I would like to start a discussion about the Korg Wavedrum. This instrument seems to be very mysterious! There are hardly any to be found, there is no tech support, and even in japan where I live, there appear to be no wavedrums! I would like to start a webpage to support this instrument. I will provide links to articles, reviews and opinions of the instrument, as well as patches and a buy and sell list of used wavedrums and accessories.
We can also offer advice to new users and
ideas to make us better players on this great instrument. If anyone else is interested in this idea, please contact me when you can!
Thank you. My name is chimu. You can reach me at taikobu@hotmail.com

I'd all but KILL to have a Wavedrum, especially since the Keyboard magazine review was so enticingly thorough, but I think there were 2 main problems with it.
1) It was terribly expensive, which is somewhat understandable, since it crunches intense numbers in real-time, far beyond what most synths require. It wouldn't behave like a drum module because of that same data load, so sequencing with it was basically not a viable option. You also had to have the RE1 remote to program it much.
2) Perhaps even more seriously, it had a strange market niche. Most keyboardists wouldn't stop to play it by hand and few percussionists would be all THAT likely to embrace it because it was so "synth-y." Instruments that wear more than one musical hat at a time leave most people scratching their heads over how to use it. The demo I heard made my knees weak, but as with guitar synths, it obviously takes a hybrid musical sense to use effectively. We hoot a lot about real-time control, but this thing was so organic, it probably daunted many who played it. Focusing on technique rather than having 2000 patches to flip through didn't help, either. Besides, a percussionist with congas and the like would probably use it as an addition to a kit, which would make the price seem rather steep. Like the old DVP1 vocoder/vocal wave/string box Korg released a while back, it was neither fish nor fowl, except to the experiment-minded few, which spells death in a market which demands x number of sales to be viable.
Its a wonderfully expressive box that just couldn't make the cut. The fact that you can't get rolling with it in JAPAN, the HOME of Korg, tells the tale. With no support to speak of, it would be a limited value, despite its great sound.
I'll sure keep an eye out for more info; I'd snatch one up in a minute if the planets were aligned just right!

I'm not sure but since it cost a zillion dollars for one drum head, I can see why it never took off.