have to do much to adapt. The pads are close to a medium tuned mylar head, the biggest difference is the HH, and the cymbals sound good but obviously don't have the nuances or feel of the real thing. Overall though my practice hours have gone up as a result of having an ekit. I wouldn't be without one now.

Just_dan87 said:

That is a brilliant idea. I take it you're using different skin that are exceptionally quiet? How do you find the feel and rebound from the skins?

Click to expand...

Mesh heads. They are going to be more "bouncy" and not "feel like acoustic", but I got used to it quickly and that became a non issue. Generally, more plies = less bounce. I use 3-ply Real Feels on the toms, Dolby 3-ply on the snare (better response for quiet 2 stroke rolls), and a single ply Silent Stroke on the bass. I suspect the choice of heads, as long as multi-ply, is not crucial when starting out since you have to get used to them anyway and the rebound is dictated by head tension.

Just_dan87 said:

Is there any triggers modules/ brains that you would recommend over others?

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Triggers are all over the place on technology and price. I did my conversion not knowing whether I would like it, so I went cheap and easy. DDrum single zone Red Shots, mount under a tension rod and <$100 for a set, for bass and toms. DDrum dual zone Acoustic Pro for head and rim pickup on the snare, mounts on hoop and $60. I am a jazz guy and have been happy with their sensitivity and dynamic range. Missing is the positional sensing available on a digital snare, but that really doesn't bother me.

I used a Roland TD-17 for a couple of years which was fine. Upgraded to a TD-27 for better kit samples and some nicer setup options and it is finer. Used Td-17s run around $450, I bought my TD-27 for $850.

I am not an ekit expert. I don't do recording, midi, or hybrids. I am just an experienced drummer who converted a kit for at home practice and playing and who is satisfied with the results. So I won't claim my choices are better than any others, only that they work for me.

I've owned two upper end e-kits. Started with an open mind and learned to really dislike them. I could say that they turned into an expensive practice kit, but found that the mesh heads variety and the silicone/rubber surfaced ones didn't really translate well from a practice perspective to a real acoustic kit. The hyper rebound surfaces of the e-kit aren't like real drums so I found that to be an issue. Also, dynamics...no matter what the advertising says about multi-zoned pads/cymbals, it never comes close to the dynamics of a real kit. And for me, the endless choices of snares, toms, cymbals and editable parameters was just mind-numbing. Plus, you don't "feel" the drums because...well...there's no air being moved.
Not trying to be a downer, but my trip into e-kit land was an expensive and ultimately unsatisfying one. I made the decision to sound proof a "practice room" in my basement and put an acoustic kit in it and found practicing on real drum heads tensioned to my preferential tuning to be way more productive.
Also, for what it's worth, I'm not an e-percussion hater. I still have a Malletkat and one of those Roland Octopad things. I think that e-kits are an "instrument" unto themselves and probably require a certain technique to make them sound like an acoustic kit but for me, it was an expensive experiment.

I mostly play ekits and prefer the immediately pleasing sound and comfort, but reading your post made me think you'd regret selling that kit. It's quite beautiful and you love it and spent years building it... so I think converting it is the best option. You could either go with rubber e-cymbals or triggered low-volume metal ones, though neither of them are completely quiet. An economical option might be finding a great deal on a decent used Roland or Yamaha kit, and keep the cymbals, modules, hihat controller, and sell what you don't need.

A Yamaha DTX6 kit would have good sounds, but a Roland TD17 might be easier to find. The module limits the number of inputs and what kinds you can use (e.g. a triple zone ride with bell is often not supported in budget kits), and in most cases you'll be stuck with one brand for anything like said ride or hihat control. It's all extra investment, but maybe you could sell a few cymbals and whatnot. It will be different, but reversible.

i also highly recommend visiting a well-stocked music store to try all the ekits they have, so you can get an idea what the difference is between a cheap and expensive one, how some of the available modules sound, what mesh is like etc. Though there can be big differences in that, too, depending on quality, tuning and number of layers (plies). Without a really high budget, it will be a compromise, but you'll be able to play, and that's the goal, innit.

As mentioned, you need to not go cheap when you buy an ekit and even then it’s a compromise but…. It means two things, one, you can practice all the coordination stuff without annoying the neighbours, and two, other than that it’s a different instrument so there’s a point where you need to stop comparing it to an acoustic.

John B said:

I've owned two upper end e-kits. Started with an open mind and learned to really dislike them. I could say that they turned into an expensive practice kit, but found that the mesh heads variety and the silicone/rubber surfaced ones didn't really translate well from a practice perspective to a real acoustic kit.

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I see you lumped silicone (Yamaha Textured Cellular Silicone (TCS) ) in with Rubber pads. Did you try the TCS pads. They have a similar (but not exactly the same) response as an acoustic drum head. I have found them to be the closest match to the acoustic feel. Yamaha came up with TCS to compete with mesh heads and to reduce the annoying or unrealistic bounce of mesh heads. That said, you are absolutely right that electronic kits are a different instrument with different capabilities. Like you, I use mine mostly for practice, although they have been used on the occasional gig.

No. Never tried the TCS pads. Maybe they'e better?
Can't remember the what Yamaha DTX model I had. I got rid of that and went to a Roland TD-30 kit (mesh) and then eventually got rid of the Roland and went to an ATV aDrums kit because I wanted something that didn't look like an erector set. Ultimately, that excursion down the e-kit road turned out to be expensive and disappointing to me. But that's just me and my experience. I did use one on a gig once and the rest of the band thought it was weird. They couldn't feel the presence of the drums on stage but obviously heard them through the wedge monitors. Was kind of like playing along with a pre-recorded drum track.
I just looked at some of Roland's offerings. $9000 for an e-kit that in 2 years will be superseded by the new model sounds absolutely insane to me.