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Monday, October 12, 2009

Electric Drums

Many drummers have given me their opinion of 'electric drums.' Some like them, some love them, some hate them.

I think they are awesome for one basic reason, volume control.

Unless you're playing a 'huge' venue, chances are that an acoustic drum kit, played 'hard,' will over-power the other instruments.

An electric kit allows the drummer to 'whale away' on the kit, while providing total volume control. This is extremely important to a band that is trying to 'make a living' doing gigs in bars.

If your band is just 'playing for fun,' bring out the full-kit and let it roll. Just don't expect to get too many 'call backs.'

9 comments:

  1. Just like you, I've found that some love'em, some hate'em. Digital drums will only do so much - they don't take the place of a real drummer. I use them in my solo act, along with prerecorded bass, and I think it enhances the sound you present. However, when my band Rock City plays, my drummer is incredible! I like playing both ways. Moose

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  2. Moose is commenting on using a drum track to back a solo performer. Craver is talking about digital drums played by a real drummer. I have heard some that sounded almost like an accoustic set. Perhaps Craver will post about backing tracks in the future. I agree with Moose that a drum track and bass track will improve your sound. But it almost seems like karaoke.

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  3. I think the original post IS talking about a real drummer-just one who uses electric instead of acoustic drums. Isn't Carlos Santana a real guitarist? I agree that electric percussion is far superior for the musical control it affords. I use V-drums and a Roland Handsonic and it works great-power up,one 1/4" plug, and you can cover anything!
    Bill

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  4. Electric drums are a good solution for drummers that can't play with touch appropriate for the room. I prefer not to play with those drummers.

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  5. In defense of acoustic drummers everywhere, two apt metaphors spring to mind for guitarists who struggle to sympathize with the drummer's volume issues ... first, imagine playing your guitar without strings (the frets sense your finger positions, bends, and finger tremelo and send midi signals to a guitar synth) ... to a very great extent, that is the Digital Drum experience. Ok, now imagine the ALTERNATIVE to that, an acoustic kit played "quieter" ... easy enough during straight beats, but think about playing the fastest, most complex guitar lead you can imagine at about 1/3rd the pick-contact pressure you learned it at(or trying to cup the strings to mute them), and pretend that none of your volume control options are available (can't hit a footswitch, can't turn the guitar down, can't turn the amp down) ... it's not easy being green, is it :-)

    Digital drums are a compromise, pure and simple, and what you get back from them is a compromised response and sound regardless of settings and how you play them. Like most musical things, 90% of the audience won't ever know the difference in sound (though they WOULD notice a horribly out-of-balance volume situation), so this really is about a choice between personal satisfaction and commercial viability ... As Dennis Leary is fond of saying "life sucks, get a helmet" :-)

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  6. It's about compromise (playing quieter and losing the feel and dynamics OR playing digital drums and losing the feel and response), not touch ... it makes sense that you won't play with drummers that won't compromise, but when every other musician has two or three gain stages and/or tons of pedals that will control volume levels without impacting the way the instrument FEELS at all, it's a little arrogant to try to tag it to talent.

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  7. Oh Yeah! Praise be to Thee! Now can we have a word with the bass player?

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  8. We use a hybrid... Real cymbals with an electronic kit. We also use real hand percussion mic'd into the kit. It works superb.

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  9. As a singer, I appreciate the volume-control that electric drums provide in a live setting, however as a listener/music aficionado, I will always prefer a real acoustic set. I agree that electric is a compromise.

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