Simmons presented the SDS800 alongside the SDS200 and SDS400 in mid-1985. Peter Randall’s June 1985 report listed a forthcoming UK price of £629.99; Bob Henrit’s September review gave the same RRP. The first retail-sale date remains unresolved.
Four pads driving analogue voices
The SDS800 puts bass drum, snare and two toms under the drummer’s sticks and foot, with four analogue voices in a separate controller. Its floating-head pads use a rubber membrane over an undersized backing board; the bass pad has a movable central striking area. Bob Henrit’s 1985 review describes a compact kit supplied with a stand, adaptor and leads, suited to adding electronic percussion to an acoustic set or playing as a four-drum kit. Headphones provide a private-practice output.
Shape each drum at the panel
Each voice has its own row of controls. Set pad sensitivity, then adjust pitch, bend, filter movement and decay; balance noise against tone and add a sharper attack with Click Level. Blue marks offer starting settings. Bass adds Click Pitch, snare has Resonance, and the toms have Second Skin modulation. The drummer builds the four sounds directly at the panel.
Play a tom run from one pad
The run generator changes Tom 1’s pitch while the drummer keeps striking the pad. Threshold can reserve the effect for a harder hit; Step Time sets the time at each pitch and Run Time the whole cycle. Direction and random-pitch settings vary its course, with a footswitch available to turn the effect on or off. Every beat still comes from a played strike. Tony Reed’s review identifies the catch: the pitch cycle can restart before a fill is finished, so timing the fill against the run takes practice.
Four drums, several output choices
Separate voice outputs let bass, snare and both toms reach different mixer channels; mix and fixed stereo outputs provide simpler connections. Reed also lists a five-pin DIN trigger connection for the SDS6 and other named programmers, plus remote run-generator switching. This is a trigger connection rather than MIDI. Within the series, SDS200 supplies two toms and SDS400 four toms; SDS800 combines two toms with bass and snare.
A smaller kit in the 1985 range
Simmons introduced the SDS800 alongside the SDS200 and SDS400 rather than withdrawing the SDS7 or SDS8. Randall’s June 1985 presentation report listed £629.99 for the forthcoming SDS800, and Henrit’s September review repeated that UK RRP. The four-voice kit offered a less expensive way into the new-pad range, keeping analogue sound controls and the played tom-run effect.
Simmons Go MIDI & More ↗ Simmons SDS800 Series ↗ This Years Modules ↗
Mathew Jonson’s album drum palette
In fabric’s studio interview about Her Blurry Pictures, Mathew Jonson names the SDS800 alongside Roland 808, 909, 606 and XV5080 sounds and the Tama Techstar. He also used voice and live hand percussion, changing the setup between tracks. His account places the Simmons among the album’s drum sources without assigning it to a particular track or drum part.
Recording and working accounts
Explore 2 source accounts
- Mathew Jonson — Her Blurry Pictures
Mathew Jonson names the Simmons SDS800 among the electronic drums used for Her Blurry Pictures.
- Travelogue / Jon Sonnenberg — “Generation”
Explore Travelogue’s working setup
Travelogue / “Generation”
Travelogue’s SDS800.
Travelogue / Jon Sonnenberg / “Generation”
Travelogue’s Bandcamp page for “Generation” credits a Simmons SDS800 among the instruments used for the track.
Read Travelogue — “Generation” ↗Sources
The visual archive
Further visual evidence.
These displayed records are labelled by their documented role, date and source; source-only records are listed separately below.
Sources for images shown earlier (3)
- Simmons SDS800 at top, SDS200 and SDS400 below — September 1985 ↗
- Mathew Jonson — fabric studio feature ↗
- Travelogue — Death of Conversation artwork / “Generation” context ↗
2020-10-01 · Travelogue / Jon Sonnenberg / release artwork via Bandcamp · Artwork obtained through the cited “Generation” track page; visible cover title is Death of Conversation.
Additional visual sources (1)
Original publications and related image sources.
- International Musician & Recording World — Simmons SDS800 Series ↗
September 1985 · Bob Henrit / International Musician & Recording World · SDS800 review page and linked period scans