Many of us find ourselves tapping our fingers on desks or tabletops at any and every opportunity. It doesn't matter whether or not we've ever actually held a drumstick, if we have a rhythm in our head and a hand free we'll tap out a beat on whatever surface is within reach. We have already seen attempts to turn this from an annoying habit into a way of making something approaching real music, such as the Wavedrum and the TableDrum, but Korg has now upped the ante with Cliphit.
Cliphit is essentially an electronic drum kit just waiting for skins. You provide the skins by attaching the clips provided. Cliphit comprises a main unit plus three clips that can be attached to anything and everything, instantly turning them into makeshift drums. Whether they're attached to a desk, a magazine, a bucket, or any number of other household objects, a sound will emanate from the 3-inch, 2-watt speaker built into the main unit. There's also a headphone jack if those around you would prefer you practice in private.
The clips have motion sensors on them to determine how hard you hit your instrument of choice, with a sensor also in the control unit allowing it to be played in the same way. A footswitch is also provided that allows you to control kick sounds, with a second one available for hi hat open/close. You can use drumsticks, pencils, or even fingers to hit the objects the clips are attached to, and the result will be the same.
However, there are a total of 11 sets of sounds to choose from, including rock, pop, or standard drum sounds, plus a selection of sound effects, including a dog barking, a cat meowing, and hand clapping. The drum types featured include snare, hi-hat, toms, bass drums, and cymbals.
The main unit is powered by four AA batteries that Korg maintains will last for approximately six hours. There's a 3.5 mm AUX-IN jack allowing you to connect external sound sources, such as MP3 players, so you can play along with your favorite tunes.
Korg has yet to announce the release date and pricing for Cliphit, which it describes as a practice drum kit. The video below shows an approximation of Cliphit in action.
Source: Korg