Having awesome speakers for your electric drums is a must. Quality speakers will change how you approach drumming and bring more joy to your practice sessions. The same counts for your electric drums. However, what if you use electronic drums for the first time and don’t know how to connect electric drums to speakers?
To connect the electronic drum to speakers, use ¼ inch or XLR cable to plug one end of the cable into the output jack of your drum set, and another end into the amplifier’s input jack or one of the channel inputs on the PA mixer. For active speakers, use ¼ inch cable to connect the drum module’s output jack and the speaker’s input jack or the mixer directly to the speaker. The whole kit should be powered off while setting the speakers up.
Installing the sound system and the speakers that are a part of it can sometimes be hard. That’s why you can find a 6-step guide on connecting your drums to the speakers below. Furthermore, we will explain how to install the whole sound system and speakers.
How to connect Electric Drums to Speakers: 6-step guide
Here is how to connect electronic drums to speakers in 6 simple steps:
Step 1: Set up your equipment
To set up your equipment, place the speakers on the right and left sides of the practice stage. If you are on the stage, ensure your microphones are placed behind your speakers. However, if you are in the practice area and must hear the speakers, ensure the microphones are facing away from the speakers. Also, remember to keep everything unplugged from the power source until everything is connected with cables.
Step 2: Connect the amplifiers and speakers to your PA system
The PA system uses ¼ inch or XLR cable. Depending on which one you have, one should be used to connect the mixer output to the speakers or the external amplifier. The next step is to connect the external amplifier to the speakers using one of the remaining cables.
Again, be cautious while connecting these things, and ensure everything is powered off while setting the whole thing up. Most PA systems use ¼-inch cables. However, some PA systems allow you to connect the mixer output to the speakers with an XLR cable. An XLR cable is better than ¼ inch cable because it is very long and doesn’t lose signal quality.
Step 3: Locate the module output jack on your drum set
Locating the drum module shouldn’t be hard, but sometimes it is. The module output jack is the “brain” or “mind” of your drum kit, allowing you to alter the sounds, change important settings, and turn the kit on and off. To find the module output jack, look around the module for a port labeled “Audio Out,” “Output,” or something similar.
When you find that spot, that is where you need to connect the drum kit to the PA system. Sometimes, your module has two separate outputs: right (R) and left(L). If that is the case, connect to the left for the mono sound, and only connect to the right one if you want both the left and right outputs for the stereo sound.
Step 4: Connect the drum module to the speaker or PA system
The next step is to use a long ¼-inch cable or an XLR cable to plug one end of the cable into the output jack of your drum set and the other end into the input jack of your amplifier. If you don’t plug the other end into the amplifier, it should be plugged into one of the channels on the PA mixer. For active speakers, use a ¼-inch cable to connect the drum module’s output jack and the sp[eaker’s input jack or the mixer directly to the speaker.
Step 5: Power on the PA system or the amplifier
Before that, ensure the master volume and gain on the mixer are turned down. Now, plug in the PA and speakers or the amplifier. After that, go ahead and power on the external amplifier or the speakers.
Step 6: Test your sound
Play drums, and make adjustments to eh volume and gain levels until you are satisfied. You can adjust all that on your amp or PA system. Lastly, ensure your gain levels are low enough that everything sounds clean. However, they should always stay sharp. You can adjust the speakers, drum module, or amplifier sounds.
How do you hook up electronic drums to a stereo?
The easiest way to hook up electronic drums to stereo is in mono. One balanced or stereo cable will go into the PA, and then the sound is sent to both the monitors and the mains from there. By running two balanced cables, you can get stereo. This you can run to your amplifier and then to the speakers, or you can also run them directly to your powered monitors.
Can you play electric drums through a Bluetooth speaker?
Bluetooth speakers and headphones can be used to play the sound of your electronic drums. In addition, a Bluetooth speaker can be a great substitution for kit-specific amps or PA speakers because they are cheaper. However, when it comes to headphones, even though you can use them, it is generally not recommended.
The problem with using Bluetooth headphones is very high latency. Latency is the distance in time between you hitting the drum pad and hearing the sound coming from your headphones. Most drum modules are trying to keep the latency under 10 milliseconds.
Most drum modules are around a 4 to 6-millisecond range. One of the best Bluetooth headphones has a latency of 19 milliseconds, which shows why Bluetooth headphones are still not even close to beating or being equal to wired headphones.
In conclusion, Bluetooth speakers can be used if you are on a budget, but Bluetooth headphones are not recommended because the latency is well beyond 10 milliseconds.
What speakers are good for electronic drums?
Let’s face it. No one wants to spend the whole day playing their electronic drums with their headphones on. You need high-quality speakers or drum set amplifiers to enjoy your playing the most. Here are some of the recommended electronic set amplifiers(speakers):
Roland PM100
Definitely one of the more popular amplifiers out there. It has a 10″ woofer and a 2″ tweeter. It provides a clean and full range for your e-drums. It is optimized for the Roland V-Drums, but it can also be used for other drums.
Alesis Strike 8
This amplifier is one of the best budget options for compact personal drum monitors. It has an 8″ woofer and high-frequency compression driver. It also has a lot of power. Furthermore, it has two XLR 1/4″ inputs and one output the same size.
KAT Percussion KA1
On the other hand, this drumset amplifier is a good low-budget option. It has a 10″ woofer and 1/4″ tweeter with 50 watts of power. In addition, it has two 1/4″ main inputs with an added 1/4″ and 1/8″ aux.
Ddrum DDA50
This 50-watt amplifier has a 10″ woofer and a. 25″ tweeter. It costs around 300 dollars. In addition, it has two primary 1/4″ inputs and an aux of the same size. Furthermore, there are also extra plugins for the headphones and mp3.
Alesis Strike 12
This Alesis model has a 12″ woofer and a high-frequency driver. It delivers peak wattage of 2000, making it very loud. It also has dual 1/4″ inputs.
Roland PM-200
This amplifier is more on the professional side, and because of that, it is more expensive(around 500 dollars). It has 2 channels at 180 watts, a 12″ woofer, and a 1″ onboard tweeter.
Can I plug electric drums into a bass amp?
The short answer is yes. You can use the bass amp to amplify an electronic drum kit. However, it would be best if you always control the volume. It is not the ideal piece of equipment to amplify your drums, but it can still be used for that.
Conclusion
Connecting electric drums to the speakers or amplifiers can be hard sometimes.
To connect the electronic drum to your speakers, you should use ¼ inch or XLR cable to plug one end of the cable into the output jack of your drum set and another end into the amplifier’s input jack or one of the channel inputs on the PA mixer.
For active speakers, it is a little bit different. You should use ¼ inch cable to connect the drum module’s output jack, the speaker’s input jack, or the mixer directly to the speaker.
Following the 6-step guide on connecting electronic drums to your speakers is the easiest and safest way to do that.
Finally, it would be best if you always remembered to keep your kit powered off while setting speakers up. This is for your safety and not to damage your drumming equipment.