2 Way Cymbal with choke

[elrules]

This is the system I use for choke and edge triggers on an acoustic (muted) cymbal.

http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 669tn4.jpg

http://img375.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 670xd0.jpg

It is pretty simple and it works like a charm. YOu only need one piezo (inside the box) and an aluminum bar. At the end of the bar a microswitch is sticked (it is connected to ring and sleeve of jack). Sticked to the cymbal is a piece of rubber. This piece is only for keeping the microswitch "ready" to be pressed with the only force of a hit it the edge of the cymbal. The triggering is wonderful. No matter how hard you hit the bow, the edge is not activated. If you hit the edge then the microswitch is pushed and the edge sound activated. You can also grab the aluminum bar with the hand to perform a choke.

Give it a try. It is easier than having to build a film switch like hellfire or struggling with two impossible-to-isolate piezos.

[gastric]

ERULES - Good stuff! Looks like the good 'ole "floating arm" as discussed in the Cosmograph thread on VDrums but never fully detailed. Specifically, how do you keep the microswitch "ready" with the rubber stopper but still leave enough give to allow it to activate on edge hits? I always thought some sort of leaf spring would work well. But again, the tricky part would seem to be adjusting it so that it keeps the switch from activating during non-edge/choke use but still have enough give to allow edge hits to actuate it.

[elrules]

Sorry for the messy info about the "ready to switch" thing.

What I meant was this:
- You have to stick the box directly to the cymbal with white double-sided foam tape. I sticked all the surface of the box so it does not move anything.
- The piezo is directly sticked to the box, so there is only one foam layer between surface and piezo (the layer that holds the box to the cymbal)
- The aluminum bar is also firmly sticked to the box.
- (The microswitch is one of those that makes a "click" sound when you press it. In the shop, select the most loosy "clik" switch from all the available)
- When I said to set the switch "ready" I meant that you have to put something between the switch and the cymbal (in my case a piece of hard rubber) so the switch has a bit of tension on it, so only a bit more of pressure is needed to make the "click".

So, it is important to select a microswitch with the click a bit loosy. That way you gain more sensitivity range on edge hits.

Hmm! let me give you another piece of advise. When converting an acoustic cymbal to electronic, it is very useful to add transparent PVC tube to the rim. It kills a lot of undesired vibrations:
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1543 ... to5hy6.jpg

PD: here it is my imageshack profile folder. Maybe someone can find any useful photo about the DIY edrum stuff I have made all this time:
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/soymonitus/images

[CairnsFella]

Well at least I prompted some healthy discussion.

For my part, it looks like I have to apologise (again) as after several hours of experimenting I think I must have been previously using a piezo piezo setup set to swith on megadrum. This is the only combination that gives me the results (and of course problems) that I reported previously.

Setting to piezo instead of switch works fine, but with no choke of course. So I do apologise if I was misleading (it wasnt intentional), and in future I will make a note of what I intend to post and wait a week.. by which time I should have establish whether my comments were valid, or if I have made one of my usuall errors.. sorry again.

The latest posts re the switch look interesting. I have a few microswitches lying around so I will see what I can come up with.