Editing Drum kit (section)

===Electronic drums===
[[File:Clavia ddrum4 SE.jpg|thumb|Triggers sensors in use, here they are red and mounted on the rims of the snare drum, bass drum and hanging toms. The larger box in the same color of red is the "brain" to which they are connected.]]
[[File:Korg Wavedrum WD-X.jpg|thumb|A [[Korg]] trigger pad]]
[[File:Tampere Jazz Happening 2005 - KTU 2.jpg|thumb|[[Pat Mastelotto]] playing a kit with both acoustic and electronic drums, 2005]]
{{main|Electronic drums}}
[[File:V-drums-2.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A MIDI drum kit|Drum controllers, such as the [[Roland V-Drums]], are often built in the form of an acoustic drum kit. The unit's sound module is mounted to the left.]]

Electronic drums are used for many reasons. Some drummers use electronic drums for playing in small venues, such as coffeehouses or church services, where a very low volume for the band is desired. Since fully electronic drums do not create any acoustic sound (apart from the quiet sound of the stick hitting the sensor pads), all of the drum sounds come from a [[keyboard amplifier]] or [[PA system]]; as such, the volume of electronic drums can be much lower than an acoustic kit. Some use electronic drums as practice instruments because they can be listened to with headphones, which enable a drummer to practice without disturbing others. Others use electronic drums to take advantage of the huge range of sounds that modern drum modules can produce, which range from sampled sounds of real drums, cymbals, and percussion instruments such as gongs or [[tubular bells]] that would be impractical to take to a small gig, to electronic and synthesized sounds, including non-instrument sounds such as ocean waves.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.electronicdrumadvisor.com/history-electronic-drum-sets-1960s-2010s/|title=The History of Electronic Drum Sets – 1960s to the 2010s|date=2017-11-18|website=Electronic Drum Advisor|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-22}}</ref>

A fully electronic kit is easier to [[soundcheck]] than acoustic drums, assuming that the electronic drum module has levels that the drummer has preset in their practice room; in contrast, when an acoustic kit is sound checked, most drums and cymbals need to be mic'd and each mic needs to be tested by the drummer so its level and tone equalization can be adjusted by the [[sound engineer]]. Also, even after all the individual drum and cymbal mics are sound checked, the engineer needs to listen to the drummer play a standard groove, to check that the balance between the kit instruments is right. Finally, the engineer needs to set up the monitor mix for the drummer, which the drummer uses to hear their instruments and the instruments and vocals of the rest of the band. With a fully electronic kit, many of these steps can be eliminated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theelectricdrum.wordpress.com/brief-history-of-electronic-drums-part-1/|title=Brief History of Electronic Drums – Part 1|date=2015-07-10|website=The Electric Drum|language=en|access-date=2019-02-22}}</ref>

Drummers' usage of electronic drum equipment can range from adding a single electronic pad to an entire drum kit (e.g., to have access to an instrument that might otherwise be impractical, such as a large [[gong]]), to using a mix of acoustic drums/cymbals and electronic pads, to using an acoustic kit in which the drums and cymbals have triggers, which can be used to sound electronic drums and other sounds, to having an exclusively electronic kit, which is often set up with the rubber or mesh drum pads and rubber "cymbals" in the usual drum kit locations. A fully electronic kit weighs much less and takes up less space to transport than an acoustic kit and it can be set up more quickly. One of the disadvantages of a fully electronic kit is that it may not have the same "feel" as an acoustic kit, and the drum sounds, even if they are high-quality samples, may not sound the same as acoustic drums.

Electronic drum pads are the second most widely used type of [[MIDI]] performance controllers, after electronic keyboards.<ref name="Manning">Manning, Peter. ''Electronic and Computer Music''. 1985. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. {{ISBN?}}</ref>{{rp|319–320|date=November 2012}} Drum controllers may be built into drum machines, they may be standalone control surfaces (e.g., rubber drum pads), or they may emulate the look and feel of acoustic percussion instruments. The pads built into drum machines are typically too small and fragile to be played with sticks, so they are usually played with fingers.<ref name="Huber">Huber, David Miles. "The MIDI Manual". Carmel, Indiana: SAMS, 1991.</ref>{{rp|88|date=November 2012}} Dedicated drum pads such as the [[Roland Octapad]] or the [[DrumKAT]] are playable with hands or sticks and are often built to resemble the general form of acoustic drums. There are also percussion controllers such as the [[vibraphone]]-style [[MalletKAT]],<ref name="Huber" />{{rp|88–91|date=November 2012}} and [[Don Buchla]]'s [[Marimba Lumina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buchla.com/mlumina/description.html |title="Marimba Lumina Described". ''buchla.com''. n.p. n.d. Web |publisher=Buchla.com |access-date=2012-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101162651/http://www.buchla.com/mlumina/description.html |archive-date=1 November 2012 }}</ref>

[[MIDI]] triggers can also be installed into acoustic drum and percussion instruments. Pads that trigger a MIDI device can be homemade from a [[piezoelectric sensor]] and a practice pad or other piece of foam rubber,<ref>White, Paul. "[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/aug95/diydrumpads.html DIY Drum Pads and Pedal Triggers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221126/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/aug95/diydrumpads.html |date=3 March 2016 }}". ''Sound on Sound'' SOS Publications. Aug 1995. Print.</ref> which is possible in two ways:

* [[Trigger (drums)|Triggers]] are sensors that can be attached to acoustic drum kit components. In this way, an electronic drum sound will be produced when the instrument is played/struck, as well as the original acoustic sound, if so desired.
* [[Trigger pad]]s can be mounted alongside other kit components. These pads make no significant acoustic sound themselves (if not modified to do otherwise), but are used purely to trigger the electronic sounds from the "drum brain". They are played with the same drum sticks as are used on other drum kit components.

In either case, an electronic [[sound module|control unit]] (sound module/"brain") with suitable sampled/modeled or synthesized drum sounds, amplification equipment (a [[PA system]], [[keyboard amp]], etc.), and [[Foldback (sound engineering)|stage monitor]] speakers are required to hear the electronically produced sounds. See [[Electronic drum#Acoustic triggered drum kit|Triggered drum kit]].

A trigger pad could contain up to four independent sensors, each of them capable of sending information describing the timing and dynamic intensity of a stroke to the drum module/brain. A circular drum pad may have only one sensor for triggering, but a 2016-era cymbal-shaped rubber pad/cymbal will often contain two; one for the body and one for the bell at the center of the cymbal, and perhaps a [[cymbal choke]] trigger, to allow drummers to produce this effect.

Trigger sensors are most commonly used to replace the acoustic drum sounds, but they can also be used effectively with an acoustic kit to augment or supplement an instrument's sound for the needs of the session or show. For example, in a live performance in a difficult acoustical space, a trigger may be placed on each drum or cymbal and used to trigger a similar sound on a [[drum module]]. These sounds are then amplified through a [[Public address system|PA system]] so the audience can hear them, and they can be amplified to any level without the risks of [[audio feedback]] or [[bleed (audio)|bleed]] problems associated with microphones and PAs in certain settings.

The sound of electronic drums and cymbals themselves is heard by the drummer and possibly other musicians in close proximity, but, even so, the [[foldback (sound engineering)|foldback]] (audio monitor) system is usually fed from the electronic sounds rather than the live acoustic sounds. The drums can be heavily dampened (made to resonate less or have the sound subdued), and their tuning and quality is less critical in the latter scenario. In this way, much of the atmosphere of the live performance is retained in a large venue, but without some of the problems associated with purely microphone-amplified drums. Triggers and sensors can also be used in conjunction with conventional or built-in microphones. If some components of a kit prove more difficult to mic than others (e.g., an excessively "boomy" low tom), triggers may be used on only the more difficult instruments, balancing out a drummer's/band's sound in the mix.

Trigger pads and drums, on the other hand, when deployed in a conventional set-up, are most commonly used to produce sounds not possible with an acoustic kit, or at least not with what is available. Any sound that can be sampled/recorded can be played when the pad is struck, by assigning the recorded sounds to specific triggers. Recordings or samples of barking dogs, sirens, breaking glass, and stereo recordings of aircraft taking off and landing have all been used. Along with the more obvious electronically generated drums, there are other sounds that (depending on the device used) can also be played/triggered by electronic drums.

====Virtual drums====
Virtual drums are a type of audio software that simulates the sound of a drum kit using synthesized drum kit sounds or [[Sampling (music)|digital samples]] of acoustic drum sounds. Different drum software products offer a recording function, the ability to select from several acoustically distinctive drum kits (e.g., jazz, rock, metal), as well as the option to incorporate different songs into the session. Some computer software can turn any hard surface into a virtual drum kit using only one microphone.