--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "quarlofx" <quarlo@e...> wrote:
> I have one last (yeah, sure!) question regarding user opinions on
> playing with a monitor versus headphones only. I realize this takes
> me into the Noise Inducement Zone (the avoidance of which has
prompted
> me to look at electronic kits in the first place), but I'd just like
> to find out what real, live e-drummers prefer. I also understand
this
> is a wonderfully subjective matter, but I'd be very grateful for any
> and all opinions. How limiting is it (if at all) playing with
> headphones only?
>
> Thanks, again, for all of your excellent help.
FX,
I love the question, and I hope it starts the elaborate thread that
it deserves. IMO, on a level playing field, the obvious sincere hedge
is that it depends on what your values are. For very close audition
of sound, either to evaluate the quality of samples or simply to pay
audiophile attention, nothing beats headphones--good headphones.
Isolating the larger environment from the feed is the only way to
evaluate sound quality. And if you're practicing along to sources
like CDs, with a little effort you can get a recording-like mix, a
genuine advantage of edrums.
On the other hand, when you open yourself up to a room, you
automatically start losing fidelity; the frequency response curve can
go haywire with wall reflections and room nodes. Settings on a
module, mixer, and/or effects unit that worked to perfection through
cans can sound terrible when amped, particularly at the frequency
extremes. When the quality of amp/speakers enters into the matter,
the variables increase even further. Cymbal sizzles, snare cracks,
and tom/kick thumps are heavily dependent on the parts, power, and
design of the ancillary components, as well as the room. More than
one person has been deceived about how good an e-kit can sound by
poor amplification. You also have to turn these things up fairly loud
to get what you want (at the risk of overdriving them, which makes
them sound dreadful; amps with a lot of power and big power supplies
sound better at lower levels), and we all know the can of worms that
opens up.
In short, phones will never be able to duplicate the roar of your kit
when it's let out of its cage. But experiencing that kind of thrill
from e-drums through amplification comes at a price on a number of
fronts. I, for one, don't feel that I've lost anything through
headphones. The sense of isolation works for me, in a way that it
doesn't necessarily work for me even with recorded material (which
has some of the necessary control, though not all, built into it).
Amplified drums in a small space (or a large one) can be unruly
beasts.
Ed
