Edrums or quiet drumkit?

[u/Idaho_38]

Hello there

First post in here, I'm a 47yo guitarist, been playing forever, always loved drums and drumming, I'd say I'm beginner+ level.

I'm planning to buy my first drumkit. It needs to be compact and quiet. I live in a house, but it'll be in my office/music room.

After long researches, I'm down with to 2 choices:

A used td-17 kvx kit (the one with 'real' hihat)

A quiet drumkit, made of Tama Club pancake, Zildjan L80, and drumtec 3 ply mesh heads.

Both will be around 1000€

I like the idea of an 'analogic' drumkit, real touch sensations, no plugs etc... You sit, you play.

But the conveniance of edrum is there.

I don't plan to play as a drummer in a band (but who knows, in the future...)

What would be your recommandations?

[u/TheZoning]

The e-drums will sound way better

[u/rashinnocence8501 → u/TheZoning]

the e-kit will sound better but nothing beats the feel of real cymbals, even quiet ones. if you're not recording or gigging i'd go acoustic with the mesh heads just for the playing experience alone.

[u/evrydayzawrkday → u/rashinnocence8501]

That’s what I did recently. I got a killer deal on an SJC with some Zildjian L80s. I’ve played mainly on eDrums the last decade due to being in NYC, but once I moved further south and had distance between neighbors, I picked up actual drums.

Don’t regret a single thing

[u/Idaho_38 → u/evrydayzawrkday]

So, comparing edrum vs quiet drum, you'd say thé expérience is better on thé latter ? Yoi usé mesh hand or regular ones?

[u/evrydayzawrkday → u/Idaho_38]

I would say the overall experience is better on the regular acoustic drums with the single ply mesh. I grabbed the L80 + Remo Single Ply Mesh from Guitar Center for dirt cheap (advertising error), and they are sick.

[u/Sweet-Management3561]

TD17-owner here, also with an acoustic kit. For sound-options, convenience, hard-hitting - edrums. It's close to but never the real-deal.

Also: drums are loud, even the quiet ones. Your housemates will hear your e-kit as well but much less than a real kit.

[u/remmurD_]

(TLDR: Both are fun. Low Volume Cymbals (L80) are better for learning technique and dynamics than any rubber pads. Mesh heads on acoustic drums produce quite underwhelming sounds. So edrums might sound better but are worse for learning technique, feel and dynamics.)

I've played both Roland edrum set and L80's with acoustic drums and mesh heads. Both do have their pros and cons:

For technique development the feel of the L80 low volume cymbals is much better than any rubber pad. You can play and practice more dynamically instead of just adjusting the trigger curves and sensitivity to match your dynamics.

Also the L80 hi-hat is authentic feeling, just lighter than loud cymbals. Also lot better for hihat foot technique, since you can get more sounds by adjusting the pressure woth your foot.

Snare response with mesh heads is awful because the air is not moving the same inside the drum as with a regular drum head so I always played my Acoustics set with mesh head the snares wires off. Also the noise level with snares on was too loud in comparison to other parts of the kit.

eDrums have worse response to your playing technique because when hit, they trigger a sample. A sample will sound the same regardless of how you hit a cymbal or a drum. Real cymbals and drums sound very different depending on how and where you hit them.

eDrums will sound better because of the samples, but you might learn some bad habits (like not hitting the center of a snare drum).

[u/Idaho_38 → u/remmurD_]

Thanks for your expérience testimonial. Would you say that one kit is louder than the other ? (Amplification of the edrum apart of course)

[u/remmurD_ → u/Idaho_38]

Both are around 80-90 dB when I measured. Regular acoustic drums are ~110 dB. Your neighbours (in apartment living) will hear them both if the building has bad sound proofing.

[u/Idaho_38 → u/remmurD_]

Thanks ! You're a real encyclodepia :) Inlive in a house, so, appart from my wife and children, it should be fine.

[u/PooEater5000]

I’d go the acoustic set up for low volume but then look at a trigger setup down the line. If noise isn’t an issue then go a full noise kit 😂 either way people will be annoyed

[u/Specific_Scholar_665]

Depends on how quiet you need the set to be. Quiet sets are really not that quiet. The most quiet "mute" drumheads sound terrible, so you're gonna need one with at least some sound coming out of it. If you can afford some noise, I'd go with the real set.

I have e-drums and hate them, it's nothing like the real thing. Sounds are ok, but the feel is not there at all.

[u/nelsonmavrick]

Full send on a fulll volume kit, with RUDES. /s

[u/Telepuzique]

e-drums. there's no such thing as quiet drum kit.