Cymbals: edge and bow settings

[Mylo]

I have several Jobeky dual zone cymbals. I have them working well except for one minor issue. To get the edge to trigger I have to hit it pretty hard. If I hit it lightly the bow triggers instead of the edge. What am I missing? I can’t figure out the connection between the piezo and the switch and how they relate. The choking works very well. I just have to hit the edge really hard. My hi-hat cymbal has the same issue. With the hi-hat is really a problem because the edge is pretty useless since I have to hit so hard... no dynamics.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[dmitri]

Is it Roland (two cables) or Yamaha (one cable) type 3 zone cymbal?

If it is Yamaha type:
What is resistance between tip and sleeve when edge is pressed?
What is resistance between tip and sleeve when bell is pressed?
What is resistance between ring and sleeve when edge is pressed?
What is resistance between ring and sleeve when bell is pressed?

[Mylo]

I didn’t clarify very well... these are dual zone crash cymbals not their three zone rides. These cymbals in question have one TRS cable.

This is how Jobeky describes them:

* Dual zone feature, can be choked around the cymbal edge
* Special self dampening centre layer for quiet play
* ¼” TRS (stereo) output

** Compatible with a wide range of drum sound modules ** Roland TD-11 TD-9 TD-25 TD-30 TD-50 TD-15 TD-17

Note: these are not Roland cymbals so you do have to make changes to your trigger setting. set Ride to CY-15R rim gain to 2.5 for bell function Cy-8 For crashes VH-11 for Hi-hat

You can see in the MIDI log that the first soft edge hits trigger the bow note but when I hit the edge harder I get the edge note. And it instantly goes to 127 velocity. This makes it pretty hard to do the edge swells.

[dmitri]

Sorry, I misunderstood. I though you were getting BELL sounds when hitting edge and so though it is 3 zone cymbal.
If you get BOW sound when hitting the edge then it means the edge switch doesn't 'make' with light hits. If there is no way to adjust it mechanically then it's pretty much impossible to fix with any settings.

[Mylo]

That’s what I was afraid you were going to say. The problem is with the cymbal. I’ll contact Jobeky and see what they can tell me.

[Mylo]

So educate me... the switch for choking is just that, an on or off signal? So for edge hits it is the switch that is turning on and off and the velocity is added from the bow piezo. Is that correct?

And in this case hitting the edge of the cymbal lightly isn’t turning on the switch?

[Mylo]

I think I just educated myself... if I lightly hit the cymbal from underneath, that is, directly tap the switch with the stick, MegaDrum produces the low velocity edge hits.

Bummer.

[dmitri]

I don't know myself if Jobeky uses just a switch for the edge or something else so I cannot advise anything for sure. Roland and Yamaha cymbals both use switches for edges (and bells) to detect zone triggering and use the bow piezo for velocity information when the edge switch is triggered.

[Mylo]

Thanks dmitri,

I think you hit on the head earlier. These cymbals use switches for edge triggering and they just aren’t sensitive enough... or not as sensitive as I’d hope.

If you have any other suggestions for my other post on setting up a ride I’d appreciate it.

[jarosz]

Suggestion based on your screenshot: have you tried to increase gain on Rim/Edge zone?