Percussion

​Japan's electronic instrument maker ATV Corporation has revealed a digital percussion instrument called the aFrame. The hand drum has a playable surface stretched over a bamboo frame and is claimed able to respond to playing subtleties like no other digital percussion instrument can.

More than a year after the release of the excellent BeatBuddy drum machine/pedal, the team at Singular Sound has announced the arrival of a baby brother: the BeatBuddy Mini. Gizmag has been putting the new device through its paces for the past few weeks, so read on for our impressions.

The creators of DrumPants, the wireless device that converts your pants into a wearable MIDI controller and music sequencer, are running a beta test program that uses DrumPants sensor strips to control smart appliances and to give a voice to those who have none (through a connected mobile app).

Designers from the Yamaha Corporation and the Yamaha Motor Co have changed places for a special project called Ah A May (that's Yamaha backwards). Let's have a look at the part of the project where folks from the motorcycle design house were let loose on a pair of percussion instruments.

When musician David Packouz couldn't find a stomp-based drum machine that didn't sound, well, like a drum machine or one that could provide fills, changes and accent hits on the fly, he set about designing and building his own. Gizmag reviews the BeatBuddy drum machine pedal.

Teenage cajon maker Stephen Henderson has designed and built a new series of wooden box with a 5-way snare lock mechanism and integrated kick pedal.

With what's got to be one of the shortest campaign pitches on Kickstarter, Ken McCaw is putting second production run hopes for his Hammer Jammer percussive guitar attachment in the hands of players.

In 15 years as a percussionist with British electronica band Faithless, Sudha Kheterpal has exerted her fair share of energy. She has now teamed up with designers and engineers to develop Spark, a shaker that harnesses kinetic energy to bring power to the developing world.

Featuring over 200 songs, and 10 different drum kits, the Beatbuddy guitar pedal drum machine from David Packouz puts control of the beat at your feet, leaving your hands free to get on with some serious shredding.

Roland has released its most versatile and powerful HandSonic digital hand percussion instrument to date, the HPD-20. The device features the company's SuperNatural sound engine, 13 velocity-sensitive silicone pads, and 850 instrument sounds.

Moritz Simon Geist has built a huge mechanical homage to Roland's iconic TR-808 drum machine, that uses real instruments played by robots to reproduce 11 key sounds from the original device.

The DUBE is a specially-constructed wooden box that serves as a percussive musical instrument.