Electronic drum kits are one of the most versatile instruments out there and, as such, can cause quite a headache when trying to find the best kit for you.
If you ask yourself: Which electronic drum set is best for me? What should I be looking for in an electronic drum kit? Are e kits beginner friendly?
Well, we’ve got the answers to these questions and many more in our electronic drum kit buyer’s guide.
If you are undecided on whether to go down the acoustic drums or the electronic drums route, look at our Acoustic vs Electric Drums article.
Best Beginner
Electronic Kit
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Overall: Best beginner kit on the market
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Best Feature: Mesh Heads To Give An Authentic Drumming Experience
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TedScore™: 9/10
Best Intermediate
Electronic Kit
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Overall: Very good kit for an intermediate player
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Best Feature: Built quality is amazing
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TedScore™: 9/10
Best Professional
Electronic Kit
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Overall: Super kit for live performances
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Best Feature: The use of Roland's Prismatic Sound Modelling
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TedScore™: 10/10
Components of an electronic drum kit
On a standard five-piece drum kit, there is a bass drum, snare drum and three tom toms (high, middle and low). There are three key cymbals: the hi-hat, crash, and ride cymbal. You will also have a drum module, also known as a sound module or brain!
Depending on your drum module, you can have more or less of any of these components to suit your style and requirements. To position and use each of these components.
How do electronic drums work?
Most electronic drum kits work when you strike a drum or the rubber pads and a small trigger sends a signal to the drum module, sending the sound to the monitoring system.
There are options to have single triggers or dual triggers. A single trigger will only produce one type of sound no matter where or how hard you strike the pad, whereas a dual trigger can produce different sounds and dynamics.
What to consider when buying an electronic drum kit
As with anything you buy, it’s got to be right for you. It doesn’t matter what stage of your journey you are on, there are plenty of features of an electric drum kit to think about that will influence your decision.
Pad material – Plastic v Rubber
Drum pads can either come as rubber pads, mesh heads or textured cellular silicone (TCS). These give very different responses when struck. Rubber pads can absorb a lot of energy, whereas mesh drum pads are much more like acoustic drum heads.
Rubber was the material used for drum pads when electronic kits first made an appearance. They were very hard and could actually be quite damaging to a player if playing for a sustained period of time. These pads also create a lot of acoustic sound, so the dull tapping may frustrate your fellow housemates!
A more recent development by drum manufacturers is the use of plastic in mesh heads and TCS. These heads replicate a much more similar response to the heads used on acoustic drums. Some drummers argue that mesh heads are too bouncy. However, you can tune mesh heads by adjusting the bolts, just like on an acoustic drum.
Thanks to the introduction of mesh heads, electronic drum sets are as popular as they are today.
The other option is textured cellular silicone material (TCS for short), a technology by Yamaha. This imitates the feel of a coated drum head. A big bonus with these heads is that the bubbles within the head cushion the blow from the stick, which significantly reduces the acoustic sound as well as stress on elbows and wrists
Single zone v multi zone pad
On most most electronic drum kits, you will only hear one sound on a single zone pad, no matter where you strike the pad. These are typically found on beginner electronic drum kits. The downside to this is that it doesn’t matter if your playing technique is amazing or terrible, what you hear will always sound fantastic.
On high-end models, you will find that the pads have more triggers on them (multi zone). For example, the snare, ride and crash may have triple-zone technology so that on the snare, you can play the head, a rimshot or a rim-click.
Then on the crash cymbal pads and ride, you can trigger the bow, bell and also a choke sound.
Check out this Roland TD-50 demo video, which explains the triggers and much more in more detail.
Pad size
The pad sizes tend to be the same no matter which drum or cymbal you are using. If you opt for a high-end kit, you may find that the ride cymbal is bigger than the crash. This can be a bonus in terms of saving space or a negative as you have a much smaller space to strike.
Some pads have rims to them (making them slightly larger), which allows you to create more sounds.
Budget
As with all things in life, you get what you pay for. The drum sets that are as cheap as chips are more like toys than real instruments. But of course, the most expensive option may not be what you need.
For an entry-level e drum kit or practice kit, you want to make sure that you don’t have anything that will promote a poor technique or even harm you physically. Ideally, you want it to be as close to an acoustic kit in terms of sound quality and feel as you can afford.
As a professional, this changes things. You will need an e kit that will do a specific job and sound like the real deal, these pro kits have excellent electronic drum modules. Anything below this shouldn’t be good enough.
COMES WITH: Mesh Heads to give an authentic drumming experience
FEATURES: Built-in coach mode teaches you the key principles of drumming
Alesis Turbo Mesh Electronic Drum Kit
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- Aluminium rack provides a solid and stable foundation for your kit
- Aux input allows you to play along to your own songs
- At some point you'll want to upgrade and spend more money
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Kit size
A typical set is a five-piece kit with three cymbals attached to a drum rack, along with the sound module. Adding to this set-up depends entirely on the capacity of your module or purchasing an additional module.
Drum pad sizes do vary. Some kits may only use 8” pads, although unrealistically small, this is not necessarily a bad thing as it is good target practice! Some kits have various size pads, such as the Alesis DM10 or a Roland TD-17KV. The only drum this particularly affects is the snare drum, as being able to play effective rim shots and rim clicks is much easier on a larger head.
COMES WITH: 10 Piece Kit
FEATURES: Quick Lock Chrome Rack
Alesis DM10
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- Affordable
- Quick Lock Chrome Rack
- Remote Hi Hat Pedal
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
COMES WITH: 10 piece kit
FEATURES: Bluetooth Connectivity
ROLAND TD-17KV
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- High-Quality Build
- Bluetooth connectivity for easy audio streaming
- Bass drum pedal not included
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
An aspect that can change the overall size is the type of hardware used. Some racks consist of one main stem, and others have three or four stems. Depending on the setup, a separate hi hat stand may also be used.
Whatever you do, don’t forget to buy a drum stool! Something comfortable and height-adjustable as you’ll hopefully be sitting on it for a very long time!
Also, consider some drum monitors. Sometimes it’s great to take those headphones off and have a good time making some noise!
COMES WITH: 10" Custom Driver
FEATURES: A Compact Design
LANEY AH80
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- 5-band graphic EQ
- Lightweight
- Not as powerful as other models
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Space for your kit
Electronic drum kits can take up far less space than acoustic kits and to a certain extent, be folded away. Equally, they can take up just as much room as an acoustic kit.
Adjustment flexibility
The flexibility to adjust your pads to different angles and heights can vary a lot between the various kits out there. It all depends on the racking system used. Because of the way they are designed, certain pads will be positioned on the same level, so they can only be slid side to side individually and not vertically. The angle on cymbal pads may also be fixed.
Ultimately, you won’t quite have the flexibility of an acoustic kit, but you can get a perfectly comfortable and playable position with the right drum set.
Beginner friendly
Whether an electronic drum set is beginner friendly or not is all down to the drum modules. To get started, you only need the essentials. A few sounds, headphones and/or drum monitors and an aux input would also be useful. Many features come as standard even on entry-level kits, such as a metronome, preloaded backing tracks, and play-along tutorials.
Versatility
Electronic drums far outrun acoustic drums when it comes to versatility. Most drummers decide to go down the electric route for volume control, but there are many reasons that could pull you this way. The drum sounds available to you at the click of a button, and the additional features seem endless.
Recording options
Electronic drum kits are in their element when it comes to recording drums. They are both quicker and easier to set up. You can use the main outputs on your sound module to connect to your computer and use software of your choice.
You will also need software on your computer to make a recording. Free options include Audacity and GarageBand. If you need something more advanced, then professional options include Logic, Ableton Live and Cubase.
There are three options when it comes to recording electronic drums.
Audio via USB
Many drum modules also act as their own interface. This means you can use a USB cable to connect your drum kit directly to your computer.
Audio via Interface
Most drum modules also have audio outputs. These can be used, however in this case, an audio interface is required to convert the signal to a digital signal your computer will recognise.
Midi Recording
This is a completely different way of recording from the previous two options. When using midi, we record the digital notes. This is then used to trigger samples on audio software from your computer.
Hi-hats
The hi hats are usually operated by a remote pedal rather than an actual hi hat stand. They have a very different feel and can take some getting used to.
Even if you were to splash out on what is seen to be a high end hi hat controller pedal, they have their limitations as they cannot produce the finer textures you may want to create. This also depends on the quality of your sound module.
Bass drums
Like the hi hats, the bass drum can either be operated with a remote pedal or a proper pedal that strikes a pad. However, unlike the hi hats where using a remote pedal is not the end of the world,
I would certainly recommend a proper bass drum pedal. It is all down to technique, which can take a long time to develop on the bass drum. You want to get started with it from the very beginning, and the best electronic drum kits have these.
Making your choice on the bass drums themselves is down to what you want to use it for. Most bass drum pads are fairly small but they do come in much bigger sizes.
If you want to be able to change the tension of the head and also if you are a keen double bass drum pedal user – there are reasons to go bigger. You can use double bass drum pedals on smaller pads, but you may find that the sensors do not pick up on the additional pedal so well as they are too far towards the edge
Drum sticks
Drum sticks vary in material, length (measured by number) and width (measured by letter). There isn’t a system of entry-level sticks and sticks for advanced players like we see in drum kits. When you start learning, you need to get used to the weight and feel of the drum sticks from the outset.
There are however smaller sticks such as the Vic Firth Kidsticks which are good for particularly small hands, but these will no doubt be outgrown quickly.
COMES WITH: Two Sticks
FEATURES: Funky Coloured Designs
VIC FIRTH KIDSTICKS
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- Hickory is durable
- Can also be used on acoustic drum kits
- You'll grow out of them fast
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
By far the most popular sticks are the Vic Firth 5A’s. They are versatile and durable. As you progress in your playing ability, you may want to try out a different style of stick, and there are plenty to choose from. Many signature drum sticks were made for famous drummers and are now readily available for us all to buy.
COMES WITH: Two Sticks
FEATURES: Durable Hickory
VIC FIRTH AMERICAN Classic 5A
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- Can also be used on acoustic drums as well as electronic drums
- Hickory is durable
- Does not give the bright sound you can achieve with a nylon tip
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Headphones
The ability to plug in your headphones is arguably the most popular reason why many drummers go down the electric route. Whether you don’t want to disrupt the neighbours or simply aren’t comfortable being heard just yet, having this option is a real perk.
Buying a good pair of headphones will give you a good quality sound and even protect your hearing by reducing background noise.
COMES WITH: Lightweight Design for maximum comfort
FEATURES: Closed-backed ear cups to reduce background noise.
SHURE SRH240A
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- Performs beyond its price point
- Sound quality could be better
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Cables
If you are buying an electronic kit brand new, then nearly all of the cables you would want will be included. The cables used to connect the pads to the drum module are called Jack leads and are easy and relatively cheap to replace if needed.
Extra cables you may want to consider include an auxiliary cable to connect a device such as a phone or tablet (check that your module has an input for this first!), and also a USB cable or Jack leads if you’re thinking about recording.
Drum Thrones
One of the things you’ll need from the start is a decent drum throne!
The drum throne we recommend is the DW 9120. Sure, it’s expensive, but it’ll outlast everything else – and most importantly, you’ll be comfortable.
COMES WITH: Pneumatic height adjustment
FEATURES: Thick padded saddle seat & backrest (available separately)
DW 9120 Series Airlift Tractor Throne
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- Special foam combination provides exceptional comfort and play-ability
- Quad-leg folding base provides optimal stability and easy storage
- Pneumatic height adjustment for adjusting in a matter of seconds
- Double braced
- Pricey. But it'll last you a lifetime, and what's more important than being comfortable whilst you play!
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Best electronic drum brands
If you are buying an electronic kit brand new, then nearly all of the cables you would want will be included. The cables used to connect the pads to the drum module are called Jack leads and are easy and relatively cheap to replace if needed.
Extra cables you may want to consider include an auxiliary cable to connect a device such as a phone or tablet (check that your module has an input for this first!), and also a USB cable or Jack leads if you’re thinking about recording.
COMES WITH: Bluetooth Connectivity
FEATURES: Roland's Prismatic Sound Modelling
YAMAHA DTX10K-X
When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item. Our personal favorite is Gear4music.
It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too. Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.
Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!
- Design:
- Bluetooth connectivity for easy audio streaming
- Bass drum pedal not included
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Upgrading your drum kit
If you are looking to upgrade your kit by expanding on what you already have, this is totally reliant on the drum module you have and whether or not it has connections you are not already using.
If, however, you are thinking of completely replacing your electronic drum set and upgrading to a more advanced model, then hopefully, our article has given you features to look out for such as multi zone pads, rims and pedal options.
love the idea of being able to record my sessions! thx for sharing this!
I appreciate the comprehensive breakdown of features and specs, especially the comparison between single zone vs multi zone pads. However, I noticed a slight discrepancy in the description of multi-zone pad response. It might be beneficial to clarify for readers the exact differences in sensitivity and output, ensuring a more accurate portrayal of the technology at play.
Honestly, the nuances are there but they’re not game-changing for most. Still, accuracy matters.
Good catch, Jenny! That detail can make a big difference for pros.
Gotta say I’m all in on that Alesis DM10. Been thrashing on an entry level for years and this looks like the step up I need. Cheers for the rundown.
Hey Sam , really digging into the idea of getting an Alesis Turbo Mesh kit for my home studio. You think that’s a solid choice for someone who’s kinda new but serious about getting better? Also, how’s the noise on these bad boys? Apartment life, you know.
Trixie88, the Alesis Turbo Mesh is a great starter kit, and noise levels are manageable, especially with good headphones!