Looking for an electronic kit for silent practice.....

[Steve]

Hi all;

Let me just say I am a purist and would never "convert" to an
electronic kit. I am even having a hard time considering even
purchasing an electronic kit and having it under the same roof as my
acoustic kit. That being said things have changed for me and I have
to bite the bullet (kinda like buying the mini van I guess which I
have still dodged). I have two young boys (3 and 11 months) now and
the only time I have to practice is when mom is out with them or they
are sleeping which pretty much leaves me to practice maybe 1/2 an hour
to an hour a month.

I am not looking to invest a lot of money in an kit and I am looking
for something used. I am looking for something with a real feel but
can't afford the "V-Drums" from Roland. I have been looking at the
Alesis DM5 Pro kit (without the Surge Cymbals). It looks okay,
adjustable head tension and it seems to be expandable as far as the
module is concerned where the other cheaper kits are lacking as I
might want to add another cymbal and tom trigger to the kit.

Has anyone had experience with one of these kits? They seem to have
drastically dropped in price. From what I read they still do make a
little bit of noise when you hit the heads but my kids sleep two
floors up (would that be an issue?). I don't really care about the
sound qualty, just something to practice on. I was planning on using
my Yamaha double kick pedal on this kit (is that an issue?).

Any advice would be cool.

Thanks in advance;
Steve

Any advice would be cool.

[J Wald]

If it is about not making too much noise, or sound quality, why
not save some $$ and get something like this?

http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10021&storeId=10051&categoryId=40253&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=40250&top_category=40005

http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10021&storeId=10051&productId=900000183&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=40250
--
J Wald
"Can't do it Sally"
Tom Hagan - Godfather I

Post by Steve
Hi all;
Let me just say I am a purist and would never "convert" to an
electronic kit. I am even having a hard time considering even
purchasing an electronic kit and having it under the same roof
as my
acoustic kit. That being said things have changed for me and I have
to bite the bullet (kinda like buying the mini van I guess
which I
have still dodged). I have two young boys (3 and 11 months)
now and
the only time I have to practice is when mom is out with them
or they
are sleeping which pretty much leaves me to practice maybe 1/2
an hour
to an hour a month.
I am not looking to invest a lot of money in an kit and I am
looking
for something used. I am looking for something with a real
feel but
can't afford the "V-Drums" from Roland. I have been looking at the
Alesis DM5 Pro kit (without the Surge Cymbals). It looks okay,
adjustable head tension and it seems to be expandable as far as the
module is concerned where the other cheaper kits are lacking as I
might want to add another cymbal and tom trigger to the kit.
Has anyone had experience with one of these kits? They seem to have
drastically dropped in price. From what I read they still do
make a
little bit of noise when you hit the heads but my kids sleep
two
floors up (would that be an issue?). I don't really care about the
sound qualty, just something to practice on. I was planning on using
my Yamaha double kick pedal on this kit (is that an issue?).
Any advice would be cool.
Thanks in advance;
Steve
Any advice would be cool.

[Benj]

Post by J Wald
If it is about not making too much noise, or sound quality, why
not save some $$ and get something like this?
http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisp...
http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDispl...

I prefer this:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/DW-Go-Anywhere-Practice-Set-103222485-i1371515.gc

cheaper yet. But none of these have built in triggers. If you are into
saving money you can use the Radio Shack piezo buzzer thing and
install them in the pads to trigger a DM4 or DM5. It's what I've got.
I prefer remo pads though. They feel about the most natural to me.
NONE will feel "natural". I prefer Remo pads with computer mouse pads
under the heads. V-Drums are like playing a tennis racket and have a
"hot spot" in the center. The rubber ones, feel like...well... rubber!
The bottom line is that if you want to go electronic, I'd not be
dreaming of staying acoustic. Instead go rent a barn or something and
play acoustic till you drop! But if you want to play with the range
and variability of electronic then start playing with the strange
sounds and see what you can make it do. Forget about making it sound
and play like some Sonor acoustic kit. It never will and that's NOT
what it's all about.

[Steve]

If it is about not making too much noise, or sound quality, why not save
some $$ and get something like this?
http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10021&storeId=10051&categoryId=40253&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=40250&top_category=40005
http://www.interstatemusic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10021&storeId=10051&productId=900000183&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=40250
--
J Wald
"Can't do it Sally"
Tom Hagan - Godfather I

Post by Steve
Hi all;

There is the "toy factor" though. Thanks for the suggestion but there is
quite a few electronic kits going for pretty cheap right now.

Cheers;
Steve

[Zomoniac]

Post by Steve
Hi all;
Let me just say I am a purist and would never "convert" to an
electronic kit. I am even having a hard time considering even
purchasing an electronic kit and having it under the same roof as my
acoustic kit. That being said things have changed for me and I have
to bite the bullet (kinda like buying the mini van I guess which I
have still dodged). I have two young boys (3 and 11 months) now and
the only time I have to practice is when mom is out with them or they
are sleeping which pretty much leaves me to practice maybe 1/2 an hour
to an hour a month.
I am not looking to invest a lot of money in an kit and I am looking
for something used. I am looking for something with a real feel but
can't afford the "V-Drums" from Roland. I have been looking at the
Alesis DM5 Pro kit (without the Surge Cymbals). It looks okay,
adjustable head tension and it seems to be expandable as far as the
module is concerned where the other cheaper kits are lacking as I
might want to add another cymbal and tom trigger to the kit.
Has anyone had experience with one of these kits? They seem to have
drastically dropped in price. From what I read they still do make a
little bit of noise when you hit the heads but my kids sleep two
floors up (would that be an issue?). I don't really care about the
sound qualty, just something to practice on. I was planning on using
my Yamaha double kick pedal on this kit (is that an issue?).
Any advice would be cool.
Thanks in advance;
Steve
Any advice would be cool.

I have that kit. It's fine for the price, but doesn't exactly compare
to the top-end Roland or Yamaha stuff. It's certainly a long way short
of silent, but if they're two floors up they won't hear a thing.
Despite having adjustable head tension and real heads it doesn't feel
real, but you can change the heads to your own, which I haven't done
yet. Certainly if you're after a non-rubber practice kit for less than
$1k it's pretty much your only option. And it works fine with a double
pedal.

[Steve]

Post by Zomoniac
I have that kit. It's fine for the price, but doesn't exactly compare

to the top-end Roland or Yamaha stuff. It's certainly a long way short of
silent, but if they're two floors up they won't hear a thing. Despite
having adjustable head tension and real heads it doesn't feel real, but
you can change the heads to your own, which I haven't done yet. Certainly
if you're after a non-rubber practice kit for less than $1k it's pretty
much your only option. And it works fine with a double pedal.
--
Zo

After looking into the lower end kits it I did go with the DM5 pro. I
picked up one used locally for $500.00 USD and to boot it had the "Surge
Cymbal" upgrade. Dunno if the claims of "the look and feel of real cymbals"
is quite there but still I think it was a steal. The kit is in excellent
condition amd dude just wanted rid of it so it was almost a "name my price
within reason" situation.

After doing some reading at that price point the DM5 module seemed to be
about the best in terms of trigger expandability and a MIDI in port which
makes editing easier (where otherwise I would probably just live with it).
When I got it home I was less than impressed with the standard kits it had
in there so I loaded the Alesis "updated" kits from their website via my
sound interface and it made quite the difference. If there is any other
tools for the DM5 module or resources you could provide on tweaking this
kit, it would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Steve