Page 1 of 2

my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:14 pm
by bladelawless
I have finally got every drum to fire. I should explain where all the drums are plugged into the MD and which inputs they correspond to on the input dropdown menu in MDM for reference since I am unsure if I am able to customize the input names in the input dropdown menu on MDM at this time. Using 56 input MD with positional sensing add on.

socket #1: variable hi hat controller
socket #2: empty
socket #3: hi hat
socket #4: snare
socket #5: ride
socket #6: empty, supposed to be for floor tom #2 but I have not plugged in since I need to fix the wiring on that tom
socket #7: floor tom #2
socket #8 : rack tom #4
socket #9: rack tom #3
socket #10: rack tom #2
socket #11: rack tom #1
socket #12: cymbal #1
socket #13: cymbal #2
socket #14: left kick
socket #15: right kick

as you can see in my configuration, I had to different settings for each tom to get them to respond similar to each other. My set up uses Quartz Trigger center, strap mounted piezos with foam cones and rim piezos with mesh heads. I am wondering if I get rid of the strap mountings, replacing them with adjustable crossbar mounts and using a drum torque wrench to tighten the skins evenly and accurately and then using a drum dial to fine tune the mesh skins first before adjusting the center piezos which would now be mounted on adjustable crossbars if the response on the toms would be more evenly matched from drum to drum? Thoughts and opinions on this would be appreciated.

These are the strap style mounts from Quartz Percussion which I believe is a great product for someone wishing to convert an acoustic drum to electronic without any guess work or screwing anything into the drum but I am starting to believe that this strap design is flawed in that the strap will move up and down with every drum hit. Would a fixed crossbar to mount the piezo give a better, more consistent performance and response?

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:16 pm
by bladelawless
sorry, this forum will not allow me to post attachment with .mds extension. Can anyone help me with attaching a configuration?

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 8:00 pm
by dmitri
You can zip .mds and attach it as a zip file.

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 9:03 pm
by bladelawless
dmitri wrote:You can zip .mds and attach it as a zip file.

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 10:40 pm
by bladelawless
bladelawless wrote:
dmitri wrote:You can zip .mds and attach it as a zip file.


ok, I managed to give all the inputs proper names so you can see what I where I have everything plugged into the MD in the attached configuration.

Corresponds to this:
socket #1: variable hi hat controller
socket #2: empty
socket #3: hi hat
socket #4: snare
socket #5: ride
socket #6: empty, supposed to be for floor tom #2 but I have not plugged in since I need to fix the wiring on that tom
socket #7: floor tom #2
socket #8 : rack tom #4
socket #9: rack tom #3
socket #10: rack tom #2
socket #11: rack tom #1 no note numbers assigned to this one yet, wiring needs fixing as well
socket #12: cymbal #1
socket #13: cymbal #2
socket #14: left kick
socket #15: right kick

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 11:04 pm
by dmitri
What do you want me to check in your .mds?

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 11:24 pm
by bladelawless
dmitri wrote:What do you want me to check in your .mds?


lol, everything?

few things, but let's just discuss the main issue I have right now. if you look at the settings of my toms, the settings vary widely from tom to tom. I have two 10", two 12" and two 14". I am trying to get to the root of why I had to vary the settings differently on each tom to get a consistent and similar response on each tom. I am wondering if the tuning of the mesh skins are causing me to have to set them all differently in MDM and/or the strap mounts are causing this.

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 9:39 am
by dmitri
All pads, even the same model, are different more or less so I don't see it as a problem if you need to set different settings to get similar response. In you case, your toms most likely produce different signals due to build/head tension/cone pressure and so on.

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 8:47 pm
by bladelawless
dmitri wrote:All pads, even the same model, are different more or less so I don't see it as a problem if you need to set different settings to get similar response. In you case, your toms most likely produce different signals due to build/head tension/cone pressure and so on.


ok, I'm gonna remove the triggers and reinstall with fixed crossbar mounts. Should give more consistent results from drum to drum.

Re: my first working configuration attached, pointers wanted

PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 9:35 pm
by airflamesred
bladelawless wrote:
dmitri wrote:All pads, even the same model, are different more or less so I don't see it as a problem if you need to set different settings to get similar response. In you case, your toms most likely produce different signals due to build/head tension/cone pressure and so on.


ok, I'm gonna remove the triggers and reinstall with fixed crossbar mounts. Should give more consistent results from drum to drum.

Thats the whole point of having variable settings. It is completely counter intuative to rebuild the drum to match some settings.
Anyhow are you tuning the bass drums to different pitches or just tonal difference?