Should drummers in covers bands use electronic kits?

In controlled-volume situations, an e-kit is preferable so that a 'normal' drum sound can be achieved, which is impossible when playing an acoustic kit quietly. That is, guitars, basses, keys can 'turn down' and essentially sound the same, but acoustic drums cannot (and, it changes the way we play.) The ability to change patches as needed the way other electric instruments may be a plus, though not really mandatory.

It really depends on the gig at hand. Sometimes an e-kit is an obvious benefit, sometimes it's not. And the use of it should be agreed-upon by both the drummer and the band leader.
 
I'm of the opinion that the audience cues more into the bands feel....and charisma...than the actual sounds coming out of the PA.

The actual sounds pleases the drummer which is nice, but IMO the audience just doesn't care. They wanna get laid, that's what they really care about.

Playing groove based music is what gets the girls up on the dance floor. So electronic or acoustic...the drummer has to play a good groove, if we want the gals up there on the floor. Which is the main requirement for a good time in a bar. That and alcohol.
 
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Until last summer I had been playing in a covers band using a 22x14 acoustic bass drum, a real 14" crash and 10" splash, a mounted tamborine and bongos, but the star of the show was the Roland SPD-SX, which provided all other kit sounds.

After I moved away last year, the band had to look for a new drummer but couldn't find one that had the gear to use the same set up as mine so they settled for a very competent young lady with an acoustic kit. Despite her impressive playing, the singer complained saying that the acoustic kit just couldn't replicate the feel, variety and enjoyment the electronic sounds I used to provide gave. He said the whole dynamic of the band had been lost and that everything had fallen flat. It seems when people hear their favourite songs, they want to hear sounds close to the ones that made them like the song in the first place. This is surely a reason why some Depeche Mode fans have never really taken to them using a live drummer with an acoustic kit because they don't get to hear those electronic beats they know and love.
 
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I would be afraid of an electronic breakdown during a gig. if the module dies, what do you do, they dont become acoustic drums. if you break a head live, there are aalways ways around continiuing the gig.

that being said, i would love to have one and looked for a while at purchasing an e-kit.
 
I used a module and triggers when I was with a cover band, whatever works.
 
I have an old ekit for practice at home, I'm thinking that at some point in my life I might want to have a proper ekit for gigging with, for all the reasons stated here in the thread...mainly volume control and ease of setup. Right now, tho, I still want to play my regular kit.

To the OP, if it works for you, and the people you play with are content with it, do it! That's what's important.
 
Why not ?

I can understand the objection in a traditional jazz band where it might superimpose itself as an odd aesthetic , but your average local bar or wedding type gig ? Humping your own amp, cables and gizmo box can be as inconvenient as an acoustic kit and it takes a little getting used to having the sound come out of speakers instead of in front and around you , but hey , you can roll like buddy rich and find new ways to annoy the singer .
 
I would be afraid of an electronic breakdown during a gig.
That certainly can and does happen with electronics, especially where cables are involved. But triggers can go bad as well, and then that pad is gone from the mix. It's not like a mic fail where that drum is still picked-up a little by surrounding mics. It doesn't just disappear.

Mishaps happen. You can't completely eliminate electronics on a gig. There's always a mic or a monitor or something that can fail. If 90% of your gigs are trouble-free, you're doing pretty good.
 
Pretty much every show we set up at, one PA main won't work unless you unplug the subs. We've started with no subs and something starts working with some cable jockeying.
 
Tools for the job. After all, if you're using an electric guitar you're 'cheating' because you should be using an acoustic guitar for that real 'natural' sound...

Electric guitars aren't designed to mimic acoustics. Different instruments with very different purposes.
Electric pianos are probably analogous though.
 
I have an e-kit that I use for late night practicing. I’ve used it for gigs twice and had the same problem both times. It doesn’t have the volume range for a typical gig. If I set the master volume low enough for the quieter parts, they weren’t loud enough for the louder parts no matter how hard I played. If I set the master volume high enough for the loud parts, I couldn’t play it quietly enough and get the pads to trigger during the quiet parts. If I was forced to use one all the time, I might try a volume pedal like guitarists use. I’ve seen drummers use e-kits for low volume gigs, and every time I could hear the click of the sticks on the pads over the sounds coming out of the PA.
 
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All about the playing be it buckets or e- kit pads. But I have to admit my first impression reading the question was not complimentary. I have not seen many pull it off well
 
I have an e-kit that I use for late night practicing. I’ve used it for gigs twice and had the same problem both times. It doesn’t have the volume range for a typical gig. If I set the master volume low enough for the quieter parts, they weren’t loud enough for the louder parts no matter how hard I played. If I set the master volume high enough for the loud parts, I couldn’t play it quietly enough and get the pads to trigger during the quiet parts. If I was forced to use one all the time, I might try a volume pedal like guitarists use. I’ve seen drummers use e-kits for low volume gigs, and every time I could hear the click of the sticks on the pads over the sounds coming out of the PA.
Does your kit have curve setting for triggers? One of these could help:
 
I would be afraid of an electronic breakdown during a gig. if the module dies, what do you do, they dont become acoustic drums. if you break a head live, there are aalways ways around continiuing the gig.

that being said, i would love to have one and looked for a while at purchasing an e-kit.
Funny you should say that, I'm paranoid about a catastrophic breakdown so carry spares. As it happens I have a second module but only because there's not enough inputs so run a second for cymbals. Plus an extra snare pad, which I use as a tom trigger but can obviously be swapped over if needs be. The only spare not in use is the kick. So it's about one and half e kits but it's still less to carry. I get all the tom and snare pads in one normal tom case, and the cymbals in another.
 
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