Electronic Drum Sets

Simmons' $499 Titan 50 B-EX has the best stock sounds and snare feel under $500. Cymbals, the hi-hat pedal, and a loud kick tower are the trade-offs.

An e-kit that looks like a drum kit. The 5X hangs full-size cymbals off real wood shells and skips the rack entirely, and at $3,999 it undercuts every flagship it resembles.

Roland's former flagship is one of the best used buys in e-drums. The TD-50K's triggering still beats kits shipping today, if you can live without Bluetooth.

HXW sent me the SD201-C in 2020. Great mesh pads and a surprisingly good hi-hat, held back by a clunky module and inconsistent rims. Now discontinued.

Alesis's discontinued flagship from 2019. Full-size wooden shells at half the Roland price, undone by hi-hat and piezo QC issues. A tinkerer's kit on the used market in 2026.

The Nitro Max packs 8 mesh pads, Bluetooth, and BFD sounds into a $449 kit. It is a solid starter, but the Simmons Titan 50 might be doing it better now.