ELECTRONIC DRUM KITS

The market for electronic drum kit is vast and it really is a hard choice for a drummer (especially if you’re planning on buying your first kit) to make. You have heavyweights such as Roland, Alesis, Yamaha, DDrum and Pearl. Though not everyone could afford the new Pearl hybrid electronic drum kit, yet the manufacturers do have enough resources for the beginner drummers trying to get into the electronic drum kit. The demand for electronic drum kit skyrocketed in the early 21st century and the manufacturers utilized the moment and began rolling out new flagships for the people to buy. As of now, more people are using electronic drum kits compared to the 20th century which was single-handedly dominated by acoustic drum kits.
Before we get into the list of affordable electronic drums kits, it is important to go through the reasons why I personally opt for an electronic drum set. I started out drumming on an acoustic kit which was honestly hard and really unproductive. Since my learning curve was slow and the way I learned was making up my own grooves and fills, as a beginner performer – my drumming was sloppy and I received complaints from my neighbors. That’s why I consider e-kits to be crucial – helping effectively in your learning curve, especially if you’re a beginner.

Alesis Nitro Mesh 

When it comes to the leading manufacturers of electronic drum kits, Alesis is right at the top along with few other quality companies. The thing I like about Alesis is that they consider those who are starting out and slowly getting into drumming. Their products are not insanely priced and the most affordable electronic kit that they offer is the new Alesis Nitro Mesh kit which actually is the variant of their flagship model, Nitro. The drum heads are mesh instead of rubber pads hence you get the real feel of drumming. The module itself is really good for this price. With a quality number of built-in kits and a few more slots for the users to customize the sounds, Alesis Nitro is indeed the best electronic drum kit to choose if you need a practice kit or if you wish to start drumming.

Conclusion

Announced and released this year, Alesis Nitro Mesh kit comes with the same module as that of its predecessor Alesis Nitro, which has a user-friendly interface with nothing really complex to deal with. So if you are completely new to electronic drum industry, you will not encounter any problem with understanding the basics of tuning and choosing between sounds. So that’s a huge plus as well! Yet another important yet criminally overlooked section of an electronic drum kit is the MIDI In and MIDI Out ports. For this price, none of the other quality drum kits offer MIDI ports. MIDI Ports are essential in developing or expanding your drum kit. If you wish to add in more cymbals then MIDI ports come into play. So, there’s that. Overall, Alesis Nitro Mesh is indeed the perfect beginner’s electronic drum kit at an affordable price.
Synopsis: 
Hardware Specifications:-
1.One 8″ dual-zone mesh snare drum
2.Three 8″ mesh toms
3.Three 10″ cymbals, Hi-hat controller, Kick Pedal, 4-post aluminum rack.
Software Specifications:- 385 drum and cymbal sounds, 40 ready-to-play kits, 60 built-in play along songs. 

Roland TD1 DMK 

When it comes to attracting drummers on the basis of brand royalty, Roland tops the chart with a humongous fan base. Every drummer wishes to own a Roland kit. Considering the fact that Roland used to release models starting at $700, it was hard for drummers to get their wish granted. Although, it wasn’t until this year when Roland announced a new model of their TD 1 flagship, and not any other variant but a full mesh kit with wider kick pad for the inclusion of double bass.
TD1 is Roland’s starting range of electronic drum kits and most of which had beginner level features. With small modifications costing extra $100 or more, Roland came up with TD1 DMK to quench drummer’s thirst for having an affordable yet quality drum kit. The price to product ratio is insane. This electronic drum kit has all mesh pads hence the name TD1 DMK(Double Mesh Kit). The module is the same as that of the TD1 module but with this time the module offers a special added feature of inbuilt training function.

 

Conclusion

The training feature is crucial for any beginner drummer. Very much helpful in getting your tempo correctly and sound professional while practicing. Those days of playing random rudiments for practicing are long gone, the next generation of online training is here and is up for grabs. The demand for the same is high these days, especially if Roland is manufacturing it. If you are planning to purchase the entry-level series of Roland, this is the one to opt for as the TD 1K is less professional and doesn’t come with a kick tower. Kick tower is a key feature that a beginner drummer must have while starting out. Because as you start practicing on acoustic drums on future, you would be having a hard time switching from a kick “switch” to an actual kick pedal.
Synopsis:
Hardware Specifications:-
1.PDX-8 8″ Mesh Dual Trigger Snare
2.Three PDX-6A 6″ Mesh Toms
3.CY-5 10″ Hi-hat
4.C-5 10″ Dual Trigger Crash
5.CY-5 10″ Dual Trigger Ride
6.4-post Rack Stand, Hi-hat Pedal
Software Specifications:- 15 Preset Drum kits, 10 Coach Functions, 15 play-along tracks.  

Yamaha DTX 402K

Yamaha has always been an active participant when it comes to musical instruments. With a strong hold on various instruments, Yamaha does have a firm foot on the electronic drum industry as well. With a quality as equal as Roland and a Price to product ratio as good as Alesis, Yamaha is one among those manufacturers who constantly mingle with the audience in determining what we need in our electronic drum kit.
Yamaha DTX 402k is the entry-level electronic drum kit which is made of rubber pads. Even though I wouldn’t recommend using Rubber pads on a normal day. But in the case of Yamaha DTX 402k, its all about the quality of rubber used. Rubber pads are designed in such a way that the user gets an approximately equal rebound from the pad compared to a normal drum kit. They promise better durability as well.

Conclusion

The feature that I really love about the Yamaha Flagships are the sophisticated software features. Moreover, if you are an active drummer record using an electronic drum kit then go for this model. The easy Rec’n’Share app allows you to record your rudiments and instantly giving you access to share around and save it. Having this much of features for an affordable price point, I don’t see a reason as to why I wouldn’t recommend this electronic drum kit. Perfect and “Must buy” if you are looking for an electronic drum it at this price point.
Synopsis:
Hardware Specifications:-
1.One 8″ Snare Pad
2.Two 8″ Rack Tom Pads
3.One 8″ Floor Tom Pad
4. One 10″ Hi-hat Pad, Hithat Controller, Kick pedal controller
5. Two 10″ Cymbal Pads. 
Software Specifications:- 287 Drum/Percussion Voices, 128 Keyboard Voices, 10 Songs, DTX 402 Touch App (iOS/Android), Rec’n Share App (iOS). 

Alesis Surge Mesh

Closing the list with the electronic drum kit that I love the most within this price range – Alesis Surge. Tunable Mesh kits, A sophisticated drum module with more than 250 sounds. These are the two among the tons of reasons why you must choose if you seek to buy an electronic drum kit at a reasonable price.
The key feature of this drum kit is that it almost looks like an actual acoustic drum kit. With tunable drum heads and a proper spacing between drum heads. Hence you would get the same experience as drumming on an acoustic drums. A problem that every electronic drum kit owner faces is shifting from Electronic drum kit to an acoustic kit. It would be harder for you to shift if your drum kit is smaller. Moreover, in some cheap electronic drum kits, the drum heads are not properly arranged. As in, they are not arranged in a way a normal acoustic kit is arranged.

Conclusion

Alesis Surge is surely an electronic drum kit that offers quality and professional services at a relatively lower price.  If Roland were to manufacture the same kind of electronic drum kit, they would have at least priced it for $1000 or more. Alesis proves to be the best electronic drum manufacturer to opt if you wish to get quality services for an affordable rate.
Synopsis:
Hardware Specifications:-
1.8” mesh kick drum tower with kick drum pedal.
2.10” dual-zone mesh snare
3.Three 8” dual-zone mesh tom pads.
4.Three 10” cymbals: ride cymbal, hi-hat, crash w/choke. 4-post chrome rack. 
Software Specifications:- 40 Kits, 385 sounds, 60 Play-Along Tracks and USB/MIDI Connectivity.