I'm interested in this and drummers' opinions of them. Long term, I'm going to be switching to an e-kit as I won't be able to make the current noise I make indefinitely.
E-kits, for me, are a poison and a blessing. The modern kits sound fantastic but they lack, in truth, the 'ultimate' feel to play. But then I have the luxury - at the moment - of using my acoustic kit, making as much noise as I want and have the kit to record (usually badly).
But I have to think longer-term. And longer-term means an e-kit if I'm to continue to add to the loops. My experience of e-kits so far is that I will have to spend the extra money and get a set with the 'mesh' heads - I can't cope with the rubber drums - it's just too artifical for a purist like me. But they have a price tag. E-kits can be very flattering to one's playing which is my other worry: training them to how I play which most systems offer these days.
But I'm no 'luddite'. I think e-kits have their place and they are damn good. I just hope I can adapt to them! Currently, I have my eyes on the Alesis e-kits that have the 'real' cymbals and mesh heads. At 1k Euros a go, I'm going to be saving....
e-kits are definitely another type of instrument and by experience i'd say a drummer has to adapt and develop a way to handle the difference with an acoustic kit (usually not the other way around)
i am using an e-kit with mesh-heads and there are so many things i like about it that it's kinda hard to sum it up ... the main idea is the adjustable sounds ! which drummer never dreams about a laaaaaarge collection of cymbals - on which you could spend at least the price of several drumkits ?
See it this way, Everything evolves. If you compare how low-budget e-drums sound and play i definitely feel that they are better than for example the first d-drums. And at a fraction of the cost.
Mesh-head were definitely a step in that evolution. Give it enough time and they will be standard. And there will be more of them.
I started playing an E-Kit 2 years ago out of necessity (noise), it felt very liberating as a drummer. I could finally play as much as I want when I want..and like Oliv said choose from so many options of sounds, cymbals etc... Recently I started using the Midi patch drum sets on GB and that has been great as far as getting a real sound...An acoustic drum set will always "feel" better, but the versatility of an E-kit cant be beat... love my home studio!!!!!