DRUMMING BY NUMBERS
Recently a fellow songwriter and I were working on a new tune. We were in my little home demo studio laying down a drum track with an electronic drum machine. The machine that we used is about five years old, but at the time it was first made available it created a big noise in the record-making world.
The CREEM Archive presents the magazine as originally created. Digital text has been scanned from its original print format and may contain formatting quirks and inconsistencies.
DRUMMING BY NUMBERS
by
Billy Cioffi
Recently a fellow songwriter and I were working on a new tune. We were in my little home demo studio laying down a drum track with an electronic drum machine. The machine that we used is about five years old, but at the time it was first made available it created a big noise in the record-making world. After we commited the patterns into the song mode we began fussing with the reverb till we felt it was appropriate to the material. When my buddy and I finally leaned back and listened to the track it sounded really good. I couldn’t help but think that as recently as six or seven years ago (maybe considerably less) it would have taken days in a recording studio—-and the services of a top engineer—to get the same kind of drum sound that my friend and I just recorded on my Tascam Porta Studio! How times have changed. I used to have a theory that the perceived cost of a record or demo directly correlated to the drum sound...particularly during the 70s and early ’80s, the “killer” drum sound was the Holy Grail for any rock ’n’ roll act with serious intentions. Many an engineer became an engineer/producer with the secret sound his mike placement could evoke from the trap kit.
Today this is no longer the case. Whereas the drummer is no longer sneeringly referred to as “the musician’s best friend,” he is also required to be a canny electronic professional who must be as aware of the newest innovation as any keyboardist or bank teller. Bank teller? That’s what I said...he/she better know their way around a computer. So, with the winter edition of the National Association of Music Merchandisers Trade Show imminent, we thought that we would give you a little peek at a few of the new gizmos you’ll soon be seeing and hearing in your local music emporium and on record. The space/time continuum known as deadline (and the U.S. Postal service) make it impossible to even scratch the surface of new percussion products, but here are a couple of interesting new things that are more than worth a glance:
Simmons is introducing the MTX-9 Percussion System expander. This three-channel device is loaded with studio quality digitally sampled sounds. The sounds are fully programmable with 20 factory and 20 user memories. The MTX-9 includes a programmable audio mixer, allowing owners of SDS9 electronic drum kits to blend the new unit with the older unit’s toms. (They can also be linked together via MIDI.) The MTX-9 is available either as a percussion system with three drum pads and the rack unit or as the rack unit alone.
Last summer Simmons introduced the SDS1000, still worth a mention. The SDS1000 is a five-piece pad set with a rackmountable brain—the control brain is capable of storing 10 different kits. All the sounds are created as wtih the SDS9. (As with all new technology it just seems to get easier and easier to program.) The SDS retails for $999—a great buy for someone just begining or the player who wants a second set.
If you’re more in favor of going the traditional route, the Kaman Music Corporation recently introduced two new Power Rack drumsets to their Mark Series line. The Power Rack is the latest in drum hardware—the CB700 Power Racks are light-weight, heavy-duty systems that allow the drummer to mount their tom-toms off the bass, drum giving all the drums uninhibited resonation. The drums themselves feature 9-ply shells throughout and include a new finish: smoky chrome. Contact Kaman Music Distributors, P.O. Box 507, Bloomfield CT, 06002. (203) 243-6365.
Although younger than Simmons, Dynacord of West Germany is making a sharp end run for their share of the electronic percussion market. The ADD-one is their eightchannel drum brain, using digitally sampled sounds. It can be played from eight trigger pads or it can take MIDI commands from an external sequencer. The brain comes factory loaded with 64 sounds, with a memory that computes to 128 sets of drums! It’s obvious that this brain is going to stretch yours a little before you use up the possibilities. List price, $3,995.
And, for the drummer who has always wanted to step out there—The Rhythm Stick. The “Stick” is a remote MIDI controller which allows for the drummer to play any MIDI instrument from the front of the stage. The controller, which is shaped like a guitar, has eight trigger selectors to specify “instruments” and two slap sensors with which the selected sounds can be played. All eight sounds can be triggered simultaneously. As a stage effect, this definitely opens a lot of doors. The suggested retail price is $895. For more information concerning Dynacord products, contact Europa Technology, Inc., 1638 West Washington Blvd. Venice, CA 90291. (213) 392-4985.
