Simmons SDS 5 Electric Drum, Deutsches Museum

Simmons is an electronic drum brand, which originally was a pioneering British manufacturer of

electronic drum Electronic drums is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sound ...

s. Founded in 1978 by Dave Simmons, it supplied electronic kits from 1980 to 1994. The drums' distinctive, electronic sound can be found on countless albums from the 1980s. The company closed in 1999 and the Simmons name is currently owned by

Guitar Center Guitar Center is an American Music store, musical instrument retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 294 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California. Guitar Center oversees various sub ...

. The SDS 5 (or SDSV; notated as SDS-5) was developed in conjunction with Richard James Burgess of

Landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

and released in 1981. The first recordings of the instrument were made by Burgess, on '' From the Tea-rooms of Mars ....'', " Chant No. 1" by

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

, and "Angel Face" by

Shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emerge ...

. After Landscape and Spandau Ballet appeared on ''Top of the Pops'' with the instrument, many other musicians began to use the new technology, including A Flock of Seagulls, Howard Jones, Jez Strode of Kajagoogoo,

John Keeble John Leslie Keeble (born 6 July 1959) is an English pop and rock drummer. He is best known for his membership of the 1980s new wave band Spandau Ballet. Early years Keeble was athletic as a child, playing both football and cricket. He bought ...

, Roger Taylor of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...

Darren Costin Wang Chung are an English new wave band, formed in London in 1980 by Nick Feldman, Jack Hues and Darren Costin. The name Wang Chung is Chinese (, ), meaning "yellow bell" in English, and is the first note in the Chinese classical music scale. ...

of Wang Chung, Steve Negus of

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...

Bobby Z. Robert B. Rivkin (born January 9, 1956), better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being the original drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986. Life and ca ...

, Rick Allen of

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including " She Blinded M ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

of Rush, Bill Bruford,

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles " Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " ...

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

, Cameo,

Jonzun Crew Jonzun Crew was an American electro and early funk– hip hop group that was active in the 1980s. The group was led by Michael Jonzun, his brothers Maurice Starr and Soni Jonzun, and Carl (Captain Fingers). Overview The Jonzun Crew was forme ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

, Jean-Michel Jarre,

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...

and

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

History

Single-pad analog drum synthesizers, including the Pollard Syndrum and the Synare, were introduced in the 1970s, but their unrealistic sound made them generally more suitable for use as a percussion effect than as a replacement for traditional drums. They became a popular element in disco records, especially after the release of music from ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'', and can be heard on songs by

The Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most ...

and Rose Royce. Around 1978 while working for the company Musicaid in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

, Dave Simmons developed a device with similar capabilities to the Syndrum and Synare, which he called the SDS-3. The SDS-3 featured four drum channels and a

noise generator A noise generator is a circuit that produces electrical noise (i.e., a random signal). Noise generators are used to test signals for measuring noise figure, frequency response, and other parameters. Noise generators are also used for generatin ...

; (manufactured by Musicad) the SDS-4 was a functionally similar two-channel version. At this juncture, the drum pads were round, with wooden frames and real 8-inch drum heads. (Mark 1 pads) rounded pads with real drum heads by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. Musicaid was also the distributor for the Lyricon wind synthesizer as played by

John L. Walters John L. Walters (born 16 April 1953) is an English editor, musician, critic and composer. Early years John L. Walters was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. He attended King's College London and holds a degree in Maths with Physics. C ...

. Walters introduced Richard James Burgess to Simmons and Burgess began using the SDS-3s and SDS-4s live, on stage, with Landscape. Recognizing the potential for a fully electronic drum set that could replace the traditional acoustic set rather than supplement it, Burgess began collaborating with Simmons. They mocked up the sounds and flowchart using an ARP 2600 synthesizer. Since Burgess was using the instrument in a live setting, they developed the four customizable preset buttons. The distinctive hexagonal shape came about after triangles and bat-wing mock-ups had been tried. Burgess finally decided that a honeycomb shape would fit together ergonomically and be simple yet distinctive in appearance. A limited edition of what Simmons referred to as the

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakot ...

Head sets were also built. Burgess has two of these sets. The basic descending

tom-tom A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, though floor toms can go as l ...

sound was modeled after the way Burgess tuned his

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

single-headed concert tom kit on which he would loosen one tension rod, causing a wrinkle in the head and creating a descending pitch after the tom was hit. Burgess had recorded extensively with the prototype of the SDS-V on the ''Landscape'' album, with

and

before the SDS-V (5), was introduced commercially in 1981. The world's first fully electronic drum set, the SDS-V (manufactured by Simmons, St. Albans. The rear logo seems "SDSV") featured the famous hexagonal pads and distinctive sounds heard in countless songs by 1980s bands, including

and

. The standard configuration consisted of an expandable rack-mountable "brain", containing the various drum sounds, and pad modules for bass drum, snare, and three toms. Two spare slots are available so that cymbal or extra tom modules can be added; drummers may choose to use acoustic cymbals rather than the Simmons sounds, which have been compared to that of a

trash can A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...

lid. Connections to the unit were by XLR plugs, and it can be interfaced with a drum

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...

. In Germany and the rest of Europe, Simmons had also a great success. Sibi Siebert counterpart of Baz Watts, both clinicians for Simmons, was travelling from Stockholm to Barcelona to show and play the kits. He played more than 700 workshops and had great success with his band Twelve Drummers Drumming (Phonogram), where the SDS-V was featured live and on lot of TV shows (e.g. ''

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and ja ...

'') The SDS-V's biggest disadvantage was the use of solid

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...

heads on the pads. Simmons chose this material for its durability, but the heads' lack of "give" often resulted in wrist discomfort. Soon after, Simmons began shipping pads with softer rubber surfaces. The SDS-V became an instant hit, with Simmons endorsing several drummers, and the distinctive pad shape becoming an icon of the 1980s. With the agreement of Simmons, Group Centre Inc. became the sole distributors of all Simmons Electronics products in the US. After visiting and demoing the SDS-V to music stores in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago, he secured orders from them all. Manufacturing was ramped up quickly in time for the

NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Music Expo in Chicago and after staging a series of demos featuring Bill Bruford, dozens more music store owners from all over the country signed up to this electronic revolution, and that expansion quickly established the Simmons name in the rest of the US.

More models

During the lifetime of the SDS-V, Simmons also produced a compact trigger unit about the size of a

suitcase A suitcase is a form of luggage. It is a rectangular container with a handle typically used to carry one's clothes and other belongings while traveling. The first suitcases appeared in the late 19th century due to the increased popularity of m ...

, 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 1984, with another modular rack-based brain called the SDS-7, which features digital sampling sounds on

EPROM An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored data after a power s ...

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 uses 8-bit samples and a programmable memory, but is prone to malfunctioning and loss of memory, making it unpopular in a live context. The same year, they also produced the cheaper analog-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 is 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-analog 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 feature the run generator, which allows 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 EEPROM (also called E2PROM) stands for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or ...

channels (kick, snare, and rim) and analog-synthesized toms. It also featured 40 presets (20 factory and 20 user-programmable) and a built-in

digital delay A digital delay line is a discrete element in digital filter theory, which allows a signal to be delayed by a number of samples. If the delay is an integer multiple of samples, digital delay lines are often implemented as circular buffers. This me ...

. This kit was yet another well received product for Simmons as it combines 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, are more realistic and clear than the SDS-9. The SDS-1000 also includes a "second skin" feature, which simulates the sound of dual-headed drums.

The SDX

In 1987, after the SDS-9, Simmons decided to enter into the high-end professional market and created the revolutionary SDX. It introduced new features that were unheard of in other electronic drums such as "zone intelligence" and "pad layering". Some of these ideas were not revisited by other companies until nearly 15 years after the SDX. Zone Intelligence allows for up to three samples to be assigned to different positional locations on a pad for a more realistic sound. With pad layering, up to nine different samples can be triggered via different strike velocities and positions, selecting samples from a 3 by 3 matrix. The samples can also be further manipulated by applying positive or negative values on a matrix (routed to both position and dynamic), simultaneously affecting the following aspects of the sound: volume, pitch, brightness, panning, noise element, and sample start point. All or any of these aspects of the sound, are both programmable and continuously variable dependent upon strike position and strike velocity and were user programmable in the extreme. The SDX is the first Simmons kit since the SDS-7 to support cymbal sounds, using pads called "Symbals" which simulate the swaying motion of real cymbals with a swivel rod. The SDX include a built-in sampler with a

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined ...

drive, internal SCSI hard disk drive and optional external SCSI ZIP or Syquest drives as the methods of data storage. The SDX introduced a new way of modifying sounds. Rather than knobs and switches, it features a 9" monochrome CRT screen with a

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

controlled by a

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the o ...

, similar to the early

Mac OS Two major famlies of Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the "Classic" Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system, rebranded "M ...

. SDX OS allows users to fully modify sounds with an easy-to-use interface. It also features a full 64-track real-time sequencer with the ability to nondestructively quantize recordings and sync them to MIDI. Sales of the SDX were limited due to its high price, costing around $10,154. The factory sounds included with the SDX did not match the quality expected for a system of such advanced technology, so many drummers chose to sample their own sounds. In 1988, the SDX software was updated to make SDX suitable for use with MIDI keyboards, thus offering a sound source rivaling the Fairlight CMI for a fraction of the price. Approximately 250 SDX Consoles were sold. Primary users of SDX included Bill Bruford with ABWH, Peter Gabriel, Jean Michel Jarres' drummer and

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

and also Danny Carey with

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates b ...

. The SDX also featured on Pip Greasley's ''The 5k Pursuit Opera'' C4TV

991 Year 991 ( CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I of ...

where it was played by Bruce Mason.

Decline

By the time of the launch of the SDX, the company had seen a dramatic fall in their sales as drummers abandoned electronics to return to their acoustic kits. Additionally, due to expensive R&D and manufacturing costs of the SDX, Simmons was losing money. Their final kit was released in 1989, called the SDS-2000, featuring sounds from the SDX library, digital effects, further refined pads, and a new company logo. Along with the SDS-2000, Simmons manufactured pads with real drumheads called Hexaheads, along with Minihexes, smaller-sized pads sometimes used as cymbal pads. This system saw a commercial decline in the face of competition from companies such as

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

and Yamaha, and the evolution of musical styles from the 1980s into the 1990s. During the 1990s, Simmons shifted their focus from drum synthesis to drum triggering and MIDI control, with products like the ADT (acoustic drum trigger) and Trixer (triggered electric drums (digital samples) from acoustic drum mics), Drum Huggers (small clip-on acoustic drum triggers/pads), and the Silicon Mallet (a xylophone-style MIDI controller). One of Simmons's last products, the Turtle Trap, is a MIDI controller made from the shell of a bass drum pad, with the pads being the surfaces of Minihexes. However, all of these products sold poorly compared to the company's peak period. In 1999, the company closed.

Relaunch

In 2005,

acquired the rights to the Simmons trademark and began marketing affordable Chinese-manufactured electronic drums (commercialized under other names in the world) under the Simmons name and original logo. These kits have no relationship to the original company. However, some of the kits' designs feature traces of the familiar hexagon shape, similar model numbers, and built-in samples of the classic Simmons sounds. In 2017 Simmons announced the new SD2000 series with a planned release for retail on Aug 4, 2017, while simultaneously making public the return of Dave Simmons to the company. The SD2000 is a top-to-bottom redesign (with the exception of the included HEXX rack), and will be available in five-piece (11″ triple-zone SimHex snare; three 9″ dual-zone SimHex toms; 9″ mesh bass drum with nonslip stand; 13″ dual-zone chokeable crash; 15″ triple-zone ride; 12″ hi-hat) and seven-piece (add one 9″ dual-zone SimHex tom and one 13″ dual-zone chokeable crash to the 5-piece) configurations. The additional tom and cymbal units can also be purchased separately as an add-on, however it does not appear that there is additional room to add components beyond upgrading the 5-piece. (The upgraded 5-piece is, when upgraded, identical to the 7-piece; photos of the control unit indicate that this occupies all the available inputs.) This newly designed kit employs mesh heads - the first in the Simmons line to do so - which are tensionable with a standard drum key. The pre-programmed sound bank includes classic acoustic kit samples, sounds pulled from vintage Simmons kits like the SDS-5, plus world percussion and effect sounds (e.g. handclaps, cowbell, etc.). Additionally users can add their own samples to the library. The control module includes full-color LCD, built-in mixer, and a USB port that allows playback of WAV and MP3 files from a USB drive, plus recording in WAV format back out to a thumb drive. At the time of this writing the SD2000 has not been publicly released, thus potential features like midi over USB or USB out to a computer (either for kit-to-machine recording or machine-to-kit programming) have not yet been evaluated. Country of origin has not yet been made public. As a visual cue/callback to the classic Dave Simmons-designed systems offered in the 1980s, the SD2000's round, tensionable, mesh heads are mounted in hexagonal frames reminiscent of the SDS-5 aesthetic.

Notable users

*David Kendrick of

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American Rock music, rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark Mothersbaugh, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Bob) and the Casales (Gerald ...

(1988-1991) *Polo Corbella, Pato Loza and Miguel Abuelo of

Los Abuelos de la Nada Los Abuelos de la Nada ( en, link=no, The Grandparents of Nothingness) was an Argentinian new wave/Argentine rock band. The group underwent several incarnations throughout its history, with all of them led by its founder and frontman, singer-son ...

* Miguel Tapia of Los Prisioneros *Mario Serra of

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

Jon Farriss Jonathan James Farriss (born 10 August 1961) is an Australian drummer and founding member of rock band INXS. Biography Jon Farriss was born to Dennis and Jill Farriss, and is the second youngest of four children: brothers and fellow band me ...

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss ...

*Jo Hammer of Jean Michel Jarre *

Danny Seraphine Daniel Peter Seraphine (born August 28, 1948) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band Chicago, a tenure which lasted from ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

* Dave Weckl of

Chick Corea Elektric Band Chick Corea Elektric Band was a jazz fusion band, led by keyboardist and pianist Chick Corea and founded in 1986 in New York City. The band was nominated twice at the Grammy Awards. The sixth band album, a tribute one named ''Chick Corea Elektric ...

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the dru ...

* Frank Ricotti * Mel Pritchard of

Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), ...

* Steve Coy of Dead or Alive *Jürgen "CC" Behrens of the German Synth-Pop band Silent Circle * Alan White of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...

* Richard James Burgess of

* Rusty Egan with Visage,

Skids __NOTOC__ Skid or Skids may refer to: * Skid, a type of pallet * Skid (aerodynamics), an outward side-slip in an aircraft turn * Skid (automobile), an automobile handling condition where one or more tires are slipping relative to the road * Skid ...

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and b ...

and Rich Kids *

* Lele Melotti, Italian session drummer *

Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen (; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Van Halen. The band was formed in 1972 by Alex Van Halen, his younger brother Eddie, David Lee Roth, and Mark S ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

of Rush from 1983 to 1989 *

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation i ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

*Producer

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

played the SDS-V on two of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's albums, 1985's '' Ice on Fire'', and 1986's '' Leather Jackets'' *

Manuel De Peppe Manuel De Peppe is an Italian actor, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. He spent the majority of his career as an actor and singer, but in 2005 moved to the United States primarily as a composer, music producer and arranger. Early life Man ...

Bee Hive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

and Bee Hive Reunion * Gary Wallis with

had a massive rig of Simmons drums *Jeff Phillips with Howard Jones and Chris de Burgh * Peter van Hooke of

Mike + The Mechanics Mike and the Mechanics (stylised as Mike + The Mechanics) is an English rock supergroup formed in Dover in 1985 by Mike Rutherford, initially as a side project during a hiatus period for his earlier group Genesis. The band is known for hit si ...

* Terry Williams of

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and per ...

*Bobby Rivkin with

* Danny Carey with

*Jon King (musician), Jon King of Gang of Four (band), Gang of Four *Bryn Burrows of Freur *Herwig Mitteregger of Spliff (band), Spliff *Sibi Siebert of Twelve Drummers Drumming *Ali Score of A Flock of Seagulls *Danny Simcic of Real Life (band), Real Life *

of Wang Chung *Don Henley *Larry Troutman of Zapp (band), Zapp *Lee Harris (drummer), Lee Harris of

* Stuart Elliott (drummer), Stuart Elliott of The Alan Parsons Project * Steve Negus of

*Alan Wilder of

* Bill Bruford of

, and Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe *Michael Lee (musician), Mike Lee of SKYY band and Grover Washington, Jr. *John Fell (drummer), John Fell of Alonso Brito and Heroine Sheiks *Chris Vrenna and Josh Freese with Nine Inch Nails *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer), Roger Taylor of Queen (band), Queen * Roger Taylor of

of Genesis (band), Genesis - Notably uses SDSV on "Home by the Sea, Second Home by the Sea" on Genesis' 1983 Genesis (Genesis album), eponymous album, and SDS7 on their 1986 album ''Invisible Touch''; also during his solo career, SDS7 notably on "Who Said I Would" from his 1985 album ''No Jacket Required'' *Chester Thompson with Phil Collins and Genesis *Peter Hook of New Order played a Simmons Briefcase which can be seen on the video for "The Perfect Kiss" *Warren Cann of Ultravox *Jon Moss of Culture Club *Jerzy Piotrowski of Kombi (band), Kombi *Colin Schofield of The Touch (band), The Touch and Koby Drums *Chris Kavanagh (musician), Chris Kavanagh and Ray Mayhew of Sigue Sigue Sputnik *David Robinson (musician), David Robinson of The Cars *Mercury Caronia of Industry (American band), Industry *Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra and Sadistic Mika Band *Jet Black of The Stranglers *Akira Jimbo of Casiopea *Ryu Kouji(:ja:笠浩二) of C-C-B *Eric Carr of Kiss (band), Kiss used electronic toms on all of his drum kits from 1985 until his death in 1991. * Simmons made a special kit SDS9 for

drummer Rick Allen following Allen's loss of his left arm in a car accident. Allen and Simmons spent over a year developing a kit that used foot pedals to compensate for his missing arm. *James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem used a Simmons SDSV on several of his albums. *Baz Watts of John Foxx and Adam Ant and Q-Tips (band), Q-Tips * Jez Strode of Kajagoogoo *Andy Anderson (drummer), Andy Anderson of The Cure *Steve White (drummer), Steve White of The Style Council (Steve used SDSV them with The Style Council between 1983 and 1984) *Graham Broad (drummer) played the distinctive Simmons fill that is part of the EastEnders theme song.

References

;Bibliography *. ;Other * *

External links

{{Commons category, Simmons (electronic drum company)
Virtual Simmons museum

Simmons at synth.net

Simmons drums user forum on Yahoo Groups

A Simmons drums fan site

The new "Simmons Drums" site, from Guitar Center
Percussion instrument manufacturing companies Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom