Huh?  Electronic drums?  Don’t you mean “which is better – the electric or acoustic guitar”?

Nope.  In the world of drums, there is often a heated debate which takes place between two essentially different forms of drums sets:  the electronic and the acoustic drum sets.

These two sets can be vastly different, even if they are arranged to produce the same sounds and feel the same to play.  Which kind of drum set is better for you?  That depends on your needs.

If you are practicing drums and don’t want to keep your parents or neighbors up all night, the electronic drums are the choice for you, though they can often be expensive, so you’d better be sure that you want to stick with drums for the long haul.  Electronic drums can be attached to headphones that will produce a full drum sound in your ear while simply leaving the “tapping” to the rest of the world.  Neat, huh?

If your passion for drums emphasizes performance, you’ll often want to go with acoustic drums.  Performing your drums means you’ll need a lot of variety in terms of volume and expression, and only acoustic drums have the capacity – at least, at this point in our technological development – to provide those.

Also, keep in mind that acoustic drums are often less expensive than electronic drums.

If you like to record your drum material, electronic drums may be the choice for you.  You simply hook them up to your computer to record.  Acoustic drums, meanwhile, will require specific microphone placing so that you can record the live sound onto your computer.  Electronic drums will also give you a wide range of different drum types and sounds to try out when recording.

If your only issue is price, you should be able to find cheap, used acoustic drums available.  It’s similar to the acoustic vs. electronic guitar debate, in which acoustic guitars are generally cheaper and easy to find used.

What type of drum set is for you?  It depends on your needs.  Which type of drum set is better?

That depends on your tastes.

For now, it seems appropriate to say that one type of drum set is suitable for certain environments and needs, while another type of drum set is better for others.

The debate rages on!