Hybrid drumming fuses the traditional acoustic drum set with the latest digital percussion technology, enabling players to perform with the electronic sounds and processed textures that drive modern music styles. Since 2003, Roland sampling pads and acoustic triggers have revolutionized this style, and they’re regularly used everywhere, from indie gigs to arena stages.
The SPD-SX PRO is a powerful partner for hybrid drummers, allowing them to incorporate loops, one-shot sounds, and melodic phrases into their performances. With tight set times and quick turnarounds, the pro pad offers sonic stability within the whirlwind of festival shows.
This year, the SPD-SX PRO can be found on stages throughout the iconic Glastonbury Festival. The five-day festival near Pilton, Somerset, England has been a British counterculture mainstay since 1970. It has birthed history-making performances from David Bowie, The Cure, Oasis, Jay-Z, and many more.
Every drummer has a unique story about their approach to blending traditional and electronic elements. From the Glastonbury Festival grounds, these drummers share how the SPD-SX PRO enhances their performances and offer advice to aspiring hybrid musicians.
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Maxie Cheer w/ Kate Nash
Maxie Cheer (they/he) is a professional session drummer working with the likes of Kate Nash, Bimini, Poppy Ajudha, charlieeeee, The Moody Blues, and the BBC. Cheer is a keen advocate for more trans+ inclusion in the music industry and has a solo project under their own name featuring hybrid drumming, live sampling, and beat programming.
What does hybrid drumming mean to you?
Layers. For me, hybrid drumming is all about adding layers to an artist’s sound and to my playing. By incorporating triggers via the TM-6 in a show, for example, I can add a layer of studio sound over my live sound. I can use the exact kick sound from a record on any kick drum I am playing on, and I can choose when to bring that sound in—on a chorus for a lift or just in the intro to set the tone.
Hybrid drumming also adds extra layers of possibility and excitement to my experience. There’s simply more to hit. Choosing when to bring in samples from an SPD—a hand clap set to only fire when I rimshot the snare or just the addition of a synthetic sound from a BT-1—hugely expands the possibilities of my playing without adding more drums to my rig. I love it.
"Hybrid drumming also adds extra layers of possibility and excitement to my experience. There’s simply more to hit."
How do you incorporate the SPD-SX PRO into festival shows?
Currently, I am using the SPD SX-PRO with Kate Nash in her festival shows, and it allows me to trigger samples from the pads as well as act as a midi controller for our playback system. Having both functions in the same piece of equipment and knowing the equipment can handle it makes running playback from the drum riser super comfortable.
Having previously used the SPD-SX for this same function, I am greatly appreciating the new and improved screen and menu on the PRO. It makes programming on the go so much easier, which is essential for festival season!
What advice do you have for new hybrid drummers?
Don’t be afraid of trying something new and start small. Having grown up on a healthy diet of guitar rock and old-school live shows, I was initially resistant to using any tech in my playing. I just wanted to keep it pure, man! But as my career developed and I met other drummers along the road who were using hybrid setups creatively and in order to serve the song, my perspective changed. I now see hybrid drumming as a way of opening performances up to more creativity and expression instead of hindering that.
So as someone who has come from using no tech at all to being a Roland artist with multiple hybrid rigs on the go, my advice is to start small. Just add one piece of equipment in and take time to master that before going any further. The SPD-SX PRO is ideal in this case, as there is a whole universe inside of it that you can explore, but it also acts as the centerpiece for additional equipment to be added on as you progress. Take it all at your own pace and enjoy the journey.
"The SPD-SX PRO is ideal, as there is a whole universe inside of it that you can explore."
Emmanuel w/ Burna Boy
Emmanuel’s musical journey began at age five, when he played drums and percussion in church with his family. This is where he developed his interest in music. Since then, Emmanuel has had the privilege of playing for countless artists from the UK and abroad, playing a variety of genres like gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, pop, highlife, and Afrobeats, and having built his own Project Studio, he has also recorded on many records as a session drummer.
Emmanuel is currently the music director and drummer for Grammy award-winning artist Burna Boy and has toured the world playing some of the world’s greatest venues over the last eight years.
What does hybrid drumming mean to you?
To me, hybrid drumming means a world of endless creativity. The ability to experiment with samples, sounds, and textures, whether using them independently or layering electronic sounds under or on top of acoustic drums and percussion, helps me keep creating and discovering my sound when performing. I can recreate original patterns from recorded music, as well as control large portions of a live set at the tap of a pad or trigger. It’s simply amazing.
How do you incorporate the SPD-SX PRO into festival shows?
Using the SPD-SX PRO at festivals allows me to have dynamic control not just over my performance as a drummer but the entire set in general. Festivals welcome dozens, if not hundreds, of artists over the course of a few days, so the schedule can be hectic. We get a timeslot that we must stick to, and one of the ways I use the SPD-SX PRO is by controlling our playback, which we currently run through Ableton Live, being able to scroll through our setlist at the tap of a pad and to start and stop the music when necessary. I am also able to create my own setlist within the SPD-SX PRO, which helps me have the right sounds to play for each different song, at the simple click of a button.
"Most modern music has electronic sounds embedded within it. As a drummer, you can really expand your setup by incorporating a powerful machine such as the SPD-SX PRO."
What advice do you have for new hybrid drummers?
My advice to new hybrid drummers would be to simply explore the world of hybrid drums. Most, if not all, of modern music today has electronic sounds embedded within it. As a drummer, you can really expand your setup by incorporating a powerful machine such as the SPD-SX PRO. From creating amazing transitions between songs to changing the sound of your kit, or even running backing tracks straight from the machine, hybrid drumming can make you an incredible one-man band or an essential player in a larger band. Explore and create, for there are no limits.
"I think it opens up such a world of possibilities, not just having an SPD-SX PRO as part of a drum kit setup but also as part of a percussion/multi-instrumentalist rig."
Sophie Galpin w/ Dua Lipa
Sophie Galpin is a British drummer and multi-instrumentalist currently performing with Dua Lipa. Her session work spans a wide range of instruments, including percussion, guitar, bass, violin, keys, and vocals. She writes and performs her own music under the name SOFT LAD and arranges and composes for theater, radio, film, and more.
What does hybrid drumming mean to you?
I think it opens up such a world of possibilities, not just having an SPD-SX PRO as part of a drum kit setup but also as part of a percussion/multi-instrumentalist rig. My goal is to be a musical Swiss army knife, so the SPD is a really versatile way of playing samples, extra drums, and melodic parts along with my other instruments.
How do you incorporate the SPD-SX PRO into festival shows?
I’ve got quite the spaceship of mounted and handheld instruments, including the SPD-SX PRO, keys, guitar, violin, and backing vocals, so there’s a lot of multi-tasking for me.
Essentially, anything that goes “bing bong” will likely be me on the SPD-SX PRO. It allows me to play parts live that would usually be difficult to take off track and to embellish the songs, making them really live and human.
What advice do you have for new hybrid drummers?
Get creative—don’t limit yourself. Use it for melodic stuff as well as percussion and enjoy it.
"Thanks to all the triggers you can add, there are so many songs now where I’m playing extra samples while still playing the live kit."
Jon Beavis w/ Idles
Jon Beavis started playing drums at the age of eight. In his early years of learning, he immersed himself in all styles of playing, trying to extract all the different elements from various genres. Beavis moved around between bands in his youth, playing shows in Bristol. He joined Idles at seventeen and has been with them ever since. They’ve had an amazing journey over the years, from playing shows in Bristol to touring the world—with incredible festival memories along the way.
What does hybrid drumming mean to you?
Hybrid drumming has allowed us to bridge the gap between our live sound and our studio sound. The ability to use samples seamlessly during a live show is priceless.
How do you incorporate the SPD-SX PRO into festival shows?
The SPD-SX PRO is now a staple on my kit setup. Its function of linking samples to one trigger has made playing certain songs so much easier!
What advice do you have for new hybrid drummers?
I still class myself as a new hybrid drummer, so I’m still excited to learn new features and ways to use it. Thanks to all the triggers you can add, there are so many songs now where I’m playing extra samples while still playing the live kit. I never wanted to just play a backing track, so the SPD-SX PRO allows me to add the raw sample and play that along with the live kit parts.
