Drum Accessories: Innovations & Novelties from 2021

The Zikit Pro Kit is a sophisticated system that can change the sound of a regular snare drum so drastically in just a few simple steps that additional snare drums are no longer necessary. For example, for studio sessions or live gigs with a large stylistic range. The system can be built into any commercially available 14-inch snare drum and uses a special mechanism to reduce the skin diameter in two stages, which significantly changes the sound. This is achieved by two additional inner shells with a diameter of 10 and 12 inches, which are pressed onto the skins using a lever mechanism, thus reducing the skin surface. So it’s no problem switching from a fat rock ballad sound to a banging drum’n’bass sound with the same snare drum. If you want to save yourself the hassle of installing it (which is actually not that difficult), you have the option of purchasing a Zikit Sonor AQ2 14″x06″ Snare Drum with the Zikit system already installed!

Drum Accessories 2021: Groove Cubes

Why not take drumming and make a game out of it? For example, a game of dice! At least that’s what Philip “Bo” Borgmann thought after realizing that as a drummer you often play the same fills over and over again. In order to break through the uniformity, he developed the Groove Cubes together with the Rohema company, which allow you to randomize the shaping of grooves and fills by rolling them. This often results in combinations that one would normally never have thought of and which can thus become the basis for new ideas. The set consists of nine dice, two of which are responsible for the snare/bass drum combination and two more – in different levels of difficulty – for the hi-hat or ride. The fills are determined with four dice and a last dice is responsible for the tempo. Whether practicing at home or in drum lessons – the Groove Cubes bring a breath of fresh air into the practice routine and clear your head for new ideas.

Drum Accessories 2021: Gruv-X X-Clicks

The manufacturer Gruv-X wants to provide crisp rim click sounds with interesting add-ons for the snare drum. The company was founded in 2020 by Russ Miller and Bill Detamore. One of the top drummers of the LA studio scene, Miller has drummed on 500 albums and worked with the likes of Ray Charles, Tina Turner and Nelly Furtado. Bill Detamore is probably best known as the founder of Pork Pie Drums. The Gruv-X X-Clicks consist of 24 layers of maple wood and are attached to two tension screws of the snare drum. They form a separate rim, which not only makes it easier to play rim click sounds, but also gives them significantly more assertiveness.

Due to the specially designed mono mounts, the X-Clicks fit snare drum diameters of 10 to 15 inches. Various natural wood and foil finishes are available, so that – no matter which snare drum model it is – the look is always right. Another innovative Gruv-X product is the Mundo, a wooden plate which, similar to the X-Click, is attached to the side of the drum – in this case the floor tom – and can be used as a striking surface for cascara figures in Latin music, without ruining the valuable drum shell. A special combination of wood and copper enables a sound that resembles the metallic character of timbale shells.

Drum Accessories 2021: Drumprax Practice Pads

Every drummer knows what a practice pad looks like. However, when you see the Drumprax Practice Pads, some people will rub their eyes, because the diameters of the “Take 5” five-pack (which are also available individually) are pretty unusual. The largest pad from the Hamburg-based company has a diameter of only 60 millimeters, the smallest just 20 millimeters!

The manufacturer recommends completing five minutes per pad when practicing the standard rudiments, slowly working your way from the largest to the smallest. While playing on the 60 mm pad is still relatively easy, the 20 mm playing surface initially presents even experienced drummers with a difficult task. A clean and accurate hitting technique is essential if you want to hit the pad, so the movement sequences are trained extremely effectively when training with the Drumprax pads.

The pads can be mounted on a cymbal stand using the embedded thread, alternatively there is the option of clamping them into a multiclamp, putting them in a bottleneck (the diameter fits exactly) or using an optionally available bracket on the tuning screw of a snare drum. Drumprax offers the pads in nine different colors.

Drum kit accessories 2021: Roland Taiko-1

Taiko drums are an essential part of traditional Japanese music. Taiko has a religious background and was originally played mostly as part of ceremonies. Most people probably have in mind the huge lying drums of the now very popular taiko groups, whose vertical playing surfaces are played powerfully, virtuoso and with artistic movements while standing.

The translation of taiko is “thick drum,” and indeed it is the bulbous barrel shape and not the size that characterizes the taiko drums – available in diameters from 25 to about 180 cm. The Roland company had the idea of ​​producing an electronic variant of a taiko. The result is the Roland Taiko-1, a compact electronic shoulder drum weighing 4 1/2 kilograms with two 14-inch playing surfaces and a sound module integrated into the drum with more than 100 different instruments and an extensive effects section. The Taiko-1 offers extremely authentic reproductions of various Taiko types and uses position detection, which ensures that the sound always varies depending on the point of attack on the mesh head and also comes very close to the original in terms of dynamics.

The Taiko-1 is also very easy to transport, since it can be disassembled and reassembled in a very short time and can also be operated with batteries, which again significantly increases the mobility factor. A sample import function makes it possible to expand the range of internal sounds with your own WAV samples, and Bluetooth for streaming backing tracks is also on board.

Video: Innovative Drum Gear 2021

Simon introduces you to the innovations in his video, enjoy!

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