It looked smaller on the internet...

 

When the guy at Guitar Center wheeled out the drums, I was surprised by the size of the box.  Even more surprised by the weight of the box.  He put it in the car for us.  It took both Joan and me to get it out of the car and into the house.

My music room is compact... the box felt like it filled the room.  And when you open the box...

 

Even more boxes.  There is another layer of boxes below what you see in the photo above.  Reviews online said it took them an hour to set the drums up.  I carefully considered how each drum trigger attached... apparently, that careful consideration takes time.  It took me closer to two hours.

Almost done...

Yes, red trim on the cymbals and drum shells.  Probably why I got a good deal on it.  The exact same set in all back wasn't on that "Stupid Deal of the Day."  Functionally, they are identical.  As I added each stand, drum, and cymbal, I wondered if I was going to have room to move around it in that small room.  Once together, I adjusted the rack to make the whole set more compact.

This set is replacing a very small electronic drum set that I have used for several years for recording.  It's a compromise between that small set and a more typical set of acoustic drums - the electronic drums can be used with headphones and not drive other occupants out of the house... not exactly silent, but not much more noise than tapping your foot.  And, these e-drums are physically smaller than acoustic drums.  Still, they take up a good chunk of floor space.

One of the other advantages of e-drums is the variety of sounds you can get out of them.  There are a good selection of acoustic drum kits in the drum module (the "brains" of the e-drums), plus another 600 or so sounds, most of which the average person will never use.  I did find the cowbell, in case I feel the need for... more cowbell (Saturday Night Live reference).

I played for a while last night, using the headphones.  Joan went to the store today, so I had the chance to plug these into a PA and hear what they sound like amplified.  Pretty darn good, actually.  I could easily annoy the neighbors on either side of our house.  ;-)  But, I won't.  I'll use them for recording; and, they're a pretty good physical workout, too.  I have the aching muscles to prove that.

Joan shot this right before she went to the store...

 

That was before all that playing wore me out.  ;-)