Q. What's the best way to record MIDI drum tracks without a keyboard?

SOS Forum Post

News Editor Chris Mayes-Wright replies:

Roland's TMC6 converts trigger inputs to MIDI, enabling computer users to control their favourite virtual drum software with either acoustic drum triggers or electronic drum pads. Roland's TMC6 converts trigger inputs to MIDI, enabling computer users to control their favourite virtual drum software with either acoustic drum triggers or electronic drum pads. The jewel in Roland's V-drum crown, topping the wish list of many a drummer: the TD20. The jewel in Roland's V-drum crown, topping the wish list of many a drummer: the TD20. The Yamaha DD55 may look like a child's toy, but with its MIDI output it can be a useful addition to a studio, removing the need to program drums using a keyboard. What's more, it can run on batteries and costs less than £200! The Yamaha DD55 may look like a child's toy, but with its MIDI output it can be a useful addition to a studio, removing the need to program drums using a keyboard. What's more, it can run on batteries and costs less than £200! Ddrum's Pro (left) and Red Shot (right) triggers are available to suit snare drums, toms and bass drums. The Pro model features an XLR output, ensuring the cable stays connected, while the Red Shot range is great for drummers on a budget. Ddrum's Pro (left) and Red Shot (right) triggers are available to suit snare drums, toms and bass drums. The Pro model features an XLR output, ensuring the cable stays connected, while the Red Shot range is great for drummers on a budget. Ddrum's Pro (left) and Red Shot (right) triggers are available to suit snare drums, toms and bass drums. The Pro model features an XLR output, ensuring the cable stays connected, while the Red Shot range is great for drummers on a budget.

There are a few options here, and the one you eventually choose will depend on the same factors that all drummers face: space, price and the amount of racket you want to make. I recently sold my beloved Roland V-drums due to a mixture of all three of these factors, as I moved into a flat from a detached house. The flat is smaller, and has co-inhabitants and neighbours, and I couldn't justify having a £2000 piece of equipment lying dormant in storage.

The cheapest option would be to buy something like the Yamaha DD55, a table-top drum unit, which has seven pads that you can whack with sticks. It's got a MIDI output, so you can control BFD from it, and it costs well under £200, but make sure you buy the power supply to go with it, as the latter is often classed as an optional extra! 'Professional' versions of this type of product are available, and Roland's series of SPD-prefixed products that were derived from the '80s Octapad (the SPDS and SPD20 are the current models), are among the best, but can be quite pricey.

However, an energetic drummer would soon get tired of the rather uninspiring playing surface offered by these products, so the next step up is an electronic drum kit, such as you suggested. The main manufacturers in this market are, again, Roland, with their TD-series V-drums, and Yamaha, with their DT series, and you can end up spending up to £5000 on a fully-equipped model. However, companies including Alesis and Ion have recently entered at the lower end of the market, with some basic and affordable kits. In SOS September 2006 (and on-line at www.soundonsound.com/sos/ sep06/articles/alesisdm5.htm), we reviewed the Alesis DM5 electronic drum kit. It is based around Alesis' drum module of the same name, comes with seven rubber pads, and costs typically under £350. The Ion IED01 costs only around £220, but has only five pads and a pedal switch for the bass drum. This is fairly unresponsive, and playing anything but a very basic rhythm with your right foot can be a real chore to keep tight.

If you are going to go down the electronic drum kit route, watch out for things like mesh pads, which have a much more realistic feel than rubber ones, and 'dual-zone' pads, which allow you to control two sounds from one pad (like the bell and edge of a cymbal, or the rim and skin of a snare drum).

As a final option, you can fit acoustic triggers to 'real' drums, if you already have them. For this method, you'll obviously need to purchase the triggers, but you'll also need what's called a trigger-to-MIDI converter, which needs no explanation, really. Once again, Roland manufacture both these products. The TMC6 trigger-to-MIDI converter is the 'brains' of the system, and there are a number of acoustic triggers with the RT prefix, the RT10 being the newest. For reference, the K,T and S suffixes of these products refer to (and are designed for) kick, tom and snare respectively.

Similar products are available from American company Ddrum, who have distribution in the UK through Essex-based company Bill Lewington Musical Instruments. They have two ranges of trigger products, 'Pro' and 'Red Shot', the latter being a low-cost alternative. The Pro-series triggers feature XLR outputs, meaning that the cables won't fall out mid-gig! At the time of going to press, their electronic drum kit products were unavailable, as they're concentrating on their forthcoming releases. Visit www.ddrum.co.uk for full details. 

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