Archive for the ‘Brains’ Category

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SDSV substitute?

Wednesday, January 4th, 2017

No doubt. In my oppinion the SDSV is the best sounding analog drum synthesizer. Still… But I don’t really trust in 30 year old gear, at least in a live situation where you only have one chance. I decided to try something more contemporary. Something with a minimum of complexness. Easy to program, good sounding and particularly featuring the nice Simmons filters. I decided to give this chance to a Nord Drum 2. While the Nord Drum 1 was limited to 4 channels and only a single mono output, the second version already has 6 channels and stereo out. I liked the idea of programming sounds fast and simple in a very small and transportation friendly metal chassis. The Nord Drum 2 is not really analog, but it is not sample based as well. The analog filters are digitally cloned and -as we know from former Nord synths- pretty good sounding. Although the device is quite easy to program, it takes some time to achieve a Simmons-like sound you can work with.

For that particular live situation we used the stereo out to split the kick drum from the snare/toms which worked absolutely great. For future gigs I would like to program different kits for any track.

But is the Nord Drum 2 a substitude for an SDSV?
Yes and no. The ND2 sound is not as powerfull as the SDSV. But still it sounds great. ND2 has some big advantages:

  • light and compact
  • many more filters and waveforms than the SDSV
  • MIDI In/Out
  • Backups via SysEx
  • easy to program
  • reasonable price
  • works great with Simmons pads, even with SDSV pads
  • separate headphone output

The advantages of the original should be mentioned as well:

  • the best Simmons sound ever. There is nothing like the original. Amen.
  • one knob each filter: The sound can be edited while you are playing: No menus, no detour
  • mono, stereo and single (XLR!) outputs
  • up to 7 modules per frame
  • 19″

Final result:
If you can live with a sound that is only 95% of the original, that only provides stereo out and that is only available as a non-standardised desktop version, the Nord Drum 2 is a good choice. It is powerful, reliable and compact. It sounds very good, has even many more filters compared to the analog Simmons filters and works with most Simmons pads (exception: SDX pads) and has contemporary features like MIDI. If you still prefer the original: Think about a Nord Drum as a backup 😉

Some more impressions from that gig can be found here: http://portfolio.tombstone-webzine.de/albums/held-der-arbeit-23-dezember-2016-matrix-bochum/

Posted in Brains, Report | Comments Closed

A new chassis for an SDSV

Sunday, June 9th, 2013

Many SDSV are missing the outer black casing box. Their owners removed them in order to fit the brain into a standard 19″ rack. So if your SDSV brain demands a case, it is rather easy to make one yourself. all you need are two sheet metals, about 0.5mm thick (shouldn’t be much thicker or thinner), width x height = 600x300mm and an appropriate amount of “speaker skin”.

This is my Musicaid SDSV frame serial number #71 when I got it in 2010. Click here to read more about the restoration of the electronics.

I got the metal sheets (made of stainless steel) from a local metalworker. He also bended the sheets for me. This picture shows an experimental stage with blue pushbuttons and the blank stainless steel case screwed to the brain.

Cutting the skin. It should protude about 5-10mm on every side because it will be wrapped around the sheet edges

glueing the skin onto the sheets. Take care that there are no air or glue bubbles under the skin

the top of the case. Both parts have the same size

The holes which had been drilled into the sheets before. After the skin is glued I burned the holes with an old soldering iron through the plastic

now both parts are screwed to the frame. Doesn’t look too bad?!

the bottom brain has an original case, the top one is the self made. The parts for the case cost about 25-50 Euro. And today, after 3 years, my old fubar Musicaid brain looks like a new one again

Posted in Brains, Report, Tips'n tricks | Comments Closed

SDS7 Dual Sample voice cards

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Thanks to Paul Metcalf for leading me to a document about the dual sample voice cards for the SDS7. The latest SDS7 systems featured voice cards which could carry 2 eproms = 2 sounds. There are several ways to trigger those sounds:

  • a dynamic threshold can be programmed. This means that the SDS7 was the first kit featuring velocity stacks (even earlier than SDX had been introduced)
  • by a stereo snare pad (snare and rim sound)

 

 

Posted in Brains | 4 Comments »

Clap Box – A clone of the Simmons Analog Clap Trap

Thursday, October 18th, 2012

yes, it’s 2012. I just stumbled over a clone of the old Simmons Analog Clap Trap. It’s an app made by Puremagnetik.

And here’s a pic of the original:

Posted in Brains, Misc, Report, Sound and Video | 1 Comment »

Mission SDS4

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Since I’ve been started my collection in 2003 I have missed half a dozen opportunities to get an SDS4. They were too expensive, too far away or both. When I recently noticed a pick-up only auction ending on an early Friday afternoon I scented my chance. I checked my war chest, prepared for a one-day ride to Hastings, south England. I calculated the travel costs and set my limit. And I was lucky! I think it was a real bargain if you know how much had been paid for this particular unit before and that this is one of about 100 units ever built by Dave Simmons himself. And the SDS4 closed the last gap in my Musicaid product portfolio.

4:24am
4:24am

still dark in Germany
still dark in Germany

must be the right way
must be the right way

Eurotunnel terminal
Eurotunnel terminal

boarding
boarding

after 400km
after 400km

it's dark inside the tunnel
it’s dark inside the tunnel

England!
England!

God save the Queen!
God save the Queen!

11am GET - arrival in Hastings
11am GET – arrival in Hastings

right before the big moment
right before the big moment

here we are....
here we are

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Congratulations

Monday, October 24th, 2011

There are some events to celebrate: 30 years ago, at the beginning of 1981, Dave Simmons built (Musicaid) SDSV #1. Later, at the end of 1981, Simmons Electronic Drums Ltd. was founded. My way to say “Happy Birthday, Simmons”:

Next step would be a chromatic “Simmophone”?

Posted in Brains, Pads, Report, Stories and Gossip | 4 Comments »

Musicaid SDSV

Monday, June 6th, 2011

Last week a guitar player told me about the unique opportunity to buy a Fender Stratocaster from the Pre-CBS area for a “tip amount” of only €3000-5000. That reminded me of the fact that the Simmons history was devided into the Musicaid- and the Simmons Electronics epoch. OK, probably this comparison is misleading, but still there are parallel aspects. I got my first (complete and mint) SDSV produced as Musicaid. There are some obvious differences (I have not opened it yet so there will be likely some more inside, specially concerning the modules):

  • The outer cover is made of imitation leather instead of bended sheet metal
  • The inner frame is not yet zinc-coated. That might lead to major rust occurence depending on the storage environment
  • The frame is slightly bigger so a sheet metal cover from a later device would not fit over a Musicaid SDSV frame
  • The knobs used for the modules and mixer section are a bit bigger and different to later SDSV devices
  • no rubber feat on the bottom for desktop use
  • the panels show “Musicaid EP” instead of “Simmons”
  • The pushbuttons are red instead of black

From the Complete Simmons Drum Book by Bob Henrit: “… At roughly the same time that Simmons products were becoming a force to be reckoned with, disaster struck. In November 1981 the Musicaid company collapsed. They were desperate for some development money so that SDS.5 could be produced in significant quantity, but were unable to raise the necessary funds from an associate investment company who already had a financial interest. The company was burdened with unwasted general music stock and eventually went into voluntary liquidation. Musicaid could have been saved for as little as £20.000 – a minute sum to secure the future of such a world-beating product, however at that time it was impossible to raise. They still had faith and hope, but precious little charity!
Dave Simmons understandably looks upon this time as being the most traumatic of his life. His workforce were on the dole and had a very lean Christmas at the end of 1981, and he not only had to deal with irate creditors, he had to try to sort out the future too. He was certain that SDS.5 was a world-beating product, but in the light of Musicaid’s demise, he not surprisingly found it extremely difficult to persuade people to invest in it. His only hope was his personal bank. Ultimately it was his wife Kirsty who was able to persuade the bankers to part with the £10.000 necessary to start a completely new comapny and go ahead with production. A company called ‘Clipfinch’ was bought ‘of the shelf’ for £100, and once things began to tick over nicely its name was duly changed to Simmons Electronics. …”

Particularly this device was a guest of my museum in 2010 when the former owner asked me for an expertise. It had been originally delivered with the wooden pads I wrote about last year. At that time I changed a set of pure white and mint SDSV pads for these wooden collectibles. He wanted to keep the brain (or sell it for more money I was willing to give…) and recently sold it for no less than €1500. The buyer was desperately looking for an SDSV for years. He tried it with Roland mesh head pads but soon found out that the brain demands sharp trigger pulses from rock hard SDSV pads in order to avoid destorted sounds. So we made the deal that he gets one of my newer Simmons SDSV, 5 module standard version, with a higher serial number (#502), complete with pads, sands and cables and I get the Musicaid SDSV in mint condition. A good deal for both parties as far as I can estimate. What do we learn? Finally Simmons gear end up in my house…


Posted in Brains, Report, Stories and Gossip | 6 Comments »

Simmonizer – SDS3 clone

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

With only 100-200 units built, the SDS3 is one of the most sought-after drum synths. It is very hard to find a reliable working unit. After I got mine I forwarded it to Michael Buchner to let him do some repairs on it and to give him the opportunity to study and draw the (real) schematics. Obviously the original schematics had some errors. One of Michaels following projects was a one channel clone of SDS3. In early 2009 I had the pleasure to check a prototype which was more or less only a ball of wire, but it worked perfect and sounded like 100% SDS3.

In the following period Michael completed the project with a perfect board layout, perfect chassis and perfect design.

The target of this project was more or less fun. But short time later the German synth manufacturer Touched-By-Sound started to develop their own 5 channel clone. Michael shared his board layouts and during the 2011 Frankfurt music fair the Simmonizer SDS3 clone was shown for the first time.

I had the opportunity to check it although at this stage it is still a prototype. The Simmonizer provides 5 channels: 3 drum channels, one Hihat and an FX channel, for example for a crash sound. It can be triggered with midi or with pads. The filters and sound were pretty mouch SDS3 (that should be the minimum requirement of an SDS3 clone 🙂 ). Still it has some errors which are quite funny. For example if you turn the noise/tone to “tone”, you get the noise and vice versa. The filters did not work very well. To be honest: Regarding the simplicity and the fact that I have seen a perfect working clone at Michael’s, I would have expected more, particularly if you think about the price which is targeted 1599 Euro. Not really pocket money and even more than the most expensive original I have seen on Ebay in the past. Hopefully

Posted in Brains, Report | 3 Comments »

Simmonizer – SDS3 clone

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

With only 100-200 units built around 1980, the SDS3 is one of the most sought-after drum synths.

It is very hard to find a reliable working unit. After I got mine in 2005 I forwarded it to Michael Buchner asking him to do some repairs and to give him the opportunity to study and draw the (real) schematics (Dave Simmons’ original schematics had some errors). One of Michaels following projects was a one channel clone. In early 2009 I had the pleasure to check a prototype which was more or less only a ball of wire, but it worked perfect and sounded like 100% SDS3.

In the following period Michael completed the project with a perfect board layout, perfect chassis and perfect design.

The target of Michael’s project was more or less fun. But short time later the German synth manufacturer Touched-By-Sound also started to develop their own 5 channel clone. Michael shared his board layouts and during the 2011 Frankfurt music fair the Simmonizer SDS3 clone was shown for the first time under Touched-By-Sound’s label Mode Machines.

I had the opportunity to check it although at this stage it is still a prototype. The Simmonizer provides 5 channels: 3 drum channels, one Hihat and an FX channel, for example for a crash sound. It can be triggered with midi or with pads. The filters and sound were pretty mouch SDS3 (which should be the minimum requirement of an SDS3 clone). Still it has some errors which are quite funny. For example if you turn the noise/tone to “tone”, you get the noise and vice versa. The filters did not work very well. To be honest: Regarding the simplicity and the fact that I have seen a perfect working clone at Michael’s, I would have anticipated more of a 1599 Euro device. Not really pocket money and even more than the most expensive original I have seen on Ebay in the past. Hopefully the producer gets a grip on the technical issues. I am confident that they will manage to develop the Simmonizer till series maturity. I will have a look again in Frankfurt 2012. Promised…

Posted in Brains, Report | 2 Comments »

1981-2011 – 30 years of hexagons

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

It must have been the first half of 1981 when Dave Simmons exhibited 3 sets of prototype pads

“During 1981, the company (still Musicaid EP) exhibited at the British Music Show at Olympia in London. They weren’t members of AMII, (the manufacturer’s association), so were forced to exhibit nearby in what was known as the ‘over the road show’, in a slightly sleazy hotel. It took them a week to get just three hand-built kits ready for it. One was heart-shaped and sprayed in some sort of velvet, another was ‘bat-wing shaped’, with no straight sides, and aimed somewhat optimistically at heavy metal drummers, while the third was the now familiar hexagonal shape which has become their trade mark. (Unbeknown to the general public, neither the ‘bat-wing’ nor the heart-shaped kits actually worked!). All three set up in precisely the same way, like a traditional drum kit, with a vertically mounted bass drum with wide-spreading, tubular spurs. The proportions were purposely kept close to those of acoustic drums, the small pads measuring 11 inches across the flats, with the bassdrum roughly 22 inches. ...” (The Complete Simmons Drum Book)

Posted in Brains, Pads, Report | 1 Comment »

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