V-Club questions

[pmadsen]

This is my first post on this forum, and I hope I am not violating any etiquette. I am brand new to electronic drums, but have been playing for about 25 years. I have not played in the last year or two because of work and life.

The V-Club set interests me, because of price, and sound quality ( I saw a Roland Real Video http://trio.harmony-central.com/ramg...-Club-Set.rm). The questions I have are fairly basic:

1) Is this set a good set for a edrum newbie to get into?
2) I have always been a fairly heavy hitter with both my left hand, and right foot. Do you think this would present any problems?
3) Is there any difficulties in learning the module? 4) Is there any type of relearning you have to do going from traditional acoustic to edrums?
5) How much space does the kit take up compared to acoustic drums? 6) Realistically, how much noise does this (or any other edrum set) make? Can I play at 10pm and not disturb my wife down the hall, or neighbors?

Thanks to all.

[pmadsen]

Sorry, this link will take you to the video. Go to the bottom of the page.
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAM...w-V-Drums.html

[gingerbaker]

Hello pmadsen

Welcome to the forum!

BTW, there is a search function in yellow letters at the top of most pages which works pretty well for searching by subject. Most of the questions any of us have had during the first year or two of E-drumming have been chewed on already and are there someplace.

Anyway, to hopefully address your questions:

The V Club is a great set to get into.

While there is an undeniable bias toward Roland products here, many of the members have lots of equipment from many manufacturers, and are quite objective in their analyses. And the folks here really like the V Club.

Search V Club and you'll see what I mean!

You will find that changes in technique will be required to play E-drums, and they won't feel exactly like acoustic drums.

But the small changes you will have to make will seem quite insignificant once you have your kit and start enjoying its features and benefits.

There are many incarnations of the E-drums, just in the Roland line, each with different capabilities, materials, feel, price, etc.

The best thing you can do is go to music stores until you can find a good one which has the kits set up correctly and has knowledgeable personnel (this may take a while!).

Then sit down and play, with good headphones or through a decent sound system, and all will become obvious.

As far as heavy hitting, while the kits are very tough, you will probably find you won't be hitting that hard hard anymore, as you will be hearing everything better than you ever did with acoustics. Especially when playing along to a CD, for example - it will blow your mind.

As far as noise, the V-Clubs are not silent - no kit is. Think along the lines of hitting a mouse pad with your drumsticks.

The kits with mesh heads instead of rubber pads are quieter still. So, you won't disturb your neighbors unless they live below or above you, and there are solutions for that (usually kick trigger noise).

As far as your wife down the hall, if you have your own room, a hall of any decent length, and a reasonably accomodating mate, there should be no problem at all.

Let us know how it goes, eh?

[HolShot]

Welcome to the forum! Try this thread for some info and ideas on the V-Club kit:
www.vdrums.com/discussion/Forum4/HTML/000992.html

I have one that I've expanded pretty much to the max, and I love it!

HTH,
Bob

[SteveA]

Hi!

I bought my V Clubs earlier this month and continue to be amazed at how much enjoyment they provide. It had been since 1979 since I'd played before wandering into a Guitar Center and rediscovering the joy of drumming.

I have mine set-up in my audio room in a roughly 6' wide by 5' deep area. This provides plenty of room and access to all the pads.

Technique is admittedly different. Previously, I was a light hitter and was taken aback when the salesman at GC handed me some 5Bs. I'd always considered these as too big for my style. Now, I'm glad he did because a believe the pads require a little heavier hand than acoustics. Can't speak for the mesh head models though.

I close the door to the room I'm in and my wife has no problem watching TV in our adjacent bedroom at normal volumes. I'd imagine the sounds from the kick pad may be intrusive in a room below. Search the archives for some pretty ingenious solutions to that problem.

Don't delay!
Steve

[Boingo]

Originally posted by SteveA:
Technique is admittedly different. Previously, I was a light hitter and was taken aback when the salesman at GC handed me some 5Bs. I'd always considered these as too big for my style. Now, I'm glad he did because a believe the pads require a little heavier hand than acoustics. Can't speak for the mesh head models though.
Steve

Don't understand why you need heavy sticks for e-drums. You should be able to adjust sensitivity and use lighter sticks (if that's what you prefer). Personally, I think use of lighter sticks, assuming you don't compensate by hitting harder, extends the useful life of the product. I play a second set of v-pro's at our Church. Four drummers play them. We have replaced several cymbal boom stands and just recently had the PD-9 ride break in two just in front of where the mount is. We have some heavy hitters using tree trunks for sticks. Also, triggering is not as consistent as my personal set. I gotta believe there is a connection to these problems and excessive force.

whack on...

[SteveA]

Hi Boingo!

Point very well taken. I guess I should have added that I have not changed any of the factory settings yet (I'm having too much fun simply playing!).

I need to get familiar and comfortable with changing the many available parameters. Either that or I'll develop Popeye forearms and trash the pads!

Thanks again for the input.
Steve

[K-Chuck]

Yes, trigger settings are very important for a natural feel. It doesn't hurt to periodically play while watching the velocity meter to see if you need to make adjustments. The meter should peak only occasionally, i.e. when you make your hardest hits

I recently found that my initial trigger sensitivity settings were too high on most pads. I've since lowered them to appropriate levels and found the feel of the drums and their dynamics had improved.