HXW Avatar PD708 Sample Pad used for Hybrid Setup

🔌 Unlock Hybrid Drumming with the HXW Avatar PD708

Hybrid drumming is where the organic feel of acoustic drums meets the boundless sound possibilities of electronic kits. With the HXW Avatar PD708, you can seamlessly trigger digital sounds from your acoustic set, expanding your sonic palette for recording, live performance, or silent practice sessions.

🎥 See the HXW Avatar PD708 in Action

🛠️ What Is the HXW Avatar PD708?

The HXW Avatar PD708 is a sample pad with 9 individual surface playing zones, but it also features eight analog trigger inputs compatible with piezo pickups and electronic pads, dual-zone support for toms and snares, MIDI and USB output, and dedicated hi-hat control. This makes it ideal for layering samples, controlling virtual instruments, or building a full-fledged electronic drum kit around your acoustic drums.

📋 Key Features & Benefits

• 8 Trigger Inputs – Connect multiple drums and cymbals using standard piezo sensors or pads, all routed through the HXW Avatar PD708 module.
• Dual-Zone Detection – Assign head and rim triggers separately for more expressive control over snares and cymbals.
• MIDI & USB Output – Seamless integration with DAWs and sound modules via 5-pin MIDI or class-compliant USB MIDI connection.
• Adjustable Threshold & Sensitivity – Fine-tune trigger response to eliminate crosstalk and false triggers in dynamic playing situations.
• User-Friendly Interface – Backlit LCD screen and intuitive buttons make on-the-fly adjustments simple during rehearsals and gigs.
• Compact & Sturdy Design – A metal chassis that fits easily on a rack or tabletop, perfect for touring or home studios.

🔌 Installing Triggers on Your Acoustic Drum Set

Getting started with the HXW Avatar PD708 is straightforward. Follow these steps to add triggers to your acoustic drums:

1. Attach piezo pickups or electronic pads to each drum or cymbal. Ensure secure placement and proper contact with the drum shell or head.
2. Run trigger cables from each sensor into the PD708’s trigger inputs. Label each cable for quick identification.
3. Power on the HXW Avatar PD708 and navigate the menu to assign each input to the corresponding drum voice or sample.
4. Use the threshold and gain settings to avoid bleed. Play at performance volume and adjust to minimize crosstalk.
5. Route MIDI or USB output to your sound module or computer. Load your favorite drum libraries or sample packs for immediate playability.

💡 Creative Applications

With the HXW Avatar PD708, you can:

• Layer acoustic hits with electronic FX like claps, snares, or ambient textures.
• Trigger unique one-shots, loops, or even backing tracks directly from your kit.
• Practice silently with headphones—perfect for late-night sessions or apartment rehearsals.
• Record MIDI drum tracks with natural dynamics for detailed editing in your DAW.
• Enhance live gigs with visually synced lights or video triggers using MIDI-controlled setups.

🔧 Tips for Optimal Performance

• Group similar triggers under one MIDI channel to simplify communication with virtual instruments.
• Experiment with velocity curves to match the sensitivity of your playing style.
• Backup your settings to avoid reprogramming before every gig.
• Use quality shielded cables to reduce electrical interference and false triggers.

🚀 Take Your Drumming to the Next Level

Whether you’re a studio producer, touring drummer, or content creator, the HXW Avatar PD708 transforms your acoustic drums into a versatile hybrid powerhouse. Experience the seamless blend of analog warmth and digital versatility—get your PD708 today and start crafting the future of your drum sound.

Jamie Wollam of Tears for Fears walks us through his amazing hybrid drum setup

Tears for Fears are one of those bands whose musicianship has always been top notch. Their music has become as timeless as the Beatles in many ways with their massive hits like "Everybody wants to rule the world" and "Mad World". 

I love everything they have ever produced and am so happy to see them sounding so damn amazing in 2022.

They released the amazing LP "The Tipping Point" and toured supporting it. Drummer, Jamie Wollam, has one insanely cool hybrid drum set up mixing A&F drums with Alesis Electronics and Paiste Cymbals. 

Check out his kit tour below and the performance from KCRW of their single "The Tipping Point". 

 

The REAL Reason Eric Singer of KISS uses triggers on his drums (it's probably not what you think)

 

Eric Singer is the 3rd drummer of KISS, yet has been playing for the band longer than anyone else at this point. To say the guy knows his stuff is an understatement. Check out this amazing video by Modern Drummer where Eric gives the full rundown of his current vintage/modern Pearl drum kit. He goes over the shells, lugs, cymbals, heads, and even the cowbell he's using!

What I found really interesting was his use of ddrum Pro Elite drum triggers along with a no longer in production ddrum D4 drum module. Instead of processing his drum sound through the front of house, it's strictly for the stage monitors. Himself and the rest of the band find that triggers are more consistent and easier to deal with on stage than having to worry about getting the perfect monitor mix night to night on different stages! Pretty neat!

Alternative Drummer Profile: Dave Fankhauser AKA Parallax

Alternative Drummer recently got to ask experimental electronic musician and drummer David Fanhauser, AKA Parallax some questions. He not only answered all of our questions in detail, he also provided us with this amazing gear tour! 

Parallax is based in Switzerland and be sure to subscribe to his YouTube Channel here! Check out the full interview below!

AD: What got you interested in experimenting with electronics and drums?

Dave: I‘ve always been a big fan of musicians like Jojo Mayer, Zach Danziger, Mark Guiliana… those guys who dig into genres that are typically not in the realm of „normal“ drumming. It always fascinated me how they push the instrument with the way they approach it. I tried mimicking them in my playing, which was always more fun to me than playing along to, let’s say, „Top 20 Hits Music“. Besides drumming in my free time, I was also intensly listening to electronic music from artists like Aphex Twin, Four Tet, Flying Lotus, and so on… music that typically doesn’t have „real“ studio drums recorded. But that was not important to me. What interested and inspired me was the array of textures that this kind of music has to offer. 

 

The two entities (playing drums / listening to electronic music), though, were always separated. At a later time, I lost a bit of interest in the drums as a whole, started looking what else was out there in terms of instruments, and soon discovered the world of modular synthesis. I was watching loads of YouTube videos (basically by accident), and it became clear to me that I had to get a system. It didn’t take a long time for my modules to pile up, and my setup started to develop. So by falling into the deep, wallet-draining void called eurorack i really got in touch with the syntax of electronic music (literally, because turning knobs in a jungle of patch cables is more fun than scrolling through presets on a computer). Soon, my interest in drumming slowly started to set in again. But I always wanted to somehow link the two sides together. The problem was that i only have two hands, and in my laziness I deemed my vision impossible. It was only after my mind got blown yet again by a different musician, Deantoni Parks. I think he is the prime example of what I call a hybrid drummer, and he proves that your body can indeed serve as a link between two entirely different instruments. Of course, my limbs are nowhere near close the level of independence as are Deantoni’s, but it gave me the push i needed to get rid of that floor tom, replace it with my modular synth and start to play drums with my left hand and the synth with my right hand. Since then, my setup has changed a lot (and still does), and it also is not as strictly conceptualized anymore, but the core idea has always stayed the same: I attempt to encapsulate the sound of electronic music into a new framework whose essence lies in improvisation, real-time sound manipulation, and live-drumming. I call this process „Parallax“.

 

On a funnier sidenote, this „one-man-band“ setup was also just a necessary result of the lack of fellow musicians in my area who share my vision of music making.

 

AD: Would you mind providing a rundown of your current setup as detailed as possible, including software and hardware?

Dave: See video above!

 

AD: What is your experience as a drummer?

I started drumming at a relatively late age (about 11 or 12 years old), and my drumming journey has always been on a hobbyist’s level. Concerning the word „experience“, I guess i can break it into two factors that shaped me as a drummer (and person)

 

1. Experience with drumming in bands, recordings, etc.

 

My drum teacher had an annual event where we, the students, could get on a stage and perform a song of our choice with his tour band, which i think is awesome. I remember playing Baby Love by Mother’s Finest live in front of an audience for the first time, with my heart nearly exploding out of my chest. His lessons were always very groove- and fun-oriented, so this definitely helped me stay on track. Later on i started to get involved with different projects of my dad, who creates music for a living. I played drums on some of his albums, but our collaborations mostly resolved around live-performing with choirs. This collaboration is still going on today. Aside from that, I was always looking for bands to play in, but usually there were discrepancies in what i was hoping to find in the music itself and the people playing said music. Admittedly, I was a bit stubborn and narrow-minded during that time. Regarding genres for instance, i would have never agreed to a classic-rock gig back then, which is kinda dumb. Now, I’m more open. I eventually ended up in a „contemporary-christian-music“-band for a year, but my love for drumming started spiraling down during that time. I had to quit that gig for good. Other than that, I’ve never aspired to play Madison Square Garden with Beyoncé or anything like that, but with the small resumé that i can present, the tendency is clearly more on live performing than session recording.

 

2. Experience with drumming as a form of refuge from the outside world

 

This is an entirely different aspect, but in my opinion one that involves a whole new type of experience - i.e. an introspective one. For me, spending time drumming has always been super intense and insightful. There were times in which I would play the most simplistic three-note pattern like K/R/L for two hours straight, only allowing myself to change the tempo, voicing, subdivision and so on… just to force myself to be creative with those „gears“. If you do something like that for hours, you eventually fall into a trance-like state, where something like a „quintessential particle“ of your Self presents itself to you. I know that sounds pretentious and new-agey, but in a nutshell, it’s just a form of meditation. Spending time in such a state is highly addictive, and for me this has always been a way to shut down the noisy and hectic outside world for a bit.  

 

AD: What are your future e-drum / hybrid drum plans?

Setup-wise, I don’t have any specific plans. My setup is always changing, and it also depends on what I’m working on at the moment. 

Project-wise though, I’d like to combine my „modus operandi“ of music making with other forms of art, for instance visual or other performance art. I feel like that is the way to go, since the whole „band situation thing“ has never really been fruitful. At the moment there’s something in progress with a friend of mine who is a dancer. Currently we’re working with prerecorded material, but my preferred next move would be an actual live and improvised performance of us in the same room, communicating with each other through our way of expression. Art is communication after all. Hers is through dancing, mine is through „parallaxing“.

Rhett Randolph, Drummer of Emilia Ali goes into details of his hybrid drum setup and backing track rig!

 

Though Rhett claims " I don't go into extreme detail on everything in my setup" he actually does an amazing job of explaining all of his gear in this video and how it all works together! This one is highly educational. 

If you were ever wondering how to combine backing tracks, with acoustic drums, with external triggers, with a Roland SPD, with your own personal in ear mix, this video lays it all out perfectly. 

With a Macbook, a small mixer, audio interface, and a small footprint kit, Rhett has created one amazingly cool and versatile setup! Check out his awesome YouTube channel here!

Rhett has performed at Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot Festival, and worked with artists such as Jagwar Twin and Avril Lavigne!

Josh Dun's of Twenty One Pilots Hybrid Drum Setup

 

Josh Dun is the solid drummer behind the duo Twenty One Pilots. He plays an important role in the band since they are only a two piece with a lot of live sequencing going on via Ableton Live and Josh is the one starting and stopping all of these during the set without ever touching a laptop. 

What is really cool about this setup is it's compact(ish) but he's doing quite a lot with it. The basic acoustic part of the set is a 4 piece drum kit, but you'll notice 3 Yamaha Silicone pads, a popcorn snare, a Roland SPD-SX and an iPad. There's no laptop next to the kit, because he is mirroring the screen on the iPad to his left. All the controls are done with pads and footswitches. This can all be configured within Ableton, which even though it is backing tracks, you still have control over them while playing drums. 

Brendan Buckley's Insane Hybrid Drum Setup with Shakira

 Thanks to Drum Magazine for uploading this amazing clip of drummer, Brendan Buckley and his completely mind boggling hybrid drum setup he was playing with Shakira on her 2018 tour. 

I can't imagine how crazy it would have been for the drum techs getting all of this set up every night and making sure everything was working fine before the gig. Seems pretty stressful!

In the video Brendan explains how he uses Battery by NI for all his sounds. I would have liked to have seen maybe a bit more setup details in that regard. Like what kind of interface he's using, buffer settings etc... 

Oh well, still a very cool video, whether you're a Shakira fan or not!