< PreviousModern Drummer September 2022 78 Elizabeth Lang: THE BIG DRUM BONANZA By Mark Griffith On September 22nd through 25th Champion Sight and Sound Studios in Los Angeles will try to contain The Big Drum Bonanza. “BDB” is a multi-day drum camp event that started in 2010. It features a different group of drum instructors every year, and this year boasts a stellar list of established pros and new-comers including Simon Phillips, Kenny Aronoff, Russ Miller, Nate Morton, Jotan Afandor, and Sarah Thawer. However, what really makes the Big Drum Bonanza really special and stand apart from anything else that’s out there (in terms master classes and players camps,) is that this is the only one that each student-member in the camp has his own practice drum set to use during classes. We talked to producer and host Elizabeth Lang about the history of The Big Drum Bonanza and what sets it apart from the rest. MD: Congratulations on your 10th year of the Big Drum Bonanza, we’re glad to see that you made it through the obstacle of COVID. Where are you doing the camp this year? EL: This year we are going to be at Champion Sight and Sound Studios in Los Angeles. That is an incredible recording facility, we’ve got a huge room, we’ve got a big space, and everybody has their own practice kits so when our instructors are teaching their lessons everything is truly hands on. The students aren’t just sitting there, they are actually playing along. That creates this wonderful team environment. That single aspect of this camp makes a huge impact on learning, participation, and enjoyment. Everyone is working together, making their own mistakes together, and learning together. I think it’s very typical for people in a one-on-one environment to feel a little stressed or anxious if you’re not doing things correctly. But all of that just melts away in a group setting, because you’re just right there playing along fearlessly with the group. It’s like singing along to the radio in your car. You can sing along all day, but the second the music stops and it’s just you all alone, you get very self-conscious and stop. In the environment of the Big Drum Bonanza, you are never playing alone, and that’s exciting! At the BDB you are not stagnant, you aren’t sitting and just listening. There’s just no substitute for that kind of learning, teamwork, and spirit. It’s inspiring and it lifts everyone up. We’ve been doing this camp for so long, it’s been incredible for me to see people that have attended our camp have remained friends and have gone on to build professional drumming careers. MD : Who attends your camps? EL: We’ve had everybody from the very young, to people who are thinking about going on to study music at a university, to people who are playing in bands, to older people who have played drums their whole life and this is their yearly getaway. In those cases, sometimes people bring their families, and the family sightsees while they participate in the camp. It’s a unique blend of destination Elizabeth Lang and Aqulies PriesterSeptember 2022 Modern Drummer 79 tourism, education, and a musical event. It’s not called a bonanza for nothing! However, we do ask that no one attends the camp that has no experience playing drums, you should have some level of learning on the instrument to attend. But we do encourage spouse and parents to come and stay with their family members, that’s fine. MD: Have you had any students who have gone on to find big success in building their careers? EL: JD Beck, who is playing with Anderson Paak, was one of our attendees at our first camp. It’s really exciting to see what he has done. He was really young when he attended, and he was focused like a tiger the entire time. I have seen this camp literally change people’s lives. We had to take two years off for COVID, but it’s so great to be back. It’s fun to create a different team and a new experience every year. I enjoy helping people reinvigorate their love for playing music. MD : You can’t ask for more than that. Who is on the team this year? EL: Simon Phillips, Kenny Aronoff, Jotan Afandor, Sarah Thawer, Russ Miller, Nate Morton, and a few more to be announced. MD: You have had some great teachers in the past. EL : The list of teachers that we have had is amazing: Virgil Donati, Thomas Lang, Stanton Moore, Jeff Hamilton, Tony Royster Jr., Jim Keltner, Chad Wackerman, Aquiles Priester, Matt Garstka, Gergo Borlai, Derek Roddy, Dave Elitch, Chris Coleman has done our camp several times, the list goes on and on. We really try to bring in people that have something a little different to offer. We try to vary the skill sets and ages of the instructors, so there is something for everybody. One of the most exciting things for me is when someone comes to learn from a specific person, and they wind up learning a lot from someone else that they previously didn’t know much about. MD : How many people can attend, is there a cap to the attendance? EL : Yes, we try and keep it small, this year we can take 35 people. We have a bigger space this year, but everyone has to have enough space to work and learn. People come for the special attention that they receive, and we are very loyal to that, so we have a cap of 35 students. The 2022 instructors; Kenny Aronoff, Russ Miller, Nate Morton ,Sarah Thawer, Jotan Afandor, Simon Phillips, and a few more to be announced.Modern Drummer September 2022 80 MD : Are you doing any concerts or livestreaming events along with the bonanza? EL : This year we are doing a livestream that is in addition to what the attendees experience. On Saturday and Sunday both Kenny Aronoff and Simon Phillips are going to do a special livestream that will be icing on top of the cake for the attendees, and it will let people around the world tune in to sample, enjoy, and see what the camp is about. Those events will be partly educational and partly entertainment and will be in addition to the Bonanza curriculum. MD: Is there any set BDB curiculuum? EL : We ask the attendees what they would like to learn, and then we communicate that to the drummers. We like each teacher to focus on what they are known for, but each of the four days has a focus. MD : What have past days focused on? EL: Focused days can be on different styles, feet vs. hands… Amazingly, we have found that people are really hungry for different practice skills. MD: Yes, I found in my own teaching that many drummers have to learn HOW to practice, not just WHAT to practice. EL : Many of our attendees have learned that they just weren’t practicing efficiently. We really encourage our guests to speak up and suggest topics that they would like to learn about. What it comes down to is this. You can watch as many YouTube videos and watch as many on-line drum schools as you want, that’s wonderful. But you can’t download the feeling, experience, and inspiration of being in the same room with someone who is amazing at what they do. The moments of personal contact between the instructors and the attendees where someone’s grip gets adjusted, or a minor change is made in someone’s playing just can’t be replicated anywhere else, that is what really sets us apart. You can’t download that. MD : What makes you choose each instructor? EL: Variety, we also watch the Modern Drummer Reader’s Poll very closely to see who people are interested in. We are also thrilled to have Modern Drummer as a sponsor this year. MD: What have you learned in your years of producing this camp? EL : One year, before anyone got here, the instructors all took turns playing the same kit that was set up. I was amazed in how different one drum set can sound with different people playing it. That was surprising! Then a few days later, Dave Elitch had the campers all line up and play the same kit, and he commented to me about the same thing. Every single person had such a different sound on the same kit. This year I am so excited to have some younger instructors like Sarah and Jotan. Diversity is really an important thing. The demographic of our attendees has really changed in the 10 years Chris Coleman Jeff Hamilton, Stanton Moore and Thomas LangSeptember 2022 Modern Drummer 81 that we have been doing this. At the beginning it really was male dominated, and mainly ages 35 to 54. But that has changed completely. Every year there are more females attending the camp, we now have parents bringing their kids. MD : It’s really nice to see more women and young girls playing drums these days. EL: And speaking of diversity, we have had people come to the camp from 28 different countries: Hong Kong, Peru, Japan, Italy, Turkey, Israel. And the range of age of our attendees is amazing too. It’s really rewarding for me when a parent from the UK contacts me to ask about their kids attending, because their kids have never travelled. Then their parents call me during the week to tell me that their child is having the time of their life. I take the trust that parents put in us very seriously. As a host and a producer, those are the most impactful moments for me. I also love to see the person who isn’t really comfortable on day one, and then I see them absolutely tearing it up and living their best life on day four, that makes me feel so wonderful. The community of drummers and drumming has such a positive impact on people’s lives. Drumming is for everybody, it’s good for your mind, your spirit, and your body. Unfortunately the drumset is usually not part of a public-school music education. Music education should not be a “nice addition” to education, it is necessary! MD : I agree, music education should be mandatory. EL: Music is a language, it is a life skill, it is something that is part of who we are as human beings, it is part of our culture, and with all apologies to the mathematicians out there, we don’t get together to celebrate someone’s birthday and do trigonometry, we SING “Happy Birthday!” Drumming and music are not only an enjoyable activity, they enhance your life. MD: I believe they are an essential component of enjoyable life. EL : And it’s even more enjoyable when you do it, and learn about it, as part of a group. MD: I always say that if more people played drums, the world would be a much better place. And at Modern Drummer we are (also) just trying to improve the world one drummer at a time, that’s why Modern Drummer is so excited to be sponsoring the bonanza. EL: The best thing for us at The Big Drum Bonanza is when a camper leaves and comments about how inspired he (or she) is, and how he has (literally) months (or even years) of new things to practice. To help people create that self- motivation to practice and improve their drumming life is what is really special to me. MD: It sounds like The Big Drum Bonanza and Modern Drummer are really trying to do the exact same thing! Virgil Donati Wunderkid JD Beck playing for Gergo Borlai Francesco Desmaele Ruth TurnerModern Drummer September 2022 82 The Business Side of Drumming By Billy Ashbaugh F or this month’s article, I’m going to share some of my personal insights for dealing with the business side of drumming. If you’re lucky enough to be making a living playing drums, then you are already aware of the importance of this topic. Bad decisions in business can either make or break your success. Even though we get to do what we love and make money at it, remember this is still a business. For me, there’s more to it than simply how much money you’re going to make for a gig. Let’s get started… Have you ever had to decide on whether to take a gig that was offered? All professional drummers have had to do this at some point in their career. Making this decision is (of course) a personal choice that you must make. Everyone has their own personal circumstances that help them to determine this decision. In the past, I haven’t always had the luxury of debating whether to take a gig. Sometimes I simply needed the money and took whatever gig was offered at the time. We’ve all been there. However, I have (occasionally) been fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose my gigs, and I’d like to share my approach to making those decisions. I’ll admit, in the past I’ve taken some gigs that I regretted. Whenever this happened, I tried to reflect on what went wrong. Over time, I came up with a “check list” for what I need from a gig before I accept it. These are factors that help me to determine if it’s worth my time and energy to take the gig. The goal is to evaluate everything that goes into the gig, and then sit back and look at the “big picture” to see if it’s something that benefits me at that time. I always make sure I can “check off” enough areas before I accept the gig. Whether it’s local work or a tour with an artist, my first question is always about the pay. Although this is not the only reason to take a gig, it’s still the first thing I like to determine. This can be done in a very nice and professional manner. I’ve had people tell me that they’re uncomfortable asking that right away. But for me, it makes perfect sense to address this right up front. After all, I am being hired to provide a service and it’s only fair to know what my pay will be. Would you except any job without knowing your salary first? Probably not. If the person hiring me doesn’t offer that info right up front, the red flags go up for me. Every time someone was vague or uncertain about the pay, things always turned out bad for me. My best advice is to walk away from the gig if you experience this issue. Anyone with a legitimate gig will have no problem telling you up front how much you’re going to make. The next few questions I have address the amount of time that’s required from me for that gig. How far is the gig? This is important for obvious reasons. There’s a big difference between driving 30 minutes (one way) to the gig vs. two hours. Not only is your time involved, but you also have to consider wear and tear on your car as well as the cost of gas. I also ask about the length of the gig. Again, there’s a difference between a three-hour gig or a six-hour gig. I once took a corporate gig without asking the schedule and we ended up doing a four-and-a-half- hour first set! That was when I started asking the schedule for every gig. Just like with pay, if someone hesitates when answering this question, the red flag goes up for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing. However, this is a business, so it’s important to know how much of your time you’ll have to spend at the gig. Speaking of time invested, I also make sure to ask if there are any rehearsals required. You’d be surprised how many times the person offering me work expected me to put in time for rehearsals, often without pay. For this reason, I always make it a point to ask. It’s just good to know. The last thing to find out concerning my time invested is the song list. If it’s a bunch of material I’ve never played, then I need to be ready to put the time in to learn the songs. By taking the time to ask these few simple questions, I’m able to better gauge how much time I need to set aside for each gig. Finally, I ask questions that address my musical comfort level. In other words, how much will I enjoy playing this material. This is usually last on my list. I don’t always have the luxury of being this picky, but when I do, I always ask who else is playing on the gig. Hopefully it’s musicians I know, and with whom I enjoy playing. I’ll also ask about the material (what songs are we playing?) Hopefully it’s music I enjoy playing. Again, this subject is not often a determining factor, I look at it as more of a luxury that I get from time to time. These are the things I look at before I take any local gigs. It’s basically my attempt to answer all of the questions about the gig before I’ve done the gig. I try to avoid surprises. Your invested time is very important. So is your pay, but there are a lot of factors to consider. These are all personal choices we each must make. There is no “one” right way to reach this decision. The trick is to find your own proper balance between all of these areas. Often, there are tradeoffs, and you have to sacrifice certain things. However, I’ve found that by using this approach, I’m able to avoid the gigs that turn out to be a regret. I have a rather different “check list” for taking a tour. There are some different factors that come into play for touring. Of course, pay is always discussed first. But for touring I need to find out if it’s a weekly salary or am I paid per show? Depending on the schedule, this can Naijah AshbaughSeptember 2022 Modern Drummer 83 really make a difference. If the artist has me on the road for a week but only does two shows, that will probably influence my decision. Determining the length of a tour is also important. Although things do change from time to time, it’s great to have an idea of your schedule before you hit the road. There are several areas that I like to address before I go on tour. I’ll ask if there’s a per diem. That’s a weekly salary allotted for your eating expenses while on the road. Some artists pay per diem, and some don’t. Obviously if there’s no per diem, then I’ll have to use part of my salary for eating expenses. Not a deal breaker, but good to know. I’ll also confirm that all hotels and travel are covered by the artist. While this is normally the case, I have found that not all artists are willing to do this. I’ll also confirm if travel days and rehearsals are paid. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they’re not. Another question that comes up is “tour expenses”. I try to find out if there’s a budget to cover my cost for sticks, heads and replacing cracked cymbals while on the tour. One final thing I like to check on is if I’m going to be using my own drums and cases, or if they will be supplied by a back-line (rental) company. If we’re using a back- line company it’s no big deal, as long as the gear is in good shape and sounds great. Luckily, that’s almost always the scenario. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to not put the wear and tear on your own gear. Not all of these factors will make or break my decision to take a tour. These are simply questions that allow me to see exactly what I’m committing to up front. Just like local gigs, tours vary from each other. And just like local gigs, there are tradeoffs and sacrifices that you must make from tour to tour. There’s nothing wrong with politely asking any of these questions. It certainly beats surprises once you’re on the gig! The next question often angers a lot of musicians. Should you take a gig for exposure and-or for less money? This subject angers musicians because if you’re out there making a living playing music, the last thing you want (or need) is someone coming along and doing your gig for less money or even for free. I get that. However, I also agree that sometimes the pay really isn’t always a significant factor to a gig. It really depends on the situation. I’m not saying that you should go out and play for free, but sometimes it’s worth losing a little money and time to get a certain gig under your belt. Before you get mad at me, let me share a couple of stories. Back when a live band was being put together for the first ‘NSYNC tour, we were rehearsing in Orlando. Now keep in mind that ‘NSYNC wasn’t popular yet. In fact, they were only known in Germany at the time. Most of the band was from the Orlando area. However, two of the musicians were from Miami. This meant they had to commute back and forth for rehearsals. Apparently, management did not want to reimburse those players for their expenses for gas and tolls to travel to rehearsals. Both players ended up quitting right before the tour in Germany started. Literally as the guys from ‘NSYNC were walking into the studio to join rehearsals, the two Miami players were walking out the door with their gear in hand. Management scrambled to replace them at the last minute, and we went on to do what would be the first of many great tours. This poses the question: Were the musicians right in their decision to walk away from the gig over gas and toll money? Everyone will have their own answer to this question. The only opinion that matters (at that point) is yours. I don’t think there’s one “set answer” for anyone. It’s easy to look back and see what you should have done, but it’s much more difficult to make the correct decision “in the moment.” Whenever I’m put in this situation, it’s tough. I do my best to try and look at every angle to make sure I’m not walking away from a gig I will regret later. One day I got a phone call from a young drummer that I met while I was out on tour. He had just landed a gig with a big up and coming artist and wanted some business advice. He told me that he was very excited about his new gig, but he also said he was very surprised how they (management) handled the business side of things. He told me that they said that he was responsible for going out and buying and programing a new drum machine and trigger pads for the gig. Basically, he was responsible for getting his “touring rig” together at his own expense. He thought that it seemed odd that he had to pay for the gear instead of them. He asked me what I would do. I instantly shared this story with him. Back in 1992, I got a gig with the artist Snap! My wife actually got the gig a year before, but they (Snap!) decided to take out dual drummers for the next tour and they were calling me to see if I was interested. As we began to prepare for our tour, the same thing happened to us. We were asked to invest some money and time to get our touring rigs together. At the time, my wife and I also felt like my friend who had reached out. We didn’t really understand why we had to pay for the gear ourselves, but we made the decision to invest in the gig. As it turned out, we went on to do several years of touring around the world and that exposure is what led to my gig with ‘NSYNC. The truth is that artists just don’t have the budget to cover all of the expenses. If you’re ever faced with this situation, you too will have to make your own decision at that time. It’s a very tough call, but sometimes you have to try to look at the big picture when you make these decisions. I’m very thankful that my wife and I made the investment in our gear when we did. I’m sure my friend who reached out feels the same. One final note. Remember this is a business so you need to treat it accordingly. You’re offering (selling) your time and services for hire. Even though we get to do what we love for a living, it’s important to stay on top of your game. Make sure your gear is in good condition. Always be on time. Make sure you’re always prepared for the gig. Try your best to be a team player and be easy to get along with, don’t be that person who causes drama. These are all basic business skills but sometimes we lose sight of that. You have to make yourself worth hiring. A friend of mine once told me, “Job security means being the answer to someone’s problem.” I couldn’t agree more. I hope you enjoyed this insight into how I approach “the business side of drumming.” I realize that my approach may not be right for everyone. We all have our own agenda and priorities. I only hope that by sharing my viewpoints, it will help you to make the best business decisions that you can for your drumming future. Good luck and enjoy the journey!! Check out Billy’s Modern Drummer profile page at moderndrummer.com Naijah AshbaughModern Drummer September 2022 84 Accent Options By: Jonathan Barber Drum Channel and I would like to share something with you that I created called accent options. This is a warmup or rudimental exer- cise that I like to use. You can take any rudiment that has an accent and apply three different strokes to the accented note. The first one is the single stroke, the second one is a buzz stroke, and the third one is a diddle stroke. For example, when I play a paradiddle, I’m (naturally) going to be accenting the first stroke of the paradiddle. I could play that accent with a single stroke, or substitute a buzz stroke or a diddle stroke. You could also take the five-stroke roll or a double paradiddle and apply these three accents. It’s good to practice these one at a time. Once you are able to use the accent options with the rudiments, you can explore and apply them to different phrases or patterns that you like to play. Again, take any accent you have and apply the sticking to a single stroke accent, a buzz stroke accent, or a diddle stroke accent. It’s going to create different textures, but you’re playing the same phrases. It’s very cool, enjoy! ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ RLRRLRLLRLRRLRLLRRLRRLLRLL ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ RRLLRLLRRLRRLLRLLRRLRRLLRRLLRRLL ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ RLRLRRLRLRLLRLRLRRLRLRLLRRLRRLRRLLRLLRLL / Paradiddle Accent Options Single Stroke >> Buzz Stroke >> Double Stroke >> 1a1b1c / 5-Stroke Roll Accent Options Single Stroke >> Buzz Stroke >> Double Stroke >> 2a2b2c / Double Paradiddle Accent Options Single Stroke >>>> Buzz Stroke >>>> Double Stroke >>>> 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3a3b3c œœœœœœœœ 7 œœœœ 7 œœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœ 7 œœœœœ 7 œœœœœœœ ‰ ™ œœœœœœ ‰ ™ œœœœœœœœœœœœ 7 œœ 7 œœœœ 7 œœ 7 œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ Courtesy Drum ChanelMODERNDRUMMERCLUB.COM HTTPS://DISCORD.GG/MODERNDRUMMERCLUB HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/DRUMSNFT NFT NFT NFT META PASS META PASS These NFTs will be your key to Modern Drummer's Music, Media & Entertainment ecosystem in Web 3. Our community is growing fast & will reap rewards for all META PASS holders.Modern Drummer August 2022 86 Sound Design Part 2: The Microcosm Effects Pedal By Tony Verderosa I n Part 2 of this Sound Design Series, we will explore the use of hardware effects pedals as a means of processing drum and percussion sounds. In Part 1 of this series, we focused on computer- based effects plugins used in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Computer based DAW’s along with music production software like Logic or Cubase can be steep in terms of price and learning curve. Therefore, in this month’s column, we will look at a simpler and more cost-effective alternative. All the video clips below are recorded on my secondary hybrid drum rig. This setup is intentionally built for speed and simplicity. I want the least amount of “friction” when it comes to creativity. This rig consists of percussion/drums, a Mackie VLZ-4 Mixer, a few microphones, and an iPad. My goal with this streamlined recording system is to sit down at the kit and immediately capture sounds. Anything that slows down my creative flow is unacceptable. I never power down this iPad or the mixer. It’s always ready to record. I spent quality time months ago testing my microphone placement. I am not concerned with recording separate audio tracks for kick, snare, djembe, or anything with this sound design rig. I record everything as a stereo track. This iPad-based system is an “idea incubator”, a creative testing ground to explore new textures, new grooves, and sound sculpting techniques. There is an immediacy to this rig that is really gratifying. Adding a hardware effects pedal such as the Microcosm by Hologram makes it even more fun. In the words of the founders of Hologram, “We hope you find our equipment useful as a tool for both arranged performance and experiments into randomized creativity.” ALT HYBRID DRUM SYSTEM In the photos of my Secondary Alt Hybrid Drum System and the various components you can see the Djembe in the foreground. I have a few gongs, a “boing sheet” from Creative Percussion, a 17” Sabian crash, a Sabian VFX crash, a 12” snare, an LP trash snare, a weird metal device that looks like a “star”, an 18” kick drum and one roto-tom. Note, I am intentionally NOT mentioning the electronic drum pad, the micro-freak synth, the Korg monologue synth and the DTX midi trigger module. These devices are not being used in any of the music and video produced in this month’s column. I will cover those items in a future article. In this month’s column, I am only recording acoustic percussion/drums into a special hardware effects pedal. MACKIE MIXER The Mackie Mixer has great sounding preamps and offers me flexibility for incorporating multiple external effects pedals. My iPad is pictured with a USB hub so the iPad can communicate with my Steinberg USB interface. The USB hub enables me to capture the analog sounds coming from the Mackie Mixer into the iPad via the UR44 audio interface. STEINBERG UR44 AUDIO INTERFACE With the Steinberg UR44 USB Audio Interface, I am connecting the stereo left and right out the Mackie Mixer directly into the Microcosm Pedal. I connect the left and right output from the Microcosm into the UR44 which then converts the sounds digitally into my iPad for recording and additional sound design treatments. I also added a small Bluetooth keyboard which can speed up the work flow. The Microcosm effects pedal. I am routing the stereo left and right output of the Mackie Mixer directly into this pedal. The Microcosm is a powerful sound design tool. It is a granular effects pedal and looper combined. The left and right output of this pedal goes directly into the Steinberg UR44 for ALT HYBRID DRUM SYSTEM MACKIE MIXER iPAD with STEINBERG CUBASIS iOS STEINBERG UR44 AUDIO INTERFACEAugust 2022 Modern Drummer 87 recording processed loops and individual samples. We will focus on the Microcosm in this article because it is such a fantastic sound design tool. WHY DOES SOUND DESIGN MATTER? Let’s put these sounds into context. Why would I want to put all my drums and percussion through a pedal like the Microcosm? For me, it’s about offering up something unique and pursuing sounds that I have not heard before. That’s my goal as a composer and that’s also my goal as a drummer/percussionist. If I am approaching an artist like Joe Satriani with new ideas for collaboration or remixing, I want to offer him a sound and musical perspective he won’t find anywhere else. When he hears one of my tracks or drum grooves, it must be compelling enough for him to say, “yes - that’s different. I haven’t produced any songs yet with that type of drum sound.”. My motivation is the same in the world of TV and Film. Developing new sounds and textures with a pedal like Microcosm will help me compose music that feels inspired and fresh. The ritual of sound design can also have a Zen-like/meditative quality. You get to follow your bliss and take the journey down that rabbit hole to discover unusual sounds. I am still playing drums and bringing years of practice and dedication to the table, but these new tools allow me to process my instruments in unpredictable ways. WHAT IS THE MICROCOSM? The Microcosm rearranges and re-animates everything that I play into it. It is a granular sampling, delay, and looping pedal. The Microcosm is also known as a “Guitar Stomp Box” because it often sits on the floor. You can radically alter the sound of your instrument by “stomping” on one of the buttons with your foot. I can use the tap tempo feature to establish a fixed bpm for the effects to sync to. Some of the effects include cascading micro loops, tempo synced rhythms, diffused ambient soundscapes, hypnotic drones and much more. The pedal has 11 unusual effects built in with a total of 44 preset variations. The microcosm allows me to stretch, slice, rearrange and manipulate drum and percussion sounds in some exciting ways. It also allows for additional sound design features by giving me access to pitch modulation, a low pass filter and 4 different reverb effects. The built-in phrase looper function is also amazing and requires its own article and set of videos to explore the many creative possibilities. The stereo phrase looper allows for recording up to 60 seconds of your performance and then you can record unlimited overdubs on top of your primary loop. There is even a “Hold Sampler” for recording short bursts of your phrasing. I can reverse the playback of the samples and loops and I can also playback the loops at various speeds. The first video clip demonstrates feeding just an acoustic bass drum through the Microcosm via the Mackie Mixer. I am using the FILTER knob to adjust the low pass filter and I have also applied the SPACE knob to add some dramatic reverb to the sound. You will also notice on the left side there is a knob called TIME which will establish the various subdivisions of each hit. I have set this TIME knob to “8X” to produce a very busy cascading effect of multiple bass drums. The blinking light is indicating the MICROCOSM BY HOLOGRAM ELECTRONICS STAR PERCUSSION DEVICE LP TRASH CAN SNARENext >