page_title: Electronic drum
section_title: Table-top electronic drum
hierarchical_section_title: Electronic drum / Variations / Table-top electronic drum
caption_attribution_description: My new baby!&#160;:D Alesis Performance Pads, wonderful things!
context_page_description: An electronic drum is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit or other percussion instruments. An electronic drum consists of an electronic or digital sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sounds and one or more electric sensors or sensor-equipped pads to trigger the sounds. Like regular drums, the sensors or pads are struck by drum sticks or by the hands and they are played in a similar manner to an acoustic drum kit.
  Strictly speaking, modules playing pre-programmed electronic drum tracks and electronic or digital drum machines are not electronic drums, because the program, not a drummer or other musician, is triggering the sounds.
  The electronic drum is usually sold as part of an electronic drum kit, consisting of a set of drum pads mounted on a stand or rack in a configuration similar to that of an acoustic drum kit layout, with rubberized or specialized acoustic/electronic cymbals. The drum pads themselves are either discs or shallow drum shells made of various materials, often with a rubber/silicone or cloth-like coated playing surface that provides some rebound to sticks.
context_section_description: A table-top electronic drum (or portable electronic drum) is an electronic drum that has all of its pads (except foot pedals) and the electronic sound module combined in a single table-top unit. It may have a small amplifier and small loudspeakers incorporated so that it can be used at jam sessions without plugging into a PA system. The sound generation is generally simpler (single-layered samples) when compared to more expensive, full-size electronic kits. Also, the feel when playing a table-top drum/pad is very different from using a full-size electronic kit or an acoustic kit. The advantages of table-top drums are their portability and the relatively lower price.
  Some acoustic drummers use a table-top electronic drum as their first foray into electronic drumming, since purchasing a single table-top unit and setting it up alongside an acoustic drum kit is much cheaper and simpler than fitting an entire acoustic kit with sensors and connecting them to a "drum brain" module. With a table-top drum mounted on a stand, a drummer who has an otherwise acoustic drum kit could add different drum and percussion sounds to her playing, such as synthesized drum sounds, or samples of a percussion instrument that would otherwise be impractical to have onstage (e.g., a large gong).
caption: Alesis PerformancePad electronic drum kit
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