Simmons (electronic Drum Company) - More Models

More Models

During the lifetime of the SDS-V, Simmons also produced a compact trigger unit about the size of a suitcase, containing seven small pads. Used in conjunction with the SDS-V brain, this allowed players to add Simmons sounds to an existing acoustic kit without incorporating a set of full-size pads. This unit was used extensively by New Order at the time.

Also available at the same time was the SDS-6 drum sequencer, used to great effect by artists such as Howard Jones.

Following the success of the SDS-V, Simmons expanded their range in 1983, replacing the V with another modular rack-based brain called the SDS-7, which featured digital sampling sounds on EPROM for the first time, expandable up to twelve modules, and redesigned pads, featuring a skin of rubber to make playing a little easier. The unit used 8-bit samples and a programmable memory, but was prone to malfunctioning and loss of memory, making it unpopular in a live context.

The same year, they also produced the cheaper analogue-only SDS-8, which featured a single, non-expandable desktop-style brain with one unalterable factory preset and one custom user preset for each channel. The SDS-8 kit was supplied with four tom pads and a bass pad, using similar hardware to the earlier SDS-V, but in a more budget style, such as using jack leads instead of XLR connectors. The sounds were similar to the SDS-V, but, to the discerning ear, not up to the same quality. However, the kit has remained a popular alternative to the SDS-V for those seeking analogue Simmons sounds.

Also available at the time were a number of smaller devices, such as an SDS-EPB E-PROM Blower to write samples onto the chips, a "Digital ClapTrap" unit, which, as its name suggested, was a digital clap sound device, a sound very popular in 1980s music.

Simmons began to expand their product line with smaller kits and pads, including the SDS-1, which was a single pad with a built-in EPROM reader for playing a single drum sound sample, and the all-analogue SDS-200 (2 tom system), SDS-400 (4 tom system), and SDS-800 (bass, snare, and 2 tom system). These products were aimed at acoustic drummers who wanted to add a couple of Simmons pads to their kit on a budget. Some of these products also featured the "run generator", which allowed drummers to play a descending drum roll with a single pad hit.

In 1985, Simmons introduced the SDS-9, a hybrid digital/analog brain with three changeable EEPROM channels (kick, snare, and rim) and analogue-synthesized toms. It also featured 40 presets (20 factory and 20 user-programmable) and a built-in digital delay. This kit was yet another well received product for Simmons as it combined realistic sounds in an inexpensive, compact brain. Following customer feedback, Simmons also produced a new series of drum pads using "floating" drum heads and changeable shells. The snare drum had an extra trigger for the rim. Again, this improved the playability of the kit.

Another brain was introduced in 1986 called the SDS-1000, and was, in effect, the same sounds as the SDS-9 (without the ability to change the EPROMS) in a slim 1U, MIDI-enabled, rack mountable unit. The snare sounds, however, were more realistic and clear than the SDS-9. The SDS-1000 also included a "second skin" feature, which emulated the sound of dual-headed drums.