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66-946: The Pollard Syndrum is the first commercially available electronic drum , invented by Joe Pollard and Mark Barton in 1976. There were 3 major types: The Syndrum 1 , the Syndrum TwinDrum , and the Syndrum Quad , the last being the most famous. At the time of its conception, Pollard was a session drummer working for the Beach Boys and the Grass Roots . In 1976, he met Barton, who had designed and built some working prototypes which were previewed to some prominent drummers. Their reactions were encouraging, so Joe, Mark and Donald Stone incorporated Pollard Industries and starting selling Syndrums in Culver City, California. There were two models sold at

132-403: A MIDI -equipped electronic drum kit can be used to trigger any types of MIDI sounds. The first electronic drum was created in the early 1970s 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 Favour . The first commercial electronic drum

198-481: A power amplifier and one or more speakers in a wooden, wedge-shaped cabinet. The wedge shape is designed so that the speaker is directed at a seated drummer, much like a vocalist's monitor speaker will often be wedge-shaped. Some electronic drummers use keyboard amplifiers or PA systems (both of which are full-range systems). For individual practice, headphones can be connected to the drum module's headphone jack. A bass drum pedal may be needed in some kits with

264-629: A "brushes" sound, rock drums, Latin drums, African drums, or 1980s-era drum machine synthesized drum sounds (like the TR-808 kick drum sound, for example). Some electronic drum modules, such as Roland's TD-12, even include non-drum sounds, such as organ, electric bass, orchestra, and so on, which can be triggered using the drum kit sensors. Some presets also include effects appropriate to the drum kit or its associated genre. The drum module may also contain effect units , such as audio compression , reverb, and equalization. The drum module may offer controls to adjust

330-428: A "drum brain" module. With a table-top drum mounted on a stand, a drummer who has an otherwise acoustic drum kit could add different drum and percussion sounds to her playing, such as synthesized drum sounds, or samples of a percussion instrument that would otherwise be impractical to have onstage (e.g., a large gong). An acoustic triggered drum kit is a regular acoustic drum kit coupled with drum triggers (sensors) on

396-419: A "drum brain"). For example, a drummer who finds that their cymbals are too loud in the small venues they play in may use electronic cymbals, but acoustic drums otherwise. On the other end of the spectrum, a drummer who has mostly electronic drums may add a few acoustic drums or cymbals to the kit to add timbral variety or "colour". Aerodrums is a motion capture system that allows a drummer to perform without

462-458: A 3 by 3 matrix. The samples can also be further manipulated by applying positive or negative values on a matrix (routed to both position and dynamic), simultaneously affecting the following aspects of the sound: volume, pitch, brightness, panning, noise element, and sample start point. All or any of these aspects of the sound, are both programmable and continuously variable dependent upon strike position and strike velocity and were user programmable in

528-466: A 9" monochrome CRT screen with a GUI controlled by a trackball , similar to the early Mac OS . SDX OS allows users to fully modify sounds with an easy-to-use interface. It also features a full 64-track real-time sequencer with the ability to nondestructively quantize recordings and sync them to MIDI. Sales of the SDX were limited due to its high price, costing around $ 10,154. The factory sounds included with

594-512: A USB port that allows playback of WAV and MP3 files from a USB drive, plus recording in WAV format back out to a thumb drive. At the time of this writing the SD2000 has not been publicly released, thus potential features like midi over USB or USB out to a computer (either for kit-to-machine recording or machine-to-kit programming) have not yet been evaluated. Country of origin has not yet been made public. As

660-425: A built-in digital delay . This kit was yet another well received product for Simmons as it combines realistic sounds in an inexpensive, compact brain. Following customer feedback, Simmons also produced a new series of drum pads using "floating" drum heads and changeable shells. The snare drum had an extra trigger for the rim. Again, this improved the playability of the kit. Another brain was introduced in 1986 called

726-463: A couple of Simmons pads to their kit on a budget. Some of these products also feature the run generator, which allows drummers to play a descending drum roll with a single pad hit. In 1985, Simmons introduced the SDS-9, a hybrid digital/analog brain with three changeable EEPROM channels (kick, snare, and rim) and analog-synthesized toms. It also featured 40 presets (20 factory and 20 user-programmable) and

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792-429: A full-size electronic kit or an acoustic kit. The advantages of table-top drums are their portability and the relatively lower price. Some acoustic drummers use a table-top electronic drum as their first foray into electronic drumming, since purchasing a single table-top unit and setting it up alongside an acoustic drum kit is much cheaper and simpler than fitting an entire acoustic kit with sensors and connecting them to

858-794: A kit physically present. A high speed camera captures the drummer's motions and converts them into electronic signals that can trigger drum samples. Senstroke is a similar system that uses bluetooth technology. The List of electronic drum performers gives a sense of the wide range of genres of the musical artists and bands who incorporate electronic drums into their shows and recordings. The list ranges from progressive rock ( Bill Bruford of King Crimson and Yes ) and ( Phil Collins of Genesis and in his solo career) and nu metal ( Rob Bourdon of Linkin Park ) to reggae ( Sly Dunbar of Black Uhuru ) and alternative music ( Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode ). Simmons (electronic drum company) Simmons

924-533: A new company logo. Along with the SDS-2000, Simmons manufactured pads with real drumheads called Hexaheads, along with Minihexes, smaller-sized pads sometimes used as cymbal pads. This system saw a commercial decline in the face of competition from companies such as Roland and Yamaha , and the evolution of musical styles from the 1980s into the 1990s. During the 1990s, Simmons shifted their focus from drum synthesis to drum triggering and MIDI control, with products like

990-534: A new mesh-like pad, produced in collaboration with acoustic drum skin manufacturer Remo. The mesh-head pads look and feel approximately like a smaller-sized acoustic drum (although the wooden shell is much smaller). 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 commercial drum set " V-Drums ", which later became

1056-660: A number of smaller devices, such as an SDS-EPB E-PROM Blower to write samples onto the chips, a Digital ClapTrap unit, which is a digital clap sound device, a sound very popular in 1980s music. Simmons began to expand their product line with smaller kits and pads, including the SDS-1, which was a single pad with a built-in EPROM reader for playing a single drum sound sample, and the all-analog SDS-200 (2 tom system), SDS-400 (4 tom system), and SDS-800 (bass, snare, and 2 tom system). These products were aimed at acoustic drummers who wanted to add

1122-695: A pair on a stand with a foot pedal enabling the drummer to open and close the hi-hats, which enables drummers to create a wide variety of hi-hat effects, depending on whether the pair of cymbals are fully closed, partially closed, or open. These newer electronic versions are no longer single cymbal pads as in the 3000s, but dual replicated cymbals, that can be mounted on regular stands like their acoustic versions. These cymbals allow for actual opened and closed hand/foot playing. An electronic module detects hi-hat movement/height and position, providing realistic variations of hi-hat sound via degree of placement – open, partially open, and closed hi-hat strikes. Some modules, like

1188-404: A rubber/silicone or cloth-like coated playing surface that provides some rebound to sticks. Each pad has one or more sensors that generates an electronic signal when struck. The electronic signal is transmitted through cables into an electronic or digital drum module ("brain" as it is sometimes called), synthesizer or other device, which then produces a sound associated with, and triggered by,

1254-436: A separate bass drum pad, whereas other cheaper kits may simply have a pedal with a trigger inside, and no bass drum pad. Additionally, some electronic cymbals, especially the hi-hats, can be mounted on regular cymbal stands. Drummers also use accessories, such as a drum throne and drum sticks . A table-top electronic drum (or portable electronic drum ) is an electronic drum that has all of its pads (except foot pedals) and

1320-642: A series of demos featuring Bill Bruford , dozens more music store owners from all over the country signed up to this electronic revolution, and that expansion quickly established the Simmons name in the rest of the US. During the lifetime of the SDS-V, Simmons also produced a compact trigger unit about the size of a suitcase , containing seven small pads. Used in conjunction with the SDS-V brain, this allowed players to add Simmons sounds to an existing acoustic kit without incorporating

1386-569: A set of full-size pads. This unit was used extensively by New Order at the time. Also available at the same time was the SDS-6 drum sequencer, used to great effect by artists such as Howard Jones . Following the success of the SDS-V, Simmons expanded their range in 1984, with another modular rack-based brain called the SDS-7, which features digital sampling sounds on EPROM for the first time, expandable up to twelve modules, and redesigned pads, featuring

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1452-419: A skin of rubber to make playing a little easier. The unit uses 8-bit samples and a programmable memory, but is prone to malfunctioning and loss of memory, making it unpopular in a live context. The same year, they also produced the cheaper analog-only SDS-8, which featured a single, non-expandable desktop-style brain with one unalterable factory preset and one custom user preset for each channel. The SDS-8 kit

1518-435: A voltage which can be measured by the electronics. These piezoelectric sensors are then embedded in a silicone or rubber pad or cymbal, or attached to the underside of a drumhead. The sensor-embedded pads and plastic cymbals are mounted on a stand or on multiple stands, so that the drummer can put them in the desired position. The electronic drum module is the equivalent to the synth module for electronic drums. It contains

1584-408: Is an electronic drum brand, which originally was a pioneering British manufacturer of electronic drums . Founded in 1978 by Dave Simmons, it supplied electronic kits from 1980 to 1998. The drums' distinctive, electronic sound can be found on countless albums from the 1980s. The company closed in 1999 and the Simmons name is currently owned by Guitar Center . The SDS 5 (or SDSV; notated as SDS-5)

1650-408: Is typically mounted on a stand, so that the drummer can easily reach it and see its display and other visual indicators. On the rear or top of the drum module is a patch bay , with a number of labelled jacks for plugging in the sensors, audio outs, and MIDI in or outs. Drum modules typically contain "drum kit" presets in their memory. Each drum kit has different sounds, such as jazz drums played with

1716-415: 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 , for example) or specialized acoustic/electronic cymbals (e.g. Zildjian's "Gen 16"). The drum pads themselves are either discs or shallow drum shells made of various materials, often with

1782-497: The Lyricon wind synthesizer as played by John L. Walters of Landscape . Walters introduced Richard James Burgess to Simmons and Burgess began using the SDS-3s and SDS-4s live, on stage, with Landscape. Recognizing the potential for a fully electronic drum set that could replace the traditional acoustic set rather than supplement it, Burgess began collaborating with Simmons. They mocked up

1848-571: The Mount Rushmore Head sets were also built. Burgess has two of these sets. The basic descending tom-tom sound was modeled after the way Burgess tuned his Pearl single-headed concert tom kit on which he would loosen one tension rod, causing a wrinkle in the head and creating a descending pitch after the tom was hit. Burgess had recorded extensively with the prototype of the SDS-V on the Landscape album, with Shock and Spandau Ballet before

1914-513: The Pollard Syndrum and the Synare , were introduced in the 1970s, but their unrealistic sound made them generally more suitable for use as a percussion effect than as a replacement for traditional drums. They became a popular element in disco records, especially after the release of music from Star Wars , and can be heard on songs by The Jacksons and Rose Royce . Around 1978 while working for

1980-413: The 5-piece) configurations. The additional tom and cymbal units can also be purchased separately as an add-on, however it does not appear that there is additional room to add components beyond upgrading the 5-piece. (The upgraded 5-piece is, when upgraded, identical to the 7-piece; photos of the control unit indicate that this occupies all the available inputs.) This newly designed kit employs mesh heads -

2046-602: The ADT (acoustic drum trigger) and Trixer (triggered electric drums (digital samples) from acoustic drum mics), Drum Huggers (small clip-on acoustic drum triggers/pads), and the Silicon Mallet (a xylophone-style MIDI controller). One of Simmons's last products, the Turtle Trap, is a MIDI controller made from the shell of a bass drum pad, with the pads being the surfaces of Minihexes. However, all of these products sold poorly compared to

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2112-492: The Roland TD-30, also feature foot close and quick close-open sounds, with pressure on the cymbals also being sensed and replicated when tightening or loosening the foot pressure, even on a closed hi-hat. So, the audio sounds tighter when firm pressure is applied on an already closed hi-hat pedal. Electronic drums typically use piezoelectric sensors to detect the vibration of the drummer's impact. The sensors convert strain to

2178-530: The SDS-1000, and was, in effect, the same sounds as the SDS-9 (without the ability to change the EPROMS) in a slim 1U, MIDI-enabled, rack mountable unit. The snare sounds, however, are more realistic and clear than the SDS-9. The SDS-1000 also includes a "second skin" feature, which simulates the sound of dual-headed drums. In 1987, after the SDS-9, Simmons decided to enter into the high-end professional market and created

2244-554: 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 sound was extensively used during the 1980s by pop/rock & synth-pop groups such as Duran Duran and progressive rock bands such as Rush , among others. Simmons drums are often viewed somewhat nostalgically by those who began to experiment with these early forays into electronic drums and percussion. In

2310-558: The SDS-V (5), was introduced commercially in 1981. The world's first fully electronic drum set, the SDS-V featured the famous hexagonal pads and distinctive sounds heard in countless songs by 1980s bands, including Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet . The standard configuration consisted of an expandable rack-mountable "brain", containing the various drum sounds, and pad modules for bass drum, snare, and three toms. Two spare slots are available so that cymbal or extra tom modules can be added; drummers may choose to use acoustic cymbals rather than

2376-424: The SDS-V was featured live and on lot of TV shows (e.g. Rockpalast ) The SDS-V's biggest disadvantage was the use of solid polycarbonate heads on the pads. Simmons chose this material for its durability, but the heads' lack of "give" often resulted in wrist discomfort. Soon after, Simmons began shipping pads with softer rubber surfaces. The SDS-V became an instant hit, with Simmons endorsing several drummers, and

2442-650: The SDX did not match the quality expected for a system of such advanced technology, so many drummers chose to sample their own sounds. In 1988, the SDX software was updated to make SDX suitable for use with MIDI keyboards, thus offering a sound source rivaling the Fairlight CMI for a fraction of the price. Approximately 250 SDX Consoles were sold. Primary users of SDX included Bill Bruford with ABWH , Peter Gabriel, Jean Michel Jarres' drummer and King Crimson and also Danny Carey with Tool . The SDX also featured on Pip Greasley's The 5k Pursuit Opera C4TV [1991] where it

2508-492: The Simmons sounds, which have been compared to that of a trash can lid. Connections to the unit were by XLR plugs , and it can be interfaced with a drum sequencer . In Germany and the rest of Europe, Simmons had also a great success. Sibi Siebert counterpart of Baz Watts, both clinicians for Simmons, was travelling from Stockholm to Barcelona to show and play the kits. He played more than 700 workshops and had great success with his band Twelve Drummers Drumming (Phonogram), where

2574-475: The added sound library available in 2016-era high-end kits, which includes sounds for large gongs and other instruments that are expensive and hard to transport in their original acoustic form. DrumsAnywhere software uses a single piezoelectric microphone , to trigger eight different drum pads on any flat or irregular surface, such as a table or wooden chair. Some drummers have a mixture of acoustic drums and cymbals and electronic drum equipment (sensor pads and

2640-586: The classic Simmons sounds. In 2017 Simmons announced the new SD2000 series with a planned release for retail on Aug 4, 2017, while simultaneously making public the return of Dave Simmons to the company. The SD2000 is a top-to-bottom redesign (with the exception of the included HEXX rack), and will be available in five-piece (11″ triple-zone SimHex snare; three 9″ dual-zone SimHex toms; 9″ mesh bass drum with nonslip stand; 13″ dual-zone chokeable crash; 15″ triple-zone ride; 12″ hi-hat) and seven-piece (add one 9″ dual-zone SimHex tom and one 13″ dual-zone chokeable crash to

2706-600: The company Musicaid in St Albans , Dave Simmons developed a device with similar capabilities to the Syndrum and Synare, which he called the SDS-3. The SDS-3 featured four drum channels and a noise generator ; the SDS-4 was a functionally similar two-channel version. At this juncture, the drum pads were round, with wooden frames and real 8-inch drum heads. Musicaid was also the distributor for

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2772-472: The company's peak period. In 1999, the company closed. In 2005, Guitar Center acquired the rights to the Simmons trademark and began marketing affordable Chinese-manufactured electronic drums (commercialized under other names in the world) under the Simmons name and original logo. These kits have no relationship to the original company. However, some of the kits' designs feature traces of the familiar hexagon shape, similar model numbers, and built-in samples of

2838-577: The distinctive pad shape becoming an icon of the 1980s. With the agreement of Simmons, Group Centre Inc. became the sole distributors of all Simmons Electronics products in the US. After visiting and demoing the SDS-V to music stores in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago, he secured orders from them all. Manufacturing was ramped up quickly in time for the NAMM Music Expo in Chicago and after staging

2904-430: The drummer keeps her natural skins (using acoustic skins for a Hybrid kit are standard practice) and other muting accessories to reduce the acoustic sounds generated when played. 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 kit's onstage silence, controllable volume (an important factor in small venues) or

2970-435: 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

3036-413: The electronic sound module combined in a single table-top unit. It may have a small amplifier and small loudspeakers incorporated so that it can be used at jam sessions without plugging into a PA system. The sound generation is generally simpler (single-layered samples) when compared to more expensive, full-size electronic kits. Also, the feel when playing a table-top drum/pad is very different from using

3102-440: The electronic and digital circuitry which produces the synthesized drum sound or the triggered samples. The drum module has a number of faders , buttons and knobs on the front or top so that the drummer can make changes. There is usually some type of display, to give the drummer information about the settings and status. This may include an LCD or LED screen and individual LEDs that light up when sensors are triggered. The drum module

3168-455: The extreme. The SDX is the first Simmons kit since the SDS-7 to support cymbal sounds, using pads called "Symbals" which simulate the swaying motion of real cymbals with a swivel rod. The SDX include a built-in sampler with a floppy disk drive, internal SCSI hard disk drive and optional external SCSI ZIP or Syquest drives as the methods of data storage. The SDX introduced a new way of modifying sounds. Rather than knobs and switches, it features

3234-415: The first in the Simmons line to do so - which are tensionable with a standard drum key. The pre-programmed sound bank includes classic acoustic kit samples, sounds pulled from vintage Simmons kits like the SDS-5, plus world percussion and effect sounds (e.g. handclaps, cowbell, etc.). Additionally users can add their own samples to the library. The control module includes full-color LCD, built-in mixer, and

3300-574: The following 1980s, other companies started selling their own versions of Simmons' electronic drums, notably Pearl, Roland and Yamaha. At that time, electronic drums were similar to today's starter or entry-level kits. They consisted of rubber-coated sensor pads mounted on stands. The pads were created to be velocity-sensitive and the sound was generated through single or multiple-layered sampling or synthesized sound . In 1997, Roland introduced its TD-10 model, which had two major musical and electronic innovations. The first and more controversial innovation

3366-467: 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, the "realistic" feel of electronic drums, and the volume levels in practice and live show settings. In the 2010s drum kits from major manufacturers have therefore addressed many of the shortcomings of early electronic drum pads and modules. While each of

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3432-456: 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 and an Audio Interface to 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

3498-572: The opening track "Tryouts for the Human Race" and " The Number One Song in Heaven ", and the percussion break of "Rydeen" by Yellow Magic Orchestra . Joy Division also used it on their debut album Unknown Pleasures . After the Syndrum’s introduction to the marketplace, several companies produced electronic drum units, such as the Synare . Electronic drum The electronic drum (pad/triggering device)

3564-514: The revolutionary SDX. It introduced new features that were unheard of in other electronic drums such as "zone intelligence" and "pad layering". Some of these ideas were not revisited by other companies until nearly 15 years after the SDX. Zone Intelligence allows for up to three samples to be assigned to different positional locations on a pad for a more realistic sound. With pad layering, up to nine different samples can be triggered via different strike velocities and positions, selecting samples from

3630-461: The sensitivity of the different pads and cymbals, change the sound of the tuning of the drums, adjust the "buzz" of the snare, the muffling of the bass drum, and so on. Some drum modules incorporate features of drum machines or sequencers , such as the capability to play pre-programmed drum beats, so that the live drummer can play along with them. Some electronic drum manufacturers sell electronic drum-specific combination amplifiers , which contain

3696-667: 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. Professional kits generally have higher-quality digital sounds These drum modules offer high quality modeled drum sounds – with hundreds of onboard sounds, effects and audio loops and song options/patterns to choose from. Some of these modules allow

3762-439: The sounds and flowchart using an ARP 2600 synthesizer. Since Burgess was using the instrument in a live setting, they developed the four customizable preset buttons. The distinctive hexagonal shape came about after triangles and bat-wing mock-ups had been tried. Burgess finally decided that a honeycomb shape would fit together ergonomically and be simple yet distinctive in appearance. A limited edition of what Simmons referred to as

3828-494: The struck pad. The sound signal from the drum module can be plugged into a keyboard amp or PA system for use in a live band performance, listened to with headphones for silent practice, or patched into an audio mixer for a recording session. Since digital drums have become more popular in the 2000s, companies have started selling digital electronic drum kit sound files, referred to as "drum kits". While electronic drum kits are typically used to trigger drum and percussion sounds,

3894-524: The time, the single drum 177 and the four drum 477. Syndrums were a musical success with a surplus of endorsees, but a financial failure for the young company. Although the Syndrum was capable of many different sounds, the one favored by most recording artists was a sine wave that pitch-bends down; it can be heard at the beginning of " Good Times Roll ", the opening track of the Cars ' 1978 debut album , throughout Sparks ' 1979 album No.1 in Heaven , particularly

3960-658: The user to select tuning, head type, depth/width and material (metal, wood type, etc.). Trigger sensor/reliability and reduction of crosstalk have been vastly improved. Triggering now allows both the head and the rim to produce different sounds, facilitating rim and cross shots as well as shell tapping and many other audio sounds that can be assigned to the head or rim, so that the options for live music increase even more. Cymbals can accommodate more zones: for edge, bow and bell strikes with different sounds, with choking capability and realistic cymbal swells. They have more realistic hi-hats - Acoustic hi-hat cymbals are mounted on in

4026-602: Was created 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 Richard James 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, this electronic instrument garnered significant attention from established and influential rock/pop musicians. The sound of

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4092-967: Was developed in conjunction with Richard James Burgess of Landscape and released in 1981. The first recordings of the instrument were made by Burgess, on From the Tea-rooms of Mars .... , " Chant No. 1 " by Spandau Ballet , and "Angel Face" by Shock . After Landscape and Spandau Ballet appeared on Top of the Pops with the instrument, many other musicians began to use the new technology, including A Flock of Seagulls , Howard Jones , Jez Strode of Kajagoogoo , Roger Taylor of Duran Duran , Darren Costin of Wang Chung , Steve Negus of Saga , Bobby Z. , Rick Allen of Def Leppard , Thomas Dolby , Prince , Phil Collins , Neil Peart of Rush , Bill Bruford , Talk Talk , Tangerine Dream , Cameo , Jonzun Crew , Depeche Mode , Jean-Michel Jarre , Donna Summer , Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra and Vangelis . Single-pad analog drum synthesizers, including

4158-465: Was its method of providing noises for the drums/pads to trigger, instead of generating its sound by using samples of an acoustic drum or cymbal. The TD-10 used mathematical models to generate tones using synthesizers. While some drummers lamented the fact that the produced sound was not a "pure" sample of an acoustic instrument, others argued that simple replication of an acoustic drum was not desirable. Secondly, instead of rubber-coated pads, Roland featured

4224-433: Was played by Bruce Mason. By the time of the launch of the SDX, the company had seen a dramatic fall in their sales as drummers abandoned electronics to return to their acoustic kits. Additionally, due to expensive R&D and manufacturing costs of the SDX, Simmons was losing money. Their final kit was released in 1989, called the SDS-2000, featuring sounds from the SDX library, digital effects, further refined pads, and

4290-411: Was supplied with four tom pads and a bass pad, using similar hardware to the earlier SDS-V, but in a more budget style, such as using jack leads instead of XLR connectors. The sounds were similar to the SDS-V, but, to the discerning ear, not up to the same quality. However, the kit has remained a popular alternative to the SDS-V for those seeking analogue Simmons sounds. Also available at the time were

4356-452: 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 . However, the Syndrum was a financial failure and the company failed in the following years. In 1978, the Simmons company

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