I have played on an acoustic drum kit all my life but now I have unfortunately switched to an electronic drum set because I live in an apartment.
How can I maximize my practice time on an electronic drum set without loosing too much technique from acoustic training?
Is there anything else I can do to keep my acoustic technique by using an electronic drum kit?
I have played both acoustic and electric drum and have never noticed any technique loss between the two. It's like learning guitar and then hoping that you don't lose your guitar technique when you learn piano. They are different instruments so in reality learning electric drums will only make you better at the other one.
Although, just like anything if you stop practicing you may forget how to do some things (including technique), but nothing you can't pick back up again. When you go back to acoustic drums I would make sure you have plenty of time to get familiar with the acoustic kit, before performing or recording.
How can I maximize my practice time on an electronic drum set without loosing too much technique from acoustic training?
There is probably no real accurate and absolute answer for that.
The main problem is that they are conceptually identical instruments, at least according to their basic playing technique. Another answer to this OP argues that it's like learning piano and then switching back to guitar, but those are very different instruments, and that comparison is inaccurate.
In fact, acoustic and electronic drums are "dangerously" similar, yet, to some extent, they are quite different, and the risk is that you may want to use the exact same technique on both of them, but your accuracy and technique is based on different parameters you must be aware of.
Instinctively, it makes sense: it's still a "drumset".
In reality, their similarities should be carefully considered.
Consider that you probably do not play in exactly the same way your snare, toms and cymbals, even though the basic principle is the same. You may not be completely aware of that, but you probably realized that you cannot efficiently play the same pattern on them, especially if it requires a certain level of precision (usually, high speed/low dynamics/complex rhythms).
I remember a time in my youth when I decided to put more efforts in improving my rudiments. I spent almost a month practising at least a couple of hours every single day (I'm a percussionist, so I had to study other instruments too), and I was very satisfied with the results.
Then I finally had a lesson with my teacher, eager to show him my efforts. And it was a mess.
The problem was that I spent that period studying almost always on a practice pad, but the teacher asked me to play the exercises on a real snare drum.
The technique was there, it just wasn't used to that instrument any more.
Lesson learned. From that moment on, I began to consider different layers of learning, practising and studying, depending on the instrument. Studying different percussion instruments also helped a lot in this insight.
Obviously, the physical basics are there (muscles, tendons): speed, efficiency, resistance and accuracy. But they must be considered with the physical objects you're dealing with.
Rubber, silicon and mesh pads are different. As they are different from "a standard" drum head.
Yet, there are different head sizes and tensions: for instance, you obviously have a different responses from a "pinstripe" or a single layer head, as you'd have between a 18" tom and a 12" snare.
Cymbals are even worse; if you're not used to real cymbals any more, it can become much more difficult to hit them accurately as you wish: you may hit them too hard, too soft, or you may not get the sound you really want from them. It's similar to the problem some drummers have with playing with cymbals they're not used to (probably because they only play on a few of their own): they're not able to "understand" the cymbal and let it play as they wish.
As long as you pass some time away from a specific "technique group" (eg. electronic vs acoustic), there will always be some level of technique loss. Be aware, though, that while this is about speed, resistance and timing, it also is not just about them.
Proper awareness of the instrument you're practising on is an important subject, and getting more experience with different instrument responses will certainly help in that: while you'll probably need some time to "re-adjust back" to a specific instrument, being aware of the above differences and having accumulated related experiences will shorten the time required to get back, probably in a matter of days, hours, minutes or even seconds.
If you don't have the chance to practice on an acoustic set for a long time, at least find a way to regularly practice the basic technique and rudiments on a proper snare drum, and always consider your studying time while being aware of the capabilities of the instruments you're playing on.
