Felt tip is a big NO NO for mesh heads, including felt beater for kick mesh

When I was playing in Vegas, I set up a bass drum in front of my edrum bass drum specifically so it would look cool..

Acoustic is KING

In small venues, a ekit is a must. It tightens everything up. If your able to convince the guitar/ bass players to use a (DI) helix, fractal, kemper, etc. then your really on to something. Then loose the wedges, or monitors and get everyone to use IEMs, your audience will compliment your sound, and you have 0-10 volume control. I’m a drummer and it’s the only way I would agree to be in the band.

Felt tipped drumsticks are a terrible suggestion. Most electronic drums that will be gigged are are going to have mesh drum heads. The felt tip on a mesh head will wear out that head so much faster.

Those are excellent tips!
Thanks dude!

I use a ddrum hybrid kit that looks like a gorgeous acoustic kit, but it has built-in triggers and 3-ply mesh heads on it which feel very very close to acoustic heads. I use Steven Slate Drums 5 and it sounds incredible. I also use acoustic cymbals. Best of both worlds

my son has played electric drums only for the last 6 years  he doesn't have access to an acoustic kit , i was able to organise through a friend  for him try an acoustic kit and he said it doesn,t feel natural and they are loud and overbearing and tuning was awful  , thats straight from someone who never played real drums

True!

Great vide, I like the idea of felt tip drumsticks:face-blue-smiling:, but isn't felt bad for mesh heads on electronic drums?

You mention volume control, but to get more specific - STAGE volume.  With accoustic drums the bassist and guitarist turn up to hear themselves and the combination of all that goes into the vocal mics (singers being at the front, mics stoned back) and makes mud out of a mix.  Keeping stage volume down (add IEM) means way better quality of sound out front.

I GIG with my Roland E-kit.   I found that it is vital to have at least FOUR OUTPUTS!  One for the KICK. One for the snare, One for the Toms and one open port that I would use for E-cymbals IF I went that route.  Sorry...  I still like the look, feel, dynamics, and play of REAL Zildjians & Sabians B20 cymbals. With that, my kit is relegated to just 6 triggers.  So I cheat!  Let's call my setup a HYBRID kit.  As for aesthetics. I cut down an old 22" kick drum shell to 8 inches thick, added the band's logo on the reso-head and LED lights just for show!

Because I need at least 4 outputs, I run these to a MINI Mixer (a simple Yamaha 6 channel) where I can dial in on the sounds quickly if need be. Want more snare quickly?  Quick and easy..  From the Yamaha mixer, an XLR cable goes to my 15" powered SUB with the crossover set at 100 Hz and the frequencies above it go to my EV ETX-35P (2000W - 3 way) PA monitor because I and my band mates want the sound to "come" from my E-Kit.  If need be, I can also run a single XLR line to the main mixing board.  For larger gigs, I use a Shure SM57 to mike my High Hat and a couple of overhead mikes to for my ride/crash cymbals...if need be.  

Again, you could get by (barely) with 2 outlets in Stereo, but 4 outlets is the way to go!  

Interesting enough...with ALL of the sounds and options available, I use and play with only 2-3 kits from my Roland module.  That's it!  I know, I know...I am am far from using anything close to what Roland offers but I dialed in my KICK (Solid 24" K) and my 4 Toms (Maple) tuned to "Call to Post": Tom 1 (High 147 Hz), Tom 2 (Mid-High 124 Hz), Tom 3 (Mid-Low 98 Hz), Tom 4 (Low 74 Hz, one octave below Tom 1).  So as you go down the rack, you get that beautiful transition all drummers/musicians love to hear in the Toms.

The only instrument that changes from kit to kit is my SNARE!  Piccolo to Medium to Deep Shell (Low) snare depending on the song.

So again, ask yourself what is your end goal and GET a little more than you "think" you will need so you have no regrets later.  Keep drumming.

One thing that needs to be said is electronic drum modules add room ambiance when playing samples, this sounds great on headphones, but they could sound really bad when played through a speaker BECAUSE that added artificial drum ambience will be fighting the real drum ambience. Luckily there is a simple fix, turn down or turn off room ambiance, adjust the pads individually to the room so that nothing is too high or too low. The PA not being able to reproduce acoustic cymbal nuances... What kind of shitty Pa do you use? I have never had that problem, Also I have played gigs for over 35 years with both acoustic and electronic kits, nobody ever said they wish I had an acoustic kit when I used the electronic or that it sounded bad, on the contrary, they asked me how I was able to achieve such a great sound, they asked a lot of questions and I'm sure I converted some of them into e-drum believers.
Roland TD -27 and TD-50 have come a long way with the digital pads. Don't use wood tip sticks use light sticks,  don't use a felt pedal beater on mesh pads...yes use a wedge monitor to have that natural stage sound.

Any felt tip or beater will eat through mesh heads. I have a Roland VAD kit and the triple mesh heads gives me a close to acoustic response.  I feel no difference playing home than using an acoustic kit every week.  I actually wish we would use the VAD Kit at church live because not every volunteer is a sound engineer these new kits are almost fool proof

FYI reverb on the channel the drums mono into... and it sounds stereo. Its what I use and people CAN'T tell the difference.

This nails all the great things about e-kits. The cons have been destroyed as of today. The D-drum e-kit is PHENOMENAL!

To clear something up - I'm not recommending felt-tipped sticks for anything other than getting the click sound to go away on brass-lined cymbals in smaller or quieter situations where this might be an issue. If the clicking sound isn't an issue, no need to use felt-tipped sticks.

I played gigs with both acoustic and electronic kits and usually when I played with and ekit, I had better sound. Not once did any audience member complained about the sound or the looks of the drums, on the contrary, I got compliments on the sound quality.

Hi there, thanks for the terrific tips.

I was wandering regarding some of the logistic stuff:

1. I have a 307 Roland kit. dissembling it is quite a mess, and it is also very heavy to carry (especially the stands). Maybe I should buy a new kit, that is more suitable for moving around?? That way the Roland 307 will be my stationary training kit and the second one much lighter for gigs....this means another budget i don’t really have...

2. cases for carrying the stands, Tams, cymbals etc...i did not get a clear answer for this issue  

3. Amplifiers:  What are the mandatory Fitchers my Amp need to have in order to get a good sound in a small gig ?

I’m gonna experiment with electric drums and my real cymbals what do you think