Simmons (electronic drum company)
Simmons is an electronic drum brand, which originally was a pioneering British manufacturer of electronic drums. Founded in 1978 by Dave Simmons, it supplied electronic kits from 1980 to 1998. The drums' distinctive, electronic sound can be found on countless albums from the 1980s. The company closed in 1999 and the Simmons name is currently owned by Guitar Center.
The SDS 5 Electronic Drum Kit, ca.1981.
Simmons SDS 5 front view
Simmons models: MTM: 8 ch MIDI-Trigger Converter SDS 7: Modular sample player with analog filters (Tama Techstar TS305) SDS 800: 4 ch analog drum synthesizer : (bottom right)
Electronic drums are a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sounds and a set of pads, usually constructed in 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. Like acoustic drums, the pads are struck by drum sticks and they are played in a similar manner to an acoustic drum kit, albeit with some differences in the drumming experience.
Basic electronic drum set made by Pintech.
Early Simmons SDS 5 Electronic Drums, ca. 1983.
Roland V-Stage Series TD-12S V-Drum Kit. On the left is the "brain", the module that controls the drum sounds and enables the performer to select from different types of drum kit and control the volume.
The drum module for the Yamaha DTxpress IV electronic drum kit.
