Yamaha recently announced two new finger drum pads, the FGPD-50 and the smaller FGPD-30. Both machines were developed to make it easy to finger drum with an “ergonomic layout optimized for finger drumming to bring out your best performance, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced finger drummer.” A nice surprise was seeing that both machines run on USB-rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Here’s a quick glance at the features:
- 18 pads arranged in an arch layout that makes it easy to play 8-beat rhythms with one hand or 16-beat with two hands.
- Pad hardness and sensitivity are optimized for finger drumming while allowing for expressive playing.
- Each machine has a tone generator with realistic acoustic drum sounds from Yamaha’s DTX electronic drums series, as well as new electro sounds. Each machine has over 1200 sounds that can be arranged into custom kits, and the FGDP-50 allows you to connect a flash drive and add even more tones and phrases onto the machine or even record your performance to the drive.
- Each FGDP has a built-in 2.5 W speaker and runs on USB-rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and since both machines weigh no more than 2.4 lbs (1.1kg), portability is a plus.
The FGDP series looks like a great way to learn to finger drum. Many of the conversations I’m seeing so far as positive, and it looks like using the FGDP mainly as a midi controller is a common idea. One thing that I wasn’t too keen on, was that Yamaha opted for a micro-USB connection. However, a big plus was that by using the free Yamaha “Rec’n’Share” app for iOS or Android, you can connect your mobile devices to record and edit performance video or audio and then upload and share on social media.
The Yamaha FGDP-50 is available for $299 and the FGDP-30 for $199 USD.
It’s available for order through:
- Yamaha (Direct)
- Perfect Circuit (US)
Here’s a quick product overview video.
