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The Zendrum community is an
enthusiastic and diverse group
of
artists, brought together by
this
special instrument.
Here are some of their stories...
Updated July 10th, 2008
FIRST ZAP OWNER
I have thoroughly enjoyed this entire process. And not just because I've
gotten an amazingly cool new device out of it... I've very much enjoyed our
conversations and look forward to the opportunity to meet and hang in the
future. I'd love to throw down some mad zen jams with you!
FWIW, now that I've experienced the ZAP, I'm already envisioning how cool it
would be to have a ZX to replace my djembe and doumbek in the
guitar/percussion duo I play in. Hmm...guess I'll have to start saving up!
I'm happy to support and be involved with people who are pioneers at what
they do. You are truly helping to shape the future of music, and to me,
nothing is cooler than that.
Patrick Petro
Indiana
EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
Hi guys,
Firstly I would like to extend my sincere thanks for all the effort put in
by the Zendrum team to make and ship my Zendrum on such a tight schedule. It
is now safely here in New Zealand, and I can honestly say that after only a
month of use, it has already hugely exceeded my expectations (and they were
pretty high to begin with). Not only is it probably the world's most
responsive midi controller, it is a thing of beauty - and being the 1000th
Zendrum to be made is really the icing on the cake.
Thanks and warmest regards,
Adam Davies
New Zealand
OH MY!
Oh my! ZAP showed up on Friday. It's incredible.
I HAD to stop work and make 4 songs.
Very Happy with it.
Drew Spence
Producer's Edge Magazine
producersedgemagazine.com
EXTREMELY HAPPY
I received the instrument today and had a good session on it tonight. I am
extremely happy. It is one of the most musical controllers that I have had
the pleasure of playing. The key maps and system controls are very intuitive
and easy to operate.
Thank you for my new instrument!
Yours truly,
Adrian Sherriff
Australia
ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
Firstly...Thank you very much for all your help and assistance.
Secondly...OH YES oh yes...this thing is amazing, i love it, can't stop
playing it. I can see endless possibilities and i haven't even got round to
doing anything more than playing with a few default kits on a borrowed mpc
1000 so far. I will have a new laptop soon so i am waiting for that but even
with limited sounds at the moment i am so very impressed with the quality
craftsmanship, the triggering sensitivity and the clever layout that lets
you use the palms and thumbs.
Having some friends round tonight for a music session and I'm really
looking fwd to showing them what this thing can do.
Better go to work....
Once again, thank you for making this wonderful instrument, keep on keepin
on!
ATB
Simon Wood
UK
AWESOME CRAFTSMANSHIP
Let me tell you...this thing is too beautiful to play. What a work of art!!!
Awesome craftsmanship. Well worth the wait.
It's very intuitive to program. Within 5~10 minutes I had it mapped to BFD
J&F and BFD Percussion.
I can't get over how responsive the triggers are. I was expecting to have to
really strike the pads. I'm able to use every finger effectively.
The Zendrum and BFD together create very fluid and realistic dynamics. I
can't wait to start tracking with it.
Thank you very much and best regards,
Scott Thompson
Louisiana
GREETINGS FROM HOLLAND
Woh,
1997....time really does fly.
I have and of course play your beautiful instrument for already 10 years
now. I am a professional drummer/percussion player, working hard to make a
living playing music. One of the things I have been doing is playing
percussion concerts on schools for young people, and the same program also
in small theaters, where parents with their children could attend them. With
two players we introduce our audience to a lot of different percussion
instruments, and in this one hour program the Zendrum is only used once,
near the end of the program. But always our audiences are fascinated with
this beautiful instrument. I have a site, but it is in Dutch. On this site,
if you like, you can download a small movie of the Zendrum piece we play. [
http://www.bracumba.nl then navigate to "Schoolconcerten" and at the bothom
off the page choose "downloads"]
I also have a small percussion school, and I use the Zendrum to accompenie
my students. Also they are always excited by your beautiful instrument.
Thank you, not only for making a beautiful instrument, but definitely also
for the very nice way this contact is going.
I would like to say the same thing to you, and all the people at Zendrum:
Go well
Johan Aben
The Netherlands
GOT MY ZENDRUM
I got my Zendrum in the mail. Thank you so much. This instrument is
great. The feel is incredibly natural -- it plays beautifully and
subtly. It feels like the instrument I've been practicing in my mind
when I tap on random things everywhere I go -- and I've been doing
that for a long time. I can already tell this is going to change the
way I make and think about my music. It's the most clear and direct
conduit I've found for the kind of musical thoughts that I have. The
technique comes easily to me. What I need to work on is being able to
hold a beat for long periods (I've never really practiced any kind of
drumming consistently as a real instrument). Basically I just need to
practice with a metronome.
So far, it feels remarkably ergonomic as well. This is something I'm a bit concerned about, since I've had a repetitive stress injury in my right hand. So far, so good though. Even after a few hours of playing, my hand feels alright -- better than, for example, if I had used a mouse or typed for the same period of time (typing this email feels like it's taxing my hand more than playing the zendrum).
I'm getting great results from it already. I'll send you some clips
pretty soon.
Thanks again,
Gabriel Diego Rey-Goodlatte
California
P.S. Do you know of anyone else doing hip-hop with this thing?
GOOD WORK
I got the zendrum last week in a perfect condition. Thanks a lot for your
friendly and good work. I have a lot of fun with the zendrum.
Best regards,
Jan Haeger
Germany
CHEERS!
Hi guys.
Absolutely exquisite work!
It is exactly how I imagined it to be & feel though the grain of the Flame Maple did surprise me. It is almost holographic. Amazing what nature can provide. Thank you for your efforts in all areas of customer care. I look forward to learning how to use it.
Cheers!
Zoltan
Australia
PIECE OF ART
The ZX arrived today and I'd just like to say that I'm perfectly happy with
it. It's beautiful.
It's also the first time I've every seen any electronic device sold with
international socket adapters. Thanks for forward thinking. I actually spend
time in 3 different countries each year and this will assist my touring
possibilities.
I think I under-rated your statement about being musicians first.
Congratulations on a very fine..... piece of art!
Yours,
Roger Smith
Taiwan
ZENDRUM CAME TODAY!
The Zendrum finally came today! I've literally been on the phone with FedEx
every day trying to figure out if I could meet the truck somewhere and pick
it up sooner. The finish is beautiful, and it looks really, really good.
Thanks to your help, I had everything set up and ready to go for when it
arrived. I called home every 20 minutes this morning to see when it came,
and took a lunch break as soon as I heard that it had been dropped off. The
potential that the instrument has is incredible, and I've already informed
my friends that the only way to get in touch with me for the next few weeks
is if they come to my house, and then they had better at least bring a
guitar. My over 10 years of wanting one of these things has finally come to
and end, and I am NOT disappointed. Thanks for all of your help throughout
this whole process, and thank you for such a beautiful instrument!
Dave Miedema
Indiana
BEAUTIFUL INSTRUMENT
I just wanted to thank David and the artists at Zendrum for crafting such a
beautiful instrument. Well worth every penny. If I had 2 more hands I'd
order another.... It was a very rewarding experience interacting with all of
you and I'm sure I will be doing so again in the future and I'll certainly
be sending people your way.
Thanks again,
Aaron Hughes
California
THANKS
I want to thank you again for this beautiful instrument! It really is refreshing to work with a midi controller that is so simple, yet so well designed for its purpose. My main axe these days is the electro-acoustic hurdy gurdy, but I have a pretty extensive background in hand percussion, particularly frame drums, Turkish and Arabic percussion and a bit of tonbak. The feel and response of the Zendrum is so natural and clear for me. It's an incredible fit. Interestingly, I think that the wood (aside from being beautiful) provides a mass and even a type of resonance to the triggers that has much more in common with a real drum than anything made of plastic! It's not just aesthetic, but really plays an important role in the great feel of the Zendrum. Thanks again for your great work, your (amazingly) fast turn-around and for bringing the hand-crafted, artisanal spirit to an electronic instrument. May it serve as an inspiration to others.
Best regards,
Ben Grossman Canada
Zendrum On TV
Our group, Bach To The Future, is now the house band on the regional WB show, 'THE FAN SHOW" a sports/variety show which is aired live every Sunday. It is watched in 7 states, and the ratings indicate that about a half million TVs are tuning in every week. Rob has played the Zendrum on all 14 episodes thus far. We have been opening for musical guests on the show and the band is featured regularly. In fact, the Zendrum is on screen for most of the broadcast, as the band is generally in the background of the host. They even did a feature segment a couple of weeks ago, with a great promo for the Zendrum! Thank God for the Zendrum, as it makes it possible to utilize the limited space we're given as an opener. If it weren't for the convenience of size and the easy audio patching, we probably would not have had most of these wonderful opportunities. Thanks for everything!
Mike Silverman
Rob Silverman
The Silverman Brothers
April 18, 2005
I wanted to drop you a note of personal thanks for my Zendrum purchasing experience. While we have never met face-to-face, your responsiveness and support through the process, and the fact I have seen your pictures on the net, makes me feel like I know you well. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the genuine sensibility with regard to how you go about working with and treating people. David, when you say give you a call if I need anything, I get the sense you really mean it. And, as time goes on, I am sure I will probably have some additional questions.
I continue to really love my instrument; the fabrication and finish is superb. I also get positive responses from people that see and hear it. My second Zendrum gig is coming up this weekend. I am excited each day about playing and performing with it.
In closing, I do consider myself a spokesperson for the Zendrum concept and company. Both are extremely easy to get behind.
Take Care my Friends,
Herman J McCall, Ed.D.
Michigan
Hi Zendrummers !
What a great instrument - I love it. I play it a lot in all kinds of bands and projects. Now I'll use it in the upcoming European tour with Grammy Award Winner "Andreas Vollenweider" where you can see the Zendrum in a top position of my percussion setup for triggering sequences and samples. Thank you for this wonderful instrument.
Andi Pupato
Switzerland
Wow
Got it.................WOW.......Donna
Donna Whitlock
England
Yeeha!!!
Howdy, just opened my Zendrum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is SO beautiful. What a great experience.
I am off down to the shops to pick me up a US to OZ power plug
converter...then on to some serious noise.
Thanks again...will let you know more when I'm not so delirious..
Peace and Big LOVE
sHAne.
Shane O'Neill
Australia
Craftsmanship
I'm working yesterday afternoon and I get a call on the cellphone from my
friend Mike telling me that my Zendrum has just arrived and how
beeeeeautiful it looks and how he's going to take it home with him, you know
(this is what we call winding me up). So I carry on working and after an
eternity I finally get home to see and touch my wonderful Zendrum (which
incidentally Mike hasn't really opened at all, bless him).
Honestly I've been taken right back to a Christmas morning when I was about
seven when I woke up first to find that Father Christmas (Santa) had seen
fit to bring me a "Johnny Seven" gun. My goodness, I knew I'd been good but
I'd had no idea that I'd been that good!
On a serious note, though, I want to tell you just how thrilled I am to
become an (proud, proud) owner of this wonderful Zendrum. I want you to
realise that I feel so strongly about it that I had to come and write this
before even plugging it in. The work and the craft that have gone into it,
breathtaking! It's reminding me so much of my Grandfather...he was a skilled
carpenter who actually worked on our city courthouse which is a masterpiece
of layered wood panelling all hand built by craftsmen. I have always felt
that it must be a wonderful feeling to actually be able to make something
with such care and craft which someone else can take such pleasure out of.
Anyway thanks again for making me a privileged owner of this fabulous
instrument...now I can't wait to get it on and working!
Kevin Taylor-Haynes
Swansea, South Wales
Zendrum Fun
I received the Zendrum. Now that I have had a few days to get used to it I
am having so much fun it is hard to put it down. Thanks for making such a
wonderful instrument.
Peter Hamlett
UK
Thanks
Some time ago I posted a question regarding Zendrummers in the Chicago area. The referrals you gave me panned out wonderfully, and I had my demo this past afternoon. I just wanted to express my thanks for helping me figure out if a Zendrum is my instrument. It is rare that I have had such dynamic help from a company. Thanks again.
Jon Levitt
Chicago
Outstanding!
I received the Zendrum yesterday...the finish is outstanding! I can't wait
to show it off. My musical friends are anxiously awaiting this "thing" I've
been hyping. Thanks again for great service, attention to detail and the
drive to keep producing this unique instrument.
Hamilton Morris
Arizona
Easy
The Zendrum is a great instrument for percussion simulation. Technically very easy to grasp. I first was exposed to this instrument at a Peter Gabriel concert back in 1994, then I performed with it on tour with Paradox and my band with Randy Brecker. We used it on the Focused CD as well as on the Conundrum project as a percussion enhancement factor. Try it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Billy Cobham
Service
Thanks so much for getting my Zendrum out to me so quickly. You guys are awesome. I just wish every music company treated people the way you do...it would make my world a much happier place!
Erick Porche
USA
Fun!
We got the Zebrawood today and it looks great! And the gig bag and everything are first class. As soon as I unpacked the Zendrum I hooked it into a sound module and within minutes was comfortable with its layout...I have some percussion background. This is a really nice, responsive instrument. Here's some good news, too: our head of Entertainment has decided we'll get another one, Zebrawood or Tigerwood.
Jeff Underwood
Disney's Animal Kingdom Show Support
Workshop Crew Chief
Fantastic!
Zendrum arrived - it's absolutely fantastic!! I want to give you some feedback on my first day's playing around:
I read through the manual and because I am already experienced with MIDI, I found it very easy to start assigning sounds to the various triggers. I found it incredibly responsive - truly way out beyond my expectations! The triggers are efficiently placed and can really be put to use to create incredibly versatile sets. The program changes are a breeze and once fully configured on all 16 sets will be very very handy. So the drumming was great as well as the surprising creative ideas that came out of playing instruments such as synth or piano or guitar samples via the different modes on the Zendrum...a truly unique approach to performing with instruments, i.e. music not just rhythm! I am amazed at how simple it is to get it playing, and the touch sensitivity of the pads is amazingly dynamic and so comfortable.
Very impressive...thanks a lot for this wonderful piece of art.
Josh Cohn
Australia
Having Fun Right Away
I received the Zendrum as scheduled; as soon as I opened up the Zendrum case and saw the actual instrument I was amazed by how good it looks, the color is perfect, and the stain just looks gorgeous. The manual is great, it helped me get started with everything right away, I just got connected and immediately began playing with the setup 15 arrangement. Right away when I hit a number of the pads and got a feel for how sensitive it can be, I was extremely pleased. It feels great being able to produce the sounds of playing with actual drums through this instrument and having the amount of control, dynamically, that I would if I actually were playing a sit-down drum set. It's a totally new experience and way of thinking; I'm having a ton of fun with it. For the first day I just stuck with the default setup and eventually played around with mixing up sounds from the various kits. The second day I was ready to try moving some stuff around and the manual was right there, it explains everything very well, so I went ahead and unlocked it and began playing around and I was just overwhelmed with the possibilities. So far I have one custom setup but already with that I can pull off some stuff that I haven't been able to produce on a drum set after 4 years of playing. This is truly an amazing instrument. Everything is working great and I'm just having a really good time with this. Thanks again.
Kellen Jella
Arizona
Feels Natural
The Zendrum really feels like an "instrument", quite natural. I tried
different things, some of my percussions that I sampled, some electronic
stuff with a lot of effects and filters, drumsets, etc. I used to play
electric bass a long time ago, and I play a lot in a kind of slapping
style, using the thumb for the triggers on the main body and the fingers
for the other buttons. I'm also experimenting with velocity. Oh, this is
really fun...the problem is I hardly have time for anything else now!
David Kuckhermann
Germany
Quality Workmanship
I have just opened my Christmas gift from my wife. This was a big
surprise...I had no idea what she had gotten for me this year. You can
well imagine my reaction when I opened the box and read the letter that
you, David, had sent along with the Zendrum explaining about the
instrument, and how you and Kim and my wife pulled off this surprise.
The Zendrum is so beautiful I almost do not want to play it...I just
want to look at the QUALITY WORKMANSHIP!!!!!!!!! This instrument is a
work of art...the exotic wood selection and finish on this piece is
outstanding. I never thought I would own such an exquisite piece of
craftmanship and technology. Thank you very much for producing such a
beautiful instrument.
Carl Rando
Massachusetts
Laptop
After having the Zendrum Laptop and playing it for a couple of months
now, I have to say I think I've finally found an instrument that allows
me to play electronic drums and/or keyboard sounds in a way that is
perfectly suited to how I've approached music, and imagined how it
should be played. I much prefer playing the Zendrum over electronic
drumkits, Octapads, or anything else I've tried out.
Marcel Berteaux
California
Work AND Play
Thanks to the Zendrum, I found musical freedom and expression that could not be realized before. (Oh yeah, and WORK!)
Keith Wilson
Orlando, Florida
No Boundaries
Dave, I'm addicted to it already. I've been playing it all weekend and I
love it. There are no boundaries and that makes it open to anything
(which is the reason why I got it in the first place). I like it!!!! I'm
getting the hang of the thang!!!!!!
Erich Davis, USA
Psyche of Sound
Playing Again
I was in a bad dirt bike crash in 2001, broke my neck and lost movement and the ability to walk. I had played drums since high school and I'm 35 now. I want to thank you for making an instrument that could get me back playing again in my band...it's great. I've had the Zendrum for about a year and I can play almost anything with it. You have no idea what this instrument has done for me; I thought I would never play again. And now I'm playing. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Mark Perrigo
USA
Thanks
I got the European power supply yesterday. THANK YOU! You guys have been
awesome and I only wish I had the chance to meet you all face to face.
The Zendrum may very well become the next percussive sensation in Europe if
I can at all help that happen! Thanks again.
Steve Pearson
Italy
Beautiful
WOW, I am just about speechless. My Zendrum is absolutely beautiful. The color is exactly what I wanted and the gold logo and gloss finish make it look like a musician's Corvette! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Cary Marks
Nova Scotia
Versatility
Well guys, it’s been about 7 years since I first took possession of my Zendrum, and in that time it has become my primary instrument completely displacing the real acoustic drum kit. The reality is it replaced the Acoustic set after the first month.
I’ve played a lot of music with the Zendrum: I started out being a part of a “power duo” where I played drums and bass parts with it and then I moved on to a funk quintet. I’ve used it as an instrument for local pit orchestra gigs where its size was a real bonus with space being limited and I’ve even played in a jazz trio. The versatility of the instrument is limited only by my imagination, and the willingness of others to let go of the theatrics of a pile of drums on stage.
My most recent band effort is The Wild Geese; a true departure from my past musical experiences. The Wild Geese is an Irish Rebel Band. In this band I get to play Zendrum when drum kit is needed, and I double on mandolin, an instrument I’ve always loved to play. I can seamlessly switch in the middle of songs because the Zendrum can be slung over my shoulder, ready to roll.
Thanks so much to you guys for having the tenacity to get this thing to market, and congrats for standing the test of time! I love my Zendrum and when I’m ready for a new one, this one will become my son’s, he’s a drummer as well.
Mike Morgan
USA
