What is Yamaha’s Finger Drum FGDP?

Have you ever heard of “finger drums”?
The new FGDP Series released by Yamaha has become the talk of the town as famous artists have been playing it on social media, and it is one of the most perfect drum pads for finger drumming.
The two models have now been released simultaneously and are now attracting attention as a new concept of electronic percussion made for comfortable finger drumming with a pad layout that is compact, lightweight, and suitable for finger drumming.
In this issue, I will introduce and compare the functions of the FGDP-30 finger drum and the higher-end FGDP-50 model.

Yamaha / FGDP-30 Finger Drum Pad

The standard model FGDP-30 has a fresh white-based design, with playing pads taking up about 2/3 of the body.
Illustrations were used for the kit selection buttons and volume buttons, and basic operations could be performed without looking at a manual. I think that experienced drummers would be able to turn on the power and start finger drumming right away.

The packaging is also very stylish, with an impressive design that uses the drum pad.

As shown in the image below, the 18 drum pads featured on the packaging design are a drum layout that’s performed all by the fingers. The pad layout is ergonomically and precisely engineered, and I actually got the chance to try this out myself. Even on my first try, I was able to play 8 beats easily because the positions of the bass drum, snare drums, and cymbals were just as I had imagined them to be. The drum pad also has features such as a cymbal choke technique that can be performed by pressing down on the pad and it also determines the strength of the sound, which gave me the impression that this drum pad is carefully designed to be very expressive.

Next is the function buttons.

On the left side are the power button, key lock button, and volume buttons. It’s nice to have these all in one place. Next is a click button with a picture of a metronome on it. The up and down arrows are written on the buttons for easy visibility of tempo ups and downs. The place in the middle with a picture of a drum set is the kit select button. This button allows you to switch the pad sounds all at once.
Also, the star buttons below are where you can register settings and recall them at any time with a single touch. One of the most attractive features of this product is the variety of click sounds, and you can even use the registration memory buttons to play cowbell and other various click sounds between songs!

Finally, the buttons under the gear icon are the setting item select buttons. It is very appealing that the left and right buttons with a picture of a triangle are easy to use to select an item and change its value with the + and - buttons. Furthermore, you can also return to the first item or the initial value of the setting by pressing two buttons simultaneously, allowing for smooth operation.

Now, let’s briefly talk about the connection to external devices. Connections to external devices are made using the terminals on the rear panel.
The leftmost terminal is the USB TO HOST terminal for charging and connecting the computer. It can also be used to connect Android/iPhone, iOS devices such as iPad, and Mac and Windows computers, so it can be used with any user’s hardware.
In addition, you can easily record performance videos using the Rec’n’Share app, so you can upload your videos on social media!
Rec’n’Share

Next, attached in the middle is the AUX IN. By connecting a smartphone or other device here with an audio cable, you can play the FGDP-30 while your device is playing music.
The terminal on the far right is the PHONES/OUTPUT jack. Headphones can of course be connected, but speakers with an external amplifier can also be connected, allowing you to play finger drums in a variety of environments.

How was it? This is what the FGDP-30 has to offer. Since the standard model has such a full range of functions, expectations for the higher-end model FGDP-50 are high! Next, I will introduce the FGDP-50!

Yamaha / FGDP-50 Finger Drum Pad

The higher-end model FGDP-50 is a finger drum pad with advanced features in addition to those of the standard model to enable even more advanced playing. In contrast to the FGDP-30, the FGDP-50 has a black body that gives it a luxurious feel and offers a full range of features, including colorful, glowing pads that are not available on the standard model.

First of all, the basic drum pad has a Note Repeat function, which automatically repeats sounds by pressing and holding the pad.
In addition, the colorful pads added on top of the basic drum pads are RGB square pads! In addition to being able to freely assign voices, the unit also has a playback sampler function that allows the user to import phrases from a USB flash memory and assign them to any pad, as well as a function that allows for playing along with automatic accompaniment from other instruments, such as bass and guitar.

Now, let’s take a look at the function buttons on this model as well.

The design looks like this. Not only are there more buttons, but a display has been added, and it is convenient to be able to see the select kit.

This is the part that you should pay special attention to!

This 4 Registration Memory function has been added to the higher-end models!
Indicated by a star symbol on the FGDP-30
The kit, velocity curve, tempo setting, and other settings can be called up at the touch of a button, making it possible to respond to a variety of situations.

Next, I will talk about the USB TO DEVICE terminal, an additional terminal only available on the FGDP-50.

As I mentioned briefly when I introduced the RGB square pads, not only can it play back sound sources stored on the USB flash memory, but it can also record your own performance. I am sure that this will further expand the range of usage by playing backing tracks or recording your own performance to check it out.

How was it?
I believe that the FGDP Series of finger drums that allows drum performance using the fingers is an all-in-one type of instrument that is leading us to the next generation of composition and stage performance.
The FGDP-30 and FGDP-50 finger drums definitely fall into this era in which using apps to record performance videos and then upload them onto social media is commonplace. If you’re interested, I hope you will consider trying them out for yourself.