Music is like food for the soul. The creation of this music through the musical instruments too is something that takes in a lot of creativity. One such musical instrument is the electronic drum which is a modified version of the traditional drum and sticks instrument. It basically is what its name suggests i.e. it is an electronic musical instrument.
The electronic drum ranges back to the mid-1970’s when it was first discovered. Since their arrival, they have been widely accepted by the professional drummers rather than the traditional drums. Depending on the type of electronic drum, they can be played with a stick or even through the hands. Many models with different characteristics have been released for these electronic drums.
Contents
- What is an Electronic Drum?
- Top five reasons why you must buy the Electronic Drum
- Factors to consider before buying an Electronic Drum
- Top 4 Best Electronic Drum Reviews of 2019
- 1. Alesis DM10 Studio Kit | Ten-Piece Professional Electronic Drum Set with Black AluminumStageRack (Mylar Drum Pads)
- 2. Carlsbro CSD130XXX Electronic Drum Set
- 3. Pyle-Pro PTED01 Electronic Table Digital Drum Kit Top w/ 7 Pad Digital Drum Kit
- 4. AlesisCompactKit 4 | Portable 4-Pad Tabletop Electronic Drum Kit with Drumsticks & Built-In Learning Tools
What is an Electronic Drum?
An electronic drum is basically an electronic musical instrument that works pretty much like the traditional acoustic drum kit. It can also be seen as a special type of synthesizer that produces beats through the sampled signals. Just like the acoustic drums, sticks are used on these. The drums have a sensor which is when struck by the stick, produces a synthesized sound that is let out by a sound module attached to it.
An electronic drum is also known as the digital drums or the digital percussion. An electronic drum is available in 3 configurations: single, twin or quad. Depending on what kind of music and the number of drums you need, you can go for any of the above configurations. The number of toms, kicks, snares etc. are limitless with these electronic drums.
Top five reasons why you must buy the Electronic Drum
One might wonder about being fine with their conventional acoustic drum kit since it has been in trend for quite a long time now. But with the arrival of the digital drums, many additional possibilities have been added to playing just plain beats. A lot of added advantages are offered through the use of an electronic drum.
So, here is the list of top five reasons as to why you must buy the electronic drum at the earliest for an all new experience.
- Limitless range of sounds: One of the greatest advantages of the electronic drum, especially for the drummers who like to work with a wide variety of music styles, is that it offers an unlimited number of sounds that can be used through one tap to meld with any kind of music genre. It will not depend upon the music setting and will eliminate the need for recording through mics and everything.
- Preset drum patterns: Most electronic drum sets come loaded with preset drum patterns that can be used for learning purposes. The user needs to play along with these patterns to build a muscle memory and the right coordination to be able to play it effectively. Apart from this, many drums come with specific learning tools.
- Easy edit and adjust: An electronic drum provides you a scope for editing your performances. The timings and sounds can be easily adjusted so that it can suit your recording in a better way. Editing can be done with just a few notes in the performance or the whole performance can be easily edited and adjusted too.
- Connect with external players: The electronic drum sound modules usually come loaded with a USB port or an aux input which can be used to connect an external playing device such as music players, computers or an iOs device. It lets you play along with your preferred artist and sounds can too, be adjusted using external software or apps.
- Compact and Portable: As compared to the conventional acoustic drum kit, an electronic drum is way more portable and compact in size. The elements of an electronic drum bear a compact design and don’t take up much space. Usually, they can be fitted into a backpack. Even onstage, it takes up a relatively lesser amount of space.
Factors to consider before buying an Electronic Drum
Before going for the electronic drum, there are a few points that you will need to keep in mind. All of the important factors to be considered for buying an electronic drum have been mentioned below.
- Space and footprint: The electronic drum sets are available in all sizes from small to large. Before selecting the one for you, you need to check with how much space you have to spare. The footprint of the electronic drum set is needed to be considered according to the space you have. Depending on the same, the drum with an ideal footprint must be selected.
- Pads quality: The electronic drums come loaded with the pads which are meant to be struck with a stick to produce a beat. The quality of these drums specifically must be considered before buying one. Normally, the feel of the pads matter. Some feel too hard or some feel too loose. The feel must be just right according to you.
- Sound quality: The whole purpose of the electronic drum is the sound and the quality of it that it has to offer. However, the sound quality factor is largely subjective. The quality of the sound of the electronic drum that is preferable for you totally depends upon the perception of the same. The sound quality must be right according to you.
- Loading of custom samples: Many of the electronic drum models nowadays are capable of accessing and playing custom sounds. Before making the purchase, you must ensure that your set supports the loading of custom sounds samples that may be formatted for specific modules.
- The number of Audio outputs: The number of audio outputs in an electronic drum isusually provided for people who wish to perform or record in huge venues. The number of audio outputs must be checked in the specifications. Usually, a count of 2 to 10 for the audio output is provided. The suitable one for you must be chosen.
Top 4 Best Electronic Drum Reviews of 2019
1. Alesis DM10 Studio Kit | Ten-Piece Professional Electronic Drum Set with Black AluminumStageRack (Mylar Drum Pads)

It is a full electronic drum kit from Alesis which comes with 6 natural-feeling with an easy and portable design which is easily reconfigurable to suit the playing space. The key features of this electronic drum are mentioned as follows.
- It is a DM10 high-definition drum module which comes with 12 trigger inputs and mixer.
- It comes loaded with custom third-party sound sets or control computer software which is all via USB.
- It features dynamic articulation and changes sounds’ timbre along with dynamics for realism.
- It is a stand-alone drum kit.
- It can be played by plugging into any stereo or headphones.
- It has a compact design with four-post StageRack with integrated boom cymbal arms.
- It comes with a premium sound library of uncompressed samples from real drums and cymbals.
- These cab work with iPad via Apple USB Adaptor which is sold separately.
- It allows you to play along and record yourself with the sequencer.
- The kit comes with a Six-piece RealHeadmylar kit,4 8-inch dual-zone toms and a 10- inch dual-zone snare and 8-inch kick pad, Four-piece cymbal set with a 12” hi-hat, two 12” crashes, and 14” triple-zone ride, RealHat pedal, aluminumstageRack, Snare stand, Module mount, Cable snake, Drumsticks, Quick-start guide, User manual and a Kick pedal which is sold separately.
- The overall dimensions of this electronic drum are 47 x 23 x 12.75 inches.
- The overall weight of this electronic drum kit is 70.4 pounds.
2. Carlsbro CSD130XXX Electronic Drum Set

This is an electronic drum set by Carlsbro with a renowned CD-quality sound and a roadworthy durability. These drums have been combined with innovative technology to set new standards in electronic percussion. The key features of this electronic drum set are mentioned as follows.
- It comes with a digitron display.
- It is equipped with 250 high-quality percussion voices.
- It also has 20 preset drum kits.
- The Aux input, Line output, Headphone output have also been provided in this drum set.
- It also comes with a USB interface (USB to a device) and MIDI In/Out.
- The overall dimensions of this electronic drum set are 16.5 x 30.75 x 20 inches.
- The total weight of this electronic drum set is 38.8 pounds.
3. Pyle-Pro PTED01 Electronic Table Digital Drum Kit Top w/ 7 Pad Digital Drum Kit

This is an electronic drum kit by Pyle which has been designed to feel and resemble an actual drum set at a fraction of the size. It is essentially a lightweight and a portable device which is also easily customizable. With modern technology, it offers pre-recorded drum kits to be played. The key features of this electronic drum set are mentioned as follows.
- It comes with a LED control display.
- The Headphone & USB output ports have also been provided.
- It also comes with the kick, Hi-Hat & DC power inputs.
- The USB port doubles as MIDI In/Out have been provided with this drum set.
- It is comprised of 7 drum pads with touch sensitivity.
- It comes with two different voice metronome system.
- It also comes with 215 percussion voices & 128 GM voices.
- It is loaded with 25 preset drum kits & five user drum kits.
- The overall dimensions of this electronic drum set are 19.65 x 14.5 x 6.2 inches.
- It is powered by DC 12V adapter or six “C” size batteries.
- The total weight of this electronic drum set is 12 pounds.
- The accessories included with these electronic drums are a DC 12V adapter, a pair of drumsticks and two-foot pedals (kick and hi-hat).
- It can be connected to the PC or Mac using the USB cable.
4. AlesisCompactKit 4 | Portable 4-Pad Tabletop Electronic Drum Kit with Drumsticks & Built-In Learning Tools

It is an electronic drum kit from Alesis which is a great kit for anyone who wants to learn the basics of drumming. It bears a portable and a compact design and built-in speakers which make it a take-anywhere device. The key features of this electronic drum kit are mentioned as follows.
- It has 4 velocity-sensitive pads that provide a realistic sound quality.
- It comes loaded with 70 percussion voices, 10 effect voices, and 50 play-along songs.
- It has a coaching feature that displays notes on LCD and instructs the user to help them learn.
- It allows the user to play immediately with included drumsticks and AC adapter.
- It works on the 6 C batteries and can be taken anywhere with them.
- It has a built-in game function which adds fun to the learning experience.
- It comes with a great collection of sounds and built-in songs or rhythms that can be used to play along while learning.
- It has 50 songs, 20 coach songs and 1 demo song.
- The connections provided with this electronic drum set are 1/8-inch stereo headphone output of 3.5 mm and one power input.
- It operates on 9V DC, 800 mA, center positive power adapter which is included with the drum or the C batteries that last for 4 to 6 hours.
- The overall dimensions of this electronic drum set are 18.1 x 10.2 x 5.9 inches.
- The total weight of this electronic drum set is 3 lbs.
- The accessory box with this drum set includes a CompactKit 4, 2 Drum Sticks, Power Adapter, a User Guide and safety and warranty manual.
As cool as these electronic drums are to use, they provide an undivided advantage with the possibility of custom sound storage and their ability to connect to a computer or an external music playing device. These electronic drums are very easy to use and most of them come with easy learn tutorials and narrations to help you get started.
Considering the features that suit you the best, you can go for the ideal electronic drum set as per your needs.