Don’t let the company’s acoustic-inspired wood-shell finishes fool you…. Chronos Drums (chronosdrums.com) represents the next evolution in electronic drums. The company’s Director of Operations, John Muzzio, a longtime drummer himself, described how the idea for Chronos Drums was born. “Basically, Chronos Drums started with addressing the stigma that acoustic drummers always had towards playing electronic drums,” he explained. “I’ve been an acoustic drummer all my life. In 2007, I entered a situation in which I was basically forced to play electronic drums, and I came away with a feeling of lacking. That set me on an adventure to be able to make an electronic drum kit that looks, feels and performs like an acoustic kit.”
The adventure took seven years before Muzzio arrived at a solution he believes will change the way traditional drummers think about electronic drums forever. “What I came up with is a drum kit that’s based on real wood shells, so they’re all 100-percent birch,” he said. “There’s a triggering system that’s extremely accurate and sensitive; there’s a head system that enables you to get that feel…that nuance of playing…from very sensitive ghost strokes down to thundering metal rhythms.” Chronos sets also actually allow the drummer to tune the heads. “They’re not acoustic tuning when you do that, but you can get that flop on a floor tom if you’re looking to, or tighten it up as much as you want for a snare,” said Muzzio. When it came to cymbals, Muzzio favored authenticity. “We ended up partnering with Zildjian cymbals on their Gen16 line, which are true cymbals. So, you’re playing on a real metal cymbal that’s extremely low volume,” he explained. “You can record it easily, you can play through your headphones, and you won’t piss off your neighbors.”
According to Muzzio, Chronos’ innovative electronic kits were well received by NAMM attendees. “The booth hasn’t been quiet for more than a couple minutes at a time,” he said. “And, with the large amount of traffic that we had coming through, a whole bunch of great, young, talented drummers have tried out the sets, played fantastically, and approached us about how they can get involved.”