Electronic drum kits have been around for decades, but it’s widely known that they never sound as good as acoustic drums. While they have their place, acoustic drums will always be the first choice for pro drummers.
You may be wondering if professional drummers ever use them. They definitely do, and there are a few areas where you’ll see pro drummers heavily utilizing electronic kits.
The biggest reason for a professional drummer to use an e-kit is the same as why you and I would use it – electronic drums are far quieter than acoustic drums.
Pro drummers also need to practice, and many of them don’t live in areas where acoustic drums can be freely played.
The difference is that pro drummers need to use higher-quality and more expensive electronic kits, as the cheaper ones don’t have good playability. The more experience a drummer has, the more frustrating cheaper kits will be to play.
Some pro drummers use electronic drum kits for gigs. This isn’t very common, but there are certain settings where acoustic drum kits aren’t viable.
One of the most common places you’ll see electronic drum kits being used is on live TV shows. It’s far easier for sound engineers to work with e-kits than it is to work with drum microphones for acoustic kits.
It’s also easier to keep the sound levels down, which is typically very important in live TV environments.
Electronic kits can also offer sounds that aren’t possible to achieve with acoustic kits, so drummers in pop and electronic acts sometimes prefer them.
A hybrid drum kit is a setup that incorporates both acoustic and electronic components. This is the kind of setup where that you’ll see most professional drummers using.
All modern music incorporates electronic sounds, so drummers need to use electronic gear to play those sounds in live sets.
A hybrid setup could look a few different ways. Some drummers simply use an electronic sampling pad, while others place a drum module in their setup and use it to trigger multiple mesh and rubber pads.
The final reason professional drummers use electronic drum kits is endorsement deals. Drummers link up with drum brands to help them market their products. The drummers get gear in return.
This isn’t as common with electronic drum brands as it is with acoustic ones, but you do see it happening sometimes.
For example, Larnell Lewis is one of the most popular artists on Yamaha’s roster at the moment. You’ll often see him using Yamaha’s DTX10K drum kit. He doesn’t use it to perform much, but he uses it when he posts social media videos and teaches.
Electronic drums are designed to sound like real drums through triggered samples. However, they always have a digital quality to them that many drummers don’t enjoy.
Technology has dramatically improved over the years, and electronic drum kits have sounded more authentic than ever. But you can always tell that it’s an electronic drum kit that you’re hearing.
This comes from the sensitivity and responsiveness being different from what you get when playing acoustic drums.
The three most popular electronic kit brands are Yamaha, Roland, and Alesis. Out of those three, Roland tends to be the most favored.
Alesis is the go-to brand for cheap electronic drum kits that have great value for the money. Yamaha closely competes with Roland, but they don’t offer as many drum kit options.
There are a few other decent electronic drum kit brands like Simmons, Millennium, and Behringer, but they don’t create kits that live up to the quality of the main three brands.
Electronic drum kits have become highly valuable assets in the music world, and professional drummers play them just as much as amateur drummers do.
The only difference is that professional drummers typically go for higher-end models that feel and sound a lot better. They use them for practicing, playing gigs, and incorporating them into hybrid drum set setups.
They’re still not as popular as acoustic drum kits, though, but they definitely have their uses in various settings.
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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