Yamaha FGDP Finger Drum Machines

CEKBEHTC · 2023-10-05T00:36:14.300Z

I use the thumb and i hit the pad with the side of the thumb. Also i use the thumb more in a whipping motion instead of pushing it like the other fingers. I am holding my hand quite relaxed as if holding a larger computer mouse and rotate it slightly counter clockwise. Works great for me.

CEKBEHTC · 2023-10-05T00:43:25.702Z

Did someone try to route the fgdp to the sp404 (mk2)? Would that work? I remember the 404 had kind of a weird midi mapping.

I am thinking of ways to use it in a live performance context. E.g. play drums and launch instrumental samples by sending midi to the sp404.

Leptic · 2023-10-05T04:44:22.812Z

Yes you can but it is complicated

Leptic · 2023-10-05T19:27:53.112Z

It works but only with some pads, i think you got to change the note on the finger drum pad but at this time, i don’t know how to do it

brainstamp · 2023-10-06T00:40:24.739Z

Can someone confirm for me that these DO NOT do round robin sampling?

Do people that have them find the velocity makes up for it enough? Coming from a digitakt with different playability

blipson · 2023-10-06T06:50:50.988Z

brainstamp:

Can someone confirm for me that these DO NOT do round robin sampling?

Yes, they don’t.

There’s a “humanize” setting, but it doesn’t seem to do much, and it only kicks in when you strike the same pad enough times in a row. The velocity response does make up for it enough, in my opinion. When I want the real deal, I fire up the Superior Drummer plug-in, but the FGDP with velocity response isn’t bad and does not feel somehow disappointing.

Jazzmess · 2023-10-06T19:34:28.060Z

Just got the FGDP30.
Thought it would have better sensitivity, I find the threshold quite high to trigger sound, so it’s hard to get consistent ghost notes. In the end this shrinks the dynamic range you can achieve while drumming. Don’t know what to think about the layout.
They nailed it with the format though and the ability to practice standalone, even if the sounds are just ok.
I’ll stick with my maschine mikro mk3 and return it.

Leptic · 2023-10-09T16:24:47.374Z

It only works with a elektron USB midi cable btw, i use mine with the m:s cable

H1 · 2023-10-11T12:12:40.617Z

I bought one last week, I love it. The layout works really well for me. I play bass most of the time, and the thumb for bass - middle finger for snare position translates really well.

I hope they do a version with a synth engine.

I was wondering, for anyone who is has played both, the Nord drum 3p has a really nice engine, I had the first one years ago, but only played it over midi. Can you play it well with fingers ? Like the Yamaha ? Can you do triplets like you can on the Yamaha, when you go ring-middle-index finger ?

KaOsphere · 2023-10-11T13:31:36.632Z

I always found the ND3P pads were tricky to configure for finger drumming…
You have to hit pretty hard or else get false positive triggers when sensitivity is high.

Playing with sticks has always seemed more reliable to me. ( there are 2 modes with their respective settings for sticks and hands ).

For some reason, I never managed to be able to get the same sound with a kick trigger pedal, a stick, my hand or a midi note on the exact same pad with same settings which is a blessing and a curse depending on the context.

The nd3p has only 6 pads and no AT.

But, you can actually get pretty cool fx when sliding your fingers while pushing on the surface to create micro vibrations triggering the pads.

And of course, the velocity curve affects the sound in so many gorgeous ways, it is hard to compare to the FGDP.

blipson · 2023-10-11T23:59:48.237Z

I’ve found it un-fingerdrummable even with the most sensitive settings.

GovernorSilver · 2023-10-12T18:52:46.891Z

PearTreeCraft · 2023-10-12T19:07:24.931Z

Nice! This is the kind of demo I’ve been waiting to see.

GovernorSilver · 2023-10-12T22:55:45.609Z

JohntheSavage · 2023-10-13T00:25:14.812Z

Someone’s got the right idea.

Cheers!

GovernorSilver · 2023-10-13T03:58:16.549Z

Shame both models are out of stock at the local shop. I much prefer to lay hands on one for myself to just relying on demos

I’m patient, though.

Threnody-of-Abul-Abbas · 2023-10-13T18:25:37.530Z

Agree, I never finger drum on my Nord. It can do it, it just plays a million times better with sticks. The Nord is also quite hard, it doesn’t feel great banging your fingertips on it for an hour. My favorite thing to do with the Nord is to have a Digitakt (or any sequencer) sending lots of different CC changes to the synth settings while live drumming with sticks, gets extremely trippy and chaotic if desired.

I got the 50 primarily for fun and ease of use. The Nord sound engine is a totally different world, the 50 isn’t for drum synthesis or sound design.

The reason why I am really enjoying the 50 is that it is an instant pickup and play device with a battery and a speaker (surprisingly good bass!) that I can use to drum out a beat every time I get an idea or I have five minutes to spare. It can also sound pretty cool, especially if you tweak the settings (e.g. make some pads control AT tuning, adjust your sensitivity to get good dynamics) and run it through some effects, so it isn’t just a practice toy, but it is aiming for very different goals than the Nord. If you want to practice finger drumming then the 50/30 is will be a better experience, but if you want an amazing drum synth you will be disappointed.

I am happy with the 50 so far if for no other reason than it has allowed me a lot more rhythm practice during the week and made me realize how sloppy my finger drumming technique has become.

EDIT: One thing that sucks about these products, the manual is terrible. Some of the features aren’t even explained and I have been figuring stuff out by menu diving and playing around. Whoever wrote this for Yamaha did a terrible job and it seems really weird for a device being marketed as super simple/easy to just pick up and get realistic and customizable sounds out of.

tha_man · 2023-10-31T14:18:44.478Z

Got the 30, such a fun device! I was afraid voice announcement will be annoying but it’s fine. For more serious use I would recommend 50, but for some couch finger drumming 30 is perfect - uncomplicated, inexpensive, just turn it on, select drum kit and go. Sounds cool even on internal speaker, pad layout is great and pads feel really nice too, much better than on MC-707.

Leptic · 2023-10-31T15:52:29.315Z

Yeah for the voice menu, so fun

icaria36 · 2023-11-02T22:27:20.391Z

There was this review by The Quest for Groove a few days ago. This guy has been reviewing finger drumming devices for years.