I got my first demo of the new-ish Korg Wavedrum and it caused me to begin abusing my credit card once again.

Yes, folks, I’ve fallen again. I had to have this thing. I’m simultaneously amazed, delighted and inspired by my new friend. I whump her with a stick and she sings to me in a hundred voices that make me go ‘I could use this on a new tune’.

I’m amazed at how sensitive the WD is to my (non-drummist) playing. I’m also amazed at how convincing many of the percussion sounds are. When I say ‘convincing’ I’m more meaning that it will sound as if I’ve wheeled a thing of wood and skin into the studio, rather than convincing me that it sounds exactly like a real arimbao – especially since I haven’t a clue what an arimbao would look or sound like. I’m a rock’n’roll guy at heart, so anything that sounds like the end of side one of Ommadawn is good enough for me.

I love the fact that I’m playing on a real drum skin. As a percussive lightweight I probably won’t be using the pressure sensitivity much, but that fact that it responds to not only *how* I hit the skin, but *where* I hit the skin means no two performances need sound the same. When I’m looking to add some flowing percussion to my tracks this is critically important.

I’ll be buying a decent drum head to replace the rather flimsy-feeling one supplied by Korg. I don’t see it lasting long, especially during our honeymoon period. I’m finding it hard to stop hitting this thing and smiling!

Just skimming through the preset patches is enough to make your head swim with the potential. Predictably there are some typically ‘listen how many swooshy noises we can fit in’ preset patches in there. I suppose the programmers have to earn their stripes and every synth needs a few of those patches for the showroom. Personally I’d have liked a few more kick/snare combos, but I’ll just have to rattle those up myself. I love the Simmons simulation!

Negatives?

No MIDI. I’ve seen a lot of the arguments that say that MIDI would not be able to carry the data that the WD can generate. I accept this explanation, but I would still like to be able to generate a simple velocity-sensitive trigger from the WD, even if it only had a MIDI output. And if I could have had a MIDI input I’d settle for it producing a greatly simplified replay than allowing me to access all of the WD’s self-generated magic.

I hate the programming system. It seems we’re back to the days of five buttons to run the whole show and three cryptic LED characters to tell you what you need to know. ‘LEU’ equates to balance between rim and skin, huh? Yeah, I can see that one coming easily to mind in three month’s time. But if these compromises bring it home at this sort of price I can live with it.

An external power supply – ugh! Korg made me break my ‘no external PSUs in my studio, thanks’ rule! I hate these things as much as ever, but it’s no bigger than any other I’ve seen and at least it will work both sides of the pond.

Oh, my aching credit balance.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

You only live once. Enjoy!

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

been very tempted by this myself...and you're not helping!

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www.myspace.com/shambolic-charm

Quote The Elf:

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I whump her with a stick and she sings to me in a hundred voices

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S&M much?

I can dish it out, but I can’t take it. I don’t have the legs for latex anyway.

Just scraped another few coins together for a Remo head to replace the stretched piece of kitchen roll placed there by Korg. I’m seriously smitten!

Mr Charm. Just tell yourself this – if Elf likes it, it can’t be all good...

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote Shambolic Charm:

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been very tempted by this myself...and you're not helping!

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Not helping at all, it's been firmly on my 'don't go within 50m of one that's powered up and definitely no looking' list for some time.

Just put a whole roll of gaffa tape round my wallet

Should hold me back just a little longer

Damn you Elf, that thing really is looking mighty tempting after viewing some of the videos on the web. Couldn't you have just kept quiet?

Quote The Elf:

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I love the Simmons simulation!

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how it all started in the first place - careful The Elf

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.. is this thing on?

- Harry, no! Don't look at the light!
- I-can't-help-it. It's-so-beautiful. [Harry gets zapped, falls]

Luckily the local music shop doesn’t have one... I just don’t think my credit card could take the hit!

Let's face it - hitting things is one of the more satisfying ways of musically expressing yourself.

Nice to hear it responds well. Edrum systems are gradually getting better at reproducing complex performances, rather than boringly triggering static velocity switching samples...

Stared into the shiny light from Korg for too long
When I woke up, the gaffer tape around my wallet was off and the deed was done

Negatives above noted, but having had a go on just about every electronic drum thingy since electronic drum thingies first started up to the V drum (impressive but mmmm not quite there) this one produced an instant big grin

It's an instrument ! you can play it, love it !

Thanks Elf for the nudge over the edge.

Thinks....hmmm a kit using these really would be wild

One happy sinner

That’s great isn’t it? Not content with leaving me to suffer in my abject guilt, I now have to face the fact that I’ve helped to drag others down with me.

I’d recommend replacing the rather flimsy/lumpy skin that Korg supply. I found that I could get a more symmetrical response with a new skin. I chose a Remo Fibreskyn, but that was just to give a similar look, rather than me having any artistically valid reason!

The most important setting for me was to get the pressure sensitivity correct. The sensor was set way too high on mine when I first took my drum out of the box; it was actually causing a raised lump in the skin. By dropping it back to something more sensible I found the drum more playable, more responsive and the stick bounce was much more natural.

It’ll take you quite some time to tire of Presets 8 and 35!

Enjoy!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

It is a wonderful instrument. I had to buy one this year after having a go of one at a friend's. My gig partner uses it at our gigs - 90% on the Tabla setting - it's great but I'm still on the original head which is starting to fray at the edges.

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Logic Pro 9 - iMac 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo - 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM - OS X 10.6.8 + MOTU 8PRE

Quote The Elf:

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That’s great isn’t it? Not content with leaving me to suffer in my abject guilt, I now have to face the fact that I’ve helped to drag others down with me.

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And so you should feel guilty, the damn thing is a divorce lawyers dream come true (neglect and annoyance all in one neat package)

Quote The Elf:

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The most important setting for me was to get the pressure sensitivity correct. The sensor was set way too high on mine when I first took my drum out of the box; it was actually causing a raised lump in the skin. By dropping it back to something more sensible I found the drum more playable, more responsive and the stick bounce was much more natural.

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Thanks for the tip. Mine is the same, good to know it's easily fixed

Quote The Elf:

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Enjoy!

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Having no problem at all with that one

An expensive month for you mate!

How are my KM184s?

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http://www.loverslanestudios.co.uk

Quote Persuazion:

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An expensive month for you mate!

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Lordy, you don't know the half of it! A very expensive MiniMoog repair and a new PC ordered from the good Mr. Kaine too. An expensive month indeed!

Quote Persuazion:

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How are my KM184s?

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Doing just fine!

They begin earning their keep next week in front of the acoustic guitar of a certain incredibly talented Mansfield-based singer/songwriter. I'll see if I can't drop you an audio file...

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

At 2'40'' ish on the video here: http://www.korg.com/mediaplayer.aspx?md=4010&pd=563 it sounds like the opening music on Kula World!

Yay. Do Want.

Edit: It's nowhere near as expensive as I thought it was going to be.

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Composer;
www.ogonline.org

Edited by oggyb (18/08/10 10:56 PM)

Elf

You've helped another recovering GS relapse.

Unacceptable and punishable by a...a...wavedrum for the moderator who can relieve you of your guilt.



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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

I have also bought one of these recently and I'm loving it. The acoustic percussion sounds are for the most part only passable, in my opinion, with a few exceptions like the tabla, which sounds very good. The sampled sounds sound very static, like if they had little to no velocity switching.

The really good part of it is in the synthesized sounds, it just opens a whole new range of possibilities that I didn't even think were possible before getting this. The way it responds to different strokes, and being hit with different things is amazing. Try it with brushes and you'll see. I actually also have a Roland HPD-15, which is fine as a MIDI controller and great for triggering samples, but I never got as inspired by that as I do with the Korg wavedrum.

One thing that you must do is follow the calibration procedure in the manual. I didn't straight away as Thomann once again sent me a German manual, but once I did it the thing completely changed and became a lot more responsive.

The downsides are that there's no way to get your patches out of it. If you want to back them up you will have to write down every single setting, which would one not expect to have to do in this day and age. Also the volume without the2X procedure detailed in the manual is lowish, which can be a problem with some headphones.

Other than that, it's by far the most expressive electronic instrument I ever played and I'm sure it will get a lot of use.

I am well aware I am about to annoy you all, so sorry in advance...but...

Really?



Ok, so it feels like a drum and acts like a drum, even sounds like a drum (dw I won't suggest getting a drum), but my main gripe is that I would want at least 5 of them! That would mean five PSUs dangling around and taking up 5 sockets and I'd need a dodgy DIY mounting rack system and I still wouldn't have cymbals...



I get that it's great for percussion, but I would want to be able to use a KIT that reacts like this aswell. And I would want some form of midi control so I know I won't get bored of the sounds!



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11011110110010101111 - 110000001111111111101110 - 101110101101
Hexadecimal binary coding anyone?

Quote Freuman:

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I would want to be able to use a KIT that reacts like this aswell.

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Maybe this is the first step towards that? Or maybe they don't want to try and compete with Roland until they've proven themselves with the technology.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote Freuman:

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Ok, so it feels like a drum and acts like a drum, even sounds like a drum (dw I won't suggest getting a drum), but my main gripe is that I would want at least 5 of them!

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I understand what you mean, and I may also have said the same at one point, but that feeling changes when you begin to play with one of these things. It isn’t meant to be part of a drum kit. It’s a bit hard to explain until you’ve played with one, but it isn’t so much a ‘drum’ as an ‘instrument’. You don’t just hit this as one pad in a kit - you play it as you might a keyboard, or a guitar. You don’t just hit it with a stick. You can hit or scrape the rim to set off a sitar drone, or use pressure to introduce filter sweeps to a synth note, or fire off bass notes with velocity…

Quote Freuman:

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I get that it's great for percussion, but I would want to be able to use a KIT that reacts like this aswell. And I would want some form of midi control so I know I won't get bored of the sounds!

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…and I’m sure that Korg, and probably other manufacturers too, are aware that this feeling exists. I’ll happily put money on a bet that says something along the lines you suggest is being developed right now in a room away from prying eyes.

But…

…it won’t be a Wavedrum as we have it now. There would be little point in a device that reacts to pressure, for instance, in something like a traditional kit.

Think of the Wavedrum more like a Cajon – fine when you play it as a single instrument, but would you need five of them?

But I agree with you about the MIDI. No, you couldn’t carry all the nuances of the WD over MIDI, but as a simple controller it would have made my life easier.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote The Elf:

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Quote Persuazion:

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How are my KM184s?

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Doing just fine!

They begin earning their keep next week in front of the acoustic guitar of a certain incredibly talented Mansfield-based singer/songwriter. I'll see if I can't drop you an audio file...

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Excellent! Hahaha. It's like adoption!..... ''and you promise you'll send me pictures? And when they reach 16.. If they want to know who they're real father is.. It's their right to know and I'll be there for them''

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http://www.loverslanestudios.co.uk

Oh no you swine I forgot about this now I want one again.

I really want to go and try one now, but I don't want to get sucked-in and buy one!



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11011110110010101111 - 110000001111111111101110 - 101110101101
Hexadecimal binary coding anyone?

Beware - you try, you buy!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote The Elf:

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But I agree with you about the MIDI. No, you couldn’t carry all the nuances of the WD over MIDI, but as a simple controller it would have made my life easier.

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I'm quite enjoying the enforced freedom from the grid and the pencil tool, hit record, play, done in minutes.

But considering the huge depth of editing available I would gladly have paid a wee bit more for a micro USB port and some patch editing software.
In the days when a 3 digit display and endlessly long menu layers were the norm my brain was a lot sharper.
I'm finding that the 'really good delve into the editing session' keeps moving to tomorrow.

Maybe just canny product design, such a pain to edit so you spend your time actually playing the thing.

After all it worked out ok for the piano