Electronics can be a daunting process for people. But with the world of music ever changing and computers coming loaded with GarageBand and the like, embracing Electronics is becoming more and more important for the working drummer.
So on the back of Craig Blundell’s awesome visit to the store last week, we thought we’d give you a run down on all things electronic that we love, in-store at the minute – all under £500.
Sabian Sound Kit.
Sabian have come away with an awesome product at an AMAZING price. The Sound Kit is a 3 channel mixer, complete with a kick drum mic and 2 overheads. The idea is an introduction to either recording or monitoring for your drums. It gives you options on how to mic the drums and records directly onto SD Card.
It features a line out facility in order for live use, so that you can monitor your drums yourself in a live environment and control the volume as you see fit.
Priced at £264, it’s an absolute bargain and a great way to get yourself started down the recording rabbit hole.
Roland TM-2
The TM-2 is a great idea to help introduce you to the world of triggers, without any compromise to your acoustic sound. It’s quite simply, a trigger module. You plug your triggers into it, and assign the sounds to the trigger which then come out of the speakers when you hit the drum that the trigger is on. Simples.
It features 2 trigger inputs that can be used in conjunction with Roland’s RT Trigger range (including dual triggers). The module has over 100 built in sounds that can be assigned to said triggers and runs off of either 4 AA batteries or a power pack (supplied). You can also supply all your own WAV files or backing tracks via SD card. My mind was suitably blown by Craig Blundell who used two Y cables and assigned 4 triggers to a 2 trigger set up. Amazingly powerful and at £165 it’s a really inexpensive way to break you in!
(N.B. Triggers sold separately).
Yamaha DTX Multi
The DTX multi is a fantastic 12 pad electronic percussion instrument. With over 1,277 sounds built in, the samples are as realistic as it gets. From top end Yamaha drumsets to Tabla and more. It includes not only digital sounds but also DJ sounds and a rich variety of voices from percussion, chromatic percussion, folk, and acoustic drum instruments. You can also import WAV and AIFF audio files from a USB memory device and use them as voices. 64MB of memory lets you play back samples as well, making it quite the percussion pad.
It can also be enhanced by using Yamaha’s free DTX Multi touch app that’s available for iPad. The features of the app include mixing, EQ-ing, and layering of the pads. Each pad can hold to 4 different sounds at any one time.
Amazing value at £426
Whilst not an exhaustive list of what’s around for under £500, these guys really do take some beating and present a great way into the world of electronics and electronic percussion. Feel free to pop in and have a look, try them out and who knows, you might end up enhancing your acoustic set up for better!
