ELECTRONIC DRUMS SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
The whole kit and caboodle
Originally thought of as nothing more than practice kits, advancements in the electronic drum sector have seen several new models arrive that could threaten the security of their acoustic cousins. Adam Savage bashes out an overview of this ever-evolving market…
“
As technology has advanced,
drummers have felt the need to wait longer before moving from pad to skin, and many have decided not to switch at all.
likely to be a common answer. Following that question with ‘what type of instrument?’ and you would probably get piano, violin or guitar as the most likely replies, but there is one category (with the exception of the bagpipes or alpine horn, perhaps) that would likely come bottom of the list, and this is drums. And you can’t blame them really, can
A
you? The thought of their offspring smashing and crashing for hours on end would infuriate even the most patient and level-headed of adults, but then along came a solution that changed everything and also increased the number of budding
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sk any parent what activity they would most like their child to pursue and ‘learn an instrument’ is
drummers being introduced into the musician pool – the electronic kit. Early incantations of these instruments
offered questionable likeness to the real thing and represented nothing more than a handy stepping-stone before moving on to a ‘proper’ acoustic kit. The latter comment may still apply, but
as technology has advanced drummers have felt the need to wait longer before moving from pad to skin, and many have decided not to switch at all. Roland is the first name that springs to
many minds when electronic drums are mentioned and its V-Drums range has been pretty dominant in this area of the market in recent years. With several new models released in February, there’s no
sign of a slow down with this immensely popular series, either. The new TD-4K2 from the highly successful V-Compact Series has been given an updated Kick Pad and V-Cymbals, resulting in enhanced playability. The built- in Coach and Quick Rec/Play functions allow the user to learn faster and its TD-4 sound module delivers a variety of authentic percussion instrument sounds. The next step up in the V-Compact
Series is the TD-4KX2. This kit features mesh heads on the snares and toms (PDX- 8 and PDX-6), V-Cymbals with a natural swing motion and playing feel, and reliable playability that comes from the new mechanics and cloth-designed bass drum head.
miPRO MARCH 2011 57
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