SYNCHRON DRUMS II

Taikos, roto toms and bass drum 2

Synchron Drums II is a release from the Synchron Percussion II collection and contains Taikos, Roto Toms and Bass Drum 2.

Taikos are traditional Japanese barrel-shaped drums with horse or cattle skin nailed on. These drums were used by the samurai to wear down opponents before attacking. Sizes range from very small (like bongos) to huge. The first drums of this construction existed in China more than 2000 years ago.

The traditional way of playing with thick mallets creates a very hard, accentuated sound. Taikos are often played in an ensemble with drums of different sizes. Through the use of these instruments, the rhythmic component of the music comes to the fore. In the orchestra, taiko are also played with gong mallets. This makes the sound softer, duller and more bass-heavy.

For Synchron Percussion II, 10 Taikos in sizes 8" to 53" with up to 12 dynamic levels and 8 repetitions were sampled. The Taikos were played on the skin, on the rim, on the edge and on the body - with cudgels (cudgel), gong mallets, brushes and superball.

Roto toms were developed by Michael Colgrass in the second half of the 20th century and further developed by the Remo company. Roto-toms are drum skins stretched in a metal frame without a body. Turning the frame changes the head tension and thus the sounding pitch. Since these are tuned drums, there is a certain relationship to timpani. Therefore, roto toms are often used instead of soprano timpani, or often when drums with a specific pitch are specified.

For this collection, 2½ octave roto toms were sampled, played with sticks, hot rods and mallets. In addition to single hits, rim hits, rim shots and rolls, glissandi, which are produced by turning immediately after the hit, were also recorded.

The second big drum of the synchronous percussion is a Lefima 28. The traditional bass drum with a crisp sound was recorded in up to 16 dynamic levels and with 8 repetitions of single hits (round robins).

Playing styles include single hits at different parts of the drum, rolls, upbeats, coperto (muffled with a blanket), played with three different mallets (soft, medium, hard). In addition, there are also effect playing styles such as brushes, sizzle - here a sizzle chain is leaned against the eardrum, which creates a noisy aftertaste - and superball. With the latter, a spiked rubber ball is pulled over the skin and causes it to vibrate, creating a kind of "humming song".

Scope of the library

• Standard Library: Samples 50,240 | Download size 7.9 GB | Installed file size 27.7 GB

• Full Library: Samples 87,920 | Download size 16.6 GB | Installed file size 55.4 GB