Simmons Drums
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simmons was a popular electronic drum manufacturer through the early 80's, up through the early 90's. They were known for making the world's first fully electronic drumset. Simmons has recently re-joined the market with a new entry level electronic drum kit, the SD5K.
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[edit] History
Simmons was started by Dave Simmons around 1978. They created their first popular model, known as the SDSV or SDS-5. This was known to be the world's first fully electronic drumset ever. There were single pads, such as the Pollard Syndrum and the Synare, but they were those "beyyooo" drum synths that were more synthesizers than anything. The SDSV featured the imfamous hexagonal pads and that "dzzshhh" sound heard in so many songs. It was used by many 80's bands including Duran Duran and Rush. It had an expandable drum module, featuring bass, snare, toms, and cymbals. Even though Simmons made cymbals, many drummers used acoustic cymbals due to the cymbal sounds resembling a trash can lid. The SDSV's biggest downfall was the polycarbonate heads on the pads. Simmons made this surface to be robust and to last long, but it had no rebound and gave drummers a wristache.
[edit] More Models
Simmons then made the SDS-7. It now featured digital sounds, rubber pads, and a sophisocated module. Simmons then made the SDS-8, a cheaper model with no digital sounds. Their next big leap was the SDS-9. This had real-sounding drums, changeable shells, and a new pad surface. The surface had more rebound. It also allowed the use of E-PROMS for the snare, rimshot, and crossstick sounds. It even had a built-in delay effect. The SDS-9 was popular due to its acoustically sampled snare sound. It was indistinguishable from a real kit.
[edit] The SDX
- In 1987, after the SDS-9, Simmons had to decide which direction to take. They were wondering to go with low-price beginner products, or the professional high-class drums. They took the high-class route and came out with the Simmons SDX. It had features unheard of in other electronic drums. Its big feature was zone intelligence. It was the first drumset to ever have it, even thoug most credit the Roland TD-20 with being the first with it. It also had pad layering, making it possible to have even cymbal swells and buzz rolls. It also had a built-in sampler, floppy disk drive, and a 9" computer screen. It also had new cymbal pads, called the "Symbal". It had a rod that allowed it to sway like a real cymbal.
[edit] The Fall of Simmons
The SDX was priced insanely high, at around $10,154! They only made around 280 kits, and only few still remain. At this time, most people lost interest in Simmons. In 1990, they tried to go back to what they were before they took the expensive route, and created the SDS-2000. It had good sounds, but Simmons had lost many customers. They also even tried to make some other interesting products, such as the Silicon Mallet and acoustic drum triggers, but that didn't increase their revenue much. They then closed in 1994 after many companies like Roland and Yamaha came along, stealing the electronic drum market. There are still many Simmons drums enthusiats and players. Bill Bruford still played the Simmons SDX long after they closed.
[edit] External links
- The Virtual Simmons Museum
- A Simmons drums fan site
- Another Simmons Drums Site
- A Simmons Drums fan forum
