A to E drum conversion : Megadrum + Acoustic drum + Junxion

[Synthex]

Could you tell me how much the LCD screen would cost?

about 8 to 12 euros.

About the external power supply...
Is that part of the board made for a battery power supply (a 9 volt battery?) or for an external alim power (wall) supply?

For an external alim power (wall) supply.

About the inputs that are related to the hi hat...

#3 - Power source for HiHat controller
#4 - HiHat controller input
#7 - HiHat Bow
#8 - HiHat Edge

Inputs 7 and 8 seem clear : I just have to plug the piezo's wires into this input. But are the inputs 3 and 4 also ONE SINGLE stereo input?

Yes.

And would that input be the one used to plug the potentiometer/variable controller (like the one created by Beatnik)? Or is #4 for the potentiometer and #3 another input that needs to be linked to something else?

#3 and #4 are used to plug the potentiometer/variable controller.

What's with the input #6?

Not connected.

Is that where the 4 pushbuttons will be connected? And what kind of menus do we get? options like Velocity control? effects? or something else?

http://www.megadrum.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=187&p=3481#p3481
http://www.megadrum.info/menu_layout.pdf

About the power switch...
Is is better (I mean safer) to have one? Or does simply plugging the megadrum ( with either the USB cable or the external power supply) works fine?

As you wish.

About the led...
What's the use of the led?
Is it also included in the "All in one + components" kit?

The LED is used for MIDI activity.
Yes, it's also included in the "All in one + components" kit.

[kimouette]

The MIDI feature requires an external power supply right? Or can I use the USB output as a power supply and at the same time plug the MIDI cable?



By looking at the picture above, I just realized that I'll probably need to use wires to link the board to the following external components
- the MIDI panel mount
- the LCD screen
- the 4 pushbuttons
- the MIDI led
- for something near the USB section of the board... and actually I dont understand what it is! (the 4 red wires on the left of the picture)
- and of course for the 32 analogue inputs...

Am I wrong or are the only wires included in the kit the ones for the 32 analogue inputs??

And finally about the potentiometer (variable controller) I dont know if a 20k potentiometer is common in America, but here all I can find is either 10k ou 100k... Which one should I pick? And since it wouldn't be 20k, what kind of problems will I be facing?

THANKS SO MUCH!! MERCI!!

[Synthex]

:?: The MIDI feature requires an external power supply right? Or can I use the USB output as a power supply and at the same time plug the MIDI cable?

You can use the USB output as a power supply and at the same time plug the MIDI cable.

- for something near the USB section of the board... and actually I dont understand what it is! (the 4 red wires on the left of the picture)

It's just a USB port.

Am I wrong or are the only wires included in the kit the ones for the 32 analogue inputs??

All wires are inculded in the kit + components.

And finally about the potentiometer (variable controller) I dont know if a 20k potentiometer is common in America, but here all I can find is either 10k ou 100k... Which one should I pick? And since it wouldn't be 20k, what kind of problems will I be facing?

10k

[kimouette]

Hi,

I'm trying to minimize the number of stores I'll be ordering from, but it's a lot more complicated than it seams! And even worse if, like me, you're stuck in Switzerland since only couple of months and dont know much about the country's electronic/music shops!

Ok, so I see potentiometers that are normally used for house lights and others that are used for audio mixing console, can both of the following pots work as a hi hat variable controller?

pot-light.png

Or

Image 3.png

If I have the option, should I buy a mono ou stereo potentiometer?

On the V 2.7 Megadrum there's a MIDI in and a MIDI out, but are the 2 MIDI panel mount I have to buy the exact same part?

Between those two I found, which one will work with Megadrum?

Image 1.png

Or

Image 2.png

And finally, between the 3 following models, what kind of jack socket works best for "direct soldering of the wires" (I wont build any extra Jack PCB board !) ?

Or

Or



Syntex, if I want to buy the all in one kit, what information do I have to send you?

[Synthex]

:?: Ok, so I see potentiometers that are normally used for house lights and others that are used for audio mixing console, can both of the following pots work as a hi hat variable controller?

Yes.

If I have the option, should I buy a mono ou stereo potentiometer?

Mono.

On the V 2.7 Megadrum there's a MIDI in and a MIDI out, but are the 2 MIDI panel mount I have to buy the exact same part?

Yes.

Between those two I found, which one will work with Megadrum?

Image 2

And finally, between the 3 following models, what kind of jack socket works best for "direct soldering of the wires" (I wont build any extra Jack PCB board !) ?

All of them works.

Syntex, if I want to buy the all in one kit, what information do I have to send you?

Just send me a PM.

[kimouette]

Little question about piezo positioning... and mostly about the cymbal, hihat and bass drum

Cymbales and hi-hat :

PFozzMZC3Z10.JPG

See picture... but please forget the little ciruit added and the fact that it's a 3 zone cymbale.

With the Magedrum I guess the bow piezo also has to be stucked right to the bell itself. But does the edge piezo have to be stucked REALLY close to the edge of the cymbale? Since I'll be following PFozz's "bitumen tape over the cymbale technique", putting the edge piezo really close to the edge of the cymbale also means that it would not be surrounded by any material.
Otherwise I could put it somewhere between the bell and the edge...
What's the best option?

And is it better to put it right where the playing area is? A little off-center? Or just as far as possible from the playing area?


The bass drum :
I was thinking of positionning my piezo like this :

base22.jpg

I used one layer of fiberglass window screen sewn on a bass drum head rim. It took a little trial and error using different types of foam to get this screen mesh head to not be so noisy and bouncy. This configuration worked well for me, it is very quiet with no bounce and it triggers properly. The white arrow indicates foam from a life jacket. The black arrows indicate pieces cut from a mouse pad. The top mouse pad and life jacket foam are on the backside of screen.

But now I'm wondering if this is the best way to configure and position the piezo on the bass drum when using Megadrum...

[gunpowder]

I have some (real) Hi-Hats and Crash cymbals, I'll be thinking about how I can coat them with foam or rubber to deaden the noise, and attach a piezo soon. Any ideas or examples that folks have already done?.

I have a few gallons of black latex rubber (kinky!), that I can spray on with a gravity-feed gun, and i'd like them to look nice and professional. I wonder if there is spray on neoprene foam (like mouse pad material)

[gastric]

For DIY drum trigger tips, tricks, ideas, pictures, etc. you should browse the V-Drum forums. It's primarily Roland module users but they don't discriminate. I've seen a couple MegaDrum users over there as well. Regardless it's the single biggest source for DIY drum building info though it's buried in 1,000 forum threads. http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=48

I opted to dampen my cymbals with clear PVC sheeting material stuck to the underside of the cymbal (everything but the bell) with Killer Red 2-sided tape, and that tape specifically. Keeps the acoustic cymbal look and feel but reduces it to about as loud as playing the sticks on your desk. But it's a pricey solution at around $8-$10 per cymbal just for dampening. Others use spray-on bed liner. The bitumen tape seems successful. Other approaches generally fail due to lack of adhesion to the brass, or it cracks or otherwise falls off due to the constant flexing and vibrations. The PVC + Killer Red tape is tested well and doesn't fall off.

You can also get answers to all of your other DIY trigger questions there.

[kimouette]

Gastric thanks for sharing!

And you're right there are a lot of helpful tricks on vdrums.com

But in this particular case I'm asking the people here because I once posted a very similar question on Vdrums and got the following answer...

Yeah, as Sarge is hinting at this DIY edrum stuff is very much dependent on the drum module. Trigger designs that work flawlessly with Roland modules might drive you nuts with a Yamaha, Alesis, DDrum module, etc. If anyone on this forum has done the DIY module you mention they could prolly give you some specific advice. But this is a hands on job.... without having the module and designing specifically for and with the module.... it would be a crap shoot. And even with the module in hand, some are more ideal than others.... Us Roland guys are pretty fortunate with the tweakability and playability of Rollie drum modules.

You may have more luck on the Megadrum forum, dunno.... We'll see if anyone chimes in here.

[gastric]

The reason you're not getting a lot of assistance on the V-Drum forum is you specifically mention MegaDrum and I've only ever seen a couple MegaDrum DIY users there. Once you get past 1 or 2 zones nobody can say with certain how you'll fare, including MegaDrum users here as I've yet to see where anyone's confirmed 3-zone Roland-based cymbals really do function properly. Note to even get the full benefit of a 3-zone cymbal you need a VSTi that provides 3-zones of triggering. Addictive Drums and Superior 2 provide a crash and choke for crashes. For the ride I've seen bow/bell/edge/choke in AD, but only bow/bell/edge in S2.

For a 1-zone cymbal you just stick the piezo about 1/2 to 1/3 of the way between the edge and bell. Straight forward. You may find it better to place the piezo on the opposite side of the cymbal you physically play on to help eliminate the hotspot directly over the piezo. But I'm not saying you need to. But try it out before you mount your project box, assuming you're using one.

For a 2-zone cymbal you just stick one piezo about 1/2 to 1/3 way between the edge and bell. And the other directly on the bell. Still straight forward. Still should explore placing the piezo on the opposite side.

Can't help you for a 3-zone as I've never done it. But from what I understand theoretically MegaDrum supports the Roland 3-zone method using 3 piezos and the Raper circuit. So you should be able to copy a Roland-based 3-zone design which is similar to the 2-zone I mentioned above, but with a 3rd piezo on the edge, basically exactly what you've pictured above. Here's another illustration for the wiring/piezos and is good starting point. http://www.vdrums.com/forum/showpost.ph ... stcount=92 The "optional choke thingy" can likely be ignored. There was discussion of adding a floating bar to the project box to mount the edge piezo on to help with triggering it better, but I'm not exactly sure it's widely used. But basically you choke the cymbal by physically grabbing the edge piezo. It's my understanding the Raper circuit toggles the edge piezo automatically, grab = light trigger of the piezo = choke. Strike the edge hard = edge crash triggering.

See? That wasn't so hard.