# E - Drum help



## oracles (Apr 15, 2012)

So I've got a younger brother who's looking to get into drums and unfortunately my parents dont have the space to accomodate an acoustic kit for him, so they've opted for an electronic kit to save on space and noise, and asked me to pick out some options for them. Im working with a budget of $600-$800, and the options I've found so far are:

- Alesis DM8 Pro Alesis DM8 Pro Electronic Drum Set | Musician&#39;s Friend

- Yamaha DTX500K Yamaha DTX500K Electronic Drum Set | Musician&#39;s Friend

- Ddrum DD1 ddrum DD1 Electronic Drumset | GuitarCenter

So far I like the sound of the Alesis more, but im open to other options and suggestions you guys might have. He's going to be playing primarily metal and jazz styles if that helps as well. Thanks in advance for any help


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## iron blast (Apr 16, 2012)

try to either stretch to a dm10 or a roland td6 or higher kit if at all possible the sounds will be far better.


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## xeonblade (Apr 16, 2012)

If you have to choose from those go with DM8. Don't go with rubber pads EVER. Best ones should be mesh heads but those are on 1000e+ kits. You can replace DM8 heads with mesh heads later. DM8/10 have mylar heads.

Mesh>mylar>rubber


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## Bigsby (Apr 16, 2012)

i would save a little bit more and get a a dm10 or a roland kit like iron blast said

but if you can't from personal experience the ddrum dd1's are horrible so i would avoid those, 

the yamaha kit i noticed the pads were very hit or miss like a lot of the hits would not trigger i have tried the kit atleast 3 different times from brand new to used and it still had the same problem,

so i would go for the dm8 personally its just an all around a better kit, choke-able cymbals, dual zone snare and the tension adjustable heads are a plus too


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## ArrowHead (Apr 17, 2012)

If he has a laptop that can handle Superior or similar, forget about sounds.

Get a copy of Superior 2 (if it's still onsale that's $170)
An Alesis Trigger IO ($100)
An Alesis USB pro kit ($550)
a set of mesh heads and foam ($55)

Total spent, around $800. And you'll have a full mesh kit, with a shit ton of room for expansion. By shit ton, I mean I currently have two trigger IO's duck taped together, running about 20 or so separate drum/rim/cymbal triggers.


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## xeonblade (Apr 18, 2012)

If you use Y splitter you can use tom rims for another pads since u wont be using tom rims 99% of time. You won't need another trigger IO 

ArrowHead: I've finally sold my Schecter and now I'm phoning music shops to see if I can get DM10 Studio or DM10 X without module so I can add Trigger IO to that. I won't go with USB Studio afterall. Mostly interested in DM10 X because of better rack and bigger pads.


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## ArrowHead (Apr 19, 2012)

Xeon, that's great news.


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## xeonblade (Apr 19, 2012)

Edit: Not so great news. Im lacking funds to buy DM10 X, have enough for DM10 Studio atm. Great life as highschoolboy, no income.
Called shops and they can't sell me sets without module. One shop have DM10 in stock but will only lower price by 250 without module (not by 500 which is retail price for module).
So I'd have to pay a lot more than. Around 730E for DM10 Studio without module + Trigger IO module.


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## ArrowHead (Apr 19, 2012)

Xeon, PM sent specifically for your concern.

For others, I highly recommend you check for deals on ebay in your area. The resale price on the Alesis kits tends to be pretty low. You can often build a complete kit piece by piece cheaper than buying the same kit completed. 

Beware, though. Often the opposite is true as well - single pieces of hardware or kit will be priced incredibly high. For example, a single boom arm mount with clamp for an E-Cymbal can sell for $25 or more on ebay. A lone clamp can cost $15 + shipping. But I bought all the hardware from a DM10 kit on ebay for $30, shipped. That hardware contained 4 cymbal arms, and 8 clamps. 

Just remember when putting a kit together: The companies like to release multiple types of kit, and a lot of times they don't play well together. For example getting two 3 zone DM Ride cymbals (non-surge) running was a nightmare with my trigger IO, while they're basically plug and play with a DM10 module. While almost anything can be made to work, it can be a hassle, so be sure to check you're buying compatible items.


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## xeonblade (Apr 19, 2012)

ArrowHead said:


> Xeon, PM sent specifically for your concern.
> 
> For others, I highly recommend you check for deals on ebay in your area. The resale price on the Alesis kits tends to be pretty low. You can often build a complete kit piece by piece cheaper than buying the same kit completed.
> 
> ...



Can you explain 3 zone ride a bit more. Because I'll run 1 3zone Ride into Trigger IO.


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## ArrowHead (Apr 19, 2012)

I actually don't know if I _can _explain, but I'll try.

Basically there's two types of triggers used in the alesis gear. Piezo, and switch. Switch is what's used for the chokeable cymbals. Your touch completes a circuit, which sends a signal. 

On the DMpad cymbals, the bell is a switch. The bow and edge are piezo. 

On the surges, it's a piezo for the bell. The trigger IO is set up with a specific ride input (#4). It's a piezo/switch input meant to receive two piezo triggers (bow and bell) and a switch (choke). 

Long story short, I needed to get a stereo Y plug adapter, and only get bow and bell, no edge. In addition, the bell triggering is inconsistent at times and double triggers. In other words, it doesn't play nicely with the Trigger IO. If you are using the trigger IO, I'd recommend the surge cymbals, at least for your ride. The advantage of the piezo bell is also that it's properly velocity sensitive, where the switch trigger is not.


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## xeonblade (Apr 19, 2012)

Well I've told u about my ability to get custom kit... So I'll be getting DM10 X kit with Trigger IO anyways 
It's just important that it can be worked out somehow...

You're saying that DMpad ride have 2 stereo outs. choke, bell, edge and bow, each on 1 channel?

Can't u put like choke and bow on 1 piezo/switch and bell and edge on other piezo/switch input?


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## ArrowHead (Apr 19, 2012)

xeonblade said:


> Well I've told u about my ability to get custom kit... So I'll be getting DM10 X kit with Trigger IO anyways
> It's just important that it can be worked out somehow...
> 
> You're saying that DMpad ride have 2 stereo outs. choke, bell, edge and bow, each on 1 channel?
> ...



Nope. The P/S mode of the other inputs on the Trigger IO do not work the same as the special ride P/S. That's the sacrifice you make with the low price on the trigger IO, it's not the most tweakable unit around.


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## xeonblade (Apr 19, 2012)

Can you work it out so you have all except choke on that ride?
I don't think I'll be choking ride that much.


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## ArrowHead (Apr 19, 2012)

As I did, you can jury rig it with an adapter cable, but I still would recommend a Surge ride over any other solution with the Trigger IO. Even though I've got the DM pad working, switch triggers are not velocity sensitive and the triggering cross triggers often. The Surge plays much nicer, it worked flawlessly. Otherwise all my other DMpads work just as well as my surges did.


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## xeonblade (Apr 19, 2012)

1. Lot louder.
2. Already said I can't get it here.
3. No money.

Thnx a lot for the info, I might go over to surge ride or roland ride once I get the set, replace heads with mesh and buy a double bass. I'll have to hang in there untill I get some money.

EDIT: Called shop again to check something. Turned out they sold older version of DM10 Studio which they could sell me without module. Now they say they can't order another (new) DM10 Studio or DM10 X without module.
Well, that just puts me into shit.


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