Elektronauts Drummers

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

Hi everybody! (Hi, Dr. Nick!) I am curious if there are any users here who either play drums actively, or know a thing or two about the current world of drums. I played some (rock) drums in high school, but that was ages ago. There seem to be way more options than ever, so it’s somewhat overwhelming. I’ve noticed some drummers on Instagram banging out amazing DNB beats and loops on real kits and it looks fun as hell, but many of these kits seem very specialized. That is, they don’t often look like the classic 4/5-piece with a couple cymbals.

Question 1: Are there specific pieces to look for when trying to build a drum kit for various genres (i.e. DNB), or is it all just personal preference?

Question 2: I don’t have space for a drum kit anyway, so can anyone recommend some practice pads or other similar pieces to get started with? Should I get a pad, or go for a snare (with a mute or pad) and high hats to have more to get off the ground?

I’m probably crazy for attempting this, since I already complain about having limited time, but I figured I’d check with this great community, as the advice here is usually pretty solid. Cheers!

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#2
  1. No. Its all personal preference. Having 2 snares is useful (one picollo, the other tuned low, usually a deep shell.)

Thin 12 inch hihats can sound good. But then so do heavy 14 inch.

Small bass drums are the secret weapon. Mine is an 18 inch.

Ride cymbals are very important, spend money there.

Toms are irrlevant in my opnion.

Again, all personal preference.

Pads, no idea. I dont like them.

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#3

I think @Microtribe pretty much nailed the main points there. For d&b/ jungle/ etc style live drums that seems to be the magic formula. Small kick is super helpful for punch and controlled tone, just like in funk. Two snares tuned disparately. In fact, tuning and technique are the most important things as usual, right? Seems like drumming always comes down to those two things.

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#4

also, shallow bass drums have a real punchy boom to them. its kinda counter intuitive, but they do…
Have you considered a cheap electronic kit? youd have the practice pad aspect covered, and you could make it sound like your favorite DnB kit…
Electronic kits can be relatively inexpensive compared to buying a “real” kit… and they are quiet with headphones…

THis is absolutely true, should you go down this road. You can make cheap drums sound great, you can not make a cheap cymbal sound good. they are worth the money. go Dry.

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#5

several thousands of dollars here

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#6

To take a different tack—which solves the annoying neighbors problem among other things—I use Zendrum controllers because they’re very sensitive, givng real, full-spectrum dynamic response. I’ll link to this demo and this demo. If these don’t catch your interest, then you’re not interested at all. If it doesn’t totally turn you off, I suggest checking out Emrich’s other YT videos.

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Multi-layered samples drumming pads
Looking for a good drum controller
Big drum pads midi device
#7

If you’re considering some electronic drum pads, I’d definitely recommend the Roland SPD-30. It sounds great, super tweakable sound structure, and has a built in looper function that’s really fun for getting ideas going quickly. Works well on its own or as a complement to an acoustic kit (or with other electronic stuff).

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#8

Thanks all, I appreciate the responses. I have thought about electric drums, since they would be a lot quieter. I think, though, for something to take up the space, I’d want the feel of real drums. I’m probably just pipe dreaming, in general. Thinking out loud, at least. If nothing else, I can scour the internet for More gear to pine over. :sweat_smile:

1 Like
#9

How are your rudiments? DnB looks easy… it ain’t. There’s simply no point in buying a kit (acoustic or electric) unless you can play solid doubles, 8ths, 16ths, 32nds and 64ths, at 160bpm and above. On all four limbs. You’ll also need surgical precision rimshots, and ninja ghost notes.

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#10

you watch that flick i posted? real good guide for DnB “rudiments” at the end of the vid…
not so hard at all…:wink:
just practice like anything else thats worth doing…

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#11

You can buy a small drum kit like the Ludwig Breakbeats and put mesh heads on the snare and kick. There are special low volume cymbals on the market too: The Best Low Volume Cymbals in 2021 - MusicCritic

I have a Roland V-Drum and it’s a lot of fun to jam on it and it has some DnB presets. I can even trigger my Analog Rytm with it. :fire:

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#12

Me too, and it’s lot of fun … just to add this … my TD-17 module allows to upload custom samples and built custom kits, audio can be stored on the SD card, and there is more …

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#13

i am a drummer.

intentionally bought e-drums (venerable Yamaha DTXpress III) from the start for 3 reasons: 1) space, 2) [relative] quietness, 3) ability to expand it with sampled/synthesized sounds, e.g. an FM synth for playing industrial.

e-drums are incredibly flexible, you can build various kits for various needs, keeping the same physical layout of things.

i also learned finger drumming due to my obsession with dancefloor-oriented genres.
it’s typically either too much hassle or physically impossible to have any kind of drum kit at the venues with this kind of music, so finger drumming is a fair tradeoff to be able to play live drum parts. of course, you lose certain techniques (no gravity and rebounds) — but you don’t have them in hand-played percussion as well.

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#14

How’s the latency when triggering the Rytm? Been thinking about doing this for a while…

#15

I tried it with a Roland SPD-SX and have not noticed any latency.

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#16

I can’t stand using electronic drums, they just don’t feel right to me. I remember “attempting” some DnB style drumming way back in high school and I always found it helpful to place a super small splash cymbal on the snare, it sounded like a mixture between a snare and a clap. Really cool.

Also, I love cymbal stacks. Splashes, small China cymbals, broken crashes, etc. just stacking them together and tightening it up a bit and you have a great white noise effect.

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#17

I have yet to see an electronic instrument meant to be properly played with finger drumming. Not separate pads but more like a proper instrument, with velocity zones and an adapted position/weight like a real instrument (i.e. frame drum).

There is a thread around about a pocket drumming thing planned for 2022 IIRC but the pricing was a bit crazy IMO.

#18

Hah - I have no rudiments. That’s why I was considering starting with just a pad and some sticks. Get some basic techniques down before I get carried away.

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#19

I’d consider the Nord Drum 3P.

If you fail with proper drumming you still have a fantastic synth engine :wink:

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#20

That’s the route I took. My neighbors still complained though. I even got a few additional carpets and Roland shock absorbing feet. To no avail. But yeah, great synth engine.