The end of drum mic'ing heartbreak?

Doctor J

Interesting innovation by Nanotech

Einstein

Yeah, I agree though about the snare sound, dunno how good the pickup will justify the sound of real snares.

Doctor J

Or cymbals, but hey, if that means at least three less mics to get bashed and three less mic stands to find a way to erect, then whooopeee says I... arrrrr!

feylya

Hmm, interesting...

Einstein

I'd say they'll prob stick with an overhead mic or two for the cymbals & hi hats

Doctor J

This is the sort of thing which would really be useful to Baggio (if he ever gets his band on a stage) or any other drummer with insane amounts of toms all over the place

The return of the era of huge drumkits may be about to make a comeback

feylya

Doctor J wrote:

This is the sort of thing which would really be useful to Baggio (if he ever gets his band on a stage)

Meow!

Doctor J

Those in glass houses don't throw stones, Fey, that was a remark of crooked solidarity, I've been there man, I've been there

feylya

Rock and Roll!

-=al=-

looks, cool, nice idea

the_obsolete

Bah, just use V-Drums with real cymbals, far FAR easier!

Eoin Madsen

Electric kit - not really easier at all from an engineers pov.

Definitely for live toms, these pickups would be pretty cool. Maybe snare top and a mixed kick? I just can't imagine a solid vibration transducer could sound as big as a good mic, tbh.

That part about it sounding more natural is total bs btw. Do piezo bridge pickups sound more natural? Why would these?

the_obsolete

Why a prob from engineers pov?

Eoin Madsen

Well (depending on the kit) you often only get a stereo out from the sound module.

squibs

I hear that. I've had to record the midi data from a recording and play it back with all but one drum muted, to record the audio. And repeat this performance for EACH DRUM in the kit. Takes ages.

On the other hand, if the drummer knows the module and can program a nice balanced kit, it can be very quick. It's also great to be able to record the MIDI and quantise a little, or "compress" levels if required!

Doctor J

I can see it taking off with live music, whatever about studio practicalities. Two overheads and snare mics (though it depends how the snare sounds, I wouldn't dismiss it just yet)... yes, please

Dr. Loon

Sounds interesting. How does it work though? Is each drum plugged in? Would like to listen to a kit with this setup to see the difference in sound. I hate mics all over the shop, and I've a habit of giving them a smack by accident when drunk/not concentrating..

the_obsolete

Eoin, the stereo output prob has been somewhat resolved with the TD-20:-
the hats, bass, ride and snare all have individual outputs, and 2 seperate stereo outputs for crashes and toms

Eoin Madsen

the_obsolete wrote:

Eoin, the stereo output prob has been somewhat resolved with the TD-20:-
the hats, bass, ride and snare all have individual outputs, and 2 seperate stereo outputs for crashes and toms

Yeah, but the majority of drum modules are not that swanky. Stereo tom outs is still daft anyway. The drummer is on the stage. No aspect of the signal going to FOH should be under his/her control. That's what we have sound engineers for.

the_obsolete

Well, IMHO that's a very grey area, depending on if the drummer has a monitor or not. Obviously if they don't that'd be futile, don't even wanna think bout what'd happen!
However, if they do have a good monitor in place imagine the varied effects that can be possible for each and every song from the touch of a button.
I'm still not sure bout how efficient they are live, but for recording I think v-drums n real cymbals are the dogs hairy bollo**s. Even if you only have the stereo out for all the drums, individual levels can be manipulated on the module (rather than at the desk if they had individual channels). For drop-ins it may not be very efficient or perhaps at post-production, but for a complete track tis very handy, all ya gota do is get a rough take and see how it meshes with the rest of the instruments.

Eoin Madsen

Monitor is absolutely no reflection on FOH.

the_obsolete

True, I guess ya got moi stumped on that one!