cheaper new kit or 2nd hand

simon · Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject: cheaper new kit or 2nd hand

hi all

i haven't played my acoustic kit for over a year and due to space want to get an e-kit. my dilemma is do i go for one of the kits at the higher end of the budget range like the ashton edk530 or the alesis or should i hang on to find a 2nd hand yamaha or roland. my view is that the way technology is i would expect the units from the newer cheaper kits to be competing with the ones put out a while ago by roland or yamaha (i.e the ones that would be dropping into my price range of under $1k)

i would rather have mesh heads due to sound levels (kids and neighours etc). also i have a practice pad set up that i have previously used, it looks a little like an e-kit but obviously everything you hit sounds the same. because of this i'm open to less quality in the sounds area as anything will surely be better than that, it also means i'm used to hitting the platic rings around the edges!

any thoughts, suggestions will be appreciated

cheers
Simon

Bish · King of the Jungle Joined: 19 Oct 2005 Posts: 1882

Hart Dynamics makes excellent quality e-drums with mesh heads and comparitively speaking run considerably less than Roland.
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Bish

"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds."

simon · Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:34 pm Post subject:

thanks Bish. i had a look but couldn't find them in Perth. in the end i've gone for a dd505. it seems basic but got it for a pretty good price. i guess i can always upgrade in the future.

tylerdrummer · Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject:

you could always get triggers for your practice pad kit ad buy a module...

Guest · Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 5:39 pm Post subject:

Hi there young fella.go second hand but dont be in a hurry as prices will fall in this economic climate.Always look to moving forward with your puchasing of e drums as the dd505 is entry level look to a yamaha DTX or roland td3.Mark H

Tam · Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:52 pm Post subject:

OSP, right? I have a DD-502 mkll. Entry level e-kit, not a kid toy, but basic, does your 505 have pressure-sensitive pads?
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Currently an OSP DD-502 mkII electronic. Formerly a Ludwig 6-ply wood 5-piece with metal snare and Paiste/Zildjians all around the place. Ludwig Speedking pedals, Supra snare, oldschool!

simon · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:18 pm Post subject:

hi Tam,
it's a Legacy dd505, but from what i can gather all the dd505s are made by the same company and have different names in different countries. the pads are pressure sensitive, you can change pitch, sensitivity and volume for each individual pad.

as you said Tam it's not a toy, there's not a big range of authentic sounds, but i've created a few kits that i'm happy with, i plug in my mp3 and off i go. i only wanted it for practicing on and not annoying the neighbours (the constant tapping really bugs my wife). so for that it is ideal. if i ever decide to get back into playing with a band then i'll choose between using my acoustic or upgrading the e-kit to something more robust.

Tam · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 6:07 pm Post subject:

Yeah, those kits are sold under different brands, and having pressure-sensitive pads really helps matters. Do you have a hassle getting the hi-hat pedal to get the "swish" or "chinking" sounds off your pad like I do?

I pretty much gave up trying that, so I just dedicated the pad to a closed high-hat and use the pedal for a second bass kick, so I can try double-bass now, LOL.
_________________
Currently an OSP DD-502 mkII electronic. Formerly a Ludwig 6-ply wood 5-piece with metal snare and Paiste/Zildjians all around the place. Ludwig Speedking pedals, Supra snare, oldschool!

simon · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:03 pm Post subject:

the hi-hat pedal is the only slight problem at the moment as it takes a bit of pressure for it to keep the closed sound, although i seem to have programmed it so that if i hold it closed it makes the hats sound closed and if i tap it, it sounds like a bass drum.
it's the one thing i haven't played around with it properly yet so i'm hoping to get to know it better very soon!

as for the rest of the kit, i'm pretty happy with it, there aqre a few fun sounds that are good to use. on my acoustic i used to play with only one mounted and one floor tom, so this in effect gives me a spare pad, which opens up a few options - 2nd snare, other percussion etc