{"id":9835,"date":"2014-04-08T10:29:53","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T17:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/?p=9835"},"modified":"2014-04-11T10:08:39","modified_gmt":"2014-04-11T17:08:39","slug":"use-drum-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/08\/use-drum-effects\/","title":{"rendered":"Make the Perfect Kit with Drum Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apply These Rules to V-Drums, Percussion Pads, & Sample Pads<\/h2>\n
\"Roland<\/a>

Drum Effects on the TD-30 Sound Module<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Author:\u00a0Roland UK Features Team<\/a><\/p>\n

A drummer\u2019s sound is not just down to the tone of the drum itself. \u00a0By using the built-in drum effects, it\u2019s possible to just about recreate any drum sound you like and perform it with V-Drums<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think of your favorite drummer. Now think of a favorite track (or album) they performed on, one that you know well.\u00a0 When you listen back to that track, it\u2019s different to other tracks or albums they performed on, right? Sure, the drummer\u2019s style,\u00a0groove, and playing ability all define their sound \u2013 but that\u2019s not what we\u2019re discussing here. Part of the drum sound on that track is down to the actual kit they used,\u00a0where it was recorded, how and even when they recorded it.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take that one stage further. The drummer performed the track. He may have even tuned the kit used on the recording. But the recording engineer and the producer had a large influence\u00a0in the sound of the drums on that record \u2013 microphone techniques, room ambiance and even effects, all helped to create the drum sound you are hearing on the record.<\/p>\n

In the past, a studio-quality effects rig would resemble the USS Enterprise and require a touch of genius to work its magic. But nowadays, effects are digital \u2013 much simpler to use, and far more compact. In the case of V-Drums, the effects are built-in. And, thankfully they\u2019re studio quality.<\/p>\n

\"640x182<\/p>\n

Why Use Drum Effects?<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

Thanks to\u00a0COSM modeling technology in V-Drums, it\u2019s possible to take any single instrument within the internal sound library and edit it. Tuning, muffling (or damping), shell sizes, snare buzz and more\u2026 it\u2019s all there to play with. You can then recreate, or \u201cmodel\u201d any sound you want. It could be\u00a0a huge drum sound from a favorite record, or it could be creating your own custom drum sound.<\/p>\n

But, the drum sound alone might not give it the \u201cpresence\u201d or the professional shine that help bring the drums to life. In fact, adding some basic effects can make the difference between the kit sounding nearly right, and sounding really<\/i>\u00a0right.<\/p>\n

Drum Effects Explained…<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with ambience. \u00a0A \u201cdry\u201d drum kit sound is devoid of any echo or \u201creverb\u201d at all. You have the drum sound via the microphones, but not the sound of the environment around the drums.<\/p>\n

If you stood in the room with the drummer, listening as they played, not only would you hear the drums and cymbals directly, but you would also hear the drums\u2019 sound bouncing off the walls (reverberating, to give it its technical term), all around the space you are in. So you have the actual sound of the drums, and then the sound of the \u201croom\u201d or the ambient space. These combine to give the overall sound hitting your eardrums.<\/p>\n

Adding ambience to a V-Drums kit is simple. Whether it\u2019s a TD-4KP <\/a>V-Drums Portable kit, a TD-11 series<\/a>, TD-15 series <\/a>or TD-30 series<\/a> module, you will be able to add ambience. We\u2019ve made it easy to use too \u2013 we\u2019ve created pre-set ambience environments such as \u201cstudio\u201d, \u201chall\u201d, \u201cbasement\u201d, \u201cgarage\u201d and \u201cstadium\u201d that you can instantly apply to your drums. Each of these can also be edited so you can get the ambience just right.<\/p>\n

\"Drum

Drum Effects on the TD-30: Room Ambience & Reverb<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Drum

Drum Effects on the TD-30: Room Environment<\/p><\/div>\n

You can \u201csend\u201d that effect to individual drums too. In some modules, such as the TD-30, you can say how much of the ambience you want on each individual drum and cymbal \u2013 just as you would\u00a0in the studio. In other V-Drums modules, you can turn the ambience on or off on each individual drum.<\/p>\n

Multi Effects: Going a Step Further…<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

Ambience and reverb are just two simple effects available. Multi effects offer a multitude of ways to apply effects to your drums, opening up the sonic possibilities and letting you create studio drum sounds similar to those off favorite records from past and present. This comes into its own for the cover band drummer \u2013 imagine getting Bonzo\u2019s \u201cLevee Breaks\u201d kit sound spot on at the gig by using some delay and reverb!<\/p>\n

Multi effects are simply a range of effects that can be applied to the kit one at a time. These include echo, delay, reverb, filters, flanger, distortion, compression and many more.<\/p>\n

As with ambience, these effects can be sent to individual drums and cymbals so that you can have more, or less of an effect on each drum. You can also edit the effect parameters themselves, so you can tailor the effect to your needs.<\/p>\n

Real-Time Effects…<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

In Roland percussion products, such as the HandSonic HPD-20<\/a>, SPD-SX Sampling Pad <\/a>and SPD-30 Percussion Pad<\/a>, you can turn an effect on the kit on or off and can change the effect as you play.\u00a0In other words, you could play a sound or a beat, apply a drum effect to it and change it as you play (i.e. in real-time). Check out a Craig Blundell using real-time drum effects in the SPD-SX Sampling Pad.<\/p>\n