Electronic Drum Sets
Posted on | January 6, 2009 | No Comments
Although electronic drums don’t offer the subtle sounds of acoustic drums, there are many good reasons why musicians often prefer the use of these drums over a traditional set. So why choose electric over acoustic?
Electronic drums can be used to easily trigger samples, allowing the sound of each drum to be optimized through the use of sample libraries. When electronic drums were first introduced, the drum sounds were achieved through synthesis – these original electronically-produced sounds are still very popular today.
Because electronic drums have traditionally been used to play samples, a certain style of drumming is associated with electronic drummers. Essentially, drumming samples have a consistent sound and are not subject to the usual subtleties associated with acoustic drums. As a result, electronic drum kits tend to have a full sound all the time and electronic drummers have styled their work accordingly. Technically it would be possible to load up a kit with jazz drum samples, but it wouldn’t quite work the same.
Another great advantage of electronic drums is that they can be quiet if required. It’s impossible to have an acoustic drum set that is quiet because drums are designed to be loud, but with an electronic drum set you can set the volume to a lower setting. This is perfect if you want to practice at home without disturbing your family or neighbours, or for smaller events such as a wedding or birthday party. Even an unamplified acoustic drum set can be too loud for certain settings, but with electronic drums this just isn’t an issue – and you can use headphones too!
Although an electronic drum set doesn’t sound quite like an acoustic set, it doesn’t really matter. Electric guitars are different from acoustic ones but as everybody knows they are extremely popular and used in a wide variety of circumstances, primarily in the creation of rock and roll music.
Another feature of electronic drums is that they can be programmed to produce non-drum sounds as well. This offers the musician a lot of versatility when it comes to making music. The typical electronic drum set has four drum pads, one hi-hat pad, two cymbal pads, a hi-hat pedal, a sound module, and a bass trigger or pad. The cymbal pads look like real cymbals but are made of a rubber-coated material.
Also, an electronic drum set often lets you plug in a CD and record your musical creations on the fly. They are lightweight and portable as well, and come at an affordable price when compared to acoustic drums.
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