Whenever I ask somebody which Simmons kit has the most appeal, he will answer “SDX”.
I remember that this was exactly my thought before I had the opportunity to bye my first one in 2003 for pretty much money. My expectations were that I’d get a piece of gear which would sound more extraodinary than I ever heard before. But I anticipate that this was not the case. When I first switched it on, got familiar with the basic functions, I tried all the kit libraries that came with the package and experienced that the SDX sounded like a common sampler. Somehow disappointing, but wait! The SDX was built in 1987, this is (from 2003) 16 years back into the past. In “computer years” this is half of an eternity. Imagine if you buy a personal computer, how long does it do its jobs before it needs to be replaced by a new one? 3 years? 5 years? My longest lasting computer was an Apple PowerMac 6100, bought in 1994, replaced in 2000. Today the SDX is even 22 years old but all of these countless innovations that streamed into this piece of history are still unique and the design is absolutely timeless. It is still good to provide a competitive sound and a few are still in use in recording studios. Bill Bruford and Danny Carey played the SDX even long time after the Simmons company collapsed. This must be love!
Next weekend I am looking forward to the “Ludwigsburger Trommeltage“. My Simmons buddy and former Simmons representative Sibi Siebert will perform on my SDX (which was his original demonstration model for the Frankfurt Music excibition back in 1988). And this is a big portion of the magic of SDX: serial number 19 of 250…