Best affordable electronic drum kits to get playing whatever your ability level
Of the various ways in which you can indulge your musical proclivities, percussion is perhaps the noblest.
Though the storied halls of tub-thwacking history are filled with outrageous scene-stealers – from Keith Moon to that one function musician nailing fills in a children’s mascot costume – no drummer escapes the essential nature of their craft: keeping time.
Noble as drumming may be, it is also a deeply fulfilling craft to master, whichever way you fall into it. Whether you have designs on being the bedrock for the next Grammy-winning band, adding another instrument to your repertoire or simply learning more about what makes a good beat tick, an incredibly fulfilling journey awaits.
That journey will be much easier to start with a drum kit to call your own, of course – and a great majority of people won’t find it appropriate to start with a nine-piece acoustic monstrosity. A combination of factors, from noise pollution to basic upfront cost, lead most of us to electronic drum kits – and to the budget end of the electronic drum kit spectrum.
Why go electronic?
The key advantage to any electronic instrument comes in the form of a headphone jack. To be able to drum (more or less) silently is a wondrous thing for neighbours, housemates and your own eardrums, to say nothing of the dignity saved from not having your biggest flubs broadcast to the world.
Electronic drum kits enjoy other key benefits, too, many of which are shared even by the many budget options on the market. Metronomes and fine BPM control are practically standardised features, and most kits also include a training mode that enables you to play to a demo track or measure your drumming accuracy.
For the more seasoned musician, the benefits come through fine control over drum sounds, whether sculpting the sound and effects for the drums or replacing the samples entirely. MIDI compatibility turns these budget devices
