OK-
This may not be a topic with lots of interest, but....all you drummers, those who have to put up with drummers, etc....
We're looking into a new set of drums. The DW pro acoustic set runs around 6 grand fully decked out....of course there are others out there that are less, but we want something that'll last. Currently we (our church that is) has two sets of electronic drums; in the smaller venue, they have a "club" set, (around a grand) which sounds ok but the cymbals are a bit cheesy and processed sounding- not very natural. In the big room, we have a Roland concert set that's about 3 years old, was about 3500 new I think. It's actually a great set, other than a few playability issues, like rimshots and crosstick effects. Cymbals sound better but still not quite true.
Our music leader and I, and our prime drummer have been shopping around for drums over the last month or so, trying to figure out what's the best route to go.
I know most of us prefer the sound of an acoustic set played well, but it both venues, we have acoustical issues; one room is small and the acoustic set we had in there was overwhelmingly loud, unless it was one of our best drummers on the throne- wow, some drummers can actually have dynamics rather than being b***s-to-the-wall all the time......
In the big room (sanctuary) we have a different issue....the room is way too "live" or reflective; works great for acoustic unamplified bands like a symphony or something, but amplification is just an issue, we can barely crank the sound system without major hot and cold spots in the room. (We have a central tower in there, when we should have had two towers, like a home stereo setup....the guy in charge at the time of the sound gear purchase didn't have a clue....)
Outside of hanging acoustic panels and radically changing that room, we've decided to stick with the electronic ones, simply for volume and EQ issues.
SO... here's the question(s)- some of you play in bands, travel to different venues, large and small, have to deal with all sorts of sound quality problems; what kind of drums do you use, and why? Are they usually miked? What dB does your band generally kick out? (we can only go so high, due to having a couple ear doctors as members...)

The primary set we're looking at purchasing is the new Roland V-Pro's that are just coming out....they are a substantial investment (about 6k) but man do they sound realistic! I'm in awe of these things, and they must be popular, they are back-ordered all around the country.
Here's a couple links if you're interested. On the Roland page, in you have flash 7, click on "launch product demo", and when that new window opens, go to the video demos. They're big, but if you have broadband, they sound great and it streams well.
Roland V-Pro drums demo

Let me know what you think.....

I've played with a few cats who owned Roland V-Drum sets. If you want to go electronic, these are the ones to get! I know they are pretty pricey but it'll be worth it. You can get the same dynamics as if an acoustic drum set was being played. The dynamics are also adjustable for those hard hitters. They are great for recording too.

Well, I also like them for some of the effects you can get with them, like a more hip-hop booming bass drum, or tympanies if that's what you want, things like that. It's like having an entire percussion store in a compact setup.
What I DON'T like about them is the cheesy cymbals, and the "too perfect" sounds....but these newer sets have better cymbal modeling and triggering. We considered using a mix, of digital drums with an acoustic miked snare, (since that was one area our regular drummers didn't like, but that's supposedly improved too) and real cymbals, but when there's a volume control issue, that's where it usually is....the crash cymbals can be deafening if you're within 10 feet.
Another issue is the on-stage monitoring; everything has to work around the loudest instrument, and that's usually the drummer- then due to that, he can't hear the piano or guitars, then you have to crank the monitors up, then....well, you get the picture, and see why we decided to go electric. We're also going to go with in-ear monitors, but that's down the road a bit.
Talk with you later DW- from a bassist's point of view, which would you rather play with?

I was going to suggest using in-ear monitors. Or better yet closed-ear monitors. I prefer playing with an acoustic set but I can't stand next to them if they are hard hitters. By the end of the night, I've lost all high frequency hearing and all I hear is mud!

Well, the in-ear monitors are still a year or so away, but guess what....we finally got our delivery of the new Roland V-Pros.
As a devout fan of acoustic drums, all I can say is......you gotta hear these things. Get out to your nearest music store (call first, they are way behind on filling orders and they are still hard to find) and check them out first chance you get. The cymbals are the most amazing things....the triggering is so life like, it's unreal- you can choke it just like a real one, just by grabbing the edge of the cymbal rim like you normally would. The ride sings beautifully, the crash has authority, and the hi-hat even works just like the real thing. And, the digital sound emulation sounds far better than before. They must have spent some bucks getting the sound right, and it shows. I did find it odd that they added tr808 and 909 sound effects, but hey, it's all good so long as the "real and natural" settings are as close to realistic as they are. Obviously they can be programmed for about anything, so you could have a Steve Reid type setup on one saved setting, and turn the knob one notch and be a regular jazz set. Awesome stuff. Even the heads feel more normal, and you can dial in how much snare chains and reverb etc you want- fully customizable. Plus, now cross stick is cross stick, they have added a better trigger to the rim, and it sounds much more natural.
The biggest difference I've noticed so far (we had our first practice with them last night) is we can now all hear each other without having to shout over the drummer while he's warming up or noodling between songs. Our regular guy, our best player, was playing last night and he was just shaking his head in disbelief- if it impressed him, then I'd say they are on to something.
OK, downside......
They are expensive at the moment though......5500 for the set (that's actual, out the door, not list!), plus you need some sort of monitor; we got the Roland PM3 monitor, about 700 or so, which has an amp, a subwoofer cabinet, and two satellite speakers ( very similar to a home theatre setup), so the drummer gets the stereo effect, and the sounds come from, well, where they are, rather than from an amp behind you or something. That may help the sense of realism more than anything, to have a good amp and speakers with these guys.
Oh yeah, that doesn't include a snare stand (60), bass pedal (we went for the DW double bass set, 350) a hi-hat stand, about 120, or a throne. We had one of those.....
ALTHOUGH- I will say this, for a comparable set of DW drums, which are generally considered the best acoustics out there, it would have been 8 grand, so I guess they are reasonable from that sense. And setup and teardown (we have to move them a lot for weddings, etc, the stage is rarely left set up as is)is a breeze, two guys can do it in two minutes. One guy probably could.

Yeah, you can tell I like them, but what it does for me is this- it shows a commitment to the more contemporary styles that I like to play, and now the bar's been raised for the other drummers in the house- they all are waiting for their turn. And the better we can hear each other without going deaf, the better we'll play as a band.
gotta go....
TOny

Interesting you are talking about electronic drums, though a little bit over my head on the techincal deatails. A favorite artist of mine, Jean-Luc Ponty did a great album in the 80's called Storytelling that uses an electronic set to superb satisfaction., That is to say, they mostly rock out on the electronic. Most people don't do that for whatever reason. Why use electronic drums in the first place anyways?

Volume.

Volume control in acoustically "live" rooms...if you have a "normal" set of drums, the cymbals are the loudest, and unmiked and un-amplified, they can get to 110dB on the sound meter- that's almost jet engine, or lawn mower levels, which is in the hearing loss zone....anything over 95dB sustained will do it. In most enclosed areas, unless they have been designed for amplified music, (and most aren't) the reverberation and echo and reflection of all that sound makes it nearly impossible to get things balanced.
The sanctuary we play in seats 750, is somewhat octagonal in shape, with the stage set back into a recessed area, which projects the sound....works great for just voice or say an acoustic guitar. In fact, the room is so "live" that our pastor can speak and be heard anywhere in the room without a mike, and without having to shout. We tested a few weeks ago, and with just the stage monitors on, (the house speakers turned off,) pointed away from the seating areas, it was a steady 85dB in the very back corner of the room.

A good drummer can compensate for it, but even then every other instrument on stage must be brought up to the level of the drums to be heard, so it gets really loud really fast. And most drummers are slammers rather than finesse-rs.

Another reason to do electronic drums is the wide variety of sounds that you can get out of it- everything from a latin percussion set to a timpani orchestra set.

Hope that helps explain it-
Later
Tony

to me- there's nothing like an acoustic kit- i've been playing for about 12.5 yrs now-and there's still nothing like the feel of a real sabian cymbal or remo head, you know? you cant get that out of electronic drums. even the v-drums dont come close- it's like playing on multiple practice pads. go buy some pearls tony! they're still the best (in my opinion) on the market- and now they've totally updated their entire line-up from new kits, to great new hardware with 360 degree swivel joints!!! have a good one man! and tell your son i said hey!

Hey Ryan-
Too late, we didn't really have the choice of acoustic sets, due to the sound issues I mentioned above. Once we factored in the shields, moveable platform, acoustic panels,and hardware, it became more expensive than the v-pros.
Now, our regular drummer has a great set of acoustics, and prefers those by far...and if we play any gigs outside of church, we'll use those, unless wherever we are playing already has a set....sometimes they do, most times not.
Once you see these new v-pros, I think you'll be impressed, and it gives us the one critical thing we need, which is volume control. Gotta protect those ears.......
Hope all is well with you and school, enjoy the summer, jam when you can, and keep up those chops!
I'll pass along the good wishes to my son.

awesome tony- yeh, i've seen some brochures on the new v-drums- they look like something i want to mess with- i just cant take those heads haha. i just got back from playing at picollo spoleto in charleston, sc and it was a blast. i'm beat, burned out, and beat again, but it was great. hope all the church gigs go extremely well!! if you ever need a filler on anything, shoot me an email! have a good one !