Sorry to hear you can't play anymore! The Roc-N-Soc is a great throne for your back. I had 3 at one time. Now only two. One for each kit. Your son is lucky to be getting that great setup.

Any suggestions on what to look for in an electric kit? Looking to stay sub $1k and have my eyes on the Simmons Titan 70 and Alesis Command X, but mostly because those were the two in my local store in my price range they actually had on display.

Is it realistic to expect to get dynamics in that price range? Anything to look for or avoid?

Just bought a Roland kit for about $1k. Overall, I like them a lot. They sound much better through headphones than they do with the current amp I have. If you have played only acoustic drums, set your expectations low, especially for that price. I bought mine to have a practice kit for our lake house, and for that, they do a good job. I do really miss all the dynamics from an acoustic kit.

Anyone have thoughts on Drumeo as a makeshift drum instructor?

My teen is here with me the majority of the time. But he plays sports most days and visits his mom out of state on alternating weekends. When I was a teen I had real lessons weekly, but the internet was just AOL for chat rooms and downloading grainy porn pics, so anything like Drumeo was a pipe dream.

Had anyone tried Drumeo? My son takes music in school and can read music, but my fear is that Drumeo doesn’t give the feedback that can correct bad habits and allow him to start to do things incorrectly. At the same time, a year of Drumeo is a fraction of the cost of weekly lessons.

Thoughts?

Drumeo is very solid, and I have used them before to learn other styles and rhythms, but it's not going to provide the feedback regarding bad technique for your son. There are a lot of good YouTube guys out there that offer 1 on 1 sessions via video chat for about what you would pay for in person. Mike Johnson used to offer 1 on 1 but I think he is too big now. Go onto some of the larger drum forums and ask around or just poke around YouTube.

Not much help under the sub $1k range, but I recently picked up a Roland VAD307 for $2500. I was impressed with the look and feel of everything. The next week Sweetwater discounted the TD-27KV2. I was able to return it and upgrade and although its $3k, I am very very impressed. I have played Alesis, Simmons and even the lower end Rolands and they all have that practice pad feel with sound. The VAD307 felt like an acoustic "looking" kit without the acoustic "feel." But once I got the TD-27KV2 it was a game changer. The 14" snare is super responsive and feels amazing. The ride and hats are damn near close to the real thing. The sounds are great on phones and get better with all the tuning options. Upgrading to more pads is not a problem unlike the VAD307.

I sold all my acoustic stuff during the pandemic since I was becoming a father. No need for excess noise and bulky stuff in the house with babies. I made out like a bandit selling all my shells/cymbals so that made it possible for me to buy one of these expensive electronic kits that I always thought was out of my budget. Sweetwater even has 6 months split payments. Not to be a shill for them, but their service is awesome too.

That being said I'm glad I didn't settle or listen to any of the acoustic drummers in my circle who said you don't get the same feel or response. It's a sweet deal right now and well worth the investment so my kids can learn without blowing their ears out. Piece out a TD-27KV2 in parts alone and anyone can see the value.

I left acoustics years ago as my primary kit due to noise and have been electronic for about 15 years now. I always kept an A kit in the garage for keeping the "feel" and some quick jam sessions because the early mesh heads were very trampoline like. Today, I don't have any acoustics set up anymore. E drums have gone from OK to WOW with the modern stuff available now. I use a TD50 in 2up/2dn with VAD toms and kick along with the Roland VH-14D hats, digital snare, and digital ride. That combo is so good that I have zero desire to play an acoustic kit again. Now that Roland owns DW and have released their new e-kits, it will get even better.

If you haven't ventured into world of VSTs, check them out. Toontrack is the industry leader and their samples and kits are just over the top good. There is a decent price outlay at first, but once your have your PC, sound card, and the base Superior Drummer 3 library/license the expansions aren't too bad. Once you hear and play VSTs, you will never look back. Your TD27 will work fine as the trigger to midi interface. In fact, any Roland, Yamaha, etc module will work. Toontrack has built in presets for most of the major modules/pads. They are simply amazing to play and hear.

The good new is that it's still a heck of a lot cheaper hobby than pinball

double post

I haven't gotten that far yet, but I have a guitarist friend who uses them so I know how powerful they are. Totally agree on the old trampoline feel. The new Roland heads are just top notch.

Love your setup on the VAD toms. That would be rad to upgrade to.

I also feel I can play for way longer without the pain. I'm barely turning 30 this year, but sports, and using my hands at work with a history of arthritis in the family equals drumming fatigue.

I prefer my acoustic set over any electric setup any day. But, after experimenting w/ several electric setups I am completely sold on the Alesis Strike Pro SE.

This set is amazing considering the price point (approx. $2800) & what is included w/ the entire setup. This is actually the Alesis LE modle. < now I'm speaking your pinball language.

What is offered is absolutely the best value in electric drums. The sounds on this dedicated brain are simply fantastic! There are many thousand, but if intrigued > Please look into.

The feel of the heads when playing are very close to an acoustic feel. The cymbals are duel zoned, meaning you can acquire two different sounds on the cymbals when hitting two separate areas.

The drums themselves are actually real wood. Not top of the line, but the wood shells give an authentic feel to the drums. Also, the bass drum is actually a real bass drum. You are able to tune each drum tension to your desire.

I play this setup twice a week for a half hour or so. This keeps me limber for my weekly visit w/ the 9 ply maple acoustics. I could certainly go on... but here are some pictures >

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Maybe, but your neighbors certainly don't Don't get me wrong, I love to play A's as much as the next person. I thought about building an isolation booth, but the advantages offered by my current setup far outweighs the few negatives that in the end it wasn't worth the cost or my labor.

My only gripe is that while the Roland VH14-D are the best electric hats made thus far, they are still lacking compared to a nice set of Paiste or Zildjians. As far as the actual drums themselves, I don't miss them a bit. I would also encourage you to look at VSTs. No module, outside of the Pearl Mimic Pro, comes anywhere close to the realism, sound depth, layering, etc to VSTs. The reason the Pearl is the exception is that it uses onboard VST samples from Steven Slate. Either way happy drumming - that is the most important.

Yes, that's definitely an issue w/ all electric sets. The hi hats can be laggy & generically off-sound. They have not invented an authentically made cymbal. One that is both quiet & responsive.

Even though electrics have come a long way, the acoustics are genuine on the playing vibe. Sort of in comparison to virtual pinball in regards to an actual machine.

I am very fortunate to be able to experience & enjoy both worlds. It's great having choices since drumming is escapism & therapeutic at its finest!

Oh, don't mind the clutter (the pictures above) around the Alesis. That's our junk room. We are officially out of space >

Ockeyhead : In that "clutter", is it a Alesis Strike Amp I see? If so, which one, and how do you like it?

Hey drum peeps, seems this thread hasn’t seen any love for 77 days, let’s change that

Finally acquired the last few items I needed, to start doing some home recordings and drum videos. If interested, I started posting some vids on my channel the past few days, using music from my first band’s demo tape. No click, just hearing and 30 year old memories, on these play throughs, mistakes and all, lol.

Rock/hard rock, and a ballad or two for now. Will be posting more to my channel in the future.

Thanks for listening, for those that do.

https://m.youtube.com/@SterlingSoundz

Very cool stuff, and awesome setup!!
Here is my last release, if anyone likes the heavy, screamy stuff.

Thank you @finnflash! I dig the clip you posted, sounds great!

Anyone here a John Wright fan? They just released a Nomeansno book "from obscurity to oblivion" an oral history and even though I never really stopped listening to them, made me go back and damn, I'm still not sure there's anyone better. Just watched the every album ever episode about them and it's refreshing to see that almost everyone else agrees how just unbelievable a drummer he is, just insane, who else does jazz hardcore?
I seriously doubt there would be math rock without John Wright
Any fans here? Drummers drummer and all.
B

Wow, just nobody eh?
I double dog dare you

2-3 mins in is the most amazing buddy Rich style solo, in the friggin middle of a hardcore song, just don't know of anyone better, at least in my dumb ass opinion
B

Sadly, I have just discovered this thread. Been playing since 1987, and have been in several bands that include Indie Rock, Alternative, and Old School Hardcore. I have been playing a 5pc DW Exotic Spider Pine w/black nickel hardware shell pack, Tama SLP G Maple 7x13 snare, Paiste Signature 14" Sound Edge hi hats, (2) 18" Power Crashe(s), 20" Heavy Bell Ride, and a 18" 2002 Novo China. DW 9002 double pedal, 9000 hi hat stand, 9000 snare stand, all mounted on a Gibraltar Road Series mini rack. I hate lugging around stands and want the smallest footprint I can get. I can setup/breakdown my setup in about 4 minutes. I've had this set configuration for the past 19 years, it's really worked for me and haven't really felt the need to change anything up.

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That is awesome, one of my dreams is to own a DW set.

Really cool! Love me some DW and Paiste. I actually prefer a rack mounted floor tom to a standalone. Within reason of course, but I like that bounce it gives it. You got to just switch out that Remo head and you'll be golden

Not a chance. The Remo coated Controlled Sound X is by far the best snare head i've ever used. It has found a permanent home on my snare.

Lol. That is a good head. My OCD would go crazy when I would rock the Superkick 2 over the EMAD.

Speaking of SuperKick heads, i've recently ditched my Evans EC2's and gone back to Aquarian Studio X on the toms and a SuperKick 1 on the bass drum. I'm not a huge fan of 2 ply heads on my toms or my kick. I feel the Studio X's are an absolute breeze to tune, they STAY in tune and can take a beating. The SuperKick 1 gives me a great feel and I don't encounter the weird "flutter" that sometimes accompanies 2 ply kick drum heads. I also have gone back to a tried and true method of kick drum muffling by using a thin egg crate mattress cut from the 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock position inside the shell. It gives me a nice even tone.

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In my experience, DWs almost regardless of shell material, always shine on a 1 ply. Some people even swear by the stock Remos that ship with em. I used to play a Pork Pie kit that I recently sold and for me the attack of 1 ply was just too strong since that kit was a cannon. That's why I rocked EC2S but I agree on the flutter though. I had to change beaters a few times to find one that worked for me.