why e-Timps? Concert timpani are large, expensive, and very often are of limited access. Students and professionals need easy availability on their terms and budget. The founder, Aldo Cugnini ’77SEAS, ’79SEAS once led a fund-raising effort to purchase new timpani for a community ensemble, and was asked why he “didn’t just pay for a set himself,” ignoring the high cost, and forgetting the impracticality of moving a set of large timpani around.
The solution: e-Timps, a very portable and affordable means of providing practice instruments to anyone, anywhere. In a pinch, they can even be used in a performance situation, with excellent sonic results!
The innovation: timpani require a live pitch-tuning mechanism, usually provided by a mechanical foot-pedal. Not only does this provide a true means for tuning, it also provides a means for the student (or professional) to practice their pedaling technique, a necessary and demanding skill.
e-Timps solve this problem, by providing a pedal-tuning capability linked to a dynamic-sensitive drum head and high-quality sound synthesizer. While not intended to replace a symphonic instrument, they provide a useful adjunct to both practice and performance. In fact, the concept fully supports the ability to alter tuning modes and scales, which can form the foundation of new compositions that would be impossible on conventional timpani.