Members t3ch Posted December 11, 2008 Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 One of those lap-sized drum machines with maybe 8 pads? I was thinking of picking one of these up until I can afford to get an electronic kit just for putting some basic stuff together in the back of stuff I write for the band. I used to play drums and want something I can physically hit, not really looking for a software solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members i_wanna_les_paul Posted December 11, 2008 Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 Oh, you said drum unit. Never mind. Actually, I have one of the older Yamaha (Circa 2004-ish, I think) electronic drum sets that has 7 or so pads with some sounds. Kind of fun, though I wouldn't pay a lot of money for one. The triggering was a tad suspect, but I think I may have gotten a less-than-perfect unit on sale at Sam's Club. It's not bad, but obviously still not as satisfying as a real kit, especially in the cymbal department, where the pads didn't sound polyphonic to me. However, as someone who'd rather hit stuff than program stuff, I enjoyed it. I recorded some church stuff with it, though. Dustin Edit: It was this set. The DD55. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Renfield Posted December 11, 2008 Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 One of those lap-sized drum machines with maybe 8 pads? I was thinking of picking one of these up until I can afford to get an electronic kit just for putting some basic stuff together in the back of stuff I write for the band. I used to play drums and want something I can physically hit, not really looking for a software solution. I just picked up one of these. It's working out great so far. Best of both worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted December 11, 2008 Moderators Share Posted December 11, 2008 I have a Yamaha DD-55 kit with the stand. I've also upgraded from the crappy little toy pedals it came ith and use a pearl kick pedal/pintech trigger and a keyboard sustain pedal for the high hat control. Lots of percussion sounds in addition to standard kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members i_wanna_les_paul Posted December 11, 2008 Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 I have a Yamaha DD-55 kit with the stand. I've also upgraded from the crappy little toy pedals it came ith and use a pearl kick pedal/pintech trigger and a keyboard sustain pedal for the high hat control. Lots of percussion sounds in addition to standard kits. The pedals are honestly the worst part of that kit. I may have to try that sometime...when the set isn't 1500 miles away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 How do you guys find the triggering on your units? As IWALP mentioned, I've seen people complain about the same thing. If it can't keep up with some 1/16th fills I'm not sure it's really worth it. I'm trying to be Vinnie Paul with my fingers, dammit! I have a Yamaha DD-55 kit with the stand. I've also upgraded from the crappy little toy pedals it came ith and use a pearl kick pedal/pintech trigger and a keyboard sustain pedal for the high hat control. Lots of percussion sounds in addition to standard kits. How much did all the pedal upgrades cost you? I might not be worried about upgrading them since I plan on getting a full electronic kit within the year. If it's something I can use on the kit later anyways and can have them for a good price, that just might be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thelurker Posted December 11, 2008 Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 I foolishly bought one of the Roland (current model) 9-surface pad with sampler. Sadly, it had about 1 drumkit worth of actual drum sounds, the rest were scratching noises, hip-hop crap and junk. The pads did not react well, the pedals would cross-activate. It was junk. KAT makes the best, but the surfaces go bad after a number of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 I foolishly bought one of the Roland (current model) 9-surface pad with sampler. Sadly, it had about 1 drumkit worth of actual drum sounds, the rest were scratching noises, hip-hop crap and junk. The pads did not react well, the pedals would cross-activate. It was junk. KAT makes the best, but the surfaces go bad after a number of years. Can you post up the model whenever you have a chance? Do you think you might have gotten a defective unit or is it just working crap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted December 11, 2008 Moderators Share Posted December 11, 2008 How much did all the pedal upgrades cost you? I might not be worried about upgrading them since I plan on getting a full electronic kit within the year. If it's something I can use on the kit later anyways and can have them for a good price, that just might be worth it.Well a cheap keyboard sustain pedal is going to cost you about $15-$20 and assuming you can find a cheap/used kick pedal, the pintech kick trigger was about $50. So I spent about $300 total on this thing. Since the DD-55 is way out of production at this point, I think you could find all these things for less than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sonic1 Posted December 11, 2008 Members Share Posted December 11, 2008 Sometimes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2008 How easy was it for you guys to transfer the drum tracks and get everything going on the DD-55? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted December 12, 2008 Moderators Share Posted December 12, 2008 How easy was it for you guys to transfer the drum tracks and get everything going on the DD-55?Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dravenzouk Posted December 13, 2008 Members Share Posted December 13, 2008 I had, for many years, an Alesis SR16 that I used to program bits for practice, working out song ideas, and recording basic demos. This model has (had?) been a standard for a long time - pretty decent sounds, relatively easy to program, versatile, and reliable. It did the job I needed it to do. But I eventually got sick of trying to tap out fills and such on the little keypads and wanted something that I could hit with sticks to get a more human feel and to make it easier/quicker for me to get ideas down (which is what you are kinda looking for I think). So I got a Roland SPD6 pad. The sounds on it are so-so, but I simply hook it up via midi to the SR16 and this allows me to easily "play" the Alesis (or any other midi sound generator). I also used a couple of Roland foot switches that enabled me to play kick and hihats with my feet. How did it work? - okay. Not great, but okay. There is a fair bit of cross talk between the pads sometimes. However this was a vast improvement over what I had been doing, and I definately liked it. But then I wanted more. So. I eventually got a cheapo electronic drumkit. It's REAL basic, not a "pro" kit in the slightest. Made by OSP, there is a lot of plastic, very rudimentary pads, and a very limited controller with pretty lousy sounds. It also has some super cheesy "features" like play-along tracks and such. But you know what?.......I LOVE this kit. It takes up very little room, it was cheap, it can be "silent", but best of all I simply use midi to access the Alesis (and now other hardware & software based sounds) to make it sound great. I'll never be a "real drummer", and I would never dream of gigging with this thing - but I've done SO much more drumming now that I have it, and my drum tracks for songwriting and basic demos are way beyond anything that I ever did before. And a lot of times I simply have fun bashing around on my "drums" and playing just for kicks. And I'm actually becoming a half decent drummer of sorts - I've even filled in playing drums onstage for a song or two here and there (using real drums of course, not my toy e-kit). The SPD6 still gets used - I mounted it on my drum "rack" and programmed it for extra cymbals, cowbell, & other percussion. All of this stuff I bought used (and cheap) on Ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2008 Huh? I am using this to add backtracks to basslines on my computer. Did you guys try transferring tracks to a pc or just play around on them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2008 I had, for many years, an Alesis SR16 that I used to program bits for practice, working out song ideas, and recording basic demos. This model has (had?) been a standard for a long time - pretty decent sounds, relatively easy to program, versatile, and reliable. It did the job I needed it to do.But I eventually got sick of trying to tap out fills and such on the little keypads and wanted something that I could hit with sticks to get a more human feel and to make it easier/quicker for me to get ideas down (which is what you are kinda looking for I think). So I got a Roland SPD6 pad. The sounds on it are so-so, but I simply hook it up via midi to the SR16 and this allows me to easily "play" the Alesis (or any other midi sound generator). I also used a couple of Roland foot switches that enabled me to play kick and hihats with my feet.How did it work? - okay. Not great, but okay. There is a fair bit of cross talk between the pads sometimes. However this was a vast improvement over what I had been doing, and I definately liked it. But then I wanted more. So. I eventually got a cheapo electronic drumkit. It's REAL basic, not a "pro" kit in the slightest. Made by OSP, there is a lot of plastic, very rudimentary pads, and a very limited controller with pretty lousy sounds. It also has some super cheesy "features" like play-along tracks and such. But you know what?.......I LOVE this kit. It takes up very little room, it was cheap, it can be "silent", but best of all I simply use midi to access the Alesis (and now other hardware & software based sounds) to make it sound great. I'll never be a "real drummer", and I would never dream of gigging with this thing - but I've done SO much more drumming now that I have it, and my drum tracks for songwriting and basic demos are way beyond anything that I ever did before. And a lot of times I simply have fun bashing around on my "drums" and playing just for kicks. And I'm actually becoming a half decent drummer of sorts - I've even filled in playing drums onstage for a song or two here and there (using real drums of course, not my toy e-kit). The SPD6 still gets used - I mounted it on my drum "rack" and programmed it for extra cymbals, cowbell, & other percussion.All of this stuff I bought used (and cheap) on Ebay. I've actually been looking at this for awhile, but everything I've read about them scared me away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted December 13, 2008 Moderators Share Posted December 13, 2008 I am using this to add backtracks to basslines on my computer. Did you guys try transferring tracks to a pc or just play around on them?Ah. I actually got the stand and good pedals, because I wanted my then 6 year old to have something more than a toy drum set to bang on. I personally got the DD-55 to take the place of an SR-16. The Yammie plays midi tracks nicely. The weakness is that the symbols don't sound very natural, but the snare and toms are actually pretty good. So per your question, midi out to DD-55, DD-55 headphone (stereo output) to board, into PC/recording. Lay down bass track after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeopold Posted December 13, 2008 Members Share Posted December 13, 2008 Zoom MRS 8 is a good all round utility box, and it has drum pads http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/mrs8/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 23, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 OK so I found a DD-55 locally for $30. I got excited, messaged the guy, then the next day after we'd been talking he says "a guy is offering me $45... you messaged first so I'm letting you match." Told him no thanks and went about my business. Good thing, because tonight I am going to pick this up for a mere $80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 And a lot of times I simply have fun bashing around on my "drums" and playing just for kicks. And I'm actually becoming a half decent drummer of sorts - I should hope so. Playing four kicks puts you squarely into Bozzio territory. Oh, and here's the small drum kit I use- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 I should hope so. Playing four kicks puts you squarely into Bozzio territory. Bozzio territory: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slapthefunkyfour Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 OK so I found a DD-55 locally for $30. I got excited, messaged the guy, then the next day after we'd been talking he says "a guy is offering me $45... you messaged first so I'm letting you match." Told him no thanks and went about my business. Good thing, because tonight I am going to pick this up for a mere $80 That is awesome! I need something like that. I'll never gig it, but it's fun to hit stuff and make some noise. If you ever decide to sell it, I want first dibs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 23, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 That is awesome! I need something like that. I'll never gig it, but it's fun to hit stuff and make some noise. If you ever decide to sell it, I want first dibs. Exactly! When I come up with cool lines that I think the band could use, it's soooo much easier for me to put it all together into a song if I can put a drum beat to the back of it. This is for inter-band samples, mainly. I used to play drums though, so having a little kit around will be nice anyways. Since I only paid $80 I'm not sure it's ever worth selling, but I'll let you know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted December 23, 2008 Moderators Share Posted December 23, 2008 Good deal, c3po . . . . . .er, I mean t3ch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lokidecat Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 Apparently the drum set from Guitar Hero World Tour works as a controller (has a midi-out on it..)heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roguetitan Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 Bozzio territory: HOLY FOOKIN CRAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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