Page 1 of 2

Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 4:01 pm
by kir
Hi there :)
I'm a beginner and plan to put together a very basic setup for home practice. Below are the main points, and I would be very grateful for any review/critique or feedback regarding the setup. Thanks all you in advance.

1xeDRUMin 10
1xeDRUMin 4

HiHat: Yamaha RHH-135
Snare: PD-125 Dual Trigger Pad
Floor Tom: PD-105 Dual Trigger Pad
Toms: PD-85 Dual Trigger Pad(2x)
Bass Drum Trigger: On Trigger Bass Drum Trigger Jack

Crash: CY-12C
Ride: CY-13R

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 9:38 pm
by Rob
You already own the RHH-135? If not, I think a hihat system with a continuous controller output would be a better choice.

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 9:53 pm
by kir
No, I haven't bought anything yet. I'm exactly at the planning stage, so I'm trying to gather information to make a more informed choice.
If you could name a couple of hi-hat models that are worth paying attention to, that would be great. In any case, thank you for the response ;)

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 10:04 pm
by Rob
For a beginner kit, the VH-10 is probably a good choice.

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 10:16 pm
by kir
Thank you for the guidance! I'll look into the options.

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 11:51 pm
by perceval
Why would you need an ED4 + an ED10 for such a small setup?

For HH, if you don't mind a fixed one, the FD8/9 combined with a PCY-135 would work very well too.

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2024 3:26 am
by Mstrchf
If you're on a tight budget and comfortable buying and selling used gear i would suggest looking for a used Roland kit like a TD-9 or preferably newer and selling the module and pads you don't want. Buying a rack and hardware mounts individually can get expensive so this way you end up saving cash and making some money to fund your next upgrades.

I'd go for a 2 Tom setup (1x High Tom 1x Floor Tom) and get 2x10" pads. It's subjective but i think most people including myself find 8" pads a little too small. A 2 tom setup can make things easier from a learning perspective and when you advance in skill get another 10" or preferably 12" for floor tom. I think it would be money better spent in the long run.

I'd get the following -

1xeDRUMin 10 (like perceval said there's no need for an edrumin4 - you'd only be using 8/9 inputs with a 2/3 tom setup with a spare input to add a 2nd crash so there's no point getting one until you expand beyond that)

HiHat: Roland VH-10 (or a cheap vh-11 but you'll need a hi hat stand with spring tension adjustment because its heavier)
Snare: PD-125 Dual Trigger Pad (or PD-128, PDA-120 variants)
Floor Tom: PD-105 Dual Trigger Pad (or pdx-100 variants)
Toms: PD-105 Dual Trigger Pad (add another 10" or 12" pad later)
Bass Drum Trigger: KD-9 of KD-10 (easy to pick up used for cheaper than the ontrig and i reckon using a beater with the cloth kick pad will give a better feel)

Crash: CY-12C or CY-14C alternatively Yamaha PCY135 PCY130
Ride: CY-15R (Having the bigger bow zone really helps the feel) alternatively Yamaha PCY175 PCY155 PCY150, Lemon 18"

:D

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2024 4:43 pm
by kir
perceval, Oops, my bad, I meant to say ED8+ED4 (since, currently, ED10 is unfortunately not available and only God (or may be Rob :D) knows if it will be available in the future.
About the FD8/9 - I'm really leaning towards something that keeps the feel real, you know?

Mstrchf, your reply blew me away with its details! Exactly what I was digging for! Big hug, man!

Oh, and sorry for missing out on some crucial info earlier. Right now, I've already got this setup at home that I wanna turn into an edrum:
Mapex HF 1000 Falcon Hi-Hat Stand
Tama Snare Stand HS40WN
Pearl Eliminator P-2000C
Footblaster KickPad (which is why I'm eyeing the On Trigger Bass Drum Trigger Jack)
Roland MDS Rack (chilling in a buddy's garage somewhere)

Got a couple of things I'm wondering about:
1) Do you think it'd be cool to go with the Footblaster KickPad + On Trigger Bass Drum Trigger Jack + Pedal , or should I maybe take a look at KD-9 / KD-10 instead?

2) Am I getting it right that the port count I've got listed below is accurate, considering the gear I mentioned?
HiHat+controller - 2
Snare - 1
Tom1 - 1
Tom2 -1
Tom3 -1
Crash - 1
Ride - 1
On Trigger Bass Drum Trigger Jack - 1
That makes 9/10 in total, right?

3) And if it were up to you, choosing between PD-125 and PDA-120, which one would you go for and why?

Thanks a ton for all your thoughts, guys. Got plenty to ponder and tinker with for the next few weekends. 8-)

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 12:16 am
by perceval
2) The HH controller has its own input, so it doesn't count into he number of ports, so, total would be 8. ED8 fits in there.

If you want to add more things later, the kick stereo input could be split into two mono inputs, giving you a cowbell, splash, fx.
And if you don't need the rims on the toms, those could be split as well, giving you and extra 3 mono inputs. And with Rob's magic, those mono inputs can become 2-zones with features like bell sense.

Plus, the ETA on the ED10 is March, which is next month.

Re: Seeking Advice on a Beginner's Kit

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 6:36 am
by Mstrchf
No worries :) Thats some nice solid hardware.

1) Seeing as you already have that kick pad i'd give it a go. Both look solid and well made.

On the other hand the Roland KD's are tried and tested so might be less of a headache to get the feel and triggering right for you. Also check out KD-8 , very cheap and use a soft flexible rubber trampoline style hit pad and feel pretty good. The KD-9's tend to move about alot, KD-10 fixed that but they are way more expensive.

If the on trig doesn't work out, I'd pick up a KD-9 and figure out a way to secure it in place using your rack.

3) PD120 PD125 PD125x PD128 all use center mounted piezo so Positional Sensing compatible but suffer from hot spotting.
The newer pads like PDA-120L-S use 3 piezo's to reduce hotspotting and give a more even response.

I'd personally go for a PD-125 as they are well made, high compatibility and easy to pick up cheaply used. They hold their value so you could easily sell them when you want to upgrade snare to something better or repurpose it as a floor tom.