Complete Guide: How To Convert Your Acoustic Kit Into Electronic

If you've been looking into converting your acoustic drumset into electronic, this is the video to watch.

Video Links I mentioned:

Roland RT10 vs RT30 Triggers

An Overview of MOST of the drum triggers on the market:

Edrum compatibility

The Cables I use for my conversion set:

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1. Decide On Pads. External rubber ones, or Mesh
If External Pads, I recommend Nfuzd. It comes with a VERY good drum module. Second Choice is Pearls package
2. If you choose mesh, you'll need to decide what heads to get. I recomend 2 or 3ply heads. Drumtec, Jobeky, Billyblast, and roland all make good ones.
3. Drum triggers:
For a start, I’d just pick up internal Side trigger that go on the side of your shell. I made a dedicated video on most of the options from different drum companies I’ll link below
4. You’ll need cymbals. There are two options: Metal and Rubber.
If you go with rubber cymbals: Roland makes the best, ATV has VERY good ones that just came out. Also Pintech is an option. Alesis/Simmons cymbals work on a tight budget, but they suck.
If you choose metal cymbals, there are a few options out there. Jobeky, Field make some nice ones. Smartrigger cymbals work too (3 variations: SmartTrigger, Alesis Surge, Pearl eClassic)
You’ll Need a drum module. Favoirtes: Yamaha, Roland, Kat KT4, aD5, Mimic, 2Box.
5. Compatibility: (link the video) not all cymbals work with all modules. So If you choose to go with yamaha cymbals only yamaha/ATV ad5/Pearl Mimic modules will work. If you choose roland cymbals, they work with Alesis, Roland, aD5, Mimic, 2box Drumit 3.

[ttoo]

"They are incredibly expensive Roland" XD

[joshferry]

I own the Drum-Tec "Real Feel" heads. They are VERY close to real drum heads. They trigger amazingly well. And they are tough as hell. Been using mine more than a year and they still look like new. Not cheap, but cheaper than Roland. I also got them in a few days. I was blown away how fast Drum-Tec got them to me.

[okinawajapan]

One of the best, smoothest presentations I've seen on YT ever. Well done man. This is the way everyone should do product reviews and teaching. Smooth, answered all points, great info. Thank you.

[rtroiani]

Fantastic video. As a woodworker and 40+ year drummer who’s had a few Roland sets I was kicking around getting a used acoustic kit and cutting the shells down to half size and doing triggers. Then viola, I found this video. Perfect timing.

[Devikah]

Thank you, Justin, for another great video. I would not have considered converting my drum set if it wasn't for your videos. They are incredibly helpful and I keep referring to them as I progress in completing my set.

I've always been a single ply girl on all my toms except for the snare, so I'm using the Remo SilentStrokes on all my toms. They pair up nicely with the internal Exreme Drums! triggers that I installed, so far, in my snare and tom. You can also have some control on their "bounciness" by adjusting their tightness. My dad misses using the TuneBot on the acoustic heads, but he's having fun learning a whole new world along with me.

The snare has a Billy Blast 3 ply, and I switched to nylon tipped drum sticks to minimize any surface deformities.

The Alesis DM10 module will do for now, because it has enough expandability to meet my initial needs. Besides, I'll be counting on a VSP to control the quality of my sounds soon, instead of my module.

The biggest challenge so far for me? The acoustic sizes of my drums make most electronic cymbals look disproportionate in size to me. So I'm checking out the larger sized electronic cymbals that are out there, at the moment. Discovered the Pintech Visulites since we last chatted too.

Just to give you a progress report on where I'm at. Thanks again, Justin, for you guidance. ^_^

[NEALBABBITT]

I would love to see you with you acoustic drum equipment. I would really appreciate someone that reviews equipment with your honesty and thoroughness!

[clintjoseph]

Justin, thank you! I knew I find the answer I was looking for in one of your videos! I didn’t realise I could mount my module on to a cymbal stand, just tried it and bingo! I’ve been racking my brains to come up with an idea to mount the module on my A2E which is due to arrive with me at the end of the week. Keep up the great work and thanks again!

[feelgood]

Dude, you’re like freaking Wikipedia of electronic drums! Thanks for your hard work and amazing instruction videos on any topic 🤘🏻

[DopamineOverload]

Love your videos, as they are SUPER informative and very, very thorough.

I would suggest though to talk more about drum sampling software such as Superior 2 or 3, Addictive Drums, and/or Steven Slate. Even the highest-end Roland modules still have extremely dated and unrealistic sounds (I've played the TD-50 in person and still can't believe Roland can't touch Superior Drummer's realism). I've used the TD-12, TD-4, TD-9, etc. Nothing comes close to the software.

Also, a lot of the options you suggest are on the too-expensive side for a lot of people. I've converted acoustic kits over the years (7 different kits, and at least 10 for students and friends) for less than $1700 total, including every single necessary part (shells, etc), AND the Superior Drummer software.

For example-- used: Roland PD-120 for snare, ddrum redshot pack for kick/tom triggers, Roland TD-3 or TD-6V module, CY-8s for ride and crashes, and CY-5 and FD-7 pedal for the hi-hat. Some misc hardware, multi-clamps, etc.... mesh heads... done. None of that breaks the $1700 barrier, if you buy the right set of shells (PDP Z5 for instance, or the Ludwig Questlove).

Might be cool to do a few new videos talking about LOW-priced options, and discussing in detail, how much better the software samples are (it's hard to argue against Toontrack's quality over Roland).

Again, LOVE your videos and think you're doing a fantastic job (I subscribed to your channel last night), but don't forget about the poor drummers out there, and definitely talk more about the software side of things. Thanks and keep up the great work!

[carlosmerle]

Just wanted to say thank you Justin your videos are very amazing helpful you sound very professional and you sound like you know what you are talking about I appreciate you thank you for the videos and all the information you provide in your videos and examples

[HereIsmarcus]

I love my new setup. 3 snare stands. Two old snares from ebay to make the snare and floortom and an old rack tom from ebay to make the tom. External roland rt30 on each drum. Yamaha kp100 mesh kick pad. Yamaha 15-inch ride and 13-inch crash. Go-edrum hihat controller with roland cy-8 cymbal. Megadrum drum module and focusrite audio interface. Addictive drums on laptop. Drumtec reelfeel mesh on the snare and roland 2-ply powerply on the toms. Around 1500 dollars but I put it together bit by bit. Just need to get a vh11 hihat i think as my cy8 is ancient and goedrum controller could break as its so cheap

[zombies]

I really want to do something like this for a few reasons. First I like playing drums but I usually don’t have a lot of free time until late at night so I don’t want to disturb my neighbors and also if I were to move into an apartment it would be nice to have full sized drums that still feel like an acoustic kit but nowhere near as loud

[erikm]

Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Much appreciated.

[abovegrounddrummr]

"Yamaha is in their own little island" 🤣🤣🤣

[JohnnyJolt]

Hi there, I have a bit of a convoluted question, hopefully you can understand. I am a newbe drummer, less then a year. I have an old Yamaha’s DTX 500 I think. I bought it from a friend who’s son gave up drums. I love the Roland VAD 506, except the $6, 000 Canadian price tag. I’m thinking of making a hybrid set. I found an old Orbiton kit. It has everything plus it is red. The best sounding drum kits are red. LOL. I like the Roland TD17 SKX module. I can pick one up on eBay for about $730 CDN, or $850 CDN from a drum store. But I was thinking on starting by cannibalism my DTX kit for the module and cymbals. I’ve found a set of UKS Audio 2 ply mesh pads and a Red Shot Trigger pack of triggers. If I cannibals I get this done probably within two weeks for around $700.00 CDN. But, here is the million dollar question, is it all compatible? I realize it will not be a VAD 506, and it will only be as strong as the module. But if I like I can buy the Roland TD17 module and have a hybrid kit pretty similar to a Roland TD17 SKX. If I don’t like I can convert back. Your thoughts please.

[sebastiangarcia]

Awesome Video. You for sure helped simplify this. I went to eclectic (TD17KVX), even the the set is awesome, I am finding the switch difficult due to lacking feel of a real kit.

[FabioAneto]

My Pearl MMP is stored in flycases since 2013.
Moving into a one bedroom apartment didn’t allow me to bring it with me.
In the next year we might buy a new bigger apartment, where I might be able to have a studio for me.
And I’ll come back to this video to turn my baby into an E-Drum.
Can’t wait for it.

[christophergola]

I think you have given me the confidence to take this on! Great videos Justin.

[astronautdrummer]

Excellent video for all who wants to convert acoustic to electronic drums! Congratulations Justin! I love all the drum-tec e-drums! :)

[jeremyhyde]

No love for the Pintech Reaction heads? They're made by Evans for them, and I feel like the fit and feel are pretty great.