PowerPlay Series

Heritage meets technical innovation

Established in England, Premier has been an industry leader in drums and percussion since 1922. From household names like Keith Moon (The Who) and Chris Sharrock (Oasis, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds), to rising talent such as Sara Leigh Shaw (The Pearl Harts) and Haydn Evans (Sundara Karma), the number of high profile drummers proud to sit behind their kits appears seemingly infinite.

The PowerPlay series sees Premier branch out into new territory with their first range of digital drum kits. Designed to play and feel just like the real thing, they are the result of 100 year’s hindsight and experience in crafting some of the finest acoustic drum kits available on the market.

It's all about the music

Incredibly intuitive. Every aspect of the PowerPlay-X's module has been streamlined to maximise your creative output. The inclusion of six group faders provides absolute control over the volume of the kit. In contrast to a digital on-screen mixer, these premium grade faders ensure that your approach to balancing the sound of your drum kit is instinctive.

There'll be no navigating awkward menus, deliberation or second guessing, simply adjust the faders to what feels right for you. Whether you want more kick, less snare, or even a reduction in overall volume, these faders along with separate control for aux in, headphone and master volume pots allow you to make adjustments, without ever missing a beat.

Maximum practicality

The practicality of the digital drum kit extends to the ergonomic layout of the module. The large-scale LED display with easy to view text offers a simultaneous overview of all parameters, whilst the function buttons grant you immediate access to the PowerPlay-X's settings' menus for maximum speed and efficiency.

Each button is purposely designed to be slightly larger than average, minimising the accidental triggering of other settings midway through your performance. You can even use the end of your drum stick to adjust the data wheel for quick, broad stroke changes.

Tailor to taste

One of the most impressive aspects of the PowerPlay-X is the range of flexibility on offer. You can use and edit any of the handpicked 423 drum sounds on any kit in the module. From Folk to Rock and Funk to Pop, the varied range of authentic samples included cover all popular musical styles.

With total control over the volume, pitch, panning and velocity of every pad, the drum sound of your dreams is just a few tweaks away. Adjust the pitch of the cowbell to transform it from a generic 6” to a resonant 4” or achieve that outlandish ‘80s snare sound whilst the rest of the kit remains dry. Whether you desire subtle drum room ambience, or the magnitude of a hall, the extensive range of reverb controls allow you to finesse the type, level, time, and size with an impressive level of control.

Authentic design and response

For maximum aesthetic appeal, the PowerPlay-X comes complete with 10” snare and tom pads as well as 12” kick and cymbals with a 14" ride. These mesh pads accurately emulate the response of a real drum kit, ensuring the skills that you learn on this digital kit will easily transfer to an acoustic. The perfect finishing touch, each cymbal is fully rubberised and rests on chromed arms.

The dual and triple zone pads on the snare, toms and cymbals allow you to incorporate additional sounds into your performance whilst finding your own unique playing style. Unlike other electronic drum kits in this price range, the PowerPlay-X is built with a rounded frame. This means that all pads are evenly distanced to ensure the kit not only sounds like the real thing, it plays like one too!

Set-up made easy

The PowerPlay-X comes complete with an innovative pad tensioning design. All you need is one hexagon key (included) turn to tighten or relax the entire drum head evenly. Thanks to this, you’ll have absolute control over how authentic you want the feel of the drum kit to be. Relax the floor tom pad so it feels floppy just like the real thing, or tune the snare to feel as tight as a marching snare.

Defined by you

Although the PowerPlay-X comes with an extensive range of 25 preset kits and an additional 25 user-defined kits, the USB memory card slot means you can import and export kits created using the module on-demand, free from the restrictions of module memory.

This is ideal for session musicians performing across a variety of genres who desire instant recall of specific sounds in high-pressure situations. The fourth tom connection point (pad not included) lets you connect an additional tom pad to maximise your drum set-up.

Play with feeling

When you’re a drummer, feel is everything. It’s what separates a great performer from a good one. Whether you want to reduce the track to drums and bass to focus on perfecting your groove, or want to isolate the piano to figure out its rhythm, the ability to deconstruct each of the 25 in-built songs allows you to gain a better understanding of song arrangements and how the parts interact with each other to form a cohesive whole.

Take advantage of the integrated 3.5mm auxiliary input. With this, you can easily connect any smartphone, tablet, computer, or media player to jam to your favourite songs, albums, and playlists. The ability to play alongside great musicians on demand will ensure your technical ability comes along in strides.

Capture your performances

Recording capabilities enable you to capture your performances and save them to either the module or an external USB stick as a MIDI file. The intuitive manner of the recorder ensures the recording process feels effortless.

Ready for any occasion

Practice, production, performance. The PowerPlay-X caters for any scenario thanks to the broad range of connectivity it offers. The inclusion of a headphone input allows you to connect any pair of 6.35mm (1/4”) stereo headphones for silent practice, whilst the L/R outputs let you to send a stereo output of your record-ready drum sound straight to a mixer or interface, without the need for additional processing.

Powerful MIDI controller

Expand the realms of what’s possible via MIDI connectivity. MIDI inputs and outputs allow you to turn the PowerPlay-X into a comprehensive controller that can be used in conjunction with any Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). In an age where music is fine-tuned and quantised to within an inch of its life, the PowerPlay-X empowers you to inject a new lease of life into your programmed drum parts with that unmistakable human touch.

When connected to a computer, the module’s internal sound library is bypassed, allowing you to perform with your favourite stock and third-party virtual drum libraries and applications. This is perfect for opening up a world full of additional drum sounds.

Practice makes perfect

Be the best drummer you can be with the multiple practice modes on offer. "Warm Up" mode provides the perfect introduction to playing, with tasks designed to enhance your beat accuracy and master techniques such as paradiddles, rolls, strokes and more. "Quiet" mode sees you accompanied by a metronome which cuts out for periods of time, allowing you to focus on keeping time with and without guidance to enhance your own internal metronome.

What's included?

• Premier PowerPlay-X Digital Drum Kit or Premier PowerPlay Digital Drum Kit

• SubZero SZ-H100 Stereo Headphones

• Drum Throne Stool by Gear4music, Black

Specifications

• Songs: 25

• Preset Kits: 25

• User Kits: 25

• Instruments: 423

• DSP Effects: Decay, EQ, Pan, Pitch, Reverb

• Metronome: Yes, 20-260 BPM

• Display: 12.8 x 6.4cm LED

• Cymbal Arms: Chromed

• Cymbals: Fully rubberised

• USB: Yes

• Power Supply: DC-12V, 1A

• Jack: USB Memory (USB Type A)

• Aux: 3.5mm

• USB MIDI: USB Type B

• Phone: 6.35mm

• L/Mono: 6.35mm

• R: 6.35mm

• MIDI In: 6core DIN

• MIDI Out: 6core DIN

• Tom 4: 6.35mm

• Data In: DB25