[gyutae]

I don't know if there are any electric drummers here but does it affect your technique at all? I'm sure that playing on pads feel very different than playing on real drum heads so does technique change at all? I don't want to invest in something that I'd have to adjust to too much and will distract my feel.

[DrummerMom]

I owned a small electronic kit ayear ago. It had the Dauz rubber pads. So for my it was like playing on a practice pad. As far as affecting your technique goes, if you have good technique you will use it regardless of whether you are playing on a practice pad, electronic kit, or an accoustic kit.

[Baumann]

I would say that if your technique is just at an average level you should be careful with going electronic. If you don't buy one of the very best electronic kits on the market, it's very limited how 'many' sounds you can get from the different drums. Think about it - when you're playing acoustic, you don't just hit the drums or cymbals in one way. There are dozens of ways of hitting e.g. the snare drum, and this adds a lot of feel to your playing. If you play an electronic drumkit and used to hearing the same sound, no matter where and how you hit the snare drum, I think it's getting dangerous when you move back to the acoustic.

But, of course, electronic kits are great for apartments, etc. - as long as you don't forget to practice on the acoustic when you get the chance...

(Anyways, don't be too scared about this post - I'm not an electronic drummer, I'm just guessing here. )

[gyutae]

Thanks Baumann, that made a lot of sense. It's really impractical to get an acoustic drum set when you're living in an aparment, especially with a lot of complaining neighbors. However, I also don't want to get so used to an electric drum set to the point where I lose my creativity and feel and start playing like a robot.

[Qwerk]

I don't have an electronic set, but the person who gives me lessons does, since there are about 10 other people in close proximity giving lessons. The kit he has is a pretty nice one (costs about $6,000) and has the same feel as a normal set. The "drums" are not the rubber practice pad type ones, but are actually more of like a fabric head, like what you might find on a marching drum, except not anywhere near as tight. The kit he has allows for many different sounds, and I actually surprised sometimes when I hear a sound it makes, that I didn't expect it could. Keep in mind I only play this drumset for less than half an hour, every week. I think that if you get something like this one, then you wouldn't have to worry about becoming too "robotic", although, I would still say you should make sure you get in some practice time on an acoustic set when you can as Baumann said.

[gyutae]

Yeah, technology in the electric drums are getting better and better every day and I was surprised by some of the sounds they could make as well. However, I'm not trying to spend $6,000 for something to just practice with and for gigging and performing I'd definitely prefer an acoustic set. With $6k, you could get like 3 high end professional acoustic drum sets. Definitely not worth it.