Adjust the snare stand to the correct height. Some drummers tilt their snare drums whilst other drummers prefer the surface of the snare drum to be parallel to the floor- this is something to experiment with. In terms of snare height, keep the rim of the drum about the width of your fist higher than your thighs. This means when you hit rim shots on the snare you will not hit your legs too! If the snare drum is too high it can cause your elbows to be raised uncomfortably, leading to tension, which in turn leads to poor drumming technique. Your exact setup is going to depend on the type of electronic drum kit that you have got. Obviously, a very small and compact drum set is going to be very differently arranged than one where the electronic drums are more like the sizes of an acoustic drum kit (as shown in the video). One recording of one sound (as opposed to Multi-Layered Samples). A one-shot sample is a basic sound which doesn’t change in sonic qualities depending how a pad is hit, apart from the velocity.

Perhaps the most difficult part of starting to look for an electronic drum kit is knowing what you actually need from your e-kit. What do you want it to be able to do? All the features listed in the specifications might all sound very nice, but do you really need them? Or will a cheaper drum kit with fewer features do the job you want it to do? Understanding the specs VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology. You might want to use your drum module to trigger sounds in a digital audio workstation (DAW) with VST. When the sound triggered is very loud when hit in the centre of the drum pad, versus a hit with the same force at the edge being very quiet.The time from hitting the drum, to the time the sound is heard. Latency is measured in milliseconds. There is always a tiny amount of delay – due to the time it takes sound to travel from its source to the listener’s ears. With electronics, there’s the time it takes the electrical signal to travel down the wire, be processed, and then the resulting sound to reach the ears. The human brain is able to compensate for some latency, and most electronic drum kits fall within that acceptable range. Latency becomes more of a problem if you are layering up multiple processes, for example using your e-kit to trigger external samples or recording to a computer. If recording yourself is a priority, then you will need to investigate latency and ways to mitigate it. Tuning a drum kit is a slightly more complex process where you may require someone to help you the first few times you try it. Some lessons with a professional teacher are advisable. Electronic drum kits The sounds (drums / cymbals / percussion etc) the drum module can play. The sounds are basically mini recordings (samples) that are triggered when you hit a drum.

This is where your own experimentation will come in. There is no single correct one-size-fits-all setup so get creative with it. If you bear in mind the basic principles of starting with your own body and keep on returning to assess your playing position, it will dictate the optimum position for the drum pads for you personally. A dictionary definition of ergonomic is “…to do with minimising physical effort or discomfort and maximising efficiency”. For us to play drums ergonomically we’ve got to consider our own bodies and make the physical setup of the drum kit fit as best we can. Attach the bass drum to the bass drum pedal by carefully moving it into position behind the pedal. Set up the snare stand and position in between the two pedals. Mount the toms, set up the cymbal stands and add the cymbals. When you sit on the stool your knees should be bent at an (almost) 90 degree angle. Hips should be slightly higher then knees. Don’t have the stool set too low. If your knees are higher than your hips it can lead to unnecessary strain on the hips and upper legs.

Video – overview (5 mins)

The small sensor disc which senses when a drum or cymbal pad is hit and converts it to an electrical signal. This signal is sent to the module and triggers the sound. Every zone equals a sound that can be assigned to the pad. So one zone is one sound. Dual zone means there can be 2 separate sounds. 3 zones (or triple zone) means 3 sounds can be triggered from different areas of the pad.