My Homemade Electronic Snare Project

[Jimbo]

I was getting a bit bored with my rubber snare, so I found on ebay 2 toms and tom bags, total cost 12 UK Pounds, inside were 12 inch and 13 inch toms, So this is what I did on Saturday Morning :

(There is a video link at the bottom of it in action)

[pastor_bob]

Nice Jimbo, and at a good price too! What did you use as triggers?

[Jimbo]

Nice Jimbo, and at a good price too! What did you use as triggers?

I used a 35mm piezo for the main center trigger, and a 27mm for the rim, I then used some foam I had hanging about, its softer that the foam they usually use but a really fast return, so I started off with a cone shape, this didn't get enough reaction from the head, so I have used a cylinder of foam 40mm around and an inch high, since the foam is very soft it makes no difference to the feel of the head with the foam there or not.

What I have done now is the foam cylinder touches the mesh head, on the bottom of the foam cylinder i have a higher density 35mm foam washer (same size as the piezo in diameter with center cut out) stuck to it with double sided tape (not foam tape, i found that caused more problems with false triggering), then double sided sticky tape onto the ceramic side of the piezo (ceramic side up), then under the piezo a small disc (same size as the ceramic part on the other size) of double sided sticky foam tape to the platform, and hey presto, no false triggering and perfect linear range.

Some findings that might be useful for others, if I embedded the foam part harder into the mesh head I found the false triggering increased, I found the foam needs to be very lightly touching for best results.

I had more pictures and a video but had to wait for moderation... heres the others :









I have the other half to do and the 12 inch one to split and make into two as well, which will give me snare and 3 toms in total..

The total cost is as follows :

Half a drum : £3
35mm piezo : 2 x £0.33
1/4 inch stereo jack socket : £0.98
13 inch twin ply mesh head : £9.98
Everything else I had hanging about

Total Cost including all delivery charges : £14.62

And here is a video of it in action :

[Jimbo]

I have now got it mounted, so this is now how my kit looks :



And here is a video with the rim trigger :

[late8]

Nice sounding kit jimbo! I like the samples you're using for the snare.

[Jimbo]

Nice sounding kit jimbo! I like the samples you're using for the snare.

Thanks!

The sample for the snare and rim in that video is a Tama Starclassic 14x5.5, its a nice sounding kit

[pastor_bob]

That sounds great Jimbo! Nice project, and thanks for sharing the details with us.

[Jimbo]

Now I am happy with the 13 inch snare I made, I am now starting on the others, The mesh heads are ordered, I got 3 ply ones this time because the 2 ply ones seem to be out of stock anywhere, so its cost me £30 for two 12 inch ones and another 13 inch one.

Some pictures... here is the 12 inch getting the chop :





The white tape is there for 2 reasons, one is to actually mark the cut line, so I marked with a pencil half the distance around the shell, then stretched a piece of tape around it, then did another a millimeter from it to make a black like on where to cut.

The other reason is to stop the black vinyl from chipping and stop me marking it with the jigsaw i used.

All the Y platforms cut out



And fixed in, missing some brackets for the 13 inch so that will have to wait, I also made the brackets for attaching to the rack :



The brackets are made from a sheet of stainless that I had hanging about, there is foam on the insides where it clamps onto the shell.

Next thing I need to go out and get is the piezos and 1/4 inch sockets

[Jimbo]

I have finished the toms now and the are on the rack,

I have moved the 2 ply mesh head to tom 3 and put 3 ply mesh heads on the snare and other 2 toms.

here is some pictures of them :





And here is a video :

[Jimbo]

I cant remember if I added to this thread and was waiting for moderation, so sorry if this is a duplicate.

I added the rest of my converted toms to the kit, and this is now how it looks :



I did a bit of a swap around with the mesh on the snare, I put the 2 ply currently on the snare onto tom 3, I then put 3 ply on the snare and also tom 1 and tom 2. The reason is that I could only get 3 ply, but 3 ply is stiffer and you can get more tension on it, so its closer to a real head.





And a video of it working :

[Jimbo]

Here is a better video of my acoustic to digital conversion, I have had a bit of a re configure of the rack to give more strength to the snare and low tom..

[itchie]

good stuff ...may i suggest dont leave your pinky hanging in the air ..

[Jimbo]

You may yes, I didn't realise it was something I do until I watch the videos.

Thanks for the reply, I will work on that.

[Tin Toad]

Ive been looking at your conversion here and let me first say awesome job. I love it. I have question I am doing a conversion myself right now and am not sure how to set up the second piezo to pick up the rim clicks on my snare. it looks to me like you just have the second Piezo near the edge.? and are you wired into a stereo jack there then?

I know the best way to get it done and make sure it works right is to experiment but if I can at least get a little ahead of the learning curve it would be super neeto.

[gatlin5]

Sweet!! Fantastic Job!! I have been looking to up grade my older model TD9 with some mesh pads and a larger snare. Thanks for sharing!

[kaosotis]

Nice job all around Jimbo. My brother and I just finished building some cut tom pads for his TD9 using some cheap Imperialstar toms he found on ebay and quartz triggers. We did a metal crossbar that attaches to the lug screws, with a furniture foot to mount the trigger.

After playing around with that, we installed a set of the triggers (single zone only for now) in my Tama Crestars.

What's most amazing is actually how simple and inexpensive it is to build your own pads like this. Both of us are super happy with the feel of these pads, and I like having a regular acoustic layout to play on.

[Jimbo]

Ive been looking at your conversion here and let me first say awesome job. I love it. I have question I am doing a conversion myself right now and am not sure how to set up the second piezo to pick up the rim clicks on my snare. it looks to me like you just have the second Piezo near the edge.? and are you wired into a stereo jack there then?

I know the best way to get it done and make sure it works right is to experiment but if I can at least get a little ahead of the learning curve it would be super neeto.

Hi There..

Thanks for the compliments! You cant go wrong really, the piezo on the center which has the foam to the mesh head is between the tip and the outer earth on the jack, the rim piezo is between the outer and the ring. You need to have the rim piezo mounted closer to the shell than the main center piezo, the more distance you can get between them the better. if you do that you will find it will work without triggering both.

Why doesnt it trigger both I hear you ask? it depends on the trigger processor to how it works it out, but all processors work on the trigger strength and timing, so if it gets a good trigger from the ring microseconds before a weaker one on the tip then it will ignore the tip, since the vibrations will travel around the rim then through the platform. If you put them into separate jack inputs you would get both, on a single TRS jack you dont.

Now, in terms of mounting the piezo, piezos work by them bending, when they bend they give off a signal, so when it comes to rim triggers, you see loads of people sticking them to the shell vertically, you wont get good triggering since the downwards shocks wont bend them, the only bending the piezo will do is the flex in the shell.

My rim trigger is mounted on the platform, so the downwards shock from the rim will shake it flat if that makes sense, no point shaking them vertically. So I have a piece of double sided sticky foam (rear view mirror tape) cut in a circle the same size as the ceramic disc on the piezo, then stuck to the middle of the all metal size, that is stuck to the platform, so the outer metal ring is free floating. So when you get a downwards shock it allows the outer ring to freely vibrate if that makes sense, it also means that the rim trigger will be a stronger trigger than the center. When you push the gain of the rim trigger up it will all of a sudden take the priority over the mesh trigger and all work amazingly well. I dont get any miss fires from either they both work really well.

Hope that sort of makes sense.

[Jimbo]

Nice job all around Jimbo. My brother and I just finished building some cut tom pads for his TD9 using some cheap Imperialstar toms he found on ebay and quartz triggers. We did a metal crossbar that attaches to the lug screws, with a furniture foot to mount the trigger.

After playing around with that, we installed a set of the triggers (single zone only for now) in my Tama Crestars.

What's most amazing is actually how simple and inexpensive it is to build your own pads like this. Both of us are super happy with the feel of these pads, and I like having a regular acoustic layout to play on.

Yeah, what I was even more surprised with was that they are better than the PDX-8 roland pads, I dont know what the other roland pads are like because I havent used them, but certainly triggers better than the PDX-8 in terms of sensitivity and dynamics. I get equal sensitivity around the 13 inch mesh heads which is quite amazing. using 3 ply mesh helps actually, less spongy, and you can get it very tight and it improves the consistency around the head, my skins are not spongy at all. Also amazingly quiet!

I still want to do the Bass, I am thinking of getting a 10 inch tom and splitting it, one half for the Bass and the other for a high tom, them move everything around to give me 4 toms.

I really want to inspire some people to do this, for one you have built them yourself, which gives you a grin when you sit behind the kit and think "I built this", secondly if something breaks, which it hasn't yet (and believe me, I haven't held back), then you can fix them in minutes, for the cost, why not have spare pads! Thirdly they are cheap to do, and the results are astonishing. Forth, they look good! I would happily put this on a stage. and Fifth, its about as close to a real kit as you can get in size and feel.

And some more pictures...



And I was feeling artistic so I took these as well..





Dunno if anyone wants to watch a beginner drummer trying to play to some Christian Rock but heres some very amateur videos of me using it :



This was recorded straight out of my mixer :

[kaosotis]

Yeah, what I was even more surprised with was that they are better than the PDX-8 roland pads, I dont know what the other roland pads are like because I havent used them, but certainly triggers better than the PDX-8 in terms of sensitivity and dynamics. I get equal sensitivity around the 13 inch mesh heads which is quite amazing. using 3 ply mesh helps actually, less spongy, and you can get it very tight and it improves the consistency around the head, my skins are not spongy at all. Also amazingly quiet!

I still want to do the Bass, I am thinking of getting a 10 inch tom and splitting it, one half for the Bass and the other for a high tom, them move everything around to give me 4 toms.

I really want to inspire some people to do this, for one you have built them yourself, which gives you a grin when you sit behind the kit and think "I built this", secondly if something breaks, which it hasn't yet (and believe me, I haven't held back), then you can fix them in minutes, for the cost, why not have spare pads! Thirdly they are cheap to do, and the results are astonishing. Forth, they look good! I would happily put this on a stage. and Fifth, its about as close to a real kit as you can get in size and feel.

Yeah my brother likes them so much he sold his PDX-8's already. He hasn't done a kick yet either, but if he does we're thinking a 14" FT, not cut so there's a front reso for looks. He doesn't play out, so it's not super necessary.

If I get mine tweaked to where I'm 100% happy, I might gig them at smaller venues instead of my Superstars. Will help us with stage volume, etc...

If you didn't see them before, he's what mine look like all set up.



And here's how we setup up the triggers. This is on one of my bro's toms.

[Jimbo]

Yeah my brother likes them so much he sold his PDX-8's already. He hasn't done a kick yet either, but if he does we're thinking a 14" FT, not cut so there's a front reso for looks. He doesn't play out, so it's not super necessary.

If I get mine tweaked to where I'm 100% happy, I might gig them at smaller venues instead of my Superstars. Will help us with stage volume, etc...

Is that a tascam M series in the corner? cant quite make it out. Sorry I am a sound nerd lol! I do a fair bit of sound production work and processing, usually use the Yam digital disks but love the tascam stuff too. I am using a trigger IO and addictive drums on a laptop, this is linked to my mixer on AES/EBU digital channels, 4 each way, or SPDIF if i switch them over, when I record I just tap the buttons to route the channels to the digital out channels, I never actually go analogue with the drums at all, then I have an MA rack linked to it on TDIF for extra inputs.

What are you tweaking at the moment with your kit? is it the dreaded double triggering?

[kaosotis]

It is a Tascam mixer, the MX164 or something like that. USB, FX, 6 xlr inputs. I use it to submix my acoustic drums at shows to save channels for vocals, etc..., but still have some control. I'm not super in to sound tech stuff, although I run our simple PA. I haven't plays these through anything but headphones yet, but if I do gig them it will be a simple setup going in to our mixer.

I'm running the kit in to a DTX500 I got new on Ebay for like $230. I was going to use the module from my DTXpress III, but it has less expansion options, so I'm going to sell it.

I do have a Presonus Audiobox that I've used for VST using Addictive Drums and BFD, but my son had my laptop with him for a month and my brother has the audiobox. I have my laptop back, but not the audiobox yet. But I'm definitely going to run it that way. The DTX500 stock sounds are okay, but nothing beats AD, etc...

In terms of tweaking, it's definitely double triggering on the kick, but I think some foam to muffle the head is going to be the best solution. Just haven't ordered it yet. I'm also playing with kit settings to get a sound I want, but since I'm going to mainly go VST I might not bother too much. Using it to learn about the module, more than anything.

I also have to get a Y cable so I can run two toms into a split channel and wired up my 2nd crash. So far, I'm having trouble finding the right 1/4" y cable (2 mono female to 1 stereo male) so if you know a good place, let me know.

[Jimbo]

It is a Tascam mixer, the MX164 or something like that. USB, FX, 6 xlr inputs. I use it to submix my acoustic drums at shows to save channels for vocals, etc..., but still have some control. I'm not super in to sound tech stuff, although I run our simple PA. I haven't plays these through anything but headphones yet, but if I do gig them it will be a simple setup going in to our mixer.

I'm running the kit in to a DTX500 I got new on Ebay for like $230. I was going to use the module from my DTXpress III, but it has less expansion options, so I'm going to sell it.

I do have a Presonus Audiobox that I've used for VST using Addictive Drums and BFD, but my son had my laptop with him for a month and my brother has the audiobox. I have my laptop back, but not the audiobox yet. But I'm definitely going to run it that way. The DTX500 stock sounds are okay, but nothing beats AD, etc...

In terms of tweaking, it's definitely double triggering on the kick, but I think some foam to muffle the head is going to be the best solution. Just haven't ordered it yet. I'm also playing with kit settings to get a sound I want, but since I'm going to mainly go VST I might not bother too much. Using it to learn about the module, more than anything.

I also have to get a Y cable so I can run two toms into a split channel and wired up my 2nd crash. So far, I'm having trouble finding the right 1/4" y cable (2 mono female to 1 stereo male) so if you know a good place, let me know.

The tascam gear is good, I have never used that mixer you have but use the DM series. I used to use the one in the picture for sub mixes on stage sent back digitally which gives me remote control over the mixer.

I have a 10KW RMS (probably about 15KW PP) sound rig as well, which I have run straight out of a tascam mixer, sounds great, its just a shame the subs are wider than the doors in the house or I would have it on my drums lol!!!! It would make an awesome picture! I used to do outdoor stage stuff, not big stuff, generally around the 10,000 people size and under, and some indoor stuff as well, but these days I generally do more theatrical stuff, which is actually a little more tricky as quality, detail and acoustic space is much more important than volume.

Double triggering takes some experimentation, I guess there is no problem dampening the bass, have you tried changing the cone to a fatter cylinder as well? It helped with mine, it still let the head move freely but transmitted the shock more than the skin vibrations to the piezo.

In terms of Y cables, I haven't had to use them yet, but what I plan to do is to add TRS jacks to the toms since those I haven't put rims triggers on, so each tom has 2 jacks, one for in and one for out if you catch me, that way I am only running a cable from one to another and that on a single cable to the processor. I have quite a few of those Y cables though, and loads of plugs and sockets to make more. if you buy a stereo plug and 2 mono sockets then just connect both socket outers to the plug outer, then one socket tip to the plug ring and the other tip to the plug tip.

Your kit looks awesome, to buy an electronic kit like that ready made would cost an absolute fortune, certainly one of the best i have seen.

I am going to experiment with positional sensing sometime as well when I get to it.

[supermonkey]

This is very interesting stuff....

I've had a DTX2 for about 10 years & got it to replace my first kit which was a well used 2nd hand acoustic kit. In many ways I prefer the DTX, being able to vary the sounds, play with headphones, etc.... but sometimes I do miss the feel of acoustic drums.

I think I'd do the same as you & start off with the snare! How quiet is it to play compared to a rubber pad? All I'd want then, is an upgraded hi-hat!

[agent_orange]

I'm really impressed.Great job. Could you post up a quick vid of them switched off, to get an idea of the acoustic sound generated. Many thanx

[Dominic]

I'm interested to know how loud they are too

It looks a fantastic upgrade.