The latest Kickstarter putting a Drum Kit in your Back Pocket

So a few months ago, I was watching Dragons Den (for those of you who don’t know, Dragon’s Den is a TV show where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of investors)  and came across Aerodrums, which I thought was a pretty cool concept; albeit the Dragons didn’t agree.

Essentially Aerodrums uses tracking software and a camera to map a drummers movement to create a virtual drum kit. Pretty nifty right? Especially if space is an issue in your home. Or your neighbour’s unreasonable objection to the sound of a snare gracing them on a Friday evening. But it does have its limitations, most notably the facts that it couldn’t be used outside and requires a power source (laptop) to view the user interface.

Then, last night I came across, what I can only describe as an epic Kickstarter; Drumistic.

Drumistic is actually a back pocket drumkit. The concept is pretty insane… 4 sensors (2 for drumsticks, 2 for pedals) use Bluetooth technology to connect up to the Drumistic mobile app. You define your hitting zones, and bam, you’ve got a virtual drum kit almost anywhere.

Image from Kickstarter

So, this new bit of kit allows you to do three main things:

  • Play anywhere
  • Record what you’re playing
  • Improve with a catalogue of hundreds of lessons through the app.

Pretty neat right? You could even use the kit with your real drum kit to track how you’re playing, and identify any shortcomings. This video gives a pretty good demonstration of how the product works:

Will it take off?

I certainly think so! Kickstarter has become such a common way to raise capital for new projects, and investors have hundreds of opportunities to pursue. This project has raised €99,086 of its €100,000 target. with 64 hours to go. I’d be pretty shocked if it didn’t cross the finishing line, especially considering they have a working prototype already in place and are looking to launch in the very near future. Check this video out!(You may need to brush up on your French!)

Look, let’s be honest, there’s absolutely no way that this will ever replace a physical drum kit. No matter how advanced technology gets, there’s nothing more authentic than the sound of a live kit. You’d also look pretty ridiculous if you hooked this up and started hitting your surroundings… but, for learners and professionals, this has to be perfect! A cost effective, noise conscious solution that tracks what you’re doing, and helps improve your technique.

There’s also the minor point of it saving potentially hundreds of pounds for emerging artists looking to record a drum track with a limited budget; though I’ve never seen it in person, and this is all a big geek out looking up (what I think is) a pretty cool gadget!

Would you use it?

Written by Alvin Mennie

Brand Manager at Vocalzone. Big lover of music (of course), film & TV, football, boxing, photography and a bit of a gadget geek!