Fat sounds, USB, and powerful performance capabilitySimmons has rolled out their newest and most elaborate electronic drum set to date, the SD9K. With a new sound module and a complement of 10 pads, the affordable SD9K offers a large palette of sounds plus considerable performance and recording capabilities.
Pad madnessSetting up is as simple as unfolding the rack, attaching the pads and module, and connecting everything with the color-coded, labeled cable snake that’s provided. I plugged the SD9K’s outputs into my home studio’s sound system—if you don’t already own a sound system, Simmons makes a couple of powered monitors specifically for use with their electronic drums, the DA50 and the larger DA200S. There is also a headphone output for private practice.
The SD9K includes four single-trigger toms plus a dual-trigger snare pad that allows you to play secondary rim sounds such as rimshots and side-sticks. The rubber pads feel natural, a little bouncier than regular drumheads, and are sensitive to a wide range of dynamics. The solid-feeling bass drum pad accepts the pedal of your choice, and even accommodates a double pedal. The four cymbal pads include a dual-trigger ride, crashes, and hi-hat, all of which can separate bell and edge sounds and trigger sequences. Two auxiliary trigger inputs allow you to add an additional dual-trigger or two single-trigger pads.
The dual-zone hi-hat pad/pedal combination is particularly responsive and musical to play, with a broad spectrum of tones including open, closed, ½ open, and foot splash. The cymbals are all “choke-able,” muting the sound when you grab them, just like the real thing.
Warehouse of drumsYou can quickly select the various drum sets with the module’s large jog wheel. The 40 preset drum sets draw from 725 drum and percussion sounds, with several dozen rock, pop, jazz, and fusion kits that offer useful sounds to working drummers. 59 user sets let you save your own custom kits. Various editing modes allow easy adjustment of the drums’ tuning, decay, volume, pan, reverb type and level, trigger response, and global MIDI settings. The effects include reverb, delay, and four-band EQ.
Several sets evoke the drum sounds of a particular musical age with names like Vintage ’69, Vintage ’71, and Vintage ’76. The Vintage ’69 set sounds woody and old school; the ’71 set conjures up visions of Bonham, and the Vintage ’76 has the wet, muffled “dead” studio sound that recording engineers loved back then. The Roto Toms kit nails their strong attack and punchy sound precisely.
The SD9K includes a vast world percussion collection. A Steel Drum set provides Caribbean flavors, while a Latin Kit includes a battery of Afro-Cuban instruments — timbales, congas, bells, shakers, and more. The Tabla kit takes you to India, with a selection of various tabla drum hits and accents. The Brasil Kit evokes carnaval in Rio with cuica, surdo, agogo bells, whistles, and shakers. For the legit players out there, the Orchestral Kit delivers orchestral snare and bass drum, tuned timpani, finger cymbals, and other symphonic percussion.
Drum’ N’ Bass, Techno, Industry, and Junkyard kits offer a rich selection of sounds and effects for electronica, hip-hop, and DJ effects. Several Simmons sets recreate sounds from the original Simmons sets of the ’80s. Vintage analog drum machine kits are included, along with sets featuring vocal hits and cartoon sounds.
129 cymbal sounds provide a comprehensive vocabulary. The rides include classic, ’60s, Rock, Dry, Riveted, Trashy, and Electronic, to name a few. Cymbals are difficult to simulate because of their many subtle sound shadings — fortunately the SD9K provides generous choices when it comes to bell and edge sounds for convincing accents.
Module mojoThe SD9K module facilitates triggering and looping of musical patterns and rhythmic sequences. One-shot Recording allows you to record your drum performance at the touch of a button, while Song Mode allows you to play 110 Seven-part preset tunes in just about every style, with additional space for 100 user songs of up to 12,000 notes. A general MIDI soundset allows you to download and play MIDI files, and supports the creation of your own backing tracks to trigger, play along with, or send to external samplers and virtual drum software libraries. Your drum tracks become a fluid percussion soundscape that gives you the ability to replace any of your drum sounds anytime.
The USB port built into the SD9K’s module allows you to play directly into your computer’s software, and to load and save kits, songs, and settings. There is also an SD card reader that allows you to load and save information directly to the SD9K brain.
The SD9K also offers a lot of features for learning or enhancing your time-keeping skills. You can mute the drum track of the preset songs and play along to develop your groove. The onboard metronome has a range of 30-280 beats per minute and is great for working on timing accuracy and use as a reference when laying down drum tracks. A stereo input allows you to plug in your iPod or other MP3 or CD players and play along, great for learning songs and grooves.
Rhythm revolutionThe Simmons SD9K offers an expanded selection of high-quality sounds, a pad setup that has the real feel of a full-size drum set, and includes important options such as USB and MIDI for communicating with your computer and other gear. The SD9K gives today’s new breed of music composers and drummers a way to create dynamic, live-feeling drum tracks within the computer environment, as well as offering an instrument for playing live and practicing.
Simmons SD9K Electronic Drum SetFeatures & SpecsDrum pads:
Kick Pad
11” dual-zone snare
3 - 9” toms
11” floor tom
Cymbal pads:
2 – dual-zone crash
14” dual-zone ride
Dual-zone hi-hat
SD9K Drum Module:
100 drum kits (40 preset, 59 user
725 drum, percussion, and SFX sounds
4-legged rack with mounting hardware
Have been enjoying a good read that jumped off the bookstore shelf into my hands last week, Traveling Music by Neil Peart. I was initially resistant, because I confess, I've never been a Rush fan - I know that's blasphemy to some of you, but different strokes for different folks. I know good drumming when I hear it, though, and Neil is a player. I didn't realize the guy was a writer, though, and he's quite a good one. It's a fun read for musicians in general, drummers in particular, and anyone else with a sense of the romance of the highway. Neil casts a reflective eye on his music and times, from the frame of reference of his travels and the music he is listening to on the road. Not surprisingly, his taste in music at times diverges from mine - he doesn't seem to care much for The Beatles, for God's sake - but the guy reveals himself to be a venerable human being and a well-read adventurer with enormous appetite for and curiosity about life. I'm also now looking forward to reading his Ghost Rider - Travels on the Healing Road, an earlier travel opus he apparently wrote about his journeys while recovering from some harrowing family tragedies.
