Finding the best electronic drum set for beginners that sounds great and is easy to play can be hard. There are plenty of good beginner electronic drum kits, but how are you supposed to choose?
When you are start looking for your first digital drum kit, there’s a couple things that you should keep in mind. First, you should look at the size of the kit. Don’t be intimidated by a lot of drums. You can always remove some if you want a simply set. Second, look at the digital features for helping you improve your drumming like sounds, metronomes, and apps.
Let’s compare the top-rated beginner digital drum sets and review their features, so you can pick the right one.
Compare the Top Beginner Electronic Drum Kits in 2020
Contents
- 1 Compare the Top Beginner Electronic Drum Kits in 2020
- 1.1 Roland TD-1K Entry-Level Electronic Drum Set
- 1.2 Yamaha DTX400K Compact Electronic Drum Kit
- 1.3 Alesis Drums Beginner Electronic Drum Kit
- 1.4 Behringer XD8USB Starter Electronic Drum Kit
- 1.5 RockJam Beginner Digital Drum Set
- 1.6 Carlsbro CSD130 Beginner Electric Drum Set
- 1.7 Pyle Pro PED021M Digital Drum Kit
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here’s a list of the best electronic drum sets for beginners who are just starting to learn how to play drums.
- Roland TD-1K
- Yamaha DTX400K
- Alesis Drums Beginner Electronic Drum Kit
- Behringer XD8USB
- RockJam Beginner Digital Drum Set
- Carlsbro CSD130
- Pyle Pro PED021M
Roland TD-1K Entry-Level Electronic Drum Set
Specs, features, and benefits
Roland is a widely trusted brand in the music industry. From keyboards, effects to sound reinforcement, percussions and more, this brand offers musicians various gear that make performance both efficient and pleasurable.
Today, we are looking at the TD-1K V-Drum set, an electronic drum set from the brand. This is an entry level kit that is designed to provide beginners something for practice and private performances. Though this is regarded as a beginner kit, its sound engine is based on Roland’s respected TD-30 model. This means that you can expect advanced sound quality from this beginner kit.
The mesh-head provides a natural feel for realistic playing. The snare mesh is 10-inch in size and offers positional sensing that allows for rim shot and cross stick playing. It also has two 6.5 inch heads for toms and an 8-inch head for the floor tom. These are in addition to the heads for cymbal, ride and hi-hats.
Controlling all of these is a simple interface from which you can configure your drum, choose your sounds and make other adjustments. This includes over 15 kits, the coach function, metronome and recording function.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Space saving design.
- Performance – 15 kit sounds, learning function and realistic mesh-head.
- Connectivity – Connects to synth drum packs via your computer.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- You cannot select individual drum sounds.
Bottom line
This set is ideal for the beginner. It’s space saving, offers functions that enhance the learning experience and also offers a good sound quality.
Yamaha DTX400K Compact Electronic Drum Kit
Specs, features, and benefits
Who doesn’t know the name Yamaha? Even none musicians know a lot of products offered by this brand. However for musicians, this brand has a special place in their hearts for all it has done and continues to do for them.
Today, we are looking at an electronic drum kit from the brand – the DTX400K. This is a compact kit with lots of interesting features. Top among these features are the 10 kits that can be customized to suit your taste. The accompanying 297 sounds make this a delight.
In addition to this, it also comes with built in lessons that make it just perfect for the beginner. All of the lessons and access to the customization feature can be accessed through an iOS App which you can get for free. With this app, you can also import songs and midi files.
Aside from the App, you can also control certain features of this kit on the control panel which is quite easy to use. You can connect this kit to your smartphone or to your computer via the USB port.
Though this kit is great for beginners, it can be upgraded and expanded for more demanding performances.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Sturdy and compact.
- Performance – Silent, 297 sounds and 10 customizable kits.
- Connectivity – USB, Aux in, TRS output.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Kick pedal – Lacks that natural feel.
Bottom line
This is a great kit for a beginner who may wish to upgrade or expand the sound library later.
Alesis Drums Beginner Electronic Drum Kit
Specs, features, and benefits
Alesis has been making its presence felt in the music industry by supplying various products that a lot of musicians use for various aspects of music production.
The Nitro Mesh Kit electronic drum kit is one of such products from the brand. This is an 8-piece kit that delivers amazing quality. This begins with the mesh heads that offer one of the most realistic drum head feels.
It comes with about 40 drum kits that you can choose from as well as over 350 sounds with which you can customize your kit. For the beginner, there are 60 songs you can jam to and a performance recorder to take note of your progress as you put in the hours on the drum throne.
You can also connect this to your studio setup and use it for triggering your drum synth packs. Recording drum tracks with this in the studio gives you that live feel that many home studios can usually not afford.
This is a solidly built kit. The aluminum frame holds everything perfectly. It also comes with extras like drum sticks, connection cables, drum key and power supply.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Compact.
- Performance – Realistic mesh heads, 40 kits and over 350 sounds.
- Connectivity – USB, midi in and out, aux in, stereo and mono out.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The aluminum frame may not be as solid as some may like.
Bottom line
This is a versatile kit. While it’s great for beginners, intermediate drummers can also make good use of it.
Behringer XD8USB Starter Electronic Drum Kit
Specs, features, and benefits
Behringer has grown steadily from a little known brand to a brand that now offers some really high quality music gear. It is now a brand with global impact.
One of its products is the XD8USB, an 8-piece electronic drum set. This kit which includes a kick pad offers very realistic tones that were gotten using its High Definition Sampling technology. It comes with 10 preset kits but to these, the user can add five other user-customized kits. You also have about 123 high quality sounds at your disposal.
What you find in this setup include: a dual-zone snare which offers rim and standard play, three 8 inch pads for toms (these are single zone) and three 12 inch cymbals one of which is the hi-hat. Of course, there is also the hi-hat pedal and the HDS110USB sound module which is the engine that controls it all.
For connectivity, you can connect this kit to your system through the USB port. This will allow you record straight to your DAW or trigger your drum synth tones. You can also connect your mobile device or other audio inputs via the aux in. Other connection options include the main output and the headphone output.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Easy setup.
- Performance – 15 kits and 123 sounds.
- Connectivity – USB, main output, aux in and headphone out.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Not expandable, no choke function.
Bottom line
This is an ideal first electronic for a beginner. More experienced players may find a lot lacking.
RockJam Beginner Digital Drum Set
Specs, features, and benefits
Rockjam, a brand owned by PDT has been making some serious impact in the entry level segment of the musical instrument market. Some of its products have been acclaimed as best sellers on a couple of platforms.
In keeping with the brand’s reputation, it is offering another entry level product, this time an electronic drum kit – RockJam Mesh Head Kit. This is a 9-piece kit which consists of a 9 inch snare with a mesh head, three 9 inch toms also with mesh heads and three 10 inch rubber cymbals (crash, ride and hi-hats). Completing the set are two sturdy pedals for the kick and hi-hat controls.
The mesh heads provides a realistic feel, is very responsive and also very silent. Further adding to the realistic feel of this kit is the cymbals which support the choke function.
This kit comes loaded with about 30 drum kit sounds that you can choose from. You also have the luxury of demo songs that you can jam to, to improve your skill across different music genres.
If you are a beginner looking for something that will serve you very well, then take a closer look at this.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Sturdy.
- Performance – 30 drum kit sounds, choke feature and silent play.
- Connectivity – USB, line out and headphone out.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Size – May be small for adults.
Bottom line
This offers the beginner everything they need to get started. Higher level players may find the options a bit limited.
Carlsbro CSD130 Beginner Electric Drum Set
Specs, features, and benefits
Carlsbro is a British brand that came into existence in 1959. This brand is better known for its speakers and amplification products. Since its inception, it has made tremendous impact, serving icons like Mick Jagger, The Beatles and others.
Today, we’re looking at something different from what most people know Carlsbro for. It’s the CSD130, an electronic drum kit. This is an 8-piece kit that promises to offer more than just beginner features. The kit is made up of a 7.5 inch dual zone snare pad, 3 7.5 inch tom pads (these are single zone), two 10 inch pads for ride and crash, both with choke and a 10 inch pad for hi-hat. The hi-hat and kick pedals are also designed to be as realistic as possible.
The commander 130 module comes with 20 drum kit presets. In addition to these, you have 250 other percussion sounds that you can play around with. You can also connect the kit to your computer via the USB port to integrate with your DAW or drum synth.
Your connection options include a line output, headphone output and an aux input.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Sturdy, compact and foldable.
- Performance – 20 preset drum kits, 250 percussion sounds, dual zone snare and choke enabled cymbals.
- Connectivity – USB, Midi, line out, aux in and headphone out.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Output – Direct headphone output may be low.
Bottom line
This is a great starter drum kit which also offers features that may interest more advanced players.
Pyle Pro PED021M Digital Drum Kit
Specs, features, and benefits
Pyle Audio began as a company that produced high quality woofers. Today, it has branched into many other niches and now supplies audio solutions for both home and professional uses as well as other products.
One of its current products is the PED021M, a 9-piece electronic drum set designed for beginner drummers. As part of this kit, you have an adjustable frame that can be customized to fit the player, four drum pads to cover snare and three toms and 3 pads to cover hi-hats and two cymbals.
These pads are highly sensitive thanks to the 128-level force velocity. That cymbals also are choke enabled, giving the drummer more control and realism.
It comes with 33 drum kits already preset and four that can be customized. You can also connect this to your DAW or your drum synth to expand its capabilities or simply to record your drum track. Your connection options include a USB port, aux input, headphone output, midi output as well as individual outputs for each pad.
With the metronome and record and playback features, beginners can monitor their progress with ease.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Easy to assemble.
- Performance – 128-level force velocity, choke enabled cymbals, 33 drum kits and 4 customizable kits.
- Connectivity – USB, Midi, aux in, headphone out, individual outputs.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Pedals – They are not realistic.
Bottom line
This can only be a beginner kit. The pedals for one are nothing like real drum pedals.
What We Recommend and Why
Finally, we have come to the end of this review. We have seen about seven electronic drums kits for beginners and the different features that each one offers. It is now time to choose the one from the lot that will be our pick for this category.
Having carefully looked at each of these seven and considered factors such as cost, functionality and quality, our pick for the Top Electronic Drum Set for Beginners is the Alesis Drums Nitro Mesh Kit. This kit for us offers the best combination of all the values we listed earlier.