Can somebody identify these 80's electronic drums?

[SBX-80]

This is a pretty well known 80's track I guess, and I've always wondered what they're using for those drum rolls that goes throughout the track. Some kind of Linn drum? Some Simmons drums? Something else? Anybody recognize the drum source?

Naked Eyes - Always something there to remind me

YouTube - Naked Eyes - Always Something There

[Mardi Gras]

sample the start of this for them :P

YouTube - New EastEnders titles and updated theme tune 2009

[SBX-80]

Originally Posted by Mardi Gras

sample the start of this for them :P

YouTube - New EastEnders titles and updated theme tune 2009

When I hear them in isolation like that in the beginning of that theme song, I'd say that it definitely sounds like Simmons drums to me. It shouldn't be hard to get high quality Simmons samples, I might already have some laying around on a disc somewhere.

Thanks.

[chrisso]

Eastenders is Simmons.

[SBX-80]

Originally Posted by chrisso

Eastenders is Simmons.

I also found out that and confirmed that Simmons is what was used on the Naked Eyes track I was wondering about in the OP. I thought that Simmons drums were just pads with electronic sounds, I didn't know that they could be programmed.

Credits:
Bass, Drum Programming [Simmons], Drum Programming [Linn] - Tony Mansfield /Drum

[Kenton]

Originally Posted by SBX-80

I thought that Simmons drums were just pads with electronic sounds, I didn't know that they could be programmed.

Oh yes, the original SDS V had 4 sounds per module - one fixed "factory" preset, one adjustable by knobs, two adjustable by trim pots.



Happy days...

K.

[SBX-80]

Originally Posted by Kenton

Oh yes, the original SDS V had 4 sounds per module - one fixed "factory" preset, one adjustable by knobs, two adjustable by trim pots.

I see, that's interesting.

I think I chose the wrong word when I said programming though, because what I meant was in terms of sequencing and not sound creation.

The Simmons sound on the track I was wondering about is clearly heavily quantized and sequenced and I was just wondering how that was done, since I thought it could only be played with pads.

I just checked wikipedia and I see it says that the brain could be triggered from audio, so maybe they used another drum machine or audio to trigger the simmons brain in that song.

Ever since I was a kid in the 80's, I always did like the look of Simmons drums.

[bleen]

Simmons made the SDS6 step sequencer, too:

[SBX-80]

Originally Posted by bleen

Simmons made the SDS6 step sequencer, too:

I never knew that Simmons made a sequencer. It probably makes sense then that that's what they probably used to trigger the brain in the track. They could certainly afford to have it, because I think they used Fairlights on that album also.

[Ericdestler]

Those are Simmons toms definitely!

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by SBX-80

I never knew that Simmons made a sequencer. It probably makes sense then that that's what they probably used to trigger the brain in the track. They could certainly afford to have it, because I think they used Fairlights on that album also.

The producer of that album, Tony Mansfield (formerly of New Musik), had a Simmons SDS-V (triggered by pads or drum machine) and a Linn so that's probably what they used for the drum sounds.
Mansfield also had an OB-Xa, Emulator, Prophet 5 and a Fairlight CMI and all those were used on that record along with a PPG Wave 2.2, Synclavier II, grand piano and harpsichord.

[SovereignG]

Without having listened to the song for a while, I would venture a guess that all the drum sounds were generated by the SDS-V. I own a number of them and can guarantee the toms are from the 'V'. The kick, snare and even the hi-hats sound like they're an SDS-V. I could be wrong but it's likely. The SDS-V system offered hi-hat and cymbal modules to the masses by 1983 and they featured digital samples, run through a timer in the circuit that extended the sustain, making them more lifelike being that they started as short 8 bit samples. These modules were mainly analog, though, and blending the analog facility with the (cheap) sample went a long way towards smoothing the overall sound.
As far as the rolls are concerned, I think that could be a real drummer, but the performance was on a tape loop. Tape loops in the late '70s and early '80s were fairly commonplace. The reason I think it's a real performance is the dynamic range of it. I play drums and have played these and find certain tones cannot be achieved without overdriving the inputs via pads. The 2nd part of the riff (16th note triplet part) has a bite to it that I doubt was sequenced. There's too much modulation (life) to it. I'm not saying it absolutely wasn't. Just considering the likelihood.

[xanderbeanz]

If you want simmons sounds like these on the cheap, can i suggest you try and find a yamaha ED-10 drum pad, you can trigger them with audio or just bash the hell out of it, and they regularly go for under £100 on ebay.

Yamaha ED10 Drum Synthesizer | Vintage Synth Explorer