EQ Magazine - September 2007 - (Page 58)

DRUM HEADS AN INTRODUCTION TO MIDI DRUM CONTROLLERS by David Miles Huber As recording musicians, we usually strive to pack as much humanity into a performance as possible, thereby making music that sounds less rigid and mechanical. An obvious way to add a human touch to a MIDI-sequenced performance is to spice it up with acoustic instruments that are actually played live. However, if this isn’t an option, you can always perform parts into a project using a MIDI controller that translates the physical performance gestures of a played performance into MIDI data suitable for recording into a DAW (and/or driving a tone module or virtual instrument). This is particularly appropriate for drums and percussion, as how a drummer plays a rhythm adds an incredible feel to a song. And, fortunately, there has never been a better time to make use of standard and alternate MIDI drum controllers. With all of the available hardware instruments, software instruments, soft-production tools, and plugins, there’s an ever-increasing range of cost-effective tools suitable for both stage and studio. However, an equally compelling reason for controlling sounds via MIDI is the ability to capture the MIDI track, edit it, and add processing during mixdown. If you flubbed the timing, hit a wrong note, or just want to change the sound after-the-fact, an editable MIDI track just might be able to save your session. TYPES OF DRUM CONTROLLERS Drum controllers come in all sorts of sizes and functional flavors. Soon after buying a keyboard synth, players found that a standard music keyboard could let you trigger the various sampled sounds of a drum set. This is probably the most commonly used device for triggering percussion and drum voices, as keyboards are almost always available. Furthermore, you can trigger sounds quickly and easily using fast finger movements that don’t require full hand/wrist motions. The downside is that keys don’t provide a playing surface that mimics a true drum or percussion setup. Another popular type of control surface is the drum machine-type button pad layout. These are found on drum machines, Akai MPC samplers, newer keyboard controllers such as the playing surface is often small, and it can sometimes be a pain to let your fingers do the walking. In more advanced MIDI-based music, it’s often necessary for a drummer or percussionist to use a surface that can be played like a real instrument. In these situations, a dedicated drum pad controller is generally the best tool for the job. These larger, rubberized playing surfaces (which often have eight or more velocity-sensing playing pads) are designed to be played with the fingers, hands, percussion mallets, or drumsticks in a way that’s comfortable to drummers, but can also help bring out the beat-meister in non-drummers. Furthermore, these pad controllers can serve as standalone devices, or incorporated into a traditional kit by placing the controller on a snare stand or drum mount. One of the newest and most costeffective pad controllers to hit the market is the ControlPad from Alesis (Figure 1). This thin, USB bus-powered system is a good example of how a controller can add greatly to a setup. Additional inputs for kick and hi-hat let you build up a kit around the controller, and two extra inputs can accept triggers from any number of sources. Full electronic drum kits are also available that offer most, or all, of the drum and percussion surfaces of a full kit. Roland has been particularly prolific over the years in this field. But again, Alesis deserves special mention, as their DM5 Pro kit (Figure 2) just brought the price of such a beastie Fig. 1: The Alesis ControlPad offers eight relatively larger, rubberized pads with a feel that’s inviting to drummers and non-drummers alike. VX Series keyboards from CME, and various dedicated drum controllers (see sidebar). While these surfaces make it easier for the budding drummer in all of us to pound out a beat with our fingers in a way that makes percussive sense, the Fig. 2: While a full kit takes up more space, drummers often appreciate the extra physicality they allow. 58 EQ SEPTEMBER 2007 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - September 2007

Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly Ben and Vesper Kaiser Chiefs Toolbox Ozma Porcupine Tree Rush The Software Power User Guide Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drumheads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Chameleon Labs TS1 and TS2 Primera Bravo Se Disc Publisher Roland MC-808 Magix Samplitude Professional 9.1 Massey Tape-Head Big Fish Audio Revolucion Reggaeton Sonivox World Beats Sony Pocket Diva Adobe Audition 2.0 Cakewalk Sonar 6 Room with a VU: J Street Recorders, Sacramento, CA

EQ Magazine - September 2007

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