i'm new to drums and afraid (midi questions)

[godard]

I figured I'd see if anyone here can point me in the right direction. First and foremost, I'm not a drummer and have no delusions of being one. What I need is something to bang on that will send midi out. I don't need a ton of pads, and I don't need any built in sounds. All I want is a way of triggering drum samples on my computer in a way that feels less artificial (midi keyboard or programming for example). The Roland SPD-6 looks like what I'm talking about, but a cheaper, more "bare-bones" version would be even better if it exists.

 

I have no idea what the qualitative aspects drum gear are or what 'good drum gear' is, so any advice is much obliged.

[Fafnir777]

Roland makes a TMI (Trigger to MIDI Interface) that sells for around $250-$275 dollars. It has 6 trigger inputs.

 

Then you could buy whatever kind of trigger pad you wanted.

 

That would be your best bet.

 

 

As far as I know, there are no pads currently being made that are just a pad with a Midi interface.

 

 

 

 

Tim

[kamman]

Honestly, I'd think you be better off getting your hands on a used Roland SPD-6 off EBay. You can probably win won for less than what the TMC-6 would cost you. Even if you buy a TMC-6 you still have to put together some pads so it'll cost you more. I also think an all-in-one solution like an SPD-6 is more elegant rather than having to cable together a bunch of things to get what you want.

 

There's a TMC-6 on EBay right now with a Buy-It-Now price of $199. There are also a few SPD-6's up there.

 

 

-kam

[c. jude]

Based on what you are saying, I'd concur that a multipad of some sort might be the way to go.

 

I know you say you aren't a drummer, but you might want to consider getting a pedal to go with it to trigger bass drum (helps free up the hands to play drum beats more naturally as they would be played). Might take a little practice though.

 

Another cool thing you can do is play just the snare and kick drum part with your hands first. Then go back and and hi-hat, cymbals, toms etc. in another pass. To keep things natural sounding, play the snare hits again either in the air or on a pad or something that is off. That way you parts will sound more like they were played naturally.