Digital Drum Kits

Lots of drummers use electronic kits, or use electronic triggers (that trigger
drum samples) on their acoustic sets to augment the sound.

There are several manufacturers. I have direct experience with Roland
professional grade stuff. Amazing really. The user can dial in the drum shell
material (birch, maple, steel, brass, copper...etc), shell depth, drum head
composition, and many other variables to get a specific sound (reverb, decay,
pitch...it goes on and on).

The sound quality of the tom toms and bass drum are outstanding. Snare
drum is also excellent. The cymbals are where the tell-tale digital sound is
most apparent, IMO.

It may also be the recording - drums are almost always compressed and rarely sound lifelike on what is mastered for consumers - you may have found a good recording.

Shadorne, Martyk1 is referring to a DVD wherein he saw the drummer's electronic kit.

It may have been a stock digital drum set "brain" (e.g., d-drum, roland, etc.), but it's more likely that the pads were triggering hi-rez samples stored in a computer or sampler.

Check out a "Futureman" solo on a Bela Fleck DVD.

I think that the drummer was probably Walfredo Reyes Jr. I saw him using a set of the Roland V-Drums on an "in the studio" TV program with Lindsay Buckingham recently.

I understand the principle, as I have a Kawai digital piano. Digital keys work in a similar fashion and the current batch of high rez software (Garritan, Ivory, Piano Teq) is very good. I was just struck by the tone of Mr. Reyes' kick drum - a big, whopping sound that grabbed my attention. I was wondering if other drummers use the same tools to similar effect. Sloth, thanks. I'll definitely check out the Bela Fleck.

Marty

I love my V-Drums but you need to buy special samples as what they come with is only good - rather than awesome. V Expressions is where you can get some cool sounds for your kit.

The Roland TD8 brain I owned had some exceptional bass drum, tom tom and snare sounds, not merely good. They were almost infinitely adjustable/tunable. There were also some very "electronic" sounding samples which were not to my liking, but were sounds you could commonly hear on many recordings.

I was a drummer for nearly twenty years. I know drums.

I was a drummer for nearly twenty years. I know drums.

You might enjoy the V expressions custom kits much more than me. I bought the Hodgepodge - 30 kits - all Acoustic and more dynamic/realistic than what the TD-9 came with (although what it came with was quite exceptional as you say - I think Roland is hands down the leader in standard electronic drums)

I was at a arts festival in Harrisburg PA with a fellow Agon bud, a band was playing and useing a small almost guitar inspired drum gizmo that was really awesome, the guy let me try it after the show. I used to dable in drums till disability ended that and was really curious to check the kit out as I figured it would be a way for me to have some fun.........very cool and really good sound.