A little advise for a newbe

[Monster]

All you drum lords out there...riddle me this.....What do you look for in a kit if you are just turning to the electric side of things? I'm a 30 year long drummer but had never tried electric until last week when I sat down at a Roland kit. Fun as hell but the cost...15k to start. What do you folks suggest I look at when my pockets are so damn tight? I want to start to teach my 11 year old boy but the space is limited as needs to be the noise.

[CaTaPulT]

Hi Monster.
Roland has some nice stuff, unfortunately they are priced out of many people's budgets (their pricing policies are out to lunch)
Another alternative is Yamaha, they put out a great product, well built and decently priced, the difference is Roland uses mesh head drums, Yamaha uses rubber surfaced drums. Both have their pros and cons. Your best bet is finding a Yamaha dealer in your area and trying out a Yamaha kit and a Roland kit, see what both kits (in your price range) can do and their features and if they accomplish what you want from a eDrum kit.
Another alternative to Roland regarding mesh head drums is Pintech, I like their mesh head drums but I don't like their cymbals.
I play on a Yamaha based kit with some Pintech mesh head drums and Yamaha rubber surfaced drums, I love my Yamaha modules for their sound quality and they are well packed with many useful features.
Here's a picture of my kit, yes, I went a little crazy! :)


Take care

Regards: >>>> Jack <<<<

[WildWes]

Monster (or is it the Riddler?)

I use Yamaha and Pintech, but another option is if you still have an acoustic kit, you could purchase a module, install mesh heads and use triggers.

Good luck with your choice. WW

[Monster]

CaTaPult, I did love the respnce of the Roland mesh heads. They felt like the real deal. But Pinetech I have never heard of. Are they new on the scene? Is Pinetech the parent company?
Wes, I am the Monster tis true but don't we all have a riddle in us somewhere.. and minr seems to be how do I get my son off the idea that a $1500 set is not in the cards right now. Is it possible to piece together a set, you know pad by pad? Thanx for the words of wisdom.
By the way CaT where did you find that "South Park" Rush pic?

[CaTaPulT]

Hi Monster.
Pintech has been around quite a while I believe.
Personaly, I do like their drums, their 14 inch chrome snare (AX14) is a little finicky with the Yamaha DTXtreme IIs module, it can work, but tweaking of the module is required, it seems to work well with the DTXpress III and IV. Their line of 10 inch and 12 inch concertcast drums work very well. Also, their CKV-10 and 12 kick drum work well also, I just find mesh heads to have a little too much bounce for a kick drum, maybe trying a different brand of mesh head might cure this.
The Roland mesh heads are 2 ply mesh heads, the Pintech and most others are a single ply thus a little more bouncy, Pintech uses a thin mesh making it really bouncy, but they are a tough mesh head, I've had mine for well over a year and no sign of wear on them yet.
Pintech is not the parent company of Roland, they are competitors, but Pintech has permission from Roland to manufacture and sell mesh head drums, they are not the same as Roland's however but they are much better priced than Roland.
As for your budget, I would keep an eye out for a used kit, be it a Roland, Pintech or Yamaha kit, there's probably some good deals to be had on a Yamaha DTXpress III kit somewhere but then again, Yamaha uses rubber pads, not mesh heads. Also a note, some lower end Roland kits use rubber pads as well, so beware, if you want mesh, better make sure any inquiry about a Roland kit is a mesh head kit and not rubber pads.
As for my sounth Park avatar, it's actualy a reduced picture of a Plastic Canvas (craft) my girlfriend had make a couple years ago for her boss at the time, I had taken a picture of it and decided to use it as a avatar since I am also a Rush fan.
Which ever way you decide to go with your first eKit, I hope you find something in your price range and you get much enjoyment out of it. :)
Take care

Regards: >>>> Jack <<<<

[WildWes]

Wes, I am the Monster tis true but don't we all have a riddle in us somewhere.. and minr seems to be how do I get my son off the idea that a $1500 set is not in the cards right now. Is it possible to piece together a set, you know pad by pad? Thanx for the words of wisdom.
Monster,

Yes, you can piece together any component you want. If you take a look at some of the kits in this forum, you'll see most were pieced together or added to with other pads. Like Jack, I use Yamaha/Pintech and think it's a fantastic kit at an inexpensive price. I've also had no Pintech head failures in the 3 years I've been playing them. However, don't discount Roland and Hart either, especially if you can find a great deal. I don't know if you frequest eBay, but I've purchased most of my kit in pieces from there.

What part of the world are you in? WW

PS: Whuffie awarded for trying to hook-up your son with an e-kit ;D