RECORDING January 2023 - 63

A thing that stood out to all of the
drummers was the broad range of the
drums' sensitivity and volume. I found
the EFNOTE sets play best with a moderate
to light touch to pull off very
sensitive, finessed passages; however,
many sounds will crack and jump pretty
aggressively if you lay into them. Again,
practice and building muscle memory
are essential here.
Another observation is that fast snare
and tom rolls can produce a machinegun
effect. Much of it is largely masked in
a mix, but something which to be aware.
In the Mix
Beyond the drummers, I received quite
a few comments from congregants,
including, " The drums sound different, "
" The drums
sounded
great, what's
with the funny looking cymbals, " to " I
couldn't hear the cymbals, " and " Wow,
new kit? It looks great! "
The kit sounded well produced at
front-of-house and on the stream, and
I loved the drummers creatively changing
kits from song to song. One thing
that did take some getting used to was
that the acoustic cymbals are typically
the loudest thing in the room and add a
crisp top end to the mix.
In contrast, initially, the mix sounded
a tad dull, and I found myself wanting to
boost the cymbal volume...but I couldn't
without asking the drummer to do so
from the stage. I didn't want to adjust
the volume at the expense of their mix.
A great solution here is that the headphone
output can be reassigned as a
second set of outputs. For example, you
can assign the kick to 1, the snare to 2
and the rest of the drums to stereo 3/4.
In the future, I plan to use use the headphone
outs, with the drums in stereo in
1/2 and the cymbals in stereo in 3/4.
In Use: Studio
I was also sent an EFNOTE 3X set
for use in my studio and home. Here
the smaller sizes were much more manageable
and configurable, and I did
like having the two extra toms on hand.
I thought I might be disappointed with
the smaller pad-style kick. While yes, the
20 " kick does feel more solid and real,
it was no problem acclimating to the 3X
model. Similarly, while the small 12 "
snare contains fewer internal sensors, I
never felt or heard it be an issue.
As a studio tool, the kits sound great. Having them be dry, non-compressed
and even reverb-free made it easier to add such processes later in the DAW, similar
to if I had tracked a real kit. Tracking 8-channels of audio out was a breeze
over USB, and I especially liked using the kit as a MIDI controller for many of my
various VST drum programs. It's much faster than searching for and programming
MIDI grooves.
I liked the addition on the 3X of the electronic kit sounds for variety and also
found my favorite overall set to play--Maple Shells. The drums from this kit are
available in the EFNOTE 7 as Maple King with some different cymbal selections,
tuning and muffling choices.
Final EF-Notes
I am impressed by the marriage of sound, feel, looks, build and response contained
in both EFNOTE kits. Will it make a true believer out of all of the drummers
on my team? That is a split proposition and more a matter of " I just don't dig
electric drums " rather than " I don't dig these electric drums. " Either way, I think
the worship director is leaning toward not simply replacing the acoustic drums,
but adding the EFNOTE 7 set as a high-quality electronic option.
For me, I could easily see a set of EFNOTE drums in my studio, adding yet
another creative percussive option, and despite the EFNOTE 7 being a great
playing and feeling kit, I also like the compact size and the added versatility of
the EFNOTE 3X.
It's a Wrap
If you are thinking about adding an electric drum kit to your live or studio setup,
you need to check out the EFNOTE line. The cymbal technology alone might
blow your mind and your perceptions.
Drummer Alex Picchietti shows off that you
can even set up the EFNOTE 7 left-handed.
Price: $2,899.99 EFNOTE 3X; $4,199.99 EFNOTE 7
More From: artesia-pro.com/efnote
RECORDING January 2023 63
http://artesia-pro.com/efnote
RECORDING January 2023

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