So why DON'T Roland / Yamaha & the big boys make full size E Kits?

[cure1973]

Just a thought tonight why is it the major E drum companies don't produce full sized E kits? They must be aware of the hundreds of smaller companies doing just that and the 'appeal' that an acoustic kit brings? Or why thousands of us have DIY'd our own kits? Is it something to do with the drum sizes / triggering? Loads of people have managed to do just this and I'm sure its something they would be working on -perhaps it has to pass some sort of testing first (edit - I hope it would!)....I dunno what do you think?

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

Probly because they are still banking on the theory that compact and lightweight are more appealing to the mass demographic

[cure1973]

Probly because they are still banking on the theory that compact and lightweight are more appealing to the mass demographic

True....but before e kits came along we all had to learn on a crappy full size acoustic kit!

[jpsquared482]

Probly because they are still banking on the theory that compact and lightweight are more appealing to the mass demographic

You make a good point. I guess if you're sitting at the Roland or Yamaha drawing board, compact and light would be some of the design criteria, but you'd be missing the point about the actual customer desire for "wow" factor and what drumming means to some of us. We love our drums for they way they look. To be frank, my current favorite kit to play and move around is a TD-11KV on a TD-9 rack. I love the close proximity/compactness of it as well as how easy it is to lug around. Of course, I spend set breaks explaining to the on-lookers/audience how great it is for those reasons.

That said, I do get a lot of wow factor when I bring my HPD-20, a KD-7 and a FD-7 and I sound every bit as phat as a full akit through the PA but that's because it's so different and a real conversation piece.

[hemiboy]

My gut tells me that within 2 to 3 years there will be full sized e kits in the marketplace from DW and Yamaha first with others to follow, again just my gut

[perceval]

My gut tells me that within 2 to 3 years there will be full sized e kits in the marketplace from DW and Yamaha first with others to follow, again just my gut

As for me, I don't think so. E-drums are popular within this forum, but get out in the real world and still so many consider them as toys.

Plus, with the advent of triggers like onHead or inHead, and maybe more in the future, why would someone buy a full sized acoustic-like kit that would be crappy sounding if one would put real heads on it? Could you imagine the stratospheric pricing from Roland and others if it were a great sounding acoustic kit, then adding something like a TD-30 to it?

Once you put mesh and triggers on an A2E kit, it sounds amazing, whether it's the top of the line Pearl kit that sells for a few thousand dollars, or a crappy one made in China that sells for a couple of hundreds. The difference is in the hardware only.

Like Daniel said, they cater to demographics that needs a compact and quieter kit, plus they keep their patents as is.

[cure1973]

Yes I see everyone's point as valid and obviously its of personal opinion. Also of course a full sized Roland kit would no doubt require a huge loan! I'm not saying that a 'smaller' e kit is any way inferior to a full sized acoustic I am just curious as to why they haven't done so yet.
Is a td 30 kv with full rack , probably extra stands, maybe laptop, leads etc etc etc really any more 'compact' than setting up and tearing down an acoustic kit? For me personally I would love to gig my a to e but it would be a nightmare to set up!
I started out my e experience on a yamaha dtxpress years ago and basically because of the pad sizes and feel its led me thus far to my current e setup as fairly close as I can get to my acoustic.
Seeing as there's thousands out there who have diy'd their own full size I would have thought the majors would want to tap into this market!

[perceval]

They have.

Roland has external triggers called RT-xx designed to be set on a full sized acoustic kit.

http://www.roland.com/products/en/RT-10S/

Yamaha has the DT series.

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/drums/el-drums/triggers/dt20/?mode=model

Couldn't find anything from Alesis, but XM has some too.

http://www.xm-world.com/en/products/3/54/eDrum-Components/Triggers.html

Then finally, not the big boys but lots of other companies offering quality products to trigger an A2E drum kit... Quartz, Triggera, 682drums, Ddrums, Traps, Aquarian, Pearl, Wronka, .....

[John.b]

If you attach an E trigger to an A drum, what happens to the A sound when you hit it. Its still there surely. Or do you fill the A drum with foam rubber ?

[flurbs]

If you attach an E trigger to an A drum, what happens to the A sound when you hit it. Its still there surely. Or do you fill the A drum with foam rubber ?

Search the web for Boom Theory Spacemuffins for foam-filled piezo-triggering acoustic drums.

[VeeDrummer]

I wouldn't want to know the price of a Roland Acousto-Electric kit given the prices already for their stuff.

[Tommy_D]

Ddrum sells an A2E hybrid kit:

[hemiboy]

I wasn't really talking about roland, I was saying that big boy acoustic drum makers might come out with some full size shells with meshes and built in triggers like dw and yamaha and sell them paired up with a module or a vst like the new infuzed system not some hi end roland kit that would be at a ridiculous price point. How do I say this nicely? I am done getting laid out by Roland having found a much better and cheaper alternative in an a to e and 2 box pairing. I wouldnt expect someone to go out and pay all the money for a dw collector series and have it converted. That is the joy of a to e conversion. It is the module and triggers and vst's period. A $200 set of acoustic shells, shined up. And you're in!

[John.b]

Search the web for Boom Theory Spacemuffins for foam-filled piezo-triggering acoustic drums.

I was thinking of the type that attach to the drum rim or base drum hoop. DDrum make them.

[cure1973]

My post wasn't really about triggers that clip on to acoustic kits - although they are made by the respected companies! I meant say Roland producing a full size acoustic kit for the Electronic market. Specifically as we all know full sized kits CAN and DO trigger perfectly why haven't they marketed it yet? You can imagine an engineered product (like the Roland basket for instance) fitted into the toms etc - and apart from the crazy price they would charge I find it strange they haven't tapped into this market.
For instance if I had the spare money would I go for a Roland TD30KV or for a bit more go for an ' acoustic set up'? I know which one I would choose but what about others?