ciborgs

One of the most impressive instruments at NAMM this year wasn’t new: it was the Zendrum, a spectacular handmade MIDI drum controller. The Zendrum has been evolving gradually since the 1980s, but it’s brought to life by the latest drum samples in FXpansion’s BFD drum sample library. That’s the fascinating thing that’s happening: as sample libraries get better, they become more demanding of controllers, and visa versa. Careful velocity sensitivity in the BFD samples (FXpansion were showing a new expansion pack) made the slightest tap on the Zendrum incredibly sensitive and realistic.