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Rhythms of the world

Korg Wavedrum

Article from The Mix, January 1995

Innovative electronic percussion


Electronic percussion has come a long way in recent years, and the Korg Wavedrum is the most advanced model yet. Nicholas Rowland swings to the beat of a different drum...


I've always fought shy of apocalyptic statements when it comes to the opening sentences of reviews. For one thing, the New Testament does it so much better. For another, past experience shows that anything you hail as the greatest thing since sliced mustard is likely to:

(a) Never materialise as a finished product;
(b) Prove so expensive, no one even fantasises about buying one;
(c) Prove so costly in R&D terms, the manufacturer goes into receivership within two months of announcing the launch date;
(d) All three of the above.

As I don't think any of these points are likely to apply to Korg's new Wavedrum, I'll cut the proverbial and jump in with both feet straight away. This has to be one of the most exciting pieces of hi-tech equipment I've encountered for many a long year. And since I was in at the start of the electronics revolution, we are talking many a long year indeed.

The object that has finally pierced this gnarled husk of cynicism which passes for a human being goes under the description of 'drum synthesiser and MIDI percussion controller'. Admittedly it's a title which is not likely to get your pulse racing. But behind it is a piece of kit which, if nothing else, has finally achieved the Holy Grail of electronic percussion — to offer a level of feel and playability which matches (nay, transcends) the response you get from traditional hand-played acoustic instruments.

First principles



Behind the sheer playability of the Wavedrum is a combination of rather natty engineering and quite startling sound generation technology. Put together, these ingredients not only enable the Wavedrum to replicate acoustic instruments with a remarkable level of realism, but also give you a number of stunning sounds which are as unreal as you could imagine.

What we have here goes way beyond the sort of electronic conga or talking drum you plug into the mains. The Wavedrum is essentially a new type of percussion instrument which, while consisting of nothing more than a pile of circuit boards, comes as close to being a living and breathing object as you're ever likely to get.

At the heart of the Wavedrum is probably one of the most advanced systems of synthesis to be found in any current electronic instrument. Korg call it SV or State Variable synthesis — a little something the boys and girls in the R&D lab in California have been cooking up over the past year or so. It's based on a custom-designed DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chip which integrates several different types of synthesis, including analogue, FM, additive, non-linear and — this is the big one, folks — physical modelling.

Physical modelling, for those of you who don't know, is tipped to be the next big thing in sound generation. Or at least the next big buzzword. Crudely put, it involves creating sounds through a software model rather than basing them on a 'physical' electronic sound source, such as an oscillator or a sample recorded from a real instrument.

It's a more powerful application of the technology used in, say, digital reverbs, only instead of creating 'virtual rooms' with all the acoustic properties of real ones, you are creating 'virtual instruments'. While these instruments may sound real enough when they come out of the speakers, all you've actually done is to 'draw' the sounds using a series of software commands. The advantage of creating virtual instruments is that you can (in theory) do so much more with them. For example, you can get them to behave like an acoustic instrument, changing pitch, tone or timbre according to how they are 'virtually' struck, plucked or strummed and so on. Or you can get them to behave in completely different ways, to the extent of creating 'virtual instruments' which have no counterparts in the physical world.

Korg is not the only company which has been beavering away on the development of this technology. Another is Yamaha, which is in the process of introducing the VL-1, the world's first keyboard-based physical modelling instrument. However, rather than simply stuffing the State Variable synthesis chip into its latest keyboard, it seems Korg's R&D team were told to take the technology and create a new kind of instrument around it. That they subsequently chose to create a drum synthesiser was not just out of feelings of charity towards percussionists. First, the field of hand-played percussion includes some of the most expressive instruments around. Secondly, because of the processing power involved, physical modelling is, for the moment at least, better suited to replicating the acoustic properties of monophonic — and, dare I say it, relatively unsophisticated — instruments such as drums and percussion.

So, that's the virtual theory. What about the virtual reality?

Unboxed



That the Wavedrum is something quite special is obvious as soon as you get it out of the box. Usually compared to the polished wood of real drums, hi-tech instruments seem soulless, but there's certainly plenty of soul here. To me, the Wavedrum has the look and feel of a piece of bespoke hi-fi — slightly quirky, but nevertheless oozing a sense of quality and attention to detail. The fit and finish, as they say, is superb.

That hefty chunk of birdseye maple is not just there to add a superficial touch of executive refinement (and maybe justify a not inconsiderable price tag), it also helps to add to the rigidity of the outer shell and ensures that the Wavedrum can be safely driven by crash test dummies.

As you can see, the playing surface is based around a standard 10" drum head which is held in place by an aluminium rim. This can be tightened using a conventional drum key — an action which does actually alter the response of the pads. The Wavedrum also comes with a removable steel rim which quickly screws in over the top of the head, the chord for this plugging into the Wavedrum's back panel.

All controls and connections are tucked well away underneath the lip of the Wavedrum's wooden body. While this means they don't get in the way while you're playing, it can make things a tad fiddly when you're trying to change a patch or carry out such editing as can be done using the onboard controls. Switch on and the LED display, which is neatly recessed into the wooden rim, scrolls a quick message of welcome, then displays the patch name and number of the currently selected program.

There are 100 patches on board — between them offering an eclectic mixture of the familiar and startlingly unfamiliar. Among the former you'll find the dulcet tones of congas, bongos, tablas, snares, a Simmons-style electronic drum, electronic hi hats, gongs, guiros, jingles, cow bell, steel drum and a whole host of ethnic instruments (including the quite superb bodhran and India).

Mixed in with those sounds, which clearly have their roots in the real world, are a whole series of others which often defy description — quite clearly the product of a diseased mind. These sounds include such gems as Wave Seq (an ethereal sound texture underpinned by a ping-ponging sequenced 'tick-tock'), Angels (harp-like arpeggios), Beast (an electric drill on amphetamines) and Aliens (Sigourney Weaver eat your heart out).

Where the Wavedrum appears to be so far ahead of any other electronic percussion system is the sophistication with which it reads and interprets the information coming off the pads and then applies this to the reproduction of the particular sound. As a simple example, if you hit the head near the rim, the resultant sound will have a different timbre than if you hit it in the middle. Then again, if you hit the head near the rim while pressing down on the head, you will get a different timbre again. But if you then move your hand and press down on a different part of the head, that timbre might change yet again.

Deconstructed



Well, underneath the drum head is a surface incorporating five sensors, each covering a zone or area of the pad. Beneath this little lot is another sensor which reads the amount of pressure being applied to the head as a whole. Now, pads incorporating several pickups are by no means new, but the Wavedrum is clearly streets ahead in not only being able to read the pressure and position of each stroke, but also modifying the sound according to what you're using to hit the head with, whether it's a stick or the flat of your hand.

The reason it can do this is a microphone which picks up the surface noise you make as you hit the head, and then adds that into the information being used to determine what variation of the sound is going to be triggered. Because of this, you can produce different timbres not only according to whether you are using hands or sticks, but also what types of sticks you use.

If you want to hear an example of this in action, then dial up the preset known as Scratch, and then rub the surface of the head with your nail or a brush. The resultant scratchy sound is quite different from the high-pitched rattle you get when you tap the surface of the drum with a stick.

It's important to realise (so Korg tell me) that it's not a case of the surface sounds being somehow acoustically mixed in with the electronic signal. It's more that the signal coming from the microphone will act as one of the controllers which modify the internal sound 'model'. However, I have to say that in some cases, the results sound so convincing that you're pretty sure that somehow the drum has been conventionally miked up. Interestingly, because of the inbuilt microphone it is actually possible to experience feedback if the Wavedrum is positioned too near the monitoring system.

There's also a microphone built in to the rim, which again picks up the actual sound of the drum being struck, and converts this into controller information. The rim has two sets of grooves which allows you to play it as an electronic guiro. Even as someone who's used electronic percussion quite extensively over the past ten years, this really does take some time to get your mind around!

For certain instruments, the sound which comes out of the speakers has clearly been designed to be as close to the 'real' thing as possible. In these cases, you can apply traditional techniques and expect the sound to come back at you in a true-to-life fashion.

However, as you've probably gathered, not all the Wavedrum algorithms are designed to be true to life. I'd say only around 60 of the 100 patches are derived from real percussion, and of these a number often have some unearthly element which suddenly appears out of the woodwork according to how you are playing the head.

For example, play the patch marked 'Jet' as you would a conga and you get what can best be described as a high pitched metallic 'donk'. But then bang the middle of the head with your fist and you get the twang of a low bass note. Then press the head with the tips of your fingers and you will hear the rumble of a jet streaking across the sky. You can then 'bend' this sound up and down according to how hard you press the skin.

Another friend of mine was 'Hendrix', (pull the other one — Ed), where if you press down hard on the drum head, you suddenly get a stonking guitar chord which comes out of nowhere and nearly blows your woofers away in the process.

Styling and profiling



With these kinds of patches, it's a question of sitting down and developing a playing style which is going to suit the sound. It takes a while to get to grips with what's actually going on with the sound, but the spectrum of sound colours which can be extracted from some of these patches really does make it worth persevering. When it comes to customising sounds, you'll find that the Wavedrum's onboard controls allows editing of decay and pitch only.

RE1 controller: essential companion to the Wavedrum


Remote options



For more complex programming, you'll need to turn to either a software editor or Korg's optional RE1 remote editor, a generic device which is sold as an accessory for tweaking Korg's rackmounting expanders.

Personally, I'd say the RE1 was an essential purchase. With its large (and backlit) display and plethora of knobs and sliders, it makes working with the Wavedrum so much easier. It gives you access to eight more parameters for each patch, as well as enabling you to deal with the MIDI side of life. Eight parameters may not sound very many, but considering the complexity of the SV synthesis system, it's probably enough.

Aside from pitch and decay, which are common to all patches, the editing parameters are dedicated to the individual sound of each algorithm. Interestingly, the Wavedrum designers have opted to give all parameters evocative rather than technical names which, in the main, makes them a lot easier to understand. So among the parameters for a patch called Monsoon, for instance, you'll find Wind Colour (or Color, as Korg insist on spelling it). This is in fact a function similar to an aural exciter.

You can also assign up to two parameters to the optional expression footswitch, and then determine whether pressing the pedal increases or decreases the level of that parameter and by what amount. Although the Wavedrum is billed as a MIDI controller, this is probably the last use I'd put it to — it's somewhat akin to using a Ferrari to tow a caravan. The Wavedrum's inherent expressiveness couldn't possibly translate over MIDI. If you tried, your system would become instantly constipated by the amount of controller information which would need to be generated.

So while the Wavedrum's MIDI implementation sheet wasn't available at the time of review, judging by the parameters displayed on the relevant screens of the RE1, Korg have deliberately kept the MIDI specification at a fairly basic level.

Conclusions



It's a long time since a piece of drum-related gear has got me so excited. I'd defy anyone who plays one for five minutes not to feel the same excitement. What you've got is probably the first ever pile of electronics to offer a playing experience which is every bit as satisfying as handling acoustic instruments. And as for those sounds...

The best thing of all (to come back to the point made at the beginning) is that the Wavedrum is unlikely to suddenly disappear into thin air leaving nothing behind but a half printed brochure and a pile of unfulfilled orders. Korg isn't the kind of backstreet company which is going to disappear overnight.

The Wavedrum may seem pricey, but it's a snip compared to the cost of a decent collection of the many acoustic percussion instruments it is capable of replicating. It's never going to supercede the drum kit, but could well inspire percussionists to explore new areas of creativity. It would be a shame if all the Wavedrum turned out to be was a novelty turn during the percussion break.

For the moment, anyone who's seriously interested in expanding their repertoire of sounds and technique has simply got to hear it. If need be, lie down in the road until one runs you over.

The essentials...

Price inc VAT: Wavedrum: £1,750;RE1 remote control: £325; FC6 Foot Controller: £189
More from: Korg (UK), (Contact Details)


Control menu

Bank selector for selecting one of ten banks
Patch selector/one to ten
Headphone out plus volume control
Tone control (bass and treble)
Level control

Back panel connections
Two outputs — One/mix and Two (some of the patches make quite heavy use of stereo effects)
Input for foot controller pedal and rim
MIDI in, Out and Thru
Special connection for the optional RE1 editor or FC1 foot controller.

Optional extras
RE1 remote editor
FC6 Foot controller
XVP-10 Expression/volume pedal
ST-WD1 single stand



Previous Article in this issue

Going solo

Next article in this issue

Combo fortissimo


Publisher: The Mix - Music Maker Publications (UK), Future Publishing.

The current copyright owner/s of this content may differ from the originally published copyright notice.
More details on copyright ownership...

 

The Mix - Jan 1995

Donated by: Colin Potter, Chris Moore

Coverdisc: Mike Gorman

Control Room

Gear in this article:

Drums (Electronic) > Korg > Wavedrum

Previous article in this issue:

> Going solo

Next article in this issue:

> Combo fortissimo


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