I Is Now A Drummer!!

equalsql

Well sort of... as I've just splurged out and picked myself up one of these:



I've always wanted to have a go and have been building beats for years on drum machines and midi-surfaces so I thought I should try the real (sort of..) thing.  I did a shed load of research as the the best-bang (NPI) for the money and this little Roland TD-1KV kept coming up tops in all the recommendations

I have to say I'm really impressed with it. The on-board sounds are excellent as are the practice tracks that come with it.
What's even better is it works seamlessly in Reaper with EZ Drummer. Just enabled it as a MIDI device, set it to the channel I had EZ Drums on and it mapped perfectly to the kits that were available.. I was quite amazed how painless it was.

The snare is excellent and I have already started to see progress with my rudiments (ooer missus).
Currently working on the 'Rosanna Shuffle' by Jeff Pocaro

Check out James at Better Music demoing the kit:

DiscoStu

That's a very fancy clothes horse.

Teetonetal

I love drumming. It's so much fun. I picked up a DT express 4 some years ago and it's been a fabulous purchase. I'm still rubbish but I think it really helped my guitar playing too as it makes you listen to rhythm so much more.

octatonic

Welcome to the tribe.
I've all but switched to drums now, after nearly 30 years of being a guitarist.
Why did it take me so long?

This is where I do most of my playing/study/transcribing:

DiscoStu

 I'll be straight with ya- if I thought I could get even halfway decent on the drums I would buy a digital kit and play at home.
I've tried drums a few times and I don't work proper.

octatonic

DiscoStu said:

 I'll be straight with ya- if I thought I could get even halfway decent on the drums I would buy a digital kit and play at home.
I've tried drums a few times and I don't work proper.

Have some lessons- I've progressed by a huge amount in the last 12 months having weekly lessons.
Nothing you do on the drum kit is actually that hard- it is just that it happens so fast.
Having a teacher that breaks it down and gives you chunks to go away and work on is key.

This week I am working on 'Thundering Voices' by Rival Sons.
12 months ago I was still putting basic 4/4, kick and snare patterns.
You can cover a lot of ground in a year or so of focussing on it if you have the right method.

DiscoStu

Always wanted to be able to drum and play piano.
See with these digital kits, especially @equalsql's, how well does playing on one of those at home transfer to going to a lesson with a drum teacher and using a real, bigger kit? 
I was very close to buying some Arbiter Flats a few years ago cos they pack flat.

octatonic

DiscoStu said:

Always wanted to be able to drum and play piano.
See with these digital kits, especially @equalsql's, how well does playing on one of those at home transfer to going to a lesson with a drum teacher and using a real, bigger kit? 
I was very close to buying some Arbiter flats a few years ago cos they pack flat.

There are several challenges.
One is geometry.
Acoustic kits are much more spread out.
If you think about how much of a difference something like guitar setup affects how you play, then consider how difficult it will be to on an acoustic kit for the first time after having learned on an electronic kit.
I have my VDrums kit and DW acoustic kit set up in the house.
Most of the time I play the electronic kit but I still make sure I work on translating what I am working on to the acoustic kit.

It isn't like starting again- it is more like the difference between playing an elecic and an acoustic guitar- some vocabulary works better on one or the other.

DiscoStu

I've got one of these! And Vic Firth sticks!

http://c1.zzounds.com/media/fit,2018by3200/quality,85/DD55-a7699722a25bbd6e0281fe5a2550bf07.jpg

octatonic

DiscoStu said:

I've got one of these! And Vic Firth sticks!

http://c1.zzounds.com/media/fit,2018by3200/quality,85/DD55-a7699722a25bbd6e0281fe5a2550bf07.jpg

If you want to get started on a budget then find a old snare drum and take off the heads and snare mechanism and put on mesh heads.
You can do a hell of a lot of work just with that- singles, doubles, paradiddles etc.

Cabicular

This is mine. I. can't recommend the 2 box kit highly enough.

Cabicular

Cirrus

DiscoStu said:

See with these digital kits, especially @equalsql's, how well does playing on one of those at home transfer to going to a lesson with a drum teacher and using a real, bigger kit? 

I learned on a Yamaha electronic kit from back in the day - the DT-Express.



Obviously nowhere near the same level of the newer ones with mesh heads etc, but I'd say it's excellent for teaching you limb independence, learning patterns and generally how to get into the headspace of grooving on a drum kit.

The first time I played an actual acoustic drumkit, it was like sitting behind a different instrument; not because I didn't know how to play the beats I was trying to play but because drums are so expressive and responsive to how, where and why you're hitting them - and that is a skill that needs to be developed.

equalsql

octatonic said:

Welcome to the tribe.
I've all but switched to drums now, after nearly 30 years of being a guitarist.
Why did it take me so long?

This is where I do most of my playing/study/transcribing:

Wow. That's a monster kit @octatonic . You have seriously committed yourself to this drumming malarkey

octatonic

equalsql said:

octatonic said:

Welcome to the tribe.
I've all but switched to drums now, after nearly 30 years of being a guitarist.
Why did it take me so long?

This is where I do most of my playing/study/transcribing:

Wow. That's a monster kit @octatonic . You have seriously committed yourself to this drumming malarkey

Well, if you are going to do it...

This is the shiny one.
The two kits are essentially the sam configuration- two up, two down with two crashes and a single splash.
One a single pedal on the acoustic kit as I don't play double kick in any of the bands but I practice it at home.

The geometry of the two kits is pretty different but at least they have the same drums and cymbals.
I've tried to get the V Drums to sound as much like the acoustic kit as I can- it is mostly ok but not great., a bit like the difference between an older modeller and a tube amp.

mrkb

@octatonic - nice kit ;-)

equalsql

Well after 8 months I figured I better get a better kit and managed to score myself an upgraded Roland TD-12KX kit for a very fine price on the old evilbay. I'm loving it, I can see why you are so passionate about it @octatonic ;
What method do you use for your double -strokes on the bass drum?
Anyway here's my 'new' toy

octatonic

Congrats.
Double bass strokes I use the slide most of the time.
I suggest practicing heel toe as well.
There is another technique called Up/Down that is best avoided for now, it is kind of a bolt on to the slide. Look at that in a year or two.

I've sold my V drums kit for now and just playing acoustic kits.
I might look at it again in a couple of years, I'm hoping someone makes a more realistic hi hat.