drum machine with bass drum only

PolarityMan

A laptop with reaper is seriously a very easy solution for this.

mrkb

PolarityMan said:

A laptop with reaper is seriously a very easy solution for this.

One of the many smart phone based drum machine apps even easier. You could even use a Bluetooth adaptor at the mixer end to avoid any on stage cabling.

BenSirAmos

Really, learning new software and taking a laptop to gigs is not the kind of 'simple' I had in mind. 

I've yet to find a smart phone app that can generate a decent sound simply. I'm sure it's possible but not simple enough for me. The 'mixer end' doesn't exist - it's just me and an amp sitting next to me. Me fiddling with my phone between numbers isn't going to present the kind of performance I want. 

The roland one kick seems closest at the moment - but even that is overkill and more expensive than I was hoping for and I'm still not sure I like the sound. 

I think I'll just find a decent restraint and stick with a live drummer for now.

erky32

BenSirAmos said:

The roland one kick seems closest at the moment - but even that is overkill and more expensive than I was hoping for and I'm still not sure I like the sound. 

Its a bit pricey I agree, but I've found it unique. Thats afteryears & £s of trying SDRUM, TRIO, KORG, Beatbuddys, BOSS looper drums,etc etc ....I always go back to the Roland OneKick, it works - but you've gotta keep that foot going throughout!  - it would have been nice if, at that price level, they could have included a simple looper & storage!

Snags

You've probably considered this and it might not be suitable, but what about those little blocks you tap with your foot that then send a 'kicks to the PA?

Obviously it means you have to tap out your rhythm live whilst playing/singing, which may not be ideal, but they're quite effective.

e.g.  https://www.logjam.net/product/logjam-travelog-2/

BenSirAmos

Snags said:

You've probably considered this and it might not be suitable, but what about those little blocks you tap with your foot that then send a 'kicks to the PA?

Obviously it means you have to tap out your rhythm live whilst playing/singing, which may not be ideal, but they're quite effective.

e.g.  https://www.logjam.net/product/logjam-travelog-2/

If this was to work for me, I need to find a way of reducing the 'travel' - like putting something under my heel, too. Otherwise I just can't keep it up for a song, especially standing - balancing on the other foot for a whole song isn't ideal. Live, I play standing up so it means I can't use other pedals - and I make short but regular use of a vocal harmoniser. So this isn't really going to work. 

And I don't have a pa - just an amp. While it's good (AER) , I've come to realise that it is very sensitive to the sounds I put through it - which is really limiting my choices in terms of getting a useable drum sound. I'm stuck with the conga player for now. 

Snags

The foot thingies don't have travel, they're solid and turn the percussive sound of your foot hitting the block into a kind of kick sound. I may not have linked to the best example because I don't know what they're actually called, but have a friend who uses one. 

However, if you don't have a free foot to tap in time throughout the song, they're NBG anyway