Hybrid Theory: Rymo of Slightly Stoopid
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Hybrid Theory: Rymo of Slightly Stoopid

Ryan “Rymo” Moran of Slightly Stoopid explores the power of hybrid drumming—bringing records to life onstage with real-time flexibility and unlocking an ever-expanding creative world. Header photo by Jon Phillips

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.  

Instruments like V-Drums and the SPD-SX PRO make powerful partners for hybrid drummers, allowing them to incorporate loops, one-shot sounds, and melodic phrases into their musical universes. Every drummer has a unique story about how they blend traditional and electronic elements.

Sitting outside the Slightly Stoopid trailer in the artist compound at BeachLife Festival, Ryan “Rymo” Moran discusses how hybrid drumming enhances live performances, brings records to life, and expands his creative world.

Up and Running

To start off, what are you using on your rig?

“I’ve been with Slightly Stoopid for 22 years, and I’ve relied on Roland products for most of that time. We use a lot of one-shot samples and sort of synthetic-sampled sounds like Simmons toms, snares, and all kinds of effects. So, the SPD was my go-to in the beginning as a supplement to the acoustic drum set. Currently, I’m using the SPD-SX PRO, and I have a couple of mesh pads set up to my left, and I’m going to set up another bar trigger on my right. I love the equipment.
At home, I use the Roland TD-17KVX. Actually, I have two of them—one in my practice place and one in my home for quiet practice and late nights. And I have a KC-550 that I use for those kits as well. It’s a keyboard amp—an older version of the 4-channel model I use to hear the drums through. Sometimes I use headphones if I’m trying to keep it quiet, but sometimes I plug in if I’m doing lessons and stuff like that.
I also have an RD-700NX keyboard, which I love. I bought it ten or twelve years ago, and it feels amazing with the weighted keys. It’s set up in my practice space. I’m not a great piano player, but my kids are avid players. The tones are incredible. It’s just fun to play.”

The Mashup

How do your pads fit into your overall setup when you're playing live?

“They’re an important part of the live show. For about the last year, we’ve been traveling with a great DJ, DJ Z-Trip, and he’s taken over some of my responsibilities for one-shot samples. But the SPD-SX PRO has been amazing. It’s set up every time we play. I use it for the click track capability. I have a separate mix being sent from my monitor engineer. We use the click on probably about 80% of our music. The other 20% is sort of live and wiggly. I use all kinds of different samples on just about every song.
There are about eighteen songs in tonight’s set. The SPD will be a critical part of at least sixteen of those tracks. I’m mainly using one-shot samples, like vocals. Now that our DJ is handling some of the more scratchy stuff, I can focus more on sounds to supplement the drums. So, I use a lot of claps, electric toms, electric snares, kind of double with the acoustic snare, and we use a couple of vocal loops as well. It’s a pretty critical part of our set.“
Slightly Stoopid BeachLife

A Solid Beat

What kind of problems does it solve?

“Oh, so many. I love the click’s flexibility. The guys want the groove to really be consistent, so I use the click track in real time. I have it set up so I can start and stop the click track with just one tap of the pad. If we’re leaning forward or back on a song, I can kill the click track in real time without having to push a button.
Also, the tap feature on the SPD-SX PRO is great because if we’re close to the tempo we’ve rehearsed, I can tap in a new tempo in real time. It’s usually pretty close to the one we’ve been rehearsing, but if we’re a BPM or two slower or faster, I can adjust it in real time. Having that flexibility is absolutely huge. It keeps my timekeeping consistent and solid, while giving us the flexibility to perform live.
We don’t play to a fully orchestrated track; we play to a Pro Tools file or a pre-orchestrated full song. The way we use the SPD offers a little more flexibility: I trigger a one-shot sample, the band takes over, and the sample finds its way back into the song. So, we have flexibility with tempo and things like that. That’s been a major improvement from some of the earlier models of the SPD I used. Plus, the quality of the sounds in the device is really clean. The samples, I believe, are the highest fidelity you can achieve right now—the sample clarity is second to none.“

Mind on Your Music

Do you use the stock samples?

“I do, I use some of the snares, rim shots, vibra slaps, mainly kind of extra auxiliary percussion sounds, and then I’ll just add a reverb or like a delay on there so we could use them in kind of a dubby way. If the music we play is more reggae or ska, I’ll incorporate some of those elements to make it sound authentic. “

How do you decide what you're performing acoustically versus what you perform on pads?

“It usually depends a lot on the recording. If we are doing a cover, for example, we did a Beastie Boys song called ‘Intergalactic,’ and I was triggering the electronic voice before we had our DJ with us. And then there were a couple of snares that they had used in the studio recording that, obviously, if I just have my one drum, I can’t really emulate.
I’d use an 808 kick to emulate what’s in the recording. It’s probably a couple of 808 snares or something vintage-y, and I would throw those into certain sections. So, for a bridge or a four or eight-bar section, I’ll just jump over and use the synthetic snare coming from the pad to recreate the studio recording as accurately as I can.”

Hybrid Inspiration

What's a piece of advice you'd give new hybrid drummers who are looking to add some electronics into their setup?

“Do it all the way, commit, and go for it. It’s so fun to use new sounds and new technology. There’s no limit to what people can do with music. It just comes from the mind. If there’s a specific sound you have in your head and you can’t create it acoustically or don’t have a way to access a sample, the SPD-SX can achieve it.
You can layer sounds in the device. You could put a clap with a cowbell under it or a kick and a cymbal on one pad. It opens up a whole new palette and can really change the way you play. You can approach the drum set in a different way instead of having—not limitations—but certain ways that you have to execute sounds. If I want to hit a kick in a cymbal at the same time, nine times out of ten on the acoustic kit, I have to use my right foot for the kick, maybe my right or my left hand for the crash cymbal. But here, if I use the SPD that way, or use the same sampling or layering capabilities with my TD-17, I can get all kinds of different sounds and textures, which is going to inspire me to play differently.
If I’m in a certain musical situation like here at BeachLife, it’s a big, live sound. There are a lot of guys in the band. So, it’s one approach to my drumming. If I’m in a studio session with an ambient producer or I’m working with a world musician, someone who plays ethnic percussion or something, I can use the different tones in the SPD or the TD-17 to accompany or add a percussive layer that makes sense in that environment.
There’s no real limit to what you can create, and that’s the beauty of using technology. In this setting, I love using the acoustic stuff, but having all these samples that we can use, it fills the role for a DJ, or if someone doesn’t feel like singing their part, I have a harmony version of that, as a track, as a one-shot, as a short loop. It can be super clutch to maximize the sound possibilities as an extension of your own mind and playing.”

Sample Selection

Does your sound selection change when you're playing a festival set like this versus headlining a traditional indoor venue?

“Yeah, it depends on the band’s song selection and set list. We rehearsed the day before yesterday and came up with a set list for tonight. I have just about all the songs lined up in the SPD. Then, I have my tech write the patch numbers for each one. I have about 80 patches that I use night in, night out. I know where most of them are, but sometimes if the guys call an audible in the heat of the moment, I have to scramble to find the sound or patch, so I have the click track ready.
If we’re doing a festival like BeachLife, we kind of know the 16 or 18 tunes we’re doing. Usually, on an acoustic set for us, it’s a little looser, and the guys like to just feel it out, have a little fun, and play some more rare tracks. So, in that setting, I might rely on the SPD in a different way, adding sounds like auxiliary percussion, a DJ sample, a vocal sample, or whatever, to make the sound bigger.”

A Groove for Every Mood

If you had one piece of equipment to add to your Roland wish list, what would it be?

“I love playing drum sets, so the TD-50 would be high on my wish list. A friend of mine has one that I’ve played. I love the potential for sculpting sounds and adding effects. The possibilities are kind of limitless. The strainer adjustment on the snare tones and the tuning can be changed in real time.
The beauty of having all those parameters at your fingertips is that you can go in a direction based on whatever headspace you’re in that day. I love that flexibility as an artist because we’re kind of crazy. Like, if I crank this snare super high, it’s going to make me want to play a drum and bass thing. If I’m moody, relaxed, or mellow, I want to put on something lo-fi or down-tempo or play along to some dub reggae. Maybe you had a ton of coffee, and it’s heavy metal. So having a device you can alter to whatever suits your creative need in that moment is huge.”

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Carolyn Shlensky

Carolyn is Sr. Brand Copywriter for Roland. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two Mini Schnauzers and enjoys digging through vinyl, books, and thrifted clothes.

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