Category: Performance

Performance

Douglas Lippi: How I use e-drums

Douglas Lippi recently augmented his acoustic rig with electronics for a musical theatre production. I play in tribute bands, cover bands, a church and in musical theatre productions, using both electronic and acoustic drums. The set-up here was for the musical Beauty and the Beast. When I’m hired to do a musical, the first thing I ask the music director is whether they prefer acoustic or electronic. Since this was a more traditionally orchestrated musical, he requested all acoustic. The list of percussion instruments required was extensive and I did not have a set of four timpani, chimes, a bell tree, castanets, sleigh bells and a gong in my acoustic collection. The original plan was to borrow them, but that […]

Industry, Performance

drum-tec hosts live event

Planning is under way for a second edition of drum-tec’s live event, drum-tec Days, after the success of the launch show in September. Event highlights included a live performance from well-known YouTuber Ralf Schumacher. All master classes were sold out, with drum educators like Claus Hessler presenting the Moeller technique and his open hand playing approach. Bass drum maestro Martin Jovanovic focused on foot techniques, including a demonstration of double strokes at 180 bpm. Staged at drum-tec’s Fischbeck headquarters near Hannover, the event also gave visitors the opportunity to try around 50 different e-drum kits from brands like Roland, Yamaha, Efnote, ATV and, of course, drum-tec’s Jam, diabolo and pro series, while the company’s tech crew was on hand to […]

Gear, Performance

E-drum troubleshooting

Today’s electronic drums are mostly plug and play. That is especially true if you buy a full kit – module, pads and cymbals in a bundle. Of course, things can get a bit more complicated when you mix and match, especially when you combine new and used components from different manufacturers. After years of fielding reader questions and monitoring the social media of the major e-drum companies, here are digitalDrummer’s top troubleshooting tips – and we’ve arranged them in a logical order based on the things most likely to go wrong.   Testing one, two This may sound a bit obvious, but are headphones or amp plugged into the correct output and the volume turned up? More than once, I’ve […]

Performance

AbletonDrummer to stage Festival

Tobi Hunke, who featured as the E-drum Guru in the August digitalDrummer magazine, is staging his first AbletonDrummer Festival next month. The full-day event features workshops and concerts, and will be held in Berlin on 24 September. Delegates can attend the workshops for free, but there is a charge for the concerts (€10 pre-sale or €15 at the door). The performer/presenter line-up consists of Hunke, an Ableton Live educator; Vicky O’Neon, Jan “Stix” Pfennig and Mesut Guersoy. For more information, check out the AbletonDrummer site.

Performance

Pete Lockett retires

Percussionist and e-drum app developer Pete Lockett has announced that he is hanging up his sticks, beaters and fingers. In a letter to fans, the artist, whose percussion has accompanied entertainers spanning Jeff Beck to Björk, Robert Plant and Amy Winehouse and appeared in several James Bond movies, says he has re-evaluated his overall life objectives and decided to retire from all touring, performance and recording. “It has been an amazing journey for the last 35 years and I feel blessed to have shared part of that journey with all of you. “It has been an opportunity to play the best gear with the best artists and be with the very best people. Every single moment is a cherished and […]

Gear, Performance

Bradlie Jones: How I Use E-drums

Bradlie Jones (aka Jelie) was recently crowned champion in the beatmaking category (18+) of the Hit Like A Girl contest. E-drums are at the core of her work, and she shares her gear thoughts here: I’m a rapper, producer, engineer and YouTuber. I rap and produce as Jelie and my YouTube channel is called Kickback Couture. My music is a mix of Hip Hop and R&B. My channel consists of music production tutorials and music software reviews. I combine various unique and experimental sounds with my intricate wordplay and often dabble in contrasting flows, resulting in Hip Hop-cantered fusions that are still firmly stitched together by emotive undertones. My overarching ambition is to empower people through my musical gift. I use a […]

Gear, Performance

Michael C. Stone: How I Use E-drums

Michael C. Stone recently added an Efnote 5 kit to his arsenal. I work in and around Southern California as a performing/recording drummer with multiple acts, most notably Ron Blair of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fame, the Chris Torres Band, Atomic Groove, and the Drabs. I’ve also performed and/or recorded with Earl Slick (David Bowie, John Lennon), Stevie Salas (George Clinton, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger), Jim Keltner (Studio Legend), Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Average White Band), Luis Maldonado (Train, Foreigner), Hattie Webb (Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) and many more. In 2017, I appeared on Carl King’s Grand Architects of the Universe, an album that features some of the most accomplished drummers in the […]

Gear, Performance

Efnote features in winning soundtrack

Efnote’s new flagship kit, the Efnote 7, is featured in a new surf film by Peter Hamblin, called “Sweet Adventure”, which picked up both the “Best Soundtrack” and “Picture of the Year” awards at London’s Surf Film Festival 2021. The soundtrack is composed by Michael Bedard, Efnote’s US-based drum expert, who also appears playing the Efnote 7 drum kit in the opening scene at Hamblin’s request. (See image.) The Efnote 7 features full-size shells and cymbals along with real drum samples in the module.

Performance

Roger Whitsett: How I use e-drums on stage

I’m the drummer for the Pizazz Band. We are a regional touring band. We play a variety of music. My band plays anywhere from 50 to 60 shows a year. We run a “quiet stage” with no amps, monitors, side fills or acoustic drums. We use a Behringer X-32 digital sound system for FOH and personal monitor mixes. Everyone has in-ear monitors and iPads to have their own personal monitor mix. In my band, I use a full electronic kit based on a Roland TD-50 module and low-volume acoustic hi-hats. This kit will be replaced with a Roland VAD 706 Gloss Cherry Finish Kit. I run seven direct outs to FOH. I run a left and right ¼” feed from […]

Gear, Performance

Triggering sound and light

ELECTRONIC PERCUSSION RECENTLY formed the basis of an Australian university demonstration of “sensory technology”. Monash University’s SensiLab and the University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Animal Logic Academy teamed up to showcase a next generation audio-visual experience in live performance. The 60-minute live performance called Trigger Happy ‘Visualised’ showcased the use of innovative technologies including the AirSticks which convert movement into sound. Developed by Dr Alon Ilsar, an Australian-based drummer, composer, instrument designer and researcher at SensiLab, the AirSticks may look like simple controllers, but are a unique audio-visual instrument that allows the performer to produce sound and graphics out of thin air. “The performance not only demonstrated the technology we’ve been developing, but it also gave audiences the opportunity to […]