SINCE THIS MAGAZINE is often given to the scrutiny of new products you may think me something of an idiot when I warn you against the dangers of proliferation, a world flooded with bits of limited technology which whisk smartly in and out of fashion, doomed to redundancy and the back pages of the MM almost from the moment that they leave the factory. But who pays for the research and development of the new, slightly better, cheaper, but still flawed product? Us lot.

If fear of being left holding the Dodo haunts the consumer (what price the Syndrum now, I wonder?) then it must devour the maker, who faces the equally unpalatable prospect of accurately predicting, at least a year ahead of demand, what kind of sounds are going to excite the likes of you and for how long, all with an experienced weather eye focused on the movements of the opposition and their wares.

The Ultimate Percussion One-Up pad is subtitled "Natural Response Super Analogue Synthesiser System" which is quite a mouthful for such a modest device. "Natural Response" means that it's supposed to feel like an acoustic drum to play. "Super Analogue" means that it is not based on a digitally-recorded real sound but the same electrically-generated noises of the early Simmons. "Synthesiser System" means that you get all your knobs built into the one pad.

It also features "Auto Power-Up", an exciting and imaginative way of describing the use of a battery to supply the necessary volts for the eager player. Such resourceful use of language is guaranteed to arouse the suspicions of your cynical reviewer, who has himself been caught out in the past by products surrounded with fabulous names and extravagant claims, few of which materialised during everyday use.

So what, then, can buyers expect in return for their 125 quids? A moulded variation on the Simmons theme of the hexagonal pad, in this case alternating long (8½in) with short (3¼in) sides, and which is cast in a sturdy looking alloy. Its outside is wrapped in white plastic; to the top half is punch-riveted a chromed metal strip which, bent over the edge of the rubberised playing surface by half an inch, forms a drum-like rim. Cosmetically this is not a particularly attractive design, and functionally it lags behind product-leaders Simmons whose hi-tech, one-piece SDS9 unit is smart, strong and light.

The seven control pots feature relief-moulded arrows which point at nothing, since there is no graduation system (not even a 0 to 10) around their circumference. From left to right they govern Decay, VCO Sweep and Pitch, VCO to Noise Balance, a Noise Filter, Bite and Output Level. So no control over pad sensitivity, which is rather a pity since some of the sounds are at their best when the pad is hit very hard. This is good neither for the arms/technique of the player nor for the lifespan of the product. If its most professional inclusion is that of a cannon-to-jack lead combination, its least inspiring sight must be the control information strip, a piece of printed cardboard stuck to the outside of the rim.

The playing surface harks back to the second generation of Simmons pads and their rubbery "bok", which was less intrusive than the crack of the SDS5 pads, but still loud enough to oblige the player to monitor the internal sounds at a level which would drown that of the stick on pad itself — or, loud. Again the SDS9 has gone a long way toward eliminating this tiresome problem, and the Pearl DRX8 even further. My most vivid memory in this area is of the voluminous row created by the advanced Tupperware of the Cactus kit.

For all this the dynamic response of the pad's sensors is excellent, easily the most convincingly natural of any electronic drum. With Decay set at 9 o'clock and the rest at 12 an eminently playable snare sound is produced which reacts to the speed and subtlety of the stroke across a wide range. Admittedly it sounds like "Chant No 1" but then you can't, it seems, have it all ways — this must be the Achilles heel of any purely analogue system.

I couldn't find a drum sound with this pad which didn't sound (at best) like the SDS5, which sadly means out of date. You may argue that certain American funk records are still being produced with this sound but that's to do with the time it's taken for them to assimilate "new" ideas and for Simmons to gear up their production to a much higher level. Over here the SDS5 sound dates records to an '81'-83 span.

These days the greater flexibility of the sampled sound is where technology is at, and for drummers or home recorders with a limited budget this means the SDS1 with its interchangeable PROMS. Even if funds or taste don't run to inclusion of the EPROM-blower, there is still the library of factory sounds at the user's disposal. That's a much cheaper recipe for keeping up with the Joneses (and the Kershaws) than working with an inflexible unit like the One-Up.

ONE-UP drum synth pad: £125

CONTACT: Ultimate Percussion, (Contact Details).