Whether you're a producer playing Sensory Percussion on a single mesh drum or a rock drummer using it to layer sounds on top of on your 7-piece acoustic kit, flexibility across different setups is one of the system's greatest strengths. In this post, we're spotlighting four drummers from around the world who have integrated Sensory Percussion into their home setups in various ways. We asked them each to tell us a bit about how Sensory Percussion fits into their personal music-making space.

Featured musicians: Pete Longhurst, The Hybrid Drummer, Rahul Vanamali, and Berno van der Wal

"Sensory Percussion allows my drum kit to be a totally melodic instrument. My favourite way to use it is to program simple sequences, note sets or scales with the built-in sampler, which I'll then contextualise with improvised chord movements on the Elektron Octatrack - all while playing the drums.

It's a challenge to play with rhythmic and harmonic intention, and I love it. I've spent years trying to augment the drum kit to have melodic capabilities with other sample pads, MIDI effects and DAWs, but Sunhouse has put in a ton of research to make a genuinely usable solution. I like to experiment with signal flows and live audio processing, finding happy accidents as I ask,'What happens if i plug this into here?' (hence the messy studio). You can take this mindset to the Sensory Percussion software, as it's super flexible."

Pete's Gear:

• Sensory Percussion Sound System
• Sakae Celestial Kit in 18" Kick (Converted floor tom), 12" Tom, 14" Floor Tom
• World Max 14x5.5 Steel Snare
• Mixture of Zildjian, Bosphorus and Meinl cymbals
• Focusrite Octopre (preamps and direct outs for submix)
• Roland PA250 Mixer
• Motu 828x Interface
• Mac Mini M1
• Presonus R65 Monitors with lots of stickers
• Roland RE-201 Space Echo
• Franklin Audio SS6 DI
• Hologram Electronics Microcosm
• Elektron Octatrack MK2

"Ever since I discovered Sunhouse and the Sensory Percussion Sound System, I’ve felt like it was made for me. I wish I had started using it earlier, but perhaps the time had to be right until I had a clear vision of exactly what I wanted to do with my hybrid setup.

In the past few years, I’ve been working on playing different electronic subgenres like techno (from minimal to harder styles), jungle, and breakcore and combining them into a live set where it’s just me and my drums, sound-designing and processing everything in real time. Sensory Percussion makes it all possible, and more. I’m constantly finding new ways to use it and developing my sonic palette. It’s endless inspiration.

Since the VST plugin became available, even more doors have opened! :)"

The Hybrid Drummer’s Gear:

• M1 Macbook Pro 16"
• Sensory Percussion Sound System
• Tama Club Jam drum kit
• Meinl cymbals
• Evans db0 mesh head on the snare, db1 mesh heads on the kick and the second snare
• Drumbeam (it's a MIDI controller made for drumsticks)
• Roland SPD-SX PRO + Roland KT 10 pedal
• Techra xCarb 7A drumsticks
• Midas MR18 mixer for recording and monitoring

"Acoustic cymbals and mesh drum heads allow me to switch this kit between a hybrid acoustic mode (with the cymbals and snare taking advantage of the two mic inputs on the Evans Portal) or a fully electronic mode, with Sensory Percussion or Superior Drummer samples mapped to different zones on the drums.

With my current setup, I use Sensory Percussion for two kinds of things, the first being my own experimentation combining drum sounds with synthesizers and other virtual instruments. Secondly, I’ve been collaborating on some live music lately with a friend that incorporates all sorts of live looping, MIDI control, and other interactions between drums, a guitar, and Ableton Push.

Crafting relationships between my physical drums and software instruments that I can control in real time allows me to integrate those sounds into my playing at the deepest level; for example, rather than laying down a groove to a pre-recorded bass line, I can use sequencers, note controllers, and note generators to create bass lines that respond to my kick patterns, which in turn change and influence the way I think about playing in real time."

Rahul’s Gear:

• Sensory Percussion Sound System
• Yamaha Stage Custom Hip - 13”, 10”, 13”, 20”
• Evans dbZero (toms), dbOne (kick), and UV1 (snare) drumheads
• Istanbul Agop cymbals (15” Xist Dry Dark Brilliant Hats, 20” 30th Anniversary Flat Ride)
• Misc accessories (Drum Tortilla on snare, Stack Ring Percussion Bell Chime, Mini Bell Ring, Beetle Percussion cymbal sizzler)
• Universal Audio SD-3 Dynamic Mic on snare
• Behringer C2 overhead condenser mic
• Ableton Live 12
• MacBook Pro 13”
• Various soft synths (UVI OB Legacy, Plogue Chipsounds, UA PolyMAX Synth)

"In my home studio, I play a modified drum kit. My digital exploration began a few years ago when I built my own triggers using piezo elements, playing them with mesh heads. As my search for creating (live) ambient music with percussive instruments continued, I started collecting more digital instruments.

Discovering Sensory Percussion was a game-changer; it allowed me to essentially play a synthesizer from my drum kit. The ability to control them via MIDI adds even more creative possibilities.

When I performed my own music live for the first time, people told me they were mesmerized by the sounds. It’s fascinating when people see a drum kit and they expect something completely different from what they end up hearing. That contrast makes sharing this music even more exciting."

Berno’s Gear:

• Sensory Percussion Sound System
• Mapex Drum Kit with Roland TD-27 and CY cymbals
• Evans DbOne mesh heads
• Nord Drum 3P
• Roland SPD-SX Pro
• Moog Subsequent 37
• Elektron Octatrack MKII
• Yamaha Reed Organ (1960s)
• Godan Handpan (F Low)
• Effect Pedals & Midi controllers
• Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 MK4
• Focusrite Scarlett OctoPre Dynamic
• Mac Mini M2
• Ableton Live Suite 12