This Kickstarter Is Looking To Bridge The Gap Between Analog And Electronic Drums

Bringing the expressive nature of a traditional drum kit to the electronic world.

July 19, 2015

Music and musical instruments have always been tied to technological developments. The introduction of sample pads like the Roland SPD series was huge for bands that wanted to trigger percussion or sounds that couldn't be generated by a traditional drum kit. However, as any drummer will tell you it's always been difficult to bridge the gap between the feel of a traditional kit and the stiffness of most electronic drum solutions; Sunhouse is looking to change that.

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The New York-based company has developed a tool called Sensory Percussion, an advanced drum trigger that can be attached to any drum and mapped to play samples with nuance. The sensor uses machine learning algorithms to tell which part of the drum is being hit, and responds accordingly. In addition, you can play between different regions of the drum to blend the samples, and assign effects processing to achieve wilder sounds.

In an interview with The Verge about Sensory Percussion, renowned session drummer Sterling Campbell compared the system to an electric guitar. "Just from a creative side, you’re always kind of envious of a guitar player, because there’s so much you can do with pedals, looping, an iPad — you can sonically do anything on a guitar. So playing with this system was really like, 'Wow, now I can do all that.'"

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In the past week, the Kickstarter for Sensory Percussion has raised over $65,000 of its $80,000 goal. According to the company's projected timeline, backers will receive their units by January 2016.

This Kickstarter Is Looking To Bridge The Gap Between Analog And Electronic Drums