Acoustic or Electronic Drums

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Acoustic or Electronic Drums
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Table of Contents

• Advantages of Acoustic Drums Slide 3
• Advantages of Electronic Drums Slide 4
• Disadvantages of Acoustic Drums Slide 5
• Disadvantages of Electronic Drums Slide 6
• Possibilities of Electronics In and Out
• of the Studio Setting Slide 7,8
• The Professional Points of View on
• Electronics Slide 9, 10,11
• Overview Slide 12
• Works Cited Slide 13

3
Advantages of Acoustic Drums

• Natural sounds
• Capture the feel of the individual drummer
• Ability to pick up notes played quickly
• No loss of electronic power
• Avoidance of skips

4
Advantages of Electronic Drums

• Various sounds
• Cheaper when different sounds are desired
• Accessible volume control
• Conducive to silent practice
• Expansion or enhancements of natural sounds

5
Disadvantages of Acoustic Drums

• Limitation of sounds
• Expenses rise as new sounds are desired
• Tuning problems
• Lack of volume control

6
Disadvantages of Electronic Drums

• Unnatural feel
• Lack of individual feel or style
• Problems with sequencing/programmed drum patterns
• Lack of tuning possibilities

7
Possibilities of Electronics In and Out of the
Studio Setting

• The Yamaha DTXTREME, along with other electronic
  drums, offers a wide range of sounds and tools
  that a drummer could use within the confines of a
  studio session or at a gig.
• The DTXTREME offers wooden shells to provide a
  real acoustic feel, which is an area of concern
  to drummers (Long 48).

8
Possibilities of Electronics In and Out of the
Studio Setting

• The new and improved ddrum4 SE Signature Edition
  Electronic Drumkit offers drum sounds recorded by
  studio greats including Kenny Aronoff (John
  Mellencamp/Studio Great) and Dennis Chambers
  (P-Funk and Santana) (Long 114).
• This input of sounds from popular session
  drummers would be crucial for drummers in cover
  bands.
• Drummers could tackle this music and have
  accurate drum sounds.

9
The Professional Points of View on Electronics

• Mike Bordin (Faith No More, Korn, Ozzy Osborne)
  The mark of a great drum sample is when somebody
  would say, That sounds like a real drum!
  (Rashidi 60)
• I understand why people use electronics, because
  theres a lot of stuff you physically cant do
  without them. Electronics open up a whole other
  world of creativity. (Rashidi 60)

10
The Professional Points of View on Electronics

• Danny Carey (Tool) Well, it was seen as that
  geeky 80s thing. But back then a lot of these
  guys were trying to imitate real drums, and
  thats why it was cheesy. They werent using it
  as another instrument to add to the drums.
  Thats the way Ive always looked at
  electronics. (Micallef 59)

11
The Professional Points of View on Electronics

• Eddie Kramer (Producer-Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix
  and many others) I want the song to breathe.
  I want it to have ups and downs. It cant be
  radically out of time, of course, but a little
  movement within the context of the song is fine.
  (Amendola 131-132)
• Kramer is commenting on the use of metronomes in
  the studio.

12
Overview

• Electronic drums can be extremely useful within
  the studio and live settings. Some drummers may
  feel reluctant to use electronic drums to the
  unnatural feel or sound. However, other drummers
  welcome the musical explorations available within
  the realm of electronics.

13
Works Cited

• Amendola, Billy. Eddie Kramer Its Only Rock
  N Roll. Modern Drummer March 2003 131-132.
  The Modern Drummer link goes directly to the web
  site. This site provides further information
  about drums and drummers.
• Long, Rick. ddrum4 SE Signature Edition
  Electronic Drumkit The Sounds of the GreatsAnd
  Some Great Features, Too! Modern Drummer
  February 2003 114.
• Long, Rick. Yamaha DTXTREME Electronic
  Percussion System The
• Innovative Meets the Familiar in Yamahas New
  High-End E-Kit. The Yamaha link goes directly
  to the web site which provides information about
  Yamaha drumsets, endorsers, etc.
• Modern Drummer June 2001 48.
• Micallef, Ken. Danny Carey Demon on Drums.
  Modern Drummer June 2001 59.
• Rashidi, Waleed. Mike Bordin Ozzys Master of
  Metal. Modern
• Drummer October 2002 60.