Tag: hybrid

Performance

Vicky O’Neon: How I Use E-drums

I’m a drummer and percussionist from Finland, based in the UK. Since 2022, I am the touring drummer for the American pop star Anastacia. I also play in the house bands for a variety of different TV shows; the most recent is the American TV show Name That Tune. Other live TV performances include the opening of the Eurovision Song Contest (BBC One), the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (ITV) and Team GB’s homecoming from the Olympics (BBC) at Wembley. In 2020, I worked closely with Brian May from Queen, releasing two songs, one of which hit no. 13 in the iTunes chart. My first ‘big’ performance opportunity was with Hans Zimmer and friends (including Pharrell Williams and Johnny Marr) in 2014 […]

Performance

Perry Gragas: How I Use E-drums

Increasingly, we see e-drums deployed in orchestra pits for stage musicals. Perry Gragas explains why he went the electronics route. My first experience with electronic drums was in the mid-80s when I purchased an original Simmons kit. Intrigued by the eye-catching hexagonal shape and futuristic sounds, I gigged with this kit for a couple of years until the novelty wore off and musical tastes changed. Fast forward to 2001. I got a call from my old band teacher asking me to play for a big production of West Side Story at the new state-of-the-art theatre. This was my introduction to musical theatre, and the start of a 20-plus-year career playing for shows. For the first five years, I used an […]

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 […]

Gear, Samples

Sensory Percussion upgraded with Evans

digitalDrummer’s August 2017 review of Sensory Percussion dubbed the system “a game-changer that will extend your musical palette as far as you can imagine”. Since then, we have watched the developers tweak the hardware, update the software and add heaps of sample content as the instrument matured and gained an almost cult-like following. So, it’s no surprise that the independent instrument launched via Kickstarter would attract the attention of the drum instrument mainstream. Shipping will begin in 2023 of a new collaboration between Sunhouse and drum accessories manufacturer Evans – the Evans Hybrid Sensory Percussion Sound System. The system consists of three redesigned Sensory Percussion sensors, a new Evans i/o interface and upgraded and enhanced Sensory Percussion software, as well […]

DIY, Gear

Easy hybrid option

Need to turn your acoustic kit into an e-kit quickly and easily? Allan Leibowitz reviews a new option. Back in 2018, when RTOM Corporation launched its Black Hole slip-on mesh head solution, digitalDrummer was among the first to attempt to electrify the heads by adding external triggers. To recap, the Black Hole pads are heavy-duty mesh heads mounted on a rubber-covered hoop that snaps on top of an acoustic drum. Think of the now-defunct NFUZD, but with a mesh head instead of a rubber playing surface. For our test, I cranked up the heads, slipped them on some acoustic drums and raided the digitalDrummer trigger vault. The Black Hole heads come with a turn buckle tension ring and it’s possible […]