Congratulations on your decision to go down the e-kit route! A wise move – you’ll keep the neighbours happy and you can practice in the middle of the night! Here’s a selection of electronic drum kits worth checking out. Remember to check whether essentials are included such as a drum stool, pedals and drum sticks. If not visit the drumming essentials page to get you started.
Entry Level Practice Drum Kits
Alesis DM Lite 5-Piece Practice Set
It’s difficult to recommend this kit as anything more than a practice kit due to the unnatural position of the snare drum. Setting it up as shown in the picture would be very uncomfortable to play so try to upgrade to something better at the earliest opportunity. At around £200 you get what you pay for with this kit.
Roland TD-1K 5-Piece Practice Set
Again, difficult to recommend this as anything other than a very basic practice kit. With both a remote hi-hat and remote bass drum pedal it’s far removed from a real kit. The snare drum is more adjustable than the Alesis DM Lite above so at least you should be able to set up a more comfortable playing position. Street price around £340.
Entry Level Electronic Drum Kits
Alesis Nitro 5-Piece Electronic Drum Kit
At around £340 this is a lot of kit for the money! You get a remote hi-hat pedal, 2 cymbals and a 5 piece configuration consisting of bass drum, snare drum and 3 toms. 8″ rubber pads all ’round and a lightweight aluminium rack. Don’t expect the earth at this price but you do get a lot for your money!
Alesis Surge 5-Piece Electronic Drum Kit
For an extra £160 or so you’ll get mesh pads all ’round – definitely a worthwhile upgrade over the rubber pads. Mesh heads are much less fatiguing to play and are also significantly quieter. You’ll also get a nice solid chrome rack. At around £500 is is a great starter kit.
Mid Range Electronic Drum Kits
Roland TD-4KP Electronic Drum Kit
Roland have really focused on giving the player a more comfortable playing position with this e-kit. The snare is in a great location and you even get a proper bass drum pedal! Mind you, at around £600 it might be too much for many to spend on an entry-level electronic drum kit.
Roland TD-17KV 5-Piece Electronic Drum Kit
With mesh heads everywhere, a large 12″ snare drum and a proper bass drum pedal this is getting in to the ‘more serious’ e-kit category. Still lacking a real hi-hat stand but other than that it’s a nice kit. Street price around £1,230.
High End Electronic Drum Kit
Roland TD-25K 5-Piece Electronic Drum Kit
Roland advertise this kit as a ‘mid-level’ electronic drum kit but at almost £1,700 it certainly falls within the ‘high end’ price bracket. This is a beautiful kit with mesh heads, real hi-hat stand and a proper bass drum pedal. Only 2 cymbals may be frustrating around this level but next up from this is the TD30 at around £3,000 and the TD50 at almost £4,000. On the plus side, higher end kits like this generally hold their value pretty well, so if you did need to sell it you’d stand a reasonable chance of getting most of your money back!
This information is only intended as a rough guide so please double check with sellers that everything is as expected. There’s plenty choice out there – now you just have to get playing! Remember we have a similar guide for acoustic kits if that’s more to your fancy!