Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Drummers - advice please

Network drums. Can't find much about them on the old Interweb... I believe they are definitely in the entry level range. I'm wondering if anyone might think this set might be worth the asking price of $300. Link to details below.

Drum set

It seems like a lot of gear for a total beginner to start with for $300 but I know nothing about them. Has "More Cowbell" included so it can't be all bad. heh heh.

I have been reading stuff and threatening to my wife that I would take up the drums for many years. I Finally have the room to put them in. I could always tap out independent beats with each limb so I thought I might be half good at it.

The off counts of the kick drum always gave me some fear but after having to work one in Rock Band, I realize I actually adapted pretty well to that too. Yes, I know it's not the real deal, but it gave me some simplified exposure to see that it is as fun as I thought it would be. I think maybe my former years in the Martial Arts gave me some independent limb control that I wasn't aware I even had.

Hopefully for my wifes sake you will tell me to hang on for a bit in which case my latest infatuation will probably settle down again for another year.

I did a google search for "network percussion" and there seems to be more information about their accessories than their kits, but a few spots I found people saying that the kits were "pretty crappy" and "junk", but then again, it is a "budget kit" so you get what you pay for. If you get them, look into getting new drum heads all around. A good, name brand head will make a nice improvement to the sound. A cymbol upgrade may be in the future as well since the whole kit seems to be "off brand". BUT, for $300??? I know the feeling of wanting to get into another hobby like that, and the desire to get a good deal and get it now. If at all possible, I'd look for something a notch above this. You can have one VERY nice (compared to the Network one) sounding kit (even with cow bell) new for less than $1000. That is where I was at about 2 years ago. Trying to keep a new kit under $1000 and I found a lot of great sets out there. Then I ended up with a nice mid-range electric Roland VDrums set and I've got over $2700 into it. These darn hobbies... When am I going to find one that isn't so expensive.

Have fun!

I am also in the market for a set of drums however I have decided that the Roland electronic drums are the way to go. If you don't have a soundproof room the acoustic sets are loud! My neighbour sold his big acoustic set and purchased the Roland VDrums. They are a little pricier than an acoustic set.

I would pass on that drum set. You could buy something like this for 50 bucs more

Agreed. The Pulse line, while still a more "generic" brand, would be a step up from the original one.

Rock_Head, yeah, VDrums are great. I love my set. There is just SO much versatility to the Roland VDrums over an acoustic set, but they are more than a "little pricier" that acoustic sets. Especially in the price area that Murph is looking.

I'm curious--how's the realism on the Rolands?

It depends on if you get the rubber pads or mesh heads. I went with the mesh heads due to a lot of factors like less fatigue than hitting rubber over and over, nicer look, and they are very similar to regular drum heads, although I have grown to actually like the mesh OVER a traditional drum head. You can tighten them down for different tension as well as different tonal qualities so that if you want to just practice, you don't even have to turn it on, and you can get different pitches from the tom toms just like a regular set, but with a LOT less volume. Great for late nights when you want to work on technique, just like with a traditional practice pad, but better because you have a whole set of "practice pads".

As for sound quality, the thing to keep in mind there is not the sound quality of the kit's sound module, but the amp you have it hooked to. Make sense, since we are all into audio, obviously, that your sound output will only be as good as the actual output device (amp/speakers/headphones, etc). The sound samples are really good, and you have so much control over changing them to meet your needs.. You can change the sample, pitch, duration, volume (so many drummers are strong handed, but weak footed so a new player could turn up the volume on just the bass drum), sensitivity, etc. On some of the higher end modules (TD-20 and others) you can actually control the output sound by moving the "virtual microphone" so that it sounds like an acoustic set with the microphone inside the drum, above the rim, 1" away, 4" away, etc. You can change the room acoustics as well for most, if not all, of the sound modules.

Tons and tons of options that aren't available with a single acoustic set... Plus, it you want more cowbell, you can change everything to a cowbell, but will all different pitches, durations, etc and have a full cowbell set!

I had a Tama Techstar back in the late 80's, and it was VERY "tech" sounding with just adjustments in attack, delay, pitch, and noise. It was fun, but I regretted getting it after about 2 weeks. With the Roland VDrums (which most will argue are the absolute best manufactured "electric" kits made right now) they are just unbelievable.

Thanks guys!

Been traveling so reading here and there but not posting much. I'll definitely hold off. I figured the Networks just seemed cheap but thought I would check with some pros just to make sure.

I should probably just finish my HT room first. Ordering Drywall today.

I am determined though. I borrowed a practice pad from a friend and I've been playing around with lessons from vickfirth.com
What an incredible resource for a newly interested drummer.