It all started in 1977 when Syndrum released the first playable electronic pad, which attracted several big names of the time with backers such as Keith Moon, Jeff Porcaro, Carmine Appice and Terry Bozio.
In the early 1980s, the perception of electronic drums changed as pop and disco music created a demand for electronic sounds. Until then, drummers were very concerned about an electronic ‘replacement’ for their beloved acoustic kits. 1981 brought the first real electronic kit: the SDS-5 manufactured by Simmons. 1983 made electronic drums even more attractive with the advent of MIDI. In 1985 Roland took its first serious steps into the electronics market and during this year and 1986 ddrum and Yamaha also arrived on the scene. However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, popularity dropped due to the kits’ difficult user interfaces.
These battery companies needed a friendlier user interface – each kit sold also came with a video or dvd of how everything worked, helping the end user to greatly understand the complexities of the electronic drum brain and how it could be modified. in many ways to produce various drum and cymbal sounds on the pads. Roland continued to develop e-kits during the 1990s with the release of the TD-7, TD-5, and TD-10, the first set to feature mesh heads. Yamaha continued its interest in the DTX range. By 1999 Yamaha had made a much more affordable kit with the launch of DTXpress alongside Roland’s TD-8, and at the time these 2 companies dominated the electronic drum market.
Further developments came in 2004/05 when Roland introduced the first true electronic hi-hat, the VH-12. In recent years, as technology improved, electronic kits became more affordable with instruction books and easy to use with the emergence of a number of new manufacturers, and Roland and Yamaha continue to develop new kits. Only time will tell what the next development in electronic kits will be, but one thing is for sure – they are here to stay.
Sponsors such as Omar Hakim and Thomas Lang are constantly on tour showing the electronic drum kits to the large audience of drummers. Electronic drum kits can also be used as additional pads to expand acoustic drum kits so they can trigger audio loops to play in shows. The main brands of electronic drum kits out there are Yamaha and Roland, but many other companies make similar kits.