Keith Harris is a producer and musician and the driving force behind many top-10 singles and Grammy Award-winning hits.
Contributed by Roland US Team
Although highly acclaimed for drumming chops that define the sound of multi-platinum selling recording artists The Black Eyed Peas and Fergie, Keith Harris is also an accomplished composer and powerhouse musical director.
A recent call from Will.i.am has Keith putting together a new band for the leader of The Black Eyed Peas. This new ensemble features Keith on drums, a new bass player and new players on multiple keyboard rigs. The band will debut their new sound at a number of festivals in Europe this summer.
Key to the new lineup’s sound is Will.i.am’s request for all electronic instruments, including drums and percussion. Keith reached out to Roland for help getting the best gear for this new sound, which currently includes a TD-30KV,V-Pro Series drum set plus some additional PD-85 BK V-Pads. He also uses a Novation launch pad to trigger sounds in Ableton Live that he can trigger via his TD-30 module. For kick and snare, he is using the sound directly from the TD-30 Drum Sound Module.
Keith Harris’ V-Drums Setup…
Images by: Dan Krisher
Image published by: Keith Harris via Instagram
Versatility is key for the modern drummer these days. More and more drummers are augmenting acoustic kits with electronics (known as a “hybrid kit”), or in the case of Keith, he chose to augment the TD-30KV with a few acoustic drums. There are unlimited hybrid configurations. Perhaps the fastest way to get started is to incorporate drum triggers into your current setup.
