Electronic drum

Basic electronic drum set made by Pintech.

An electronic drum is an electrical device struck by a drummer, played in real time (using either hands, sticks, brushes or other implements) to produce a selection of sounds, instruments and effects, from either samples or modeled sounds contained in a processor or drum module. Some would designate it an electronic synthesizer that can, with developments in the last decade, replicate the sound of an acoustic drum kit credibly and with good quality. Strictly speaking according to a somewhat narrow definition, sequencers and drum machines are therefore not actually an electronic drum. [For the definition employed here cf: -'The Case for Vintage Electronic Drums' by Michael Render, page 1 (originally published in the Not So Modern Drumming Magazine) & sourced from "The Electronic Drum Experts" web site]

The electronic drum (pad/triggering device) is usually sold as part of an electronic drum kit, consisting of a set of drum pads mounted on a stand or rack in a configuration similar to that of an acoustic drum kit layout, with rubberized (Roland/Yamaha/Alesis etc...) or specialized acoustic/electronic cymbals (Zildjan's "Gen 16"). The drum pads themselves are either discs or shallow drum shells made of various materials, often with a rubber/silicone or cloth-like coated playing surface. Each pad has a sensor that generates an electric signal when struck. The electric signal is transmitted through cables into an electronic drum module ("brain" as it is sometimes called) or other device, which then produces a sound associated with, and triggered by, the struck pad.

Electronic drums history

Early Simmons SDS 5 Electronic Drums, ca. 1979.

The first electronic drum is said to have been created by Graeme Edge, drummer of The Moody Blues, in collaboration with Sussex University Professor Brian Groves. The device was used in the song 'Procession' from the 1971 album 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favor'.[1]

From an interview with Graeme Edge:

Question - "One of the strangest pieces was 'Procession' (Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, 1971), which featured the pioneering work of Graeme Edge's electronic drum kit. How did that come about?"

Graeme - "I'd got in touch with the professor of electronics at Sussex University, Brian Groves. We worked up an electronic drum kit, a marvelous idea. I had the control panel in front of me, it's old hat now but we were the first to do it. There were pieces of rubber with silver paper on the back with a silver coil that moved up and down inside a magnet that produced a signal, so it was touch sensitive. I had 5 snares across the top and then ten tom-toms and then a whole octave of bass drums underneath my feet and then four lots of 16 sequencers, two on each side. There was a gap—to play a space—a tamborine, ebony stick, snare and three tom-toms. This was pre-chip days, back then you did it all with transistors. So it had something like 500 transistors. The electronic drums inside looked something like spaghetti. When it worked it was superb, but it was before its day, because it was so sensitive..."

The first commercial electronic drum was the Pollard Syndrum, released by Pollard Industries in 1976. It consisted of an electric sound generator and one or more drum pads. It quickly caught the attention of numerous high profile drummers/percussionists at the time,such as Carmine Appice and Terry Bozzio. But the Syndrum was a financial failure and lead the company to monetary ruin in the following years.[2]

In 1978, the Simmons company was created in order to produce commercial electronic drums sets. Its most notable product was the SDS-5, released in 1981. With its characteristic hexagon shaped pads, the SDS-5 was first used by Burgess on From the Tea-rooms of Mars ...., "Chant No. 1" by Spandau Ballet, and "Angel Face" by Shock. After its debut on the top musical chart shows and parades, the electronic instrument garnered significant attention from various established and influential rock/pop musicians. The sound of the SDS-5 is often described retrospectively with phrases such as 'awful' or 'sounded like trash can lids' by those who employed them at the time. Despite the critics, the distinctive Simmons 'dzzshhh' almost light sabre-type sound was extensively used during the 1980s by pop/rock & synth-pop groups such as Duran Duran or Rush, among others, and is often viewed somewhat nostalgically by those who began to experiment with these early forays into electronic drums and percussion.

In the following years, other companies started selling their own versions of electronic drums, notably Roland and Yamaha. At that time, the electronic drums were similar to today's entry-level kits. They consisted of rubber coated pads mounted on stands. The pads were created to be velocity-sensitive and the sound was generated through single or multiple-layered sampling.

In 1997, Roland introduced its now famous TD-10 model, which had two important musical/electronic innovations. The first and more controversial innovation was its method of providing a sound for the drums/pads themselves to trigger, instead of generating its sound through samples of an instrument. The TD-10 used mathematical models to generate its sounds. While some drummers lamented the fact that the produced sound was not a 'pure' sample of an acuoustic sound, many would now argue that it is neither desirable nor positive to simply try and emulate a purely acoustic sound, when technology is today at the forefront of modern electronic composition and simple replication of an acoustic drum is not the goal . Secondly, instead of only rubber-coated pads, Roland featured a new mesh-like pad, produced in connection with acoustic drum skin manufacturer Remo USA. The mesh-head pads look and feel approximately like a smaller-sized acoustic drum. The Remo/Roland mesh surface is made from a double layer of taut woven mesh fibers, fitted with several electronic sensors or triggers. The playing feel is close to that of striking an acoustic drum, but with more bounce than an acoustic skin. Roland termed its innovative commercial drum set "V Drums" V-Drums, which later became the marketed brand name of its electronic drum line. Together, the mathematical/computational modeling, mesh-head pad surface and improved trigger sensor technology greatly increased the quality of sounds, volume levels in practice and the "realistic" feel of electronic drums.[3]

Recent innovations

Roland V-Stage Series TD-12S V-Drum Kit

Newer drum kits from major manufacturers have therefore addressed many of the shortcomings of early electronic drum pads and modules. While each of the significant market brands have entry-level units, the professionally marketed kits are geared toward creating sounds and playing experiences that are nearly indistinguishable from playing a quality acoustic kit or world/orchestral percussion instruments. Examples of these high-end professional kits include the Yamaha DTX 950k and Roland V-Drums TD-30KV. Typically, these professional-level and studio kits are equipped with:

Comparison to acoustic drum set

Advantages

Disadvantages

Variations

Table-top electronic drum

Alesis PerformancePad electronic drum kit

A table-top electronic drum (or portable electronic drum) is an electronic drum that has all pads (except foot pedals) and the electronic module combined in a single table-top like construction. It usually has a small amplifier and loudspeakers incorporated. The sound generation, is generally simpler (single-layered samples) when compared to full-size kits. Also, the feel when playing a table-top drum/pad is very different. The great advantages of table-top drums are the portability and the reduced price.

Acoustic triggered drum kit

An acoustic triggered drum kit is a regular acoustic drum kit coupled with drum trigger/s (sensors) on the drums and cymbals. The triggers can be "built inside" or permanently fixed on to cymbals- so that they are necessarily either: fixed triggers (electronic kit essentially), removable ( can be either acoustic or electronic by default of purpose at the time), or simply an acoustic kit that is now actually a "Hybrid" kit-using external triggers that attach to the rim and skin (or batter head) so as to trigger other sounds on top of the natural acoustic sound produced or simply to boost it for performance. The triggers detect hits/ vibrations on the batter head and/or hoop rim and generate an electric signal. The signal is then sent to an electronic Module/Sampler or via cables & Audio Interface to a midi- DAW/ Drum software on a pc/laptop/mac- to trigger the selected sounds. Usually, the "acoustic triggered kit", has either commercially available mesh head skins (silent), or the drummer keeps its' natural skins (acoustic skins for a Hybrid kit are standard practice) and other muting accessories to reduce the acoustic sounds generated when played together . This way, an acoustic (electro/acoustic) or Hybrid triggered drum kit has the feel and sizes of the standard acoustic kit but with the added benefits of an electronic kits silence/ or added sound Library . (See Craig Blundell on: "Hybrid Kits" & Roland V Drums, "Triggers" & Trigger bar on YouTube; See 682Drums for materials on conversions and DD Drums, Hart Dynamics Drum-tech or Pintech for Custom Acoustic/Electronic Kit sizes, that function dualistically or primarily as electronic kits but in various acoustic sizes).

Artists who use electronic drums

Notes

  1. ↑ Render, Michael. The Case for Vintage Electronic Drums. , accessed June 21, 2011
  2. ↑ Render, Michael. The Case for Vintage Electronic Drums. , accessed June 21, 2011
  3. ↑ Greg Rule & Steve Fisher. V-Drums History. , accessed June 21, 2011
  4. ↑ UK Musicians Union (April 2014), "Powered Performance", Drummer Magazine: 46