A few weeks ago I received a text from Jared, a good friend of our blog, who was excited to tell me about his new find. He said something like “iDrumTech is insane! I’m freaking out about it. It’s changing the way I tune my drums and it’s only $4.”
What’s The Big Deal?
We are excited about this app because we know full well that tuning drums is a major issue/mystery for many drummers. There are a few great options out there such as the Drumdial Drum Tuner, and the Tune-Bot Digital Drum Tuner, but these are rather expensive. iDrumTech is $4 and is a Drum Tuner, Drum Tuning Calculator, Drum Tuning Manager and Drum Tuning Educational iPhone App. Pretty sweet for $4, right?!
Here are some screenshots so you can see what the app looks like.
Here’s the official description from the iTunes App Store:
iDrumTech is a Drum Tuner and Drum Tech iPhone App. It has a Drum Tuner that introduces new technology which allows you to use your EARS while you tune drums. It creates a truly awesome Audio Visual Experience with your drum tuning, Drum Preset Library, Drum Tuning Calculator, Drum Maintenance Manuals and much more Drum Information.
The app does take some time learning but there are several helpful videos that should point you in the right direction.
You can download iDrumTech in the iTunes App Store here:
It’s that time of year again. Christmas! It comes and goes so fast that many of us have barely enough time to stop and think about what we as drummers might need or want. Here’s a list of some gift ideas from and for drummers! Also, don’t forget to check out last year’s gift guide for even more ideas. Enjoy!
This review is a guest post from Steven Williams. Steven works at a music shop in England and is lucky to get the opportunity to play with lots of new equipment.
To many drummers, the Roland TD20KX is still widely regarded as the best digital drum kit you can buy, but now there’s a new kid on the block! The Roland Td-30Kv and the TD-30K aim to fill their brother’s very big shoes and create the finest electronic drumming experience yet. Typical of Roland, the TD 30 is available in two pad configurations; the TD-30K has the standard, but still good, pads similar the ones found on the previous TD-12KX. However the TD-30KV features over a decade worth of research and development and the latest technology available from Roland.
Roland TD-30K
Roland had a surprisingly difficult task on improving the TD20KX and has had to really step up their game to create the finest digital drumming experience ever. The most exciting features are the introduction of Roland’s SuperNATURAL sounds taken from V-Piano technology. This subtly and naturally alters the tone in accordance to the volume as an acoustic drum kit would. This software alone sets the TD-30 apart from other digital drum kits. But the features don’t stop there; a partner technology called ‘Behaviour Modelling’ has been introduced which gives massively improved response and an impressively more authentic sounding and feeling snare, most noticeably in transitions between rim and mesh headshots. This gives improved authenticity when performing triggering rolls, buzz rolls, ghost notes, etc. The cymbals have also been upgraded with improved positional response and dynamics, and respond as a real cymbal would.
With drums being a vital instrument for all environments and all genres of music, it is crucial when developing digital kits that they are versatile and capable of handling anything you can throw at them. That is why the Roland TD-30KV and TD-30KV are packed with over 1000 high-resolution sounds, which can all be adjusted in precise detail through the V-Edit mode, allowing you to create the perfect setup. The kit is surprisingly flexible as the drums can be changed along with the (virtual) drumheads and even the mic positions. This makes the Roland TD-30 the ideal instrument in a studio environment where an entire library of potential acoustic drum sounds can be used and are available by a simple touch of a button. Yet another new introduction is the ambiance fader which, for live performances, is important because as we all know that how the audience perceives the performance is crucial.
One of the features the TD-20 boasts, the VH series hi-hat trigger, has been greatly improved with the new VH-13-MG V-Hi-Hat. It keeps the same realistic stick bounce and cymbal movement but improves the motion sensor and also the triggering sensor, with smoother transitions between open to closed, and even the ability to change tone by pressing harder on the foot pedal when its closed. The TD-30KV therefore is, by a distance, the most realistic and advanced digital kit yet. The TD-30K doesn’t feature the new VH-13 and still has the VH-11 floating hi-hat trigger that is still, in all fairness, superior to the majority of other digital kits.
The Roland TD-30KV and TD-30K has an onboard effects processor which has a compressor and EQ for each pad. A USB player allows WAV and MP3 files to be played through the kit so you can jam along to you’re favourite song.
The amazing thing is the list of features just goes on and on. Have a look…
If you get the opportunity to have a play on them I would seriously recommend it because as far as I’m concerned they are by a distance the best digital kits money can buy.
We are busy people. Most of us worship peeps are busy with life, family, school, work, oh ya, and church.
As a worshipdrummer, you’re more than likely expected to be at practice if you are scheduled to play for an upcoming service. Did you know that what you do leading up to practice, during practice, and after practice matters?
The infamous 2012 NAMM Show just wrapped up and it’s the place to be for musicians and especially drummers. This is the time and place when drum companies show off their newest products for the upcoming year.
If you’re like me, you didn’t attend and probably never will. But that’s ok! I took some time to compile some cool pics and videos from the 2012 NAMM Show.
The Verge posted this interesting video from Polish artist Obaide.
We always thought drum solos looked like a blur of arms, sweat, and long hair, but Polish artist Odaibe has other ideas.
By tracking the sticks of a drummer in motion and creating a video from the data, his Portrait of the Ghost Drummer allows for a stark reinterpretation of one of the more maligned forms of music.
Odaibe used a Vicon MX system for motion capture, with the 3D video being created from raw .csv files in Cinema 4D.
True, it’s not the best solo we’ve ever heard, but it is pretty incredible!
Christmas is fast approaching, and it doesn’t always end up being the most wonderful time of the year! If they haven’t already, your family and friends are probably getting ready to ask you what you want for Christmas, and this can turn out to be stressful for you and for them if you’re not prepared!
We’ve got some great things in store for our first Christmas at WorshipDrummer.ca, but to start I thought it would be a great help to all drummers to share 20 awesome gift ideas that will inspire the drummer in you!
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We already covered some benefits of using electronic drums, and there are some great reasons why you should use them, but there can also be some annoyances that come when playing electronic drums – especially with the older kits.
6 Reasons Why Most Electronic Drum Kits Are Annoying
1. The module usually has poor sampled sounds. Let’s be honest, unless you are buying a high-end kit and dropping a lump sum, you’re not getting all the bells and whistles in terms of features and quality sounds. You will have a few standard kits and basic options to choose from, but there’s a great frustration that comes with not having the right sound for the right song.
Hi! I'm Jon Manna - a regular guy who loves drums and Jesus. I started this blog so that it can grow to become a great resource to church drummers like you and me.
