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drumming

A new meaning to drum rolls

Who knew that roll-up musical instruments would be so popular? Even more surprising is that virtual percussion seems to be a particularly hot area: Just a few days after we ran an item on the "Portable Electric Drum Set," for example, Everything USB has found yet another roll-away set. The "USB Drum Kit" has two fewer pads, but they're positioned to more closely resemble a real-life setup. No matter what, either either version is better than the mouse pad drums.

Virtual drums roll into your pocket

Technology has allowed more amateur guitarists to take their instruments on the road, from guitars to keyboards. Yet the possibility of an easily mobile set of drums has been confined largely to the likes of the "Finger Drum Mousepad."

But percussion lovers can take heart now that the "Portable Electric Drum Set" is here. Similar to roll-up pianos that have been on the market for awhile, this virtual instrument is built into a 20-inch rubber mat that can be rolled away anytime, anywhere. Tokyomango says the eight-drum set even has "preset tunes and rhythms to … Read more

Your drum solo on a mouse pad

If you're going to start messing around with combo gadgetry, at least be creative. That's the lesson that should be learned from Hammacher Schlemmer's "Finger Drum Mousepad." Rather than some useless combination like a mouse pad with built-in speakers, this electronic drumming surface lets you strum your fingers to eight percussive sounds, "including bass, snare, two rack toms, a floor tom, hi-hat, crash and ride cymbals." You can even record up to 30 of your creations so you can play back the most annoying ones for all to hear, over and over.

Finally, permission to bang on your PC

Of course your PC enrages you from time to time, but you're not supposed to bang on it -- though you would be forgiven if it's housed in a Spotswood Custom Computers case, which is actually a kick drum.

Yes, it's a slightly odd motif for a PC (oh, let's be honest; it makes no damned sense) but the Spotswood folks say a drum enclosure makes for a very quiet PC case with flexible component mounting options. And to be fair, this is the hippest possible way to house a workstation PC in a recording studio … Read more