History of Electronic Drums

Electronic drums are percussion instruments that produce sound by an electronic waveform generator instead of acoustic vibration. These sets feature drum pads that have pre-assigned sound values. When the pads are struck, they transmit signals to an electronic brain that decodes them into digital waveforms that produce percussion sounds. First pioneered by rock drummers, electronic drums occupy an important place in drumming history.

The Moody Blues

Electronic drums were first used in 1971 when Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge collaborated with Sussex University Professor Brian Groves to create a drum synthesizer.

Moog Drum

Moog Music, Inc. released an electronic drum controller called the Moog Drum for the Moog modular synthesizer in 1973.

Syndrum

In 1976, Pollard Industries released the Syndrum, which was the first commercially available electronic drum. It only came in sets of one, two, or four drum pads.

Full Drum Sets

In 1978, the Simmons Company was formed to build the first electronic full drum set. Its success resulted in a series of innovative Simmons sets built between 1981 and 1990.

Digital Effects

The Simmons Company released the SDS-2000 set in 1990. It featured digital effects and groundbreaking pad design, but the company closed due to the music industry's general return to acoustic drumming.

Current Trends

Electronic drum sets are still made worldwide. Current models include the DDrum4SE, the Yamaha DTXtreme IIS and Roland's TD-12 and TD-20 V-Drums.

Resources

• Electronic Drums
• Electronic Drums and Percussion
• Pintech Electronic Persussion