Author Topic: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit  (Read 9094 times)

Offline Hellfire

Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« on: October 03, 2019, 05:05:30 PM »
Just saw that this was listed on the Guitar Centers web site:

The expanded version is shown above. The cost of this new kit is just under $1,200.00.
"Expected to Ship 11-08-2019"

From the product description:
Drum Kit:

   - 12” dual-zone mesh snare and stand
   - Two 8” and one 10” dual-zone mesh toms
   - 6” mesh bass drum with non-slip stand
   - 12” dual-zone crash pad
   - 14” triple-zone ride cymbal
   - 12” hi-hat with variable pedal
   - Real snare stand allows complete customization and solid playing surface
   - Hybrid hex rack with mounts provides non-slip mounting surface

Sound Module:

   - Large and bright full-color graphic LCD and intuitive, easy-to-program user interface
   - Simmons Signature Sound Library: 764 of the most sought-after acoustic drums, world percussion, and vintage Simmons sounds
   - Bluetooth® MIDI for wireless connectivity to smartphone, tablet or computer
   - Import samples to the sound module for expanded performance options
   - Record, create and edit your own samples and sets
   - Interactive Pattern Looping capabilities
   - Built-in performance mixer with on-the-fly mixing, pitch shift, shape parameters and more
   - Optional SD1200 Expansion Kit adds another dual-zone crash cymbal and floor tom

Offline ChrisK

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2019, 12:52:48 PM »
It's here http://simmonsdrums.net/simmons-sd1200-electronic-drum-kit-mesh-heads/

From the recording view image, it's 4 layers velocity same as the SD600\ sd2000 module. But nice price and versatile more then emerge, it sound about the same as korg emerge at 4k which use 1,2 samples layer, unable to imports sound, proprietary triggers\module, hard loud surface (regular mesh don't works) , not usable on apartment if noise is problem.
« Last Edit: October 04, 2019, 01:31:16 PM by ChrisK »

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2019, 02:34:30 PM »
The look is fantastic, Alesis might be facing some serious competition this time.. now just have to wait and see if the module shipping with this kit actually can compete with the strike pro module..

Offline ChrisK

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2019, 09:16:36 PM »
The look is fantastic, Alesis might be facing some serious competition this time.. now just have to wait and see if the module shipping with this kit actually can compete with the strike pro module..

Not sure it look like same engine as sd2000,  Strike is more advanced, but perhaps Simmons more reliable\ solid.

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2019, 09:22:17 AM »
The look is fantastic, Alesis might be facing some serious competition this time.. now just have to wait and see if the module shipping with this kit actually can compete with the strike pro module..

Not sure it look like same engine as sd2000,  Strike is more advanced, but perhaps Simmons more reliable\ solid.

ChrisK nailed it.  ;)

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2019, 09:27:15 AM »
The look is fantastic, Alesis might be facing some serious competition this time.. now just have to wait and see if the module shipping with this kit actually can compete with the strike pro module..

This kit isn't designed to compete with the Strike.

It appears to be designed to compete more with the Alesis DM10 MKII, and Alesis Crimson II Kits as it's price point is about the same.


Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2019, 11:29:44 AM »
The only issue with the strike specially with the strike pro (because of the higher price) is the pad reliability, you should not have to reinforce the pads internals immediately upon purchase, specially on something they call "pro". The module is better IMO than most Roland modules (maybe the TD-50 with the new digital snare and ride will be a little better). The other part is Roland should be much better since a flagship Roland is close to $8000.00  you can buy 3 full strike pro kits, and upgrade the hell out of them and still have some $$ left.
Things that we would like to see E drum companies do, Real size pads, Real size cymbals (and real look just like that ATV china).
I know that real sizes are not for everyone and for some it defeats the portability, but for us that live in the US, space is not an issue most of the time, so we are ok with bigger pads, for our EU comrades it may be different. I guess if the companies that are currently producing decent e-drums partnered with an acoustic drum company and offer both models (made to order so that they don't have to keep too many sets at stores), and using an entry level acoustic kit, basically designed to never be played as acoustic only as electronic. a very decent kit could be made and not outrageously expensive, perhaps around $2000 or $2500 not $8000!  it can be done, Go Edrum has some decent looking kits for  cheap (reasonable prices) they even have the HH controller and 3 zone ride, and other cymbals for very cheap, and as a user of the HH controller, it works perfectly for me, and at $50 you would be wasting your money going with Roland. I Just wish I could find the Alesis Strike module for sale without the drumset  (from a realiable source, I have seen some in E-bay but not too sure they can be trusted.)
Maybe Simmons decides to get serious about the drum looks as well as their reliabilty and designs (or commissions someone) to design a better module with better sounds (and the ablity to load your own samples) then they will back at the top. That also can be done, look at Drum-tec, Jobeky and some of the other European companies, their stuff, is great, yes it is expensive, but would you buy a flagship Roland, or would you buy one of those sets with Any module you want?? The price is basically the same....

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2019, 02:13:02 PM »
The only issue with the strike specially with the strike pro (because of the higher price) is the pad reliability, you should not have to reinforce the pads internals immediately upon purchase, specially on something they call "pro". The module is better IMO than most Roland modules (maybe the TD-50 with the new digital snare and ride will be a little better). The other part is Roland should be much better since a flagship Roland is close to $8000.00  you can buy 3 full strike pro kits, and upgrade the hell out of them and still have some $$ left.
Things that we would like to see E drum companies do, Real size pads, Real size cymbals (and real look just like that ATV china).
I know that real sizes are not for everyone and for some it defeats the portability, but for us that live in the US, space is not an issue most of the time, so we are ok with bigger pads, for our EU comrades it may be different. I guess if the companies that are currently producing decent e-drums partnered with an acoustic drum company and offer both models (made to order so that they don't have to keep too many sets at stores), and using an entry level acoustic kit, basically designed to never be played as acoustic only as electronic. a very decent kit could be made and not outrageously expensive, perhaps around $2000 or $2500 not $8000!  it can be done, Go Edrum has some decent looking kits for  cheap (reasonable prices) they even have the HH controller and 3 zone ride, and other cymbals for very cheap, and as a user of the HH controller, it works perfectly for me, and at $50 you would be wasting your money going with Roland. I Just wish I could find the Alesis Strike module for sale without the drumset  (from a realiable source, I have seen some in E-bay but not too sure they can be trusted.)
Maybe Simmons decides to get serious about the drum looks as well as their reliabilty and designs (or commissions someone) to design a better module with better sounds (and the ablity to load your own samples) then they will back at the top. That also can be done, look at Drum-tec, Jobeky and some of the other European companies, their stuff, is great, yes it is expensive, but would you buy a flagship Roland, or would you buy one of those sets with Any module you want?? The price is basically the same....

I agree that there is a market for the full size shells/cymbals (heck, I used a kit like that in 2003: edrum set #6), but it's my understanding that the number one selling edrum kit (in terms of number of units sold) is the Alesis Crimson kits. And that's across all brands (not just Alesis).

The vast majority of edrummers are not beating down the walls to have full size kits. The Crimson (or is the case of this topic, Simmons SD1200) is in the sweet spot for size, pieces, functions, and price for the vast majority of edrummers.

With that said, Simmons is getting better with each kit they come out with. I know most hard core edrummers don't care because Simmons isn't competing yet at the high end level, but for mid range the SD1200 is a really nice kit.

This Simmons kit actually is in response to the idea of "real look/sizing". When Simmons came out with the SD2000 in 2017, edrummers had a fit with the hexagon look that they tried to resurrect. It's a shame because the kit was really built well (it was built like a tank), but people couldn't get past the hexagon triggers. Most edrummers said they wanted round (read traditional) looking triggers. Simmons went back and re-designed the SD2000 and came out with this SD1200 kit.

(Modern) Simmons isn't making too big of a deal of it, but this is their first edrum kit to have a dual zone hi-hat trigger. This is a big step toward the high end market. Heck, Alesis didn't have dual zone hi-hats until the Strike came out. SD1200 also has wireless bluetooth midi (something is shares with it's little bother the SD600). Which is a nice feature at this price point.

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2019, 11:04:15 AM »
The Simmons setup is indeed very nice for the price point , a very sturdy looking rack, very reasonably sized pads, (and from the looks of it) well built. Like I said, now we have to see what the module has to offer. I know most of the people who would buy a kit like this one don't expect it to be too great, but on this day and age, couldn't any company at that caliber have real recorded samples of lets say 5 drum kits, and add a few extra sounds in the module, add an SD card slot capable of let's say 64gb to be used to load more sound sets to be sold by them later, or to load VSTs?  To me, a module that can do that is like having the best of both worlds because most people frown at the idea of playing live with VSTs due to computer reliability. in that scenario the computer is taken out of the equation so the fear should subside a little. I only had a module freeze on me while playing live once, a simple reboot fixed the issue.  Now about real sizes, I don't know a single drummer that would tell you he likes the look of the pads better than the look of real sized drums. (maybe they are some out there I just haven't met any). ;D

Offline Iggford

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2019, 12:28:39 PM »
Now about real sizes, I don't know a single drummer that would tell you he likes the look of the pads better than the look of real sized drums. (maybe they are some out there I just haven't met any). ;D

I might be one of those drummers...

I have a Strike Pro, and I'm VERY happy with it.  I actually REALLY like the look of the pads.  I feel like there was some real effort put into the design.  The reliability?  Well, until last week, I could say mine's been mostly 100%.  My snare plate did finally crack, but knowing it was a possibility did prepare me for it.  The pad was still very much playable after the break, so I was able to finish the gig.  It wasn't even until the next day that I found the break.

For the lower price point than the Roland flagships, I don't mind having to do a little more maintenance on my kit.  I've owned Roland, and yes, their equipment is good.  But I had a Roland module go bad also.  I've been an Alesis player for the last several years, and I've enjoyed every minute of it.

I do like your idea of less packed in sounds but the VST capabilities.  With the Strike module, I've imported some VST sounds, and I primarily use those sounds over the stock sounds.  There are some exceptions, but for the most part, I've moved away from what came with the kit.  I agree that there is room to grow in this aspect.  The best module out there will be one that can draw from both the onboard sounds and VSTs.


--
Shawn

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2019, 02:20:31 PM »
I don't know if at this point there is a module capable of doing that (drawing from VSts and the module sounds (at the same time) and without being connected to a computer.... that would be awesome as a lot of folks really like some of the sounds in the module even if they would primarily use VSts for everything else. I know 2Box, ATV, and the Strike module can be loaded with VSTs, of course the Mimic which is Pure VST sounds, not sure if you can load/update the sounds in it....I guess one way to work around that would be to load the VSTs, and then for the parts that you like the module sounds, load those as samples, I think it would probably be a long winded process but perhaps doable until some company creates "The perfect" module... :-\

Offline Iggford

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2019, 02:30:21 PM »
That's kinda what I've done.  I use some of the perc sounds from the module, like timbales, cowbells and a splash sometimes.  I've even layered a stock tom under one of my imported ones. 

I do like the ability to mix and match them, because the Strike really does have quality onboard sounds.  But I've really fallen in love with the ability to import multi-velocity sounds into the module.  To me, it opens the realm of possibility beyond limits.


--
Shawn

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2019, 10:31:01 AM »
So, are you able to export then import multi layered samples from the Alesis? because in order to be able to play both VSTs and module sounds you have to export then import the module sounds as samples.. am I correct? that is still very cool because as you said the Alesis module does have some very nice usable sounds built in..

Offline Chaser

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2019, 10:49:24 AM »
The SD1200 was removed from the Simmons web site... and Guitar Center bumped the ship date to the end of Feb 2020.This seems to be coming more and more common.
http://simmonsdrums.net/simmons-sd1200-electronic-drum-kit-mesh-heads/


Offline Iggford

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #14 on: October 11, 2019, 01:23:39 PM »
So, are you able to export then import multi layered samples from the Alesis? because in order to be able to play both VSTs and module sounds you have to export then import the module sounds as samples.. am I correct? that is still very cool because as you said the Alesis module does have some very nice usable sounds built in..

It's kind of the reverse for me.  I used SDSE to import the multi-velocity samples INTO my Strike module.  Then I can layer them over each other or over whatever stock sounds I want. 


--
Shawn

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #15 on: October 11, 2019, 02:16:31 PM »
The SD1200 was removed from the Simmons web site... and Guitar Center bumped the ship date to the end of Feb 2020.This seems to be coming more and more common.
http://simmonsdrums.net/simmons-sd1200-electronic-drum-kit-mesh-heads/

Depends on which version of the kit you look at. The standard five piece is 2/25/20:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Simmons/SD1200-Electronic-Drum-Kit-with-Mesh-Pads.gc

But the expanded version date is still 11/17/19:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Simmons/SD1200-Expanded-Electronic-Drum-Kit-with-Mesh-Pads.gc

That tells me they expect people to prefer the "Expanded" version of the kit.



Offline Purpledc

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #16 on: October 12, 2019, 10:50:07 AM »
The look is fantastic, Alesis might be facing some serious competition this time.. now just have to wait and see if the module shipping with this kit actually can compete with the strike pro module..

Not sure it look like same engine as sd2000,  Strike is more advanced, but perhaps Simmons more reliable\ solid.
Not huge on the strike anymore but no.  It wont be competing.   Simmons is mostly medelli made stuff just like alesis.   To me this looks nothing more than competition for the crimson or dm10mkII series.  Simmons is a budget brand to the extent I don't think you will ever see any innovation from the brand.  IMHO its simply a guitar center generic meant as an alternative to alesis.   Even though quality is about the same.

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2019, 03:18:12 PM »
...Simmons is mostly medelli made stuff just like alesis...IMHO its simply a guitar center generic meant as an alternative to alesis.   Even though quality is about the same.

Not correct. Simmons is not made by medeli. Starting with the SD2000 they stopped using medeli to manufacture their kits do to quality problems. Speaking of quality you are not correct about that either. I own both Alesis and Simmons products. All my Simmons triggers/modules are free from problems. I can't say that about my Alesis products.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2019, 03:21:00 PM by Hellfire »

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #18 on: October 22, 2019, 09:33:31 PM »
I was just at the GuitarCenter website and noticed the SD1200 drum kit is in stock and ready to ship!

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #19 on: October 24, 2019, 10:18:10 AM »
I was just at the GuitarCenter website and noticed the SD1200 drum kit is in stock and ready to ship!

So damn tempting, but I spent years building and learning my Alesis kit. I wish I had a large basement to have multiple kits.
DM10X mesh/foam conversion, Trigger IO, 8 piece, 7 cymbals, Roland Hi-Hat, Laurin Snare, Roland Rim Trigger, Addictive Drummer 2

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #20 on: October 27, 2019, 11:30:22 AM »
I will have a review video on Youtube sometime this week.  ;)

Offline ChrisK

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #21 on: November 06, 2019, 06:32:02 PM »
Full review, not biased, no spoonser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ezd29fVm0
« Last Edit: November 06, 2019, 06:43:56 PM by ChrisK »

Offline Hellfire

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #22 on: November 06, 2019, 07:23:40 PM »
Here's my take on the new Simmons SD1200 kit:

Simmons SD1200 Review and more!

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #23 on: November 07, 2019, 01:14:53 PM »
Here's my take on the new Simmons SD1200 kit:

Simmons SD1200 Review and more!

Great review! Thank you Hellfire! I might be in the market this coming summer. Definitely intrigued!
DM10X mesh/foam conversion, Trigger IO, 8 piece, 7 cymbals, Roland Hi-Hat, Laurin Snare, Roland Rim Trigger, Addictive Drummer 2

Offline AlanK

Re: Simmons SD1200 Electronic Drum Kit
« Reply #24 on: November 07, 2019, 01:59:32 PM »
What an excellent review, Hellfire. You have a very reassuring, articulate and warm voice tone throughout and that really helps make any review watchable. What a cool kit, I also love the silver (or brushed nickel?) look and those hexagonal crossbars, wow. Great stuff and it sounds incredible!
DM10X with Addictive Drums 2, Pro X hi-hat, 4 crashes, foam cone conversion w Roland mesh heads, Laurin Drums snare and kick, Mapex P710W double kick pedal, Mapex 2 legged hi-hat, Behringer 8 channel USB mixer, Tascam 144MK AI, Samson Expedition Escape powered speakers