how to make the most of an electronic drumkit??

[moominmama]

okay before i start, this is a newbie question for someone such as me who has bought their first electronic kit (and also my first post - hello ^^)



i own a yamaha electronic drumkit ( DT Xplorer ) - not by choice unfortunately but obviously because i live in a house with other people and have neighbours i cant really get a real kit. (the noise isnt really that much of a problem honestly, its really so i can practice when people are out and plug in head phones when they are in if you know what i mean..)

how can i make the most out of the sound because at present i just use a 10watt yamaha practice amp but it always sounds much better through the headphone via the amp and doesnt sound so good straight out the amp.(ps the amp sounds fine when used with my fender guitar)

ive played about with the settings on the drumkits computer but the hi hat always sounds low in comparison to the rest of the kit.. also does anybody know if i could hook it up to my laptop somehow for maybe recording or whatever it is you can do with its midi controls?? thanks for any help, i am new to this and lost with the technology so far, so if anyone in the know could reply or even link me to maybe a post that has already answered this type question id be very greatful, ive a lot to learn and im at your mercy

thanks
laura ^^

[thebeagle]

Hey Laura, welcome - your problem is the fact that guitar amps aren't designed to reproduce a full frequency range, so whilst it might sound fine with guitar it'll sound much worse trying to put anything with a bigger range through it. A small bass or keyboard combo would do you better, or preferably a small stage monitor or studio monitor setup - you might be able to EQ the guitar amp to get it something like but a speaker that'll do the full frequency range will do a better job.

[moominmama]

thanks for the reply beagle ahw i like doggies..

anyway... that sounds like a whole lot of more things im going to have to research and know more about. hopefully maybe people with these type electronic kits can reccomend some types and what they use.

so a speaker? thats about the only thing i sort of understand what it is. ive always known a speaker and an amp are two different things... i just dont understand how,or know much about.. so an amplifier wont procude the kits full frequency range. i will have to wikipedia this lol unless you care to explain further??? it seems i need to learn much more before i can purchase anything to help with the problem... hmm.

[thebeagle]

Oh, hang on - I think I might have confused matters

When you say 'Yamaha practise amp' I'm assuming you mean a combo, with the amplifier (the bit the takes in input voltage from small to large) and the speaker (well, the bit that actually makes the sound!) in the same box; I've just referred to this as a 'guitar amp'.

The speakers for/in electric guitar amps aren't made for reproducing a wide range of frequencies, which is why vocals, drum kits, keyboards and acoustic guitars tend to sound a bit naff through them.

What you ideally want is some way of reclaiming that full frequency range - your main options really are a keyboard amp, a pair of active (i.e. with in-built amplifiers) studio monitors, a dedicated electronic drumkit amplifier (these exist, but they're often overpriced for what they are IMO), or a small P.A. system or stage monitor of some kind.

Soooooo.....what kinda budget are you looking at before I point you out any specfics?

[moominmama]

thanks for narrowing that down for me there! i understand a bit more now

well, under a £100 would be a big plus as im just beggining, obviously i would prefer to get something cheaper (expecting many people to frown reasing this!) but if i want a solution to the naff output sound then i shouldnt try to scrimp and save, as long as it does the job.

as i dont know anything about the technolgy you just mentioned, what are the benefits and negatives of each one? and do you require more things to go with them as in things to connect them alltogether or is it more straight forward??

- once again - i really appreciate you replying and your knowledge on this subject! its invaluable! i half expected to post onto some music forum website to never get an appropriate reply for about a year! good to know theres people like you reading these things..

[RayL]

Here's a recommendation - a pair of Pulse 50w active powered monitors.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

At £69.99 they are well inside your budget and although the input sensitivity isn't sensational you should have plenty of volume for rehearsing. If your kit has its drums spread in stereo then a pair of stereo speakers (which can be mounted on a wall or a table at ear height) will be a lot more enjoyable than a mono box pushing sound around your feet. Bass and treble controls, too, to cater for room acoustics.

Ray L

[Jazzy_Jefferson]

Here's a recommendation - a pair of Pulse 50w active powered monitors.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

At £69.99 they are well inside your budget and although the input sensitivity isn't sensational you should have plenty of volume for rehearsing. If your kit has its drums spread in stereo then a pair of stereo speakers (which can be mounted on a wall or a table at ear height) will be a lot more enjoyable than a mono box pushing sound around your feet. Bass and treble controls, too, to cater for room acoustics.

Ray L

If it were me, I would use a powered stage monitor. Tends to deal with kits better due to larger drivers. Rather than confuse you with frequencies and all that jazz, just get something like this:
http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/st...pa_system.html
Not ideal, but its cheap!

Can be laid next to you whilst practicing, and then pole mounted when rehearsing with the band. Probably wont sound as nice as RayLs suggestion, but i reckon you could push for more "volume" using this option. The DTXplorer does not utitlise stereo sounds as far as I know, so it wont make much odds having a left and right speaker.

Take the output of your kit, plug into the above, turn it on and play. Job sorted

[moominmama]

just want to say thanks for all the suggestions people

ive got plenty of time to wait till payday at the end of the month now, so i will keep an eye on those pa systems. i feel closer to my objective now that i know what im looking for.. so those are what you would suggest? are there any others?? i dont have a problem with those prices, just that when the time comes i want to get the one that suits my needs as i dont want to buy another down the line.

thanks for clearing things up everyone, i was expecting some complicated solution and its not at all. thanks!

oh well plenty of time to lull over which one i should get now.

[thebeagle]

Are you looking at/already playing with a band at all? Because personally, if I were just playing for my own enjoyment, I'd go with a pair of active studio monitors which generally will give you a decent full-range sound without the neighbours coming 'round with pitchforks; if I were looking at playing with a band (either now or in the near future) I'd go with a powered stage monitor.

For just playing at home, have a look here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WHARFEDALE-DIA...item335f853deb

Brand name's been mis-spelled in this listing, you might get lucky as they're decent monitors: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alessis-M1-Act...item1e5d65efab

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BEHRINGER-TRUT...item4151b180d1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BEHRINGER-TRUT...item5d2a4ad97c

Might be worth spending ten or twenty quid on some speaker stands for stuff like this to get the best out of them, but for home use even sticking them on whatever convenient surface will sound a damn sight better than a guitar combo.

For more band-oriented stuff which you can still use at home (they'll sound fine, just maybe not as 'crisp' as the studio monitor route - but they'll have the welly to let other band members hear you!), try these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/STUDIOMASTER-G...item3a5d76488d

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wharfdale-EVP-...item4151c55c50

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-Pro-12P...item3f0223c4ba

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wharfedale-EVP...item4151d2742d

[moominmama]

okay thanks again everyone

just spent the last 3 hours ebaying many things.. looked at everything everyone suggested.. i know its going to be difficult but i didnt want to really spend over £100 as its really at the moment just for home use.. that is unless i have to of course!

found this one - think its a bit of a relic -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PEAVEY-POWERED...item3cafd12b7b

would you consider it? or would you not buy any equipment that was that old.. and im i barking up the wrong tree again? i think its a studio monitor i was looking at but im probablies wrong, i cant tell them apart just yet eek. ..?