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Playing an electronic drum kit is a great way of keeping volume levels down and allowing you to practice for longer. You get fewer noise complaints, and all e-kits come with a range of module features to keep things interesting.
Unfortunately, most electronic kick drum pads are a lot smaller than standard acoustic kick drums, giving you less room to use a double kick drum pedal. Many kick towers and pads allow it, though, and you need to get a kit with one of those if you’re someone that uses a dual pedal.
I’ve picked out some of the best e-kits on the market that work well with double pedals. I’ve compared them according to build quality, features, sound quality, and value.
Contents
- What are the Best Double Bass Electronic Drum Sets?
- In-Depth Double Bass Electronic Drum Set Reviews
- Double Bass Electronic Drum Kit Buying Guide
- Features to Look Out for in an Electronic Drum Set with Double Bass Potential
- How to Set Up an Electronic Drum Kit for Double Bass Pedals
- Double Bass Electric Drum Set FAQs
What are the Best Double Bass Electronic Drum Sets?
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Best Overall Kit
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Best Affordable pro Kit
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Best Beginner Kit
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Best Sized Kit
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Best Intermediate Kit
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Best Premium Kit
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In-Depth Double Bass Electronic Drum Set Reviews
Roland TD-27KV
Roland TD-27KV Review
The Roland TD-27KV is the ultimate drum kit for professional drummers that don’t want to pay the high prices of premium flagship kits. Roland calls it their “mid-range” flagship option, but it has more than enough high-end features to make most drummers happy.
This kit comes with Roland’s KD-10 kick drum pad. It’s a bit small compared to other kick pad options in the same price range, but it’s solid enough to handle double bass drum pedals very well.
The real value of this kit comes from the digital pads. You get a digital snare, ride, and hi-hat pad to use. These digital pads have dozens of sensors that allow incredibly lifelike playability and response. Drummers that use these struggle to go back to regular pads.
You then get the TD-27 module that powers everything. It comes with 75 preset drum kits, with most of them sounding fantastic when you play double pedal grooves.
It’s powered by the Prismatic Sound Modeling Engine, giving it the high-quality sound control that top-tier Roland kits are known to have.
You’ll spend a few thousand dollars on this kit. So, it’s not exactly affordable, but it has a much more attractive price tag than Roland’s higher-quality drum sets.
Features:
- Roland TD-27 sound module
- Digital hi-hat, snare, and ride pads
- Prismatic Sound Modeling engine
Pros
- Digital snare, hi-hat, and ride pads dramatically improve the overall playability of the kit
- Top-quality sounds from the TD-27 drum module
- Impressive sound editing tools from the Prismatic Sound Modeling Engine and PureAcoustic Ambience Technology
- Thinner crash cymbal pads for more authentic response
Cons
- The kick pad is somewhat small compared to other kits at this price range
Alesis Strike Pro Special Edition
Alesis Strike Pro Special Edition Review
The Alesis Strike Pro Special Edition is an impressive drum kit that offers a large setup to have fun with.
It’s one of the few electronic kits available that comes with five cymbal pads and six drum pads. If you’re a metalhead that plays on a large acoustic drum kit setup, this kit will be right up your alley.
The large bass drum is what makes it an excellent double bass electronic drum kit. The entire surface is playable, so you get a very similar feel to what you get with a regular acoustic bass drum.
You also get the benefit of the large shell that absorbs the impact. That often goes missing when you play smaller kick drum pads.
The module has 136 preset drum kits, with an extra 1800 sounds to create your own drum sets with. That’s an incredibly impressive amount, with many of the sounds allowing you to create fantastic metal drum kit setups.
Unfortunately, the sound quality and playability from the kit don’t quite match up to the standards of high-end Roland or Yamaha kits. However, I highly recommend getting this set if you don’t want to pay over $3000.
Features:
- Acoustic shells
- 136 preset drum kits
- 5 cymbal pads and 6 drum pads
Pros
- One of the largest electronic drum kit setups available
- The 20” kick drum shell makes the kit feel great to play
- Countless module sounds and features
- More affordable than most other hybrid shell electronic drum sets
Cons
- Known to have a few quality control issues
- Sound quality isn’t as good as what you get from Roland and Yamaha drum modules
Alesis Nitro Mesh
Alesis Nitro Mesh Review
If you’re a beginner drummer, the Alesis Nitro Mesh is one of the best options.
When looking at cheap drum kits, you’ll see that most of them have trigger pedals. These stop you from being able to use a double bass drum pedal, so the Alesis Nitro Mesh is one of the few affordable kits that allows double kick drum pedal playing.
The drum module offers 40 preset drum kit sounds. While they sound fairly robotic, they’re perfect for drummers that are just starting out. The whole kit feels great to play if you’re a beginner.
I would say that the kick tower included feels slightly less sturdy than the Roland KD-10. That’s impressive, as it’s only a fraction of the cost.
The kit comes with a single pedal included. You’d need to swap that out for your own double pedal to play double pedal patterns. Just make sure that you’re not using felt beaters that will damage the kick tower.
The kick tower is relatively small compared to the other options in this list. Therefore, while it works with many double pedals, I cannot guarantee it will accommodate every type of double pedal on the market.
If you’re an experienced drummer, you won’t enjoy this drum set. It’s not as responsive as you’d most likely want it to be, and the frame is quite small. It sits very low to the ground, which is something that seasoned drummers will often have a problem with.
Features:
- 40 preset drum kits
- All-mesh drum pads
- 60 play-along backing tracks
Pros
- Good option for beginner drummers that don’t have large budgets
- One of the most affordable e-kits that has a proper kick tower instead of a kick trigger pedal
- Ideal electronic kit option for children
Cons
- The kit sits very low, so it’s not good for tall people
- May not accommodate every type of double pedal due to small kick tower
- Intermediate and professional drummers will find the kit lacking in quality
Roland VAD307
Roland VAD307 Review
The Roland VAD307 is a good kit to consider if you want a comfortable drum setup. With most electronic sets, the pads and cymbals mount to a rack.
Having everything mounted to a rack gives you quite a compact setup. With this set, everything mounts to regular drum hardware, so the set is more spaced out.
The kit has an 18-inch bass drum shell with the kick pad built into it. The entire surface isn’t playable like on the Alesis Strike Pro, but you get the same responsiveness, thanks to the deeper bass drum shell. That makes double pedal drumming feel great.
The kit comes with Roland’s TD-17 drum module. This is the lowest module on Roland’s product list that professional drummers tend to be happy with. You get excellent playability from all the pads and cymbals, and the 70 preset drum kits all sound amazing.
Unfortunately, this kit is quite expensive when you compare it to its Roland TD-17 counterpart. However, the acoustic shells make playing double pedal patterns feel much better. It’s worth the extra cost if you’re primarily looking for something to handle heavy drumming.
Features:
- Shallow acoustic shells
- Roland TD-17 drum module
- Prismatic Sound Modeling Technology
Pros
- Large 18-inch bass drum shell makes playing double bass drum patterns feel great
- Acoustic shells allow you to space the drum kit out more than you can with Roland’s V-Drums
- Thin cymbal pads feel highly responsive
- Roland TD-17 drum module is extremely impressive compared to other mid-tier drum modules
Cons
- Quite an expensive kit when compared to other electronic kits with similar drum modules
Yamaha DTX6K3-X
Yamaha DTX6K3-X Review
The Yamaha DTX6K3-X is a good option if you’re looking for something slightly different from the Alesis and Roland kits that are most often recommended.
This kit’s strength lies in the drum module. The DTX-PRO module gets used in a lot of high-end sets, but you also get it with this more affordable mid-tier kit.
It has 40 high-quality preset sounds, and it has an impressive number of sound editing tools. You get far more control over the sounds than you get with any other kit in this price range.
The KP90 kick tower is most similar to Roland’s KD-10. However, the top part of this tower is a bit thicker, and that makes it feel a bit more solid.
The benefit of this kit is that your bass drum pedal will feel much better, but the downside is that the pads are slightly smaller than comparable options from other brands.
Features:
- Yamaha DTX-PRO drum module
- 40 preset drum kits
- Silicone drum pads
Pros
- Amazing drum module for the price
- Some drummers may prefer how silicone pads feel compared to mesh pads
- The kick tower is very thick and solid, making double pedals feel great
Cons
- Tom pads are a bit small
Roland VAD507
Roland VAD507 Review
If you liked the sound of the Roland TD-27KV but you want more playability, the Roland VAD507 is a much better option. This kit has the same drum module, features, and sounds, but it has a full set of hybrid acoustic shells.
The shells are full-sized, making it look like a regular acoustic drum set. Having shells like this makes it feel much closer to playing an acoustic kit than if you were to play a kit with shallow drum pads.
The large kick drum has a lot of force behind it, giving you a solid platform to play double kick patterns with.
One of the biggest benefits of owning a kit like this is that you can use it for live gigs. While you can use other e-kits for live gigs, they always look a bit weird on stage. Most people in the crowd won’t know that this is an electronic kit, and then you get the benefits of having an easier audio setup.
The downside is that this is the most expensive drum kit that I’ve recommended on this list. It’s highly worth the price if you want a full-on acoustic appearance, though.
Features:
- Large acoustic drum shells
- Roland TD-27 drum module
- Digital ride, snare, and hi-hat pads
Pros
- One of Roland’s highest-quality drum sets
- Looks like a regular acoustic kit, so it’s great to use at gigs
- Digital snare, hi-hat, and ride pads add an excellent amount of playability to the set
Cons
- Most expensive kit on this list
Double Bass Electronic Drum Kit Buying Guide
Most electronic drum kits can accommodate for a double pedal on their kick pads. The only ones that are out of the question are kits that have a trigger pedal.
However, some kick pads are a lot flimsier than others. While they have the space for two beaters, they may not have the strength to take on the force of quick double pedal patterns.
That’s why you need to make a careful choice of which drum kit you get. You can swap the kick tower out at a later point, but it will help to just start with the right thing from the get-go.
Features to Look Out for in an Electronic Drum Set with Double Bass Potential
Bass Drum Pad
The bass drum pad is the most important thing to look at when you’re considering a kit for double pedal uses. The unfortunate reality is that most electronic kits under $3000 have very small kick drum pads.
While they may be quite strong, you just don’t get the same responsiveness that you get from a large bass drum.
Don’t be discouraged if you can’t afford a pricey kit, though. The playability is worse, but you’ll still be able to play double bass drum patterns comfortably.
E-kits with large bass drum pads are ideal. The best options are the ones with acoustic shells that have an electronic pad built into them.
Any kit from Roland’s VAD Series is a fantastic double pedal option because of this.
Drum Module
The drum module is what gives you all the sounds and features of an electronic drum kit. One of the most important things to look for here is response times and sound quality.
If you’re going to be playing very fast double bass drum patterns, you need to avoid electronic drum kits that produce a machine gunning effect when notes are too quick.
Thankfully, electronic drum modules are very good these days, especially if you get a kit from Alesis, Roland, or Yamaha.
Once you know the double bass drum patterns will sound great, you should also check out all the other features on the modules. The higher the price of a kit, the better the module will be.
Volume
While electronic drum kits are far quieter than acoustic kits, the drum and cymbal pads still produce a bit of noise.
Drummers that play e-kits still get noise complaints, and it often comes from the sound of the bass drum pad.
If you’re playing in an apartment, the vibrations from the bass pad transfer through the floor, causing people to get a bit annoyed.
This is heightened even further if you’re the guy smashing double bass drum patterns.
Rubber bass drum pads make a lot more noise than mesh and silicone ones. So, try to avoid rubber if possible.
The best way to stop the noise is by putting your kit on a platform to interrupt those vibrations from traveling.
How to Set Up an Electronic Drum Kit for Double Bass Pedals
You set a double bass drum pedal up on an electronic drum kit in the same way that you do on an acoustic drum set. However, there are three things that you need to take note of.
Firstly, the pad may be quite small, so you need to position the beaters so that they’re evenly spaced out and can both make perfect contact with the pad. This may mean that you need to offset that beater slightly from the main pedal.
The next thing to keep in mind is that felt bass drum beaters damage mesh heads. If your double pedal has felt beaters, you need to swap those out for another material.
If you have dual beaters, just turn them around to the harder side. If they’re only felt, make sure to purchase new beaters.
The final thing to focus on is the hi-hat stand. If your electronic drum kit only has a trigger hi-hat pedal, you can easily place the slave pedal next to it.
If you’re using a proper hi-hat stand, I’d suggest getting one with two legs. Electronic kits never come with hi-hat stands, so buy a two-legged one when getting the kit. That will make positioning the slave pedal much easier.
Double Bass Electric Drum Set FAQs
Will a Double Bass Drum Pedal Damage an Electronic Drum Set?
No, a double bass drum pedal shouldn’t damage an electronic drum kit. They’re designed to withstand the same amount of force that gets put on acoustic drums, so playing hard and fast pedal patterns won’t be a problem.
You just shouldn’t use a double bass drum pedal with felt beaters if your kick drum pad is made from mesh. Felt beaters tend to damage mesh material over time, so using rubber or wood beaters will preserve the lifespan of your kick pad.
What’s the Best Double Bass Drum Pedal to Use for Electronic Drums?
Whichever bass drum pedal you’re comfortable with. If you own an acoustic drum kit, it’s ideal to use the same double pedal on your electronic kit so that you get the same responsiveness from each footboard.
That’s the best way of transferring your abilities over to the acoustic kit after practicing on the electronic one.
Other than that, any good double bass drum pedal should work.
Which Drum Pad Material is Best for Double Bass?
The best drum pad materials are mesh and silicone. The other material you’ll see on drum kits is rubber, and that’s arguably the worst one.
Mesh and silicone both feel a lot more natural and authentic. They can also have their tension changed, allowing you to loosen the kick drum pedal enough for it to feel similar to an acoustic bass drumhead.
