DIY Cymbals & a lot of questions

[privatex]

Ok well I answered myself...
However I finished first DIY ride cymbal (A to E conversion) and it works like some Roland or Yamaha cymbal pad. I had only one problem, first I tried to make 3 zone ride with choke but after I attach 10k resistor my MD didnt read signals accurately. Tried to reduce resistance on the edge without succes. It's probably MD configuration problem.
Ok at the end I finished with two extremely accurate zones. It works like a charm. I was thinking about buying a roland cy13r but after this it will be superfluous.
Here is a link of the first test :- ))

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29qafh_diy-2-zone-ride-cymbal-test_music

[airflamesred]

Congratulations my friend.

[ignotus]

How did you do it? Does it have 2 piezos or is it piezo/switch? Also, what kind of dampening did you use - I had major issues with the cymbal vibrating and had to dampen the hell out of it, yours looks quite clean.

Congrats!

[privatex]

Thanks airflamesred I appreciate it.
Well I have tested all combinations: two piezos+switch and piezo+2 switches and had alot of problems. It's very hard to get all 3 zones work good so I made this one (at the end I dont need that third zone).
This one is piezo+switch. I had problems with making bell switch and after 3 or 4 attempts I finished with this idea. It was very difficult to make spatial curve of bell shape in 3D.
I attached switch on bell with some double sided foam tape. From my experience this switch work extremely well even for light stick strokes.
Here are some pics:







For calming down vibrations I used nailon with air pockets for packing and protecting object which is laminated with double side tape and on top of that its same aluminium tin that I used for switch. Cymbal is apsolute death, theres only stick noise left which foam ruber pad eliminate. I'm very satisfied with this diy project. IMO for good dampening you need something heavy. So there it is, I hope that there are some ideas for you. I know that you are overpast this procedure couple of times for sure, this is my way to do this.

[ignotus]

Thanks for the explanation - yes, it seems like you've done a fine job with the bell switch, I never managed to make anything reliable for that.

My next experiment in search of the DIY 3-zone holy grail will involve using plastic practice cymbals. Two of them sandwiched together, to make it heavier, and with the top one's bell (or part of it) cut out to make the top half of the switch. Edge switch using the flex of the top cymbal to close a tiny gap between top and bottom. It's all just in my head for now but I hope to get round to trying it out some time.

[privatex]

That's a really great idea, it may be answer to all tests and experiments and finish line for ride cymbal once for all. Of course you will get us informed about that project.
I know the feeling when all parts are in my head just wait to be materialized=elation.

[ignotus]

Ha ha, I don't know if it'll be that much of a success, but still, it'll be fun to try. Of course, I'll post the progress here but it might be some time before I can get round to it, time is an increasingly scarce resource for me...

[privatex]

I notice that plastic/pleksiglas cymbals gives cleaner signal than real acoustic. My piezo is glued on little rubber foam which is about 3 mm smaller than piezo (freely vibrating) and cymbal. But it seems that rubber is just a bit softer than ideal so I have to make some adjustments in MD (curve, threshold...).

[airflamesred]

That's a good idea, Ignotus. Th e cymbal could do with a complete re think.
Does it need 3 zones? 5 or 6 zones? Does it need to be circular?

Many things to contemplate.

[ignotus]

I notice that plastic/pleksiglas cymbals gives cleaner signal than real acoustic. My piezo is glued on little rubber foam which is about 3 mm smaller than piezo (freely vibrating) and cymbal. But it seems that rubber is just a bit softer than ideal so I have to make some adjustments in MD (curve, threshold...).

I found that sticking the piezo directly to the cymbal (no foam, just double-sided tape), but on the opposite side to where I play, gave the best results.