I remember as a kid seeing the adverts and posters for Terminator 2 (the movie) and wishing I could grow up faster so my parents would let me see it! A few years went by and I was finally allowed to watch it and I remember (apart from how cool John Connor was) all those scenes where you get to see flesh peel away from the Terminators humaoid body revealing the shiny robotic functioning skeleton underneath.
What a time to be alive! This movie in itself embodied so many fantasies and dreams i’m sure most people at the time had about the human/robot/alien hybrid…….
Fast forward a few decades and here we are, humans intergrating with electronics and robotics like never before! It’s at the point where even our older citizens of society largely accept and use some form of electronics for entertainment through to medical aids and so on….this is how common electronics have become and I assure you, instruments have not been immune!
The future IS now!
When I think of the word drums, drummer, drum kit, live music etc. etc. I can assure you the first thing that pops into my head certainly isn’t electronic based percussion, it’s “real” drums – made from wood, steel and you hit them hard!
But nowadays you really do have to stop for a second and realise that, as I said, the future IS now….
Now when we think drummer or such and such band, we think – I wonder what setup they have? I wonder if they use pads for that synth sound in that song? I wonder how can I incorporate those sounds into my band or playing? Is it hard? Do I have the skills and confidence in adding another dimension to my kit?….the list of thoughts goes on.
These thoughts are becoming more and more common and the evidence is pretty clear at this point…
Digital percussion is now a “normal” part of a modern drummers diet whether it be the metronome app in your phone, the electronic robo-tuner you use to tune your drums or the extra pad sampler on the side of your kit.
As drummers we are constantly seeking out ways of creating different sounds around our kits and percussion rigs, so it’s only natural that once we feel like we’ve done all the rim clicks, stick tricks and foot techniques we can, that we want to compliment the natural inner musician/sound creator in us all and expand into new grounds…and how?….. with digital percussion.
The sheer genius of the technology readily available these days is mind blowing! Units that can be placed around your drumset and cymbals that can physically strike them via midi/program control through to collections of fully recorded and sampled drum sounds from all your favourite drum makers and artists and so much more!
Now this doesn’t mean you have to give up your acoustic kit in place of a ugly set of rubber discs and cables with headphones shoved into the corner of a room, it’s so much more than that now and those days are long gone.
Manufacturers of instruments really are listening now more than ever to the consumer market and are making ground breaking products which truly are musical, useful, compact and best of all, capable of professional sound results and quality right out of the box!
Hybrid add-ons and various units are also kind of the new kid on the block with live microphone driven effects units that attach discreetly right onto your kit.
Mesh head+trigger replacement packages are now very popular amongst the hobbiests and the options and products available there for kit conversions is almost endless if you jump online and start sifting forums and web stores.
Then of course there certainly is still the full digital kit sets which now are incredibly impressive to say the least!
With designs that are visually stunning, hardware that’s tour-worthy coupled with leaps and bounds of improvements with “real feel” technologies and of course the most important thing…..The SOUND quality!
Digital drums truly are no slouch anymore and in my opinion are such a valuable learning and practicing tool for more than just the reason of keeping your neighbours happy.
So the real question is:
Where do you sit on the scale of “purist acoustic drum fan” – to – “I’m all for supporting the new gear, even if it’s bending the traditional rules of drumming, it’s bringing more music to life and that’s ultimately what it’s all about!”
(ok, that was a long category description I admit..)
Will your next kit be digital or have you thought about adding maybe just a little sample pad on the side to bring a new element of creativity and dynamic to your practice or band?…
The world really is our oyster and a delecious one at that!
Happy drumming everyone!
~Matt
Brisbane Drums Blog 