Digitech SDRUM - who has one?

geewhiz · #1 06-21-2018, 07:50 AM

Just wondering if anyone here uses a Digitech SDRUM in a live performance setting. We have a duo/trio. Our singer plays some percussion but I'm wondering if this could be a tool to supplement a few songs. It has a brush kit and a percussion kit and it seems like they could be useful for the type of music we do.

We used to have a cajon player but that limited the venues we could play due to space and budget.

I did a search of this entire site and I was surprised to get only one hit on SDRUM. Interesting.

dcopper · #2 06-21-2018, 10:06 AM

I have not seen the SDRUM yet but an working with the BOSS DR01 S. It has good acoustic drums for solo/duo or other acoustic work.
It is simple and just add an FS5 for foot control.
Really easy to use - select a kit and which drums/percussion you want and set the tempo. There is a line out for PA/amp.
I recommend it if you want simple and good acoustic rhythms.
Davidc

lkingston · #3 06-21-2018, 04:18 PM

https://digitech.com/en/products/sdrum

geewhiz · #4 06-21-2018, 06:54 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HU4fikMmG0

Chriscom · #5 06-21-2018, 07:03 PM

Thanks for the info and the links gang. I guess the obvious question is, has anyone compared it to the BeatBuddy? I hadn't heard of this product.

geewhiz · #6 06-21-2018, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriscom

Thanks for the info and the links gang. I guess the obvious question is, has anyone compared it to the BeatBuddy? I hadn't heard of this product.

Short answer: no. But what appeals to me about the SDRUM vs the Beat Buddy is the ability to "tell" it what beat you'd like, and that can be done on the fly (by scratching out the beat on your strings) or done in advance and stored in memory.

There's no question that either would be a fun and handy practice tool, but I think the SDRUM might have some real applications for live use. At least I hope so.

BoneDigger · #7 06-21-2018, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcopper

I have not seen the SDRUM yet but an working with the BOSS DR01 S. It has good acoustic drums for solo/duo or other acoustic work.
It is simple and just add an FS5 for foot control.
Really easy to use - select a kit and which drums/percussion you want and set the tempo. There is a line out for PA/amp.
I recommend it if you want simple and good acoustic rhythms.
Davidc

I have this same setup and like it a lot. It's probably similar to the one you are considering. The Boss has some great Latin sounds, which I like, and some great acoustic drums. It's very programmable, especially with a foot switch.

hotroad · #8 06-21-2018, 09:41 PM

Who would want to 'scratch' (Digitech word) on your guitar strings to give the Digitech the info it needs to start. When playing live you just can't be scratching on your guitar to teach the unit anything. First there is no time to do that between songs. And secondly, you don't want your audience to hear you scratching on the strings between songs.

geewhiz · #9 06-22-2018, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotroad

Who would want to 'scratch' (Digitech word) on your guitar strings to give the Digitech the info it needs to start. When playing live you just can't be scratching on your guitar to teach the unit anything. First there is no time to do that between songs. And secondly, you don't want your audience to hear you scratching on the strings between songs.

It has a 36 song memory so you can create arrangements and songs ahead of time. I agree, depending on the type of performance/venue I wouldn't want to be fiddling around like that either. But that also depends on how reliably the unit interprets your input. I could see certain situations where I might do something on the fly like that in a more casual setting.

geewhiz · #10 06-22-2018, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I have this same setup and like it a lot. It's probably similar to the one you are considering. The Boss has some great Latin sounds, which I like, and some great acoustic drums. It's very programmable, especially with a foot switch.

Actually the Boss and the Digitech are pretty different. The Digitech plays a pattern that you teach it. Maybe I'm wrong, but with the Boss you get a canned, pre-programmed beat.

dcopper · #11 06-22-2018, 06:47 AM

I had the BeatBuddy and traded it. I think it is a good tool if you are a not bothered by menus. The BOSS unit is really, really simple to use and is, at least in my mind, the easiest for live use. It also has memory capacity to store your most used and fave beat patterns. I really like the Latin sounds and acoustic character of the BOSS vs any of the other units.
My dos centavos,
Davidc

BoneDigger · #12 06-22-2018, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geewhiz

Actually the Boss and the Digitech are pretty different. The Digitech plays a pattern that you teach it. Maybe I'm wrong, but with the Boss you get a canned, pre-programmed beat.

Pre-programmed, yes, but there are a lot of choices and the tempos are easily modified. I think it also has something like 50 slots for saving favorites. It's a fun and useful tool. I received mine for Christmas and I'm still learning some of the deeper functions that you can do with a foot switch.

geewhiz · #13 07-01-2018, 03:58 PM

Well, I picked up an SDRUM and it's going back. I was hoping to be able to use it to provide a simple backbeat for a handful of tunes in our acoustic trio, but after some experimentation I've concluded that this is a really cool and fun practice tool. Maybe it's cool too for live use in an improvisational/looping/ambient setting too(?), but for my needs it just isn't going to deliver.

I salute Digitech for coming up with the concept and executing it fairly well, but there are some glaring shortcomings for live use (for me, anyway).

1. To stop a song you have to step on the footswitch and hold it for 2 seconds. In many songs there will be a break, where you just want the drums to stop and then come back in at a certain point. Bummer, but I can't find anything in the manual that allows me to step on it to stop drums instantly and restart at my command. The SDRUM seems to be designed to just drone away until you tell it that the song is over.
2. It would have been really handy to be able to turn off the hats/cymbals/alternate sounds for the right hand and just have the ability for the thing to play the simplest kick/snare pattern with nothing else going on (our singer plays some simple percussion and I don't want the SDRUM to do all of that). No matter which settings I tried it just seemed a bit busy. Even without someone supplementing it with real percussion, there are times when you would want more space and less busy-ness. So here again, cool as a fun practice tool but not practical for live use (in my situation).
3. It's odd how the SDRUM just randomly decides to throw in a (sometimes odd feeling) fill in random places. I taught it a simple two bar pattern. It played for a while and then seemingly in the middle of nowhere there was a weird fill. I've played with human drummers who do that, but I don't see this as a desirable feature

. Again, to be able to control it somehow would be a plus.

Sadly there have been recent layoffs at Digitech so I'm not hopeful there will be any useful firmware updates that will address these concerns. And maybe I'm in the minority. Kind of bummed, because with just a few minor enhancements I think the SDRUM could be a much more useful tool for live situations.

Davis Webb · #14 07-02-2018, 04:56 AM

Great thread. I like the reviews and am sorry that it did not live up to its idea. The world is waiting for some kind of device like this. The option to store to memory to play live is bad, audiences simply see it as a backing track which it is.

The beat buddy is good but has some limits like only 2 versions of a beat and its hard to put bass lines into it without fiddling alot and being restricted. Plus, a beat buddy and guitar with no bass line sounds off. There is little that drums can add to an acoustic set that the audience would like, and would not annoy me after a minute.

I use the Boss DR3 and its the closest I can get to a one man trio. It is nasty as all heck to program, but its got 100 usable onboard patterns, and 100 you can store. It has 6 variations on each beat, and 2 variations of drum kits for those, so in one song jam you can have a total of 12 different footswitch driven rhythm changes. Of course you can change bass keys and temp for each programmed beat. And it has 6 fill patterns and a start/stop function as well as a song end drum part. Until something better comes along I will use my DR3 for electric and my shadowstomp foot pedal for live.

Come on manufacturers! Stop creating half-baked solutions. We want a simple drum machine with bass lines that fits into our guitar case with some comping ability and a ton of variations controlled by the footswitch array to make it sound live. I know you can do it. We put a man on the moon 50 years ago!!

capefisherman · #15 07-02-2018, 07:33 AM

Another big yes to the Boss DR-01S. From what you wrote it sounds like it is pretty similar to what I do, although I usually play as a single. It has some great latin sounds but also lots and lots of variations and memory that can be stored under "favorites." The sound is great and very natural. A bit of a learning curve is involved of course - you will quickly learn where you slow down or speed up in songs you thought you played prefectly - but with some time, and do buy the foot switch, you will get used to it and in fact it's a great tool for improving your rhythm sense.

I've been using mine for about two months and while I don't use it on every song (I play mostly instrumentals, jazz, bossa, blues, Americana, singer/songwriter, etc.) it definitely is icing on the cake and when used sparingly and not overwhelmingly in terms of volume it adds a lot and the listeners seem to like it.

Only down sides and the learning curve - definitely need to practice with it and write down your settings - and the fact that it doesn't operate the "fade" function when a "favorite" is selected. Pluses are it's reasonably priced, great sound with acoustic guitar, small and easy to transport and easy to connect to an amp or PA. Hope this helps! Gene