The world is a scary place right now, with artificial intelligence encroaching on every area of our lives, the constant political tension, and a general sense that the economy is hanging by a thread. One check at the news and you might think we’re living in the apocalypse — at least the kind that makes you a little scared to use the internet or social media. That’s why the Yamaha Finger Drum Pad caught my attention.
I’m not even close to a good drummer in real life, on a real drum set. I have learned over time that it requires precise rhythm and a musical sense I don’t seem to have, but I still keep trying.
The Yamaha FGDP-50 Finger Drum Pad is for people like me, similar to other like this guitar. The device doesn’t even require drum sticks or any ability whatsoever. You just use your fingers, the drum pad makes your musical creations sound awesome in every way.
Yamaha Finger Drum Pad: Specs and features
The Yamaha FGDP-50 Finger Drum Pad has 18 pads for your fingers to do their work. I loved the spacing, which was ideal for my size hands and allowed me to tap very fast and keep time. The device lets you record your drum sequences (as long as you have a USB thumbdrive, which are a bit hard to find these days — you can also use a USB hard drive).
For me, it felt just right using my right hand thumb for the bass (which is basically like a spacebar on a keyboard) and then other fingers for the snare and cymbols. I recorded with the Yamaha FGDP-50 Finger Drum Pad by connecting it to my iPhone. I used the headphone out jack to a normal quarter-inch jack, which I plugged into the IK Multimedia iRig Pro Duo audio interface. Worked perfectly connected to my Apple MacBook.
I tend to like a live drums sound (and really live instruments all the way around) because I get stuck on a repeating pattern that doesn’t sound great. By recording in analog this way, the instruments all sounded more genuine and interesting to me.
The product has 48 “voices” ranging from a realistic sounding physical drum set to something far more eclectic like a DJ pad and electronic drums. There are 1,500 voices total. You can adjust the delay on any voice and add your own tuning.
The Yamaha FGDP-50 Finger Drum Pad also has a built-in speaker so you don’t even need to connect it to an external audio device or speakers. That came in handy for some quick sessions trying to figure out a new drum pattern.
Yamaha Finger Drum Pad: Performance
The product fits nicely on a table and performed extremely well during some jam sessions with friends. It seems like it is designed for personal use and recording, but it’s so small that it fits fine on a small table.
The drums sound realistic to the point where, if you play with a little less perfection and even introduce slight mistakes (while keeping in time with a metronome), the device can produce tones that you might not notice right away as being synthetic. Part of the reason for that is the finger drumming, which allows you to get creative with the patterns and add fills and other accents. I really liked the flexibility that the finger pads gave me.
Yamaha Finger Drum Pad: Price
The Yamaha FGDP-50 Finger Drum Pad costs $299.99 right now on Amazon, and I feel that’s about the ideal price for a product like this. It means anyone can play with literally no training, but then more accomplished musicians can add entire drum sections to your songs. You can even get proficient enough that you can use the Yamaha Finger Drum Pad as a primary drum machine. I suppose the only drawback is a “real” drummer prefers sticks, but even for those who play a real kit, this is a brilliant way to create a drum track.
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