The Titan 50 and the Titan 20 are both entry level drum kits from Simmons that cost less than $500. Even though they are not too far apart in terms of price, there are some pretty big differences between the two. Let’s take a closer look.
Simmons Titan 50
(On the left)
Simmons Titan 20
(On the right)
The Snare Pad
10 inch, dual zone, mesh head
8 inch, dual zone, mesh head
The snare pads on both kits look similar but function differently. The Titan 50 has a larger snare at 10 inches, while the Titan 20 is only 8 inches. They both have about the same rim height, but the Titan 20 definitely feels like a smaller target.
The Titan 50 snare has better sensitivity and responds better to dynamic styles of play. It also has a true rim shot function that can generate a rim shot sound by striking both the rim and the head at the same time. The Titan 20 snare doesn’t have that capability and the sensitivity feels much less dynamic.
The Tom Pads
3 toms, 8 inch diameter, single zone, mesh heads
3 toms, 8 inch diameter, single zone, mesh heads
Both kits have the same size toms and both are single zone, meaning they can only generate sounds from the head. I like the feel of the toms on the Titan 50 more though, they have better sensitivity and respond better to dynamic play.
The Hi-Hat Pad
10 inch diameter, single zone, rubber surface
10 inch diameter, single zone, rubber surface
Both kits use the same cymbal pad for the hi-hat, model TSCYM10S from Simmons. The difference is in the hi-hat pedal. The hi-hat pedal on the Titan 50 has better action than the hi-hat pedal on the Titan 20 and responds better to quicker foot movements.
The Crash Cymbal Pad
10 inch, single zone with choke, rubber surface
10 inch, single zone, rubber surface
The crash cymbal pads are the same size and style of pad, but the Titan 50 crash has a choke features whereas the Titan 20 does not. So if you want a choke feature, the Titan 50 is the way to go.
The Ride Cymbal Pad
10 inch diameter, single zone, rubber surface
10 inch diameter, single zone, rubber surface
The ride cymbal, like the hi-hat, is the same cymbal pad on both the Titan 50 and the Titan 20. Both kits use the TSCYM10S pad from Simmons.
The Kick Pad
6 inches wide, rubber pad
Controller pedal
One big difference between these two kits is the kick drum implementation. The Titan 50 uses a full size kick tower pad that can support a double bass pedal and the kit also comes with a single kick pedal in the box. The Titan 20 has a kick controller pedal that can only be used as a single bass pedal.
The kick pedal that comes with the Titan 50 feels much better to play than the pedal controller on the Titan 20. The Titan 50 pedal is also adjustable in terms of beater angle and spring tension, whereas the Titan 20 pedal can’t be adjusted at all.
The Titan 50 has a big advantage here with it’s kick tower and included bass pedal.
The Rack
4 post with round vertical poles and rectangular cross bars. Comes fully assembled.
4 post with vertical poles and hex cross bars. Comes fully assembled.
These kits come with different styles of racks. The Titan 50 rack is a little bigger and it feels appropriately sized for adults. The rack mounts for the cymbals and toms are designed in a way that allows you to tilt the pads forward and back, giving you flexibility in how much you want to spread out the kit and angle the pads. The cymbal mounting poles allow to you adjust the cymbal tilt.
The Titan 20 rack is smaller and it feels like it’s sized more for kids. It uses hex shaped bars that restrict the ability to tilt drum and cymbal pads forward and back. The cymbal mounting poles don’t allow to you to adjust the cymbal tilt either.
The Titan 50 has a big advantage when comparing the racks. I didn’t like the Titan 20 rack system very much whereas I think the Titan 50 rack is one of the best in it’s price range.
The Drum Module
25 preset drum kits, 10 user kit slots, 187 drum sounds.
10 preset drum kits, 1 user kit slots, 103 drum sounds.
The Titan 50 has a better drum module overall with more preset sounds, more user kit slots, and more sound design features. The Titan 50 allows you to add reverb and compression to drum sounds as well as adjust EQ. The Titan 20 only has a reverb send. Both modules have similar utility features for adjusting pad sensitivity and other settings that affect responsiveness. Both have a metronome and practice features. Both also have Bluetooth for connecting a phone to play along with your music.
The Titan 50 is the better module overall mostly due to it’s extra effects settings and larger sound set.
Expandability
Can add one more tom and crash cymbal
No expansion ports
The Titan 50 is the only one of these two that can be expanded. It has expansion ports for an extra tom and cymbal pad. The Titan 20 has no expansion ports.
The Wrap Up
The Titan 50 has some big advantages over the Titan 20 in terms of playability, expansion and module capabilities. Considering that the Titan 50 is roughly only $120 more than the Titan 20, I find the Titan 50 to be a much better value overall. If you are debating between the two and not sure which kit to go with, you will be much more happy with the Titan 50 over the Titan 20.
Simmons Titan 50
