It gives a really great side by side comparison between the various VST instruments, as well as the DTX on board sounds. There are so many sound libraries out there (Toontrack, XLN, Steven Slate, NI Studio Drummer) that sometimes it’s hard to know which one is the one you’re best spending your hard earned on.
The OP plays one of the Yamaha DTX900 kits (which you’ll know I’m very fond of!!). While some of the samples sound a little hot, this is to be expected as with a e-drum set it always take a little trial and error (and time!) to tweak the settings on the module to suit the sound library.
Back in October, I posted on the recently released Yamaha DTX Multi 12 trigger pad. The video I posted shows the DTX Multi 12 integrated into a great sounding little cocktail style kit. Many electronic drum kits utilize smaller sized drums, especially kick and toms as acoustics and not part of the equation so the size and shape of the drums become simply based on style, looks and footprint.
This got me thinking of other great smaller cocktail style kits – and of course those who play standing up!
The standard cocktail kit, stemming from it’s jazz heritage is the beautiful Yamaha Club Jordan.
This got me thinking. In a smaller live situation such as a jazz club or similar, these kits get used regularly live. But it’s pretty rare that you see kits, fully mic’d up being played with the drummer standing. So I thought it time to share a couple of videos of who I think are two of the greatest standing drummers around…
The obvious first choice is the underrated 80′s power pop quartet – Jellyfish. Lead vocalist and Frontman Andy Sturmer aside from having a great set of pipes also had his signature playing style standing behind what a relatively standard 4 or 5 piece cocktail style kit. A great band, with some great tunes. Here’s a grab from Later… with Jools Holland.
For those in Australia, specifically in Melbourne, you may remember psychobilly band The Fireballs who had a more than generous cult following across Australia. Like Jellyfish, frontman Eddy Fury also takes the vocal duties as well as the tubs. Complete with mowhawks intact, the band reformed in 2005 when they supported Motorhead and Motley Crue.
Here’s a little live bootleg from the infamous Hifi-Bar in Melbourne from 2010. Feel the noise.
Personally, I’ll stick to sitting…but standing up certainly does look cool!!
When it comes to musical gear, pro-audio and alike, there is one name which sends a shudder down many musicians spines, and can quickly have even the most affluent, well adjusted gear snob cowering in the corner in disgust.
Why? Well, they make cheap stuff. The roll out cheap (presumably Chinese made) clones of your standard studio gear, mixers, controllers, instruments…you name it – chances are they’ve given it a crack.
Why the bad name? Well, early on there was some question marks over their QC processes and widespread product failure. To their credit this has been address and the reliability across the board has greatly improved in the last 10 years.
But here’s where the honesty part comes in – show of hands who actually owns or has owned a piece of Behringer gear.
Yep, that’s right. All of us.
They bring their gear into the market at a price point too good to refuse for most semi-pro (read: cash strapped) musicians and allow give consumers the ability to sacrifice quality for features of the high-end equivalent. That said, they do have some cracking bits of gear which really have given the competition something to think about. The V-Amp Pro, Eurogrand and some of their basic effects racks spring to mind.
I’ll admit, I’ve got a few Behringer goodies lying around in the modest home studio I’ve got. Many are years old and have held up very reliably. Perhaps not tour worth…but that’s another kettle of fish all together.
So, so why the rant?
Our good friends at Behringer have just released a new range of Electronic Drum Modules, the flagship being the XD70-USB (below).
Unveiled at Summer NAMM just gone, this is Behringer’s attempt at presumably capturing a slice of the lower end e-drum marketing. Competing with the OEM style manufacturers and kits such as the Legend/Legacy range, the Yamaha DTXplorer, lower end Rolands and XM-World drums (now there’s a topic for another day!!) on paper the Behringer seems to stack up quite well.
Taken from the Behringer site the XD-70 boasts a fair swag of features:
High Performance five-piece electronic drum set with XD70-USB sound module
392 studio-grade drum, cymbal, and percussion sounds
40 programmable drum sets, plus 11 general MIDI kits
Realistic feeling, natural playing trigger pads
Triple-zone snare pad
Built-in sequencer
Includes XD70-USB sound module; kick pedal, pad and stand; hi-hat trigger pedal; 8” triple-zone snare pad; (3) 8” dual-zone tom pads; (2) 12” cymbals; drum rack with mounting hardware (preset for quick setup); multi-pin breakout audio cable snake for easy set up; pair drumsticks; drum key; Quickstart guide and assembly instructions
Works with iPad / iPhone via Apple USB Adaptor (sold separately)
USB / MIDI output for use with drum module software
Seamlessly connects directly to your iPod, iPhone, iPad, or CD player via 1/8” input for play along use
Triple zone snare and ride, as well as dual zone toms give the edge over the competition within the low end price bracket. I like that they’ve gone for broke and added a triple zone snare, and I guess this is where Behringer keep their head above water by adding features usually only found on higher priced kits.
Checkout a quick video from NAMM uploaded by Behringer themselves (looks like the got the crappy exhibition space on the way to the loos!). For what it’s worth, there is some pretty tasty playing involved too.
These kits sure ain’t pretty compared to others on the market, but still keep a fairly traditional look to them. The big kicker will be the play-ability of the pads – something which is often lacking in many brands first offering. Behringer has gone for the rubber pad option (as Roland have the Mesh head patent stitched up) so we can only wait any see how the pads and rims trigger and the isolation between the two, and the play-ability of the kit overall.
As with many of these freshly released products, release dates are not yet available and video demos are scarce. Time will tell if Behringer have what it required to break into the e-drum market. I for one hope their new offering brings a new wave of affordability for e-drummers and students. In turn, this can only drive innovation from the leading brands and introduce further competition between prices of e-drums.
As always, thanks for stopping by and happy drumming!
