Which amplifier to use with electronic drums (drum, bass, house)

rover1002002 · 01-16-2009, 09:48 PM

Hi all,
I am looking to buy a second hand Roland TD3 electronic drum kit. I have a couple of old guitar amplifiers at home. They are 40w combos. Do I need to buy a new amp which is specifically for use with drum kits or can I use my old ones. I dont want to damage my old amps as I still use them for guitar playing. Thanks for any advice.
Graham

Dr_Rez · 01-17-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rover1002002

Hi all,
I am looking to buy a second hand Roland TD3 electronic drum kit. I have a couple of old guitar amplifiers at home. They are 40w combos. Do I need to buy a new amp which is specifically for use with drum kits or can I use my old ones. I dont want to damage my old amps as I still use them for guitar playing. Thanks for any advice.
Graham

DO NOT USE A GUITAR AMP. You will blow it and have to pay big bucks to fix it. You could get by wit a bass amp but it would sound like ****. If I were you I would get a keyboard amp or one that is meant for electronic instruments such as drums.

littleknowitall · 01-17-2009, 01:07 PM

Yeah, what he said mate ^ Don't risk it, If it's just for the house, why don't you just ebay for a beasty amp of any variety and hope for the best. Buy a cheap lookin brick for feck all and then if it breaks down atleast you might get a run out of it. Just thinking of saving you money.

lucifer_sam · 01-17-2009, 03:58 PM

You need to buy an amp specifically designed for drums. (Which sucks, because they run around $800). You can easily blow a guitar amp and even if you somehow managed to get it to operate, you won't get the full range of frequencies you find on a drum amp.

Conversely, you CAN play a guitar through a drum amp, though I'm not sure how it would sound.

littleknowitall · 01-17-2009, 04:02 PM

Try a bass amp, I ran a bass through my drummers drum speakers a while back, completely ****ed em, maybe the opposite would work better.

Woundonvinegar · 04-23-2010, 12:34 PM

Also U can use PA system. As far as PA goes, if it can handle playing a CD through it at the volume you're looking for, it'll handle drums just fine.

Freebase Dali · 04-23-2010, 03:25 PM

Guys, the outputs on an electronic drum module are usually line level. He can use a keyboard amp, which accepts line level input. He can also use any PA system that accepts line level input. Just because electronic drums are percussion instruments doesn't mean the output is going to go above line level. It's not amplified inside the sound unit. It's safe to plug into any amplifier that accepts line level input.

OP:
I'd personally use a small PA system that pushes your sound loud enough if you're playing live. You can also use the R/L speakers of a PA setup to your advantage if your sound module is able to pan individual drum pieces.

Edit:
Also, you won't have any problems with frequency response on a PA system... assuming the speakers themselves reproduce frequencies within a range of at least 30/40hz to 18/20khz. (And that's generous.)

RobJ · 05-15-2010, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freebase Dali

Guys, the outputs on an electronic drum module are usually line level. He can use a keyboard amp, which accepts line level input. He can also use any PA system that accepts line level input. Just because electronic drums are percussion instruments doesn't mean the output is going to go above line level. It's not amplified inside the sound unit. It's safe to plug into any amplifier that accepts line level input.

OP:
I'd personally use a small PA system that pushes your sound loud enough if you're playing live. You can also use the R/L speakers of a PA setup to your advantage if your sound module is able to pan individual drum pieces.

Edit:
Also, you won't have any problems with frequency response on a PA system... assuming the speakers themselves reproduce frequencies within a range of at least 30/40hz to 18/20khz. (And that's generous.)

Hi Guys I play on a yamaha electroic Kit . I play a range of music pop rock and even Jazz on it.
I built my own rig due to not being able to find anything suitable It sounds great.

2 x 2oowatt power amp powering a sealed box with 2 x full range 10inc 160 watt drivers. I dont use pizzos or compression horns as the Cymbal sound is to mechanical when I had them inistalled. The full range speakers do just fine up in the high freqencies. For the low freq i use a 600 watt sub modual running 2 x 12ich 250watt subs in seperate boxes.All xed over with an electroic crossover. I all so run a 10 band grahic between my modual and the X over so I can tune the rig for every room I play in.

Cost about $1500 plus my labour to build. for small gigs i just use on e sub for bigger take both. For practice i can just use the 2 10 which are in the same cabinate and by pass the x over.

01-16-2009, 09:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
rover1002002 Groupie Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1	Which amplifier to use with electronic drums Hi all, I am looking to buy a second hand Roland TD3 electronic drum kit. I have a couple of old guitar amplifiers at home. They are 40w combos. Do I need to buy a new amp which is specifically for use with drum kits or can I use my old ones. I dont want to damage my old amps as I still use them for guitar playing. Thanks for any advice. Graham

01-17-2009, 03:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
lucifer_sam Unrepentant Ass-Mod Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3,921	You need to buy an amp specifically designed for drums. (Which sucks, because they run around $800). You can easily blow a guitar amp and even if you somehow managed to get it to operate, you won't get the full range of frequencies you find on a drum amp. Conversely, you CAN play a guitar through a drum amp, though I'm not sure how it would sound. __________________ first.am

04-23-2010, 03:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
Freebase Dali Partying on the inside Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,584	Guys, the outputs on an electronic drum module are usually line level. He can use a keyboard amp, which accepts line level input. He can also use any PA system that accepts line level input. Just because electronic drums are percussion instruments doesn't mean the output is going to go above line level. It's not amplified inside the sound unit. It's safe to plug into any amplifier that accepts line level input. OP: I'd personally use a small PA system that pushes your sound loud enough if you're playing live. You can also use the R/L speakers of a PA setup to your advantage if your sound module is able to pan individual drum pieces. Edit: Also, you won't have any problems with frequency response on a PA system... assuming the speakers themselves reproduce frequencies within a range of at least 30/40hz to 18/20khz. (And that's generous.) __________________ Last edited by Freebase Dali; 04-23-2010 at 03:53 PM.

01-17-2009, 01:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
littleknowitall Pow! Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,671	Yeah, what he said mate ^ Don't risk it, If it's just for the house, why don't you just ebay for a beasty amp of any variety and hope for the best. Buy a cheap lookin brick for feck all and then if it breaks down atleast you might get a run out of it. Just thinking of saving you money.

01-17-2009, 04:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
littleknowitall Pow! Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,671	Try a bass amp, I ran a bass through my drummers drum speakers a while back, completely ****ed em, maybe the opposite would work better.

04-23-2010, 12:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
Woundonvinegar Groupie Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1	Also U can use PA system. As far as PA goes, if it can handle playing a CD through it at the volume you're looking for, it'll handle drums just fine.