Best electronic drum controllers according to redditors

You know, the thing is, this isn't a musical instrument, it's a toy. It's kind of like one of those teddy bears, where you pull a string, and it says "Hello". He would probably be amused by it, and would think that you were very thoughtful, but I don't see him actually seeing it as a musical instrument.

If you decide that you'd rather want a real musical instrument, there are some options:

If your price range tops out at the ~$60 the roll up drum mat would cost, then you can maybe get a cheap cajon, something like this. It won't be professional grade, but it will be a reasonably versatile instrument. This is probably something like the drum equivalent of the acoustic guitar one would play next to a campfire. If he's the tinkerer / DIY-er type, maybe a "make your own cajon kit" is an option too.

If you are willing to stretch the budget to a bit over $100, then you could obviously afford a much better cajon, but also some sample pads start to come into the picture. The KAT KTMP-1 is reasonably well regarded, and pretty cheap. It can be extended with a kcik pedal, and a hi-hat controller, so it can somewhat feel like playing a drumset. There are some other options, like this one from Alesis but those are starting to get expensive. Some drummers actually use sample pads as part of their acoustic setup for additional effects, so something like this is not necessarily just a temporary thing until he gets a kit, but maybe something that would see some use even in conjunction with a kit.

I got a KTMP1 a while back. It really sucks for soft playing (skips a lot of hits) but it is just great for simply triggering samples and stuff. Maybe not what you are looking for velocity-wise though.

I personally use an old TD-20 module I bought off craigslist for super cheap (but only as a midi interface), but if I hadn't gotten such a deal on that I would have gone with this guy since it does exactly what I need:

https://www.amazon.com/Ddrum-DDTI-ddrum-Trigger-Interface/dp/B00IQ7PYG4

Over time I just kept adding more toms and cymbals to my e-kit as I got extra cash. The mesh head Roland toms feel the best, but they can be pricey. I'd recommend buying used mesh toms off of ebay if you like that, but don't buy used e-cymbals since people really beat those things up.

This approach is also nice because you're not locked in to any particular vendor since you're "rolling your own" kit.

Yeah! That would be the general price of cheaper drum brains. I have heard stories of people acquiring them through craigslist for dirt cheap, so that's always a route. Just make sure the drum brain offers midi out, and nothing bizarre because that'll compromise the Midi Pro Adapter. I can recommend this (http://www.amazon.com/Ddrum-DDTI-ddrum-Trigger-Interface/dp/B00IQ7PYG4/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1453010455&sr=8-12&keywords=alesis+io) for the price bracket.

No I am on xbox.

Im using a trigger io with my ions plugged into that and both of my pedals. Then midi out of that into a ghwt drum brain which has midi in. Then connecting that via legacy adapter and the game thinks it is a stock ghwt kit.

The only downfall to this is that is does not allow for pro drums only regular. You can do this with any midi kit though.

Thanks for your thoughts. When you say a MIDI interface, do you mean something like this:

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https://smile.amazon.com/ddrum-DDTi-Drum-Trigger-Interface/dp/B00IQ7PYG4/ref=sr_1_47?keywords=drum+midi&qid=1555278081&s=gateway&sr=8-47

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I was planning on getting something like that so I can have more inputs for sounds with some of the PD-7s or PD-9s that came with my deal. But otherwise, I'm just going to plug my TD-10 into a computer with a MIDI/USB cable for the software you mention. It is definitely in the plans, but I've focused on setting up Phase Shift first so I can start playing some songs. The learning curve has been steep, but I think I've got it all set up.

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I've also started the restoration of one of the PD-120's. I may be done with some pictures tomorrow....