Simmons alternatives
2013-04-24 by chris@chriswareham.net
Hi folks,
Since there's been discussion of a Dynacord drum brain in the last few days, I
thought I'd mention another non-Simmons brain. It's the K2 from Ultimate
Percussion, and I have webpage about it here
http://www.chriswareham.demon.co.uk/studio/k2.html. It makes an interesting
comparison to the analogue Simmons brains and was manufactured not far from
them, leading me to wonder if there was anyone involved in both companies. It's
quite versatile, even capable of hih-hat and cymbal sounds that I've struggled
to get from other analogue drum synths. The build quality ranges from a very
heavy and solid steel case to the hand soldered and possibly hand etched circuit
boards inside. A later model called the K2X had a smaller case and a single
circuit board rather than one per voice. They were originally sold with
non-symmetrical hexagonal drum pads, which connect via sockets that are usually
used for connecting handsets to CB radios! The Simmons influence extends to the
trigger levels as well, which need to be in the 7V rather than the more common
5V ones.
All in all, it's a great drum synth and makes a cheaper alternative to a
Simmons. There are also some other British made and Simmons influenced brains
that I'm aware of such as the Cactus Drums, who I think were also based in
Essex.
Chris
Since there's been discussion of a Dynacord drum brain in the last few days, I
thought I'd mention another non-Simmons brain. It's the K2 from Ultimate
Percussion, and I have webpage about it here
http://www.chriswareham.demon.co.uk/studio/k2.html. It makes an interesting
comparison to the analogue Simmons brains and was manufactured not far from
them, leading me to wonder if there was anyone involved in both companies. It's
quite versatile, even capable of hih-hat and cymbal sounds that I've struggled
to get from other analogue drum synths. The build quality ranges from a very
heavy and solid steel case to the hand soldered and possibly hand etched circuit
boards inside. A later model called the K2X had a smaller case and a single
circuit board rather than one per voice. They were originally sold with
non-symmetrical hexagonal drum pads, which connect via sockets that are usually
used for connecting handsets to CB radios! The Simmons influence extends to the
trigger levels as well, which need to be in the 7V rather than the more common
5V ones.
All in all, it's a great drum synth and makes a cheaper alternative to a
Simmons. There are also some other British made and Simmons influenced brains
that I'm aware of such as the Cactus Drums, who I think were also based in
Essex.
Chris