A Clavia ddrum4 sound module, pictured in use with an acoustic drum kit with electronic "triggers" or sensors.
An electronic drum module is an electronic or digital music device in an electronic drum kit that serves as the central processing unit and sound module. The drum module creates or produces the drum kit sounds or other sounds selected by the drummer. By itself, a drum module cannot play or sound drum beats. It only produces drum sounds when a performer strikes electronic drum pads or acoustic drum kit instruments that have electronic "triggers" (or sensors) attached to them. When the electronic drum pads or trigger-equipped instruments are struck, this sends a signal to the drum module, which produces the corresponding electronic drum sound (or other sound). Even when drum pads and/or triggers are connected to a drum module, the drum module by itself does not make any audible sound. Like other electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, the drum module only outputs an electronic signal. The performer can hear this signal by connecting headphones to the drum module (i.e., for individual practice) or by plugging the drum module into an amplifier and loudspeaker or PA system for audible practice or live performances. The drum module's output signal can also be patched into an audio console for concerts or sound recording. The nomenclature varies (see below). For example, electronic drum modules are called "percussion sound modules" in the case of Roland Corporation, or sometimes simply modules. A common colloquial term for this device is drum brain. (see below).[1][2]
Electronic drum modules are included with most complete electronic drum kits (which include a drum module and a set of drum pads). Electronic drum modules can also be purchased as stand-alone units. In this case, the performer must also purchase drum pads and/or triggers which she can attach to regular acoustic drums. An electronic drum module is a special-purpose electronic device which accepts input from the drummer via external triggers that are hit with regular drum sticks. With an electronic drum kit, the player hits triggering devices as a synthesizer player would strike the keys of the synthesizer keyboard. Triggers may be pads or cymbal-shaped devices or piezo-electric pick-ups similar in function to a guitar pick-up. When the triggers are struck or activated by the vibration of a drum or other instrument, the electronic drum module interprets the signal and outputs the specific voice assigned to that trigger. The sound (or "voice") may be a sample or synthesized reproduction of any of a wide variety of drum, cymbal, percussion or other instruments, or even vocal sounds. It is similar in concept to modern MIDI musical keyboard workstations or synthesizers especially in that any sound available within a given module can be assigned to any trigger plugged into the module.
Most electronic drum modules come with a number of pre-programmed "kits" or "sets" - collections of drum kit voices assigned to specific triggers which emulate a traditional drum set (e.g., including drum and cymbal sounds). Many modules allow the player to save their own collections of sounds as additional kits and allow the player to recall them as desired. In effect, a single set of triggers may serve the same function as several traditional drum sets or collections of miscellaneous percussion instruments. Some modules may allow kits to be saved with labels such as: "rock kit", "jazz kit", and "hip-hop kit." Others simply assign a number to each saved kit. Modules may allow varying degrees of control over individual sounds such as the relative volume of each trigger input or add electronic effects such as reverb or other effects.
Most manufacturers also include more eclectic sounds in their modules, such as sounds from well-known drum machines, plus a large variety of ethnic percussion instruments, industrial music sounds, handclaps, and general percussion instruments or even vocal sounds. Manufacturers of electronic drum modules such as Roland Corporation have often built unusual playable sounds into the sound banks of their electronic drum modules to showcase the capabilities of the technology.[3] Electronic drum modules also provide advanced features such as the ability to drive digital samplers. When used in conjunction with an electronic or digital sampler, the sounds that can be played with a drum module are practically unlimited. A drum module could be used to make any type of musical or natural sounds, from a piano or violin to ocean waves or other sound effects.
^"Electronic Drum Brains and Modules", Bananas At Large, 2007, archived from the original on 2007-09-28
^"Interview with HATE ETERNAL", Maelstrom :: Issue No 40, 2007, archived from the original on 2013-02-22, retrieved 2007-05-14
a shape to resemble drums and cymbals, which are equipped with electronic sensors to send an electronic signal to the sound module which outputs a sound...
components. In either case, an electronic control unit (sound module/"brain") with suitable sampled/modeled or synthesized drum sounds, amplification equipment...
A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be...
to trigger synthesized or sampled drum or percussion sounds that are stored in a memory in an electronicdrummodule or synthesizer. For many of the entries...
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other...
F16 is the first 16 bit digital sampler optimized for use as an electronicdrummodule. It dynamically responds to trigger inputs from MIDI and/or audio...
previous 7-bit data format. music portal ABC notation Digital piano Electronicdrummodule Guitar synthesizer List of music software MIDI mockup MusicXML Music...
The DTX range consists of electronicdrum kits and percussion controllers manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation. They currently cover levels from entry-level...
acoustic and electronic sounds, which require a trained ear to play properly mixed sounds. These hybrids also require an amplifier and sound module, of which...
place, and Japanese electronic musical instruments began to influence the music industry. In the early 1970s, Moog synthesizers and drum machines helped popularize...
Play-along music can also be transferred onto the module from a computer. Unlike most electronicdrum kits, the DrumIt Five kit comes with its own complete set...
bass drum (in Italian: gran cassa, gran tamburo). It is the largest drum of the orchestra. The kick drum, a term for a bass drum associated with a drum kit...
performance information (e.g., on which notes or drums are struck, and how hard) is then sent to a module or computer which converts the data into sounds...
devices) a sound module a digital (digital piano/stage piano) or analog (synthesizer) hardware instrument with MIDI capability, such as a drum machine While...
DEE-drum) is an American-based Swedish company, currently a division of Armadillo Enterprises, Inc. that manufactures acoustic drum sets, electronicdrum...
Drum hardware is the set of parts of a drum or drum kit that are used to tension, position, and otherwise support the instruments themselves. Occasionally...
commercial drum machine; rhythm patterns were electro-mechanically generated by rotating disk switches, and drum sounds were electronically generated by...
Ace Electronic Industries Inc., or Ace Tone, was a manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, including electronic organs, analogue drum machines...
uses an electronic interface called MIDI to control synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, sound modules, computers or other electronicdrum devices that...
with either a computer or another electronic musical instrument, such as a synthesizer, a drum machine or a sound module, allowing it to be used as a MIDI...
TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. It was also instrumental in the development of MIDI, a standardized means of synchronizing electronic instruments manufactured...
separate electronicmodules, each capable of generating, shaping, or controlling a sound depending on how each module is connected to other modules by patch...
realtime performance. In 1971, Electronic Music Studios (EMS) released one of the first digital sequencer products as a module of Synthi 100, and its derivation...