New... here to learn...

[Danciewicz]

Hey everyone... My name is Devin and I am 23 years old.... I started drumming when I was 15 or so and sold my kit two years ago... Haven't been able to touch drums since....
Mainly the apartments I have had does not allow me to have sets because of tenants that live either above me or below me...
I am looking into a electronic set to help with the noise and so I can get back into drumming and practicing without driving my roommate nuts....

My question is what is the bare minimum you need to start up a set...
I was thinking about getting a kick pad, a hi-hat, a snare pad and then a rack and module....
But I am unaware of really anything you need... I know of triggers, dual zone pads, etc...

But I mess with my roommate on garageband and other programs like Reason...
My main goal is to get the little 3 piece set I mentioned above and to beable to plug into my laptop so I can also record or practice....

Anyone want to point me into a direction??

Thanks

[WildWes]

Hi Devin and welcome.

You don't mention your location or whether money is an issue, so you could purchase an entry level kit from Roland (TD-3), Yamaha (DTXplorer), Alesis (DMpro) or Simmons (Ion?), which would give you more than required by your post.

Or

Search for used equipment and piece-meal a kit together as many of us have done. Sounds like you want the basics to start out with, so buy the best you can afford for each item (ie, module, snare, kick, hi-hat, ride, crash, toms, stands, rack, etc...).

I didn't mention brand preference as that tends to be subjective and tied to personal tastes. Try to visit music stores and play on the various e-kits to get an idea of what your looking for in a kit. Good luck on your entry into the world of e-drums. WW

[CaTaPulT]

Hi Devin.
The apartment you live in, does it have concrete floors or wood, the reason I am asking is even with a eDrum kit, the stomping on the kick and hihat pedals might still make a resounding thud to the neighbors downstairs. Some people have built plywood platforms to put their eDrums on, the platform sits on multiple tennis balls, the tennis balls absorb for vibrations from the kit thus keeping the peace with the people downstairs. It's kind of a pain in the butt undertaking but I thought you should know that just because it's a eKit, doesn't mean the neighbors downstairs won't have anything to complain about. This has been a common problem for anyone playing in a apartment.
Here's a link to the general idea of the Tennis ball thing...... http://www.dtxpressions.com/platform/
As WildWes mentioned, there are a few eDrum manufacturer, so if at all possible, go to music stores and try some out, mesh head vs rubber pads, if you prefer mesh head, make sure you check out both single ply mesh and two ply mesh (Roland), they have a very different feel, single ply will be much bouncier thus feeling at times un-natural.
Single ply will be quieter room noise wise, 2ply will be a little noisier, rubber is roughly about the same as 2ply mesh noise wise, just sounds very different. Best bet, go to a music store that has both Roland and Yamaha kits on display, try them both out and see how you like the feel and the sound quality from their respective pads and modules, as WildWes mentioned, there are alternatives to the big two, there's also Alesis (DM series), Simmons and Pintech.
Good luck in whatever way you go.
Take care

Regards: >>>> Jack <<<<

[ghostman]

Hey everyone... My name is Devin and I am 23 years old.... I started drumming when I was 15 or so and sold my kit two years ago... Haven't been able to touch drums since....
Mainly the apartments I have had does not allow me to have sets because of tenants that live either above me or below me...
I am looking into a electronic set to help with the noise and so I can get back into drumming and practicing without driving my roommate nuts....

My question is what is the bare minimum you need to start up a set...
I was thinking about getting a kick pad, a hi-hat, a snare pad and then a rack and module....
But I am unaware of really anything you need... I know of triggers, dual zone pads, etc...

But I mess with my roommate on garageband and other programs like Reason...
My main goal is to get the little 3 piece set I mentioned above and to beable to plug into my laptop so I can also record or practice....

Anyone want to point me into a direction??

Thanks

Hi Devin!
I mess around w/ GarageBand, too.. I'd love to trade hints! I use an Alesis I/O and home built pads (and am looking to build some newer ones..)
My first item - Welcome!
My second item - if you buy something, make sure the module is something that you can expand with. A friend of mine just bought her son a Roland HD-1 (WITHOUT consulting ME, mind you :rolleyes:) and while it will work, I think that it is a dead-end product. It's not very expandable, and limited. I think the module is key - I went cheap with the Trigger I/O, and while it's not the module I'd prefer, I needed something from this decade (I had a Roland PM-16, circa 1992). Neat thing, the IO has USB, which makes it a dream to hook to my Mac. and the BFD Drums is pretty nice. I calculated that for $400 bucks, you can get BFD 2 AND an I/O. $400 is the price of BFD 2. and with the Trigger I/O, you get BFD 1.5 Lite, with a upgrade discount. Which amounts to getting BFD for less, the discount being almost the cost of the I/O. So, it's like getting the I/O for free. Mind you, I haven't gotten BFD2 yet.. :(

Third - where should you start? If you're handy, and not afraid of soldering, and Do-it-yourself, buy a cheap acoustic kit off of Craigslist, get some Perl mesh heads (or Pintech or Roland) and build your own. There are a LOT of folks here who can help. Otherwise, try to find a used e-kit. I think that the best starter hi-hat is a variable pedal-only solution (Pintech HyperHat or Roland FD-8 or similar) and a pad. They don't require the hi-hat stand and that stuff.. I love my tama hi-hat stand and pin-tech hats, but if I were starting out w/o all that, I would go with the simpler pedal.

Anyway, lots of opions in there, feel free to ignore me, but do what you want that is right for you. Ask, learn and tell us where you are at. If you are near one of us, you can meet and play on another e-kit while you are ammassing your own monolithic creation. I, am in Portland, and am looking for other e-drummers. Heck, another musician to jam with would be nice.. I just need to get the drum room done! (okay, it's a game room, with the drums planned to go in there, too..)

[fignewton]

let me throw my .02 in.
Get a budget and then go module first. If your current computer specs are up to speed, for $150 you can get a Trigger IO.
Then start looking at either converting an existing kit with mesh heads, or start checking out Craigslist or Ebay for pads

[Racer52]

Welcome Devin! I don't know much about interconnection with midi and that stuff.. so, just hi from me.

[bigjimslade]

I'll second what CaTaPulT said about sound in the apartment. Even playing Rock Band drums with silencer pads and trying to be quiet (I'm not a pedal crusher) the people that lived below me in my apartment complained a few times. Now I'm in a house and ready to rock out :)