The range of electronic drums is not as wide as that of acoustics. Two major brands stand out for the quality of their products: ROLAND and YAMAHA, recently followed by 2BOX and PEARL E-Pro Live series. The ALESIS brand, for its part, offers more affordable kits.

The electronic drum kit is an alternative to the acoustic battery. It allows you to practice in conditions where a high sound volume is not possible such as in an apartment. It is also used for home studio production because it opens up important possibilities such as: electronic programming, controlling virtual instruments or even making it easier to sample sounds for rehearsals or professional recordings.

The electronic drum kit consists of a sound module that drives the whole system, and a set of pads, all attached to a rack. It is the combination of the module and pads that determine the quality and realism of your electronic kit.

Electronic drums sound module / trigger

The sound module is your system's engine, the one that determines the quality of the drum samples, the level of nuances, the number of presets or user kits, and the possibility of registering or adding additional pads.

You can modify the kit at your convenience and assign the sounds your need on any pad of your choice.

On an electronic drum module, there is usually an auxiliary input to connect an mp3 player or any other audio source to play your favorite songs. Different sampling modes determine the quality and realism of sound:
- In a first step, simple sampling, where only the intensity of the shot given will vary the volume of the sample.
- On higher models, the sampling will have several layers, i. e. several samples which will be triggered according to the blows given (power and location on the pad) to bring more realism.
- On high-end models (such as the Roland Drum Module for electronic drums for example), the modeling allows you to go even further by changing virtually all the parameters that make up the sound: the type of skin, tuning, the depth of the drum and its nature (maple, steel, copper, the type of microphone used, the distance at which they are placed on the drums, etc.)....) which allows simulating cymbals of 40" or snare drums of 6" by 35" deep for example, leading to results not always perfect but somewhat original. You can really customize your kit in a much more precise way

Electronic drum pads

There are several types of pads available depending on brands and models. They are made of different materials, equipped with one or more sensors following the size. They will send to the module the information of the different zones played, the intensity of the moves given, etc...

As a rule, there are 3 types of pads for electronic drums: :
- Rubber pads, especially on entry-level models, they are resistant and reactive enough.
- Silicone pads, for Yamaha DTX models, e. g. from the DTX-520 model and above. This makes the touch softer and even more sensitive.
- Thepads in stretched canvas / mesh clike Roland or 2box for example, they also bring more sensitivity and realism to the touch.

The pads can be mono or multi zones, which allows for example to have 2 different sounds on the center and the edge of the pad. This can go up to 3 zones for mid-range and high-end models: the ride cymbals deliver a sound on the top, the plate of the cymbal and its edge.