Electronics
The April 1977 MD mentioned electronics as “the wave of the future”—but in that case was referring mainly to the modifi cation of acoustic drum sounds with sonic eff ects like reverb, phase shifting, and even wah-wah pedals. MD’s third issue (July ’77) featured
the debut of the Synare Percussion Synthesizer. Looking like a black fl ying saucer with a foam-rubber top, it off ered four user-modifi able sound sources. January ’78 saw the Pollard Syndrum, with its Kevlar head and disco-friendly “swoop” sound. October ’79 introduced a new
name—Simmons—with a drum synthesizer. The famous Simmons V Pro Kit, with its hexagonal, plas- tic-topped pads, debuted in April of ’82, with the modest claim of being “the world’s fi rst electronic drums.” Throughout the ’80s the seemingly
Few drummers did as much to make the world safe for electronic drums as Bill Bruford, whose setups with ’80s-era King Crimson and his own Earthworks band pushed the technology of the time to its technical and musical limits.
inexorable development of elec- tronics continued, with ever-improving pad kits from Simmons, Dynacord, Tama Techstar, Ultimate Percussion, E-Mu, and others (all shown in the October ’84 issue). At the same time the LinnDrum entered the fray, followed by the debut of MIDI drum “brains” and interfaces. This led many to wonder whether live drumming would even continue. But by the early ’90s a sort of leveling out had begun. Companies
off ering electronic kits now focused on “drummer friendly” designs. Among these was the Swedish company ddrum, whose pad kits featured digital sound sources, drumhead-topped pads, and easy-to-understand operation. In March of ’95 MD’s reviewer called the high-end ddrum 3 “arguably the most advanced electronic drum system ever invented,” adding that it was “more tailored to a performer’s needs than any other sampling system today.” The ddrum 3 cost a lot, however, and the later ddrum 4 didn’t bring the price down enough to keep the line successful, despite its advantages. The electronics giant Roland entered the fray in the early ’90s. In
July of 1994 the pro-level TDE-7K pad kit had rubber pads and a pretty impressive array of sounds and functions—perhaps a little too impressive, given its cost and relative complexity. Roland quickly corrected that with the introduction of the TD5-K, which was simpler, more aff ordable, and in many ways actually more advanced than its larger sibling. The company also introduced the stand-alone SPD-11 Percussion Pad, which was the perfect add-on item for drumkit players who wanted access to electronic sounds. In 1994 Yamaha was also getting busy, introducing the TMX drum
trigger module, whose sounds could be accessed via electronic pads or triggers on acoustic drums. Yamaha touted it as being “drummer designed, with an emphasis on playing, not programming.” August of 1994 saw the debut of the Korg Wavedrum, which
Today’s cutting-edge players often include a mix of acoustic
and electronic sound sources. This shot of Katy Perry drummer Adam Marcello’s setup includes a Korg Wavedrum, as well as triggers, individual pads, and sampling units from Roland— and, of course, the ubiquitous MacBook laptop.
January 2016 Modern Drummer 51
could be considered the fi rst electronic hand-percussion instru- ment. With its fl ying-saucer design, single pad, and dozens of digital percussion sounds of every description, it was a big hit with top-level pros—but was too expensive to appeal to the mass market. There were lots of pad kits in the May ’96 NAMM report. Most
didn’t last, but the Yamaha DTX system did, and it became a favorite with electronic drummers. As described in that MD issue, it featured “a 500-sound brain, four onboard mixer faders, a continuous hi-hat controller, choke-able cymbals, and a user-friendly sequencer.” But it was in MD’s May 1997 NAMM report that Roland introduced
a pad kit that changed everything: the professional V-Drums system. Its quiet, easy-to-play-on mesh heads were a quantum leap over rubber surfaces and set a new standard for electronic pad design. In the ensuing years music has exploded stylistically, off ering
dozens of opportunities for acoustic and electronic drumming. Triggering sounds from acoustic drums is still popular, as is the use of the dozens of available sound-sample libraries as a resource for composition, recording, and live performance.
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