DIY: finally, 3-ply+hotspotless+positional sensing

[stringerbell]

I have some results! As mentioned I took a sidestep into trying to make my own foam cones, and in order to do so I made a DIY hot wire foam cutter that can cut cone shapes. I tried making it work with some power adapters that I had laying around, and in the end I was able to use a 5V 2.4A Apple USB adapter to get a +-20 cm 0.4mm nichrome wire at about 200 degrees, which was enough to cut the foam. Ideally it would be a bit hotter, as now the foam was still too resistant, making the foam bend more while cutting, resulting in a rougher and uneven shapes (see pics).

IMG_1415.jpg (266.6 KiB) Viewed 938 times

However! After doing a proof of concept with 4 head piezos and cones and cutting them off about 1mm above the rim (roughly), the results with a 3ply head are better than my original center triggered PD-120, so it's definitely something! It's getting a response all around the head, the dynamics are not bad, while some hotpsotting is there but only about a "15" difference in terms of MIDI value (much less than my PD-120). When I unplugged the center piezo and only used the 3 outer ones the result was almost the same, with less of a hotspot in the center. It's something I would consider already using as my main snare, even though I'm just getting started.

In the meantime my foam cones from Amazon arrived ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BR5BLK9L?re ... uage=en-US ), and I have a nice chrome snare drum shell ready to build my actual drum.

[stringerbell]

pics:

[nemo]

It's something I would consider already using as my main snare, even though I'm just getting started.

Great! Really good news! Do you notice any difference when changing polarization of the center piezo (Aka Wayne's build)?

[ELEGENT DRUM]

Did you try attaching blocks of foam to a drill so you can make the cones smooth?

[stringerbell]

Did you try attaching blocks of foam to a drill so you can make the cones smooth?

no i have not, but ill give it a try next time

[stringerbell]

edit

[stringerbell]

Given my recent understanding of the rim signal playing a role in PS (with the right settings) and the traditional PS working based on a center cone, I am going to give the following a try:

IMG_1447.jpg (175.62 KiB) Viewed 898 times

The idea being that:
- the 4 head triggers together forming an alternative center trigger (but hopefully less hotspotty)
- i ensured good vibration isolation between the head trigger mount and the rim trigger mount -> there is a layer of foam between the 2 pieces of wood that I took from an old laptop sleeve, and mounted it together with double sided tape. The rim trigger wil be on the alluminium L bracket on the left (i'll try it with one first, but can add more if needed). I can clearly hear a difference when hitting the top or bottom wood layer with my stick, the drum only resonates when hitting the bottom half.

still have to wire everything up, will report back when i have some results

[nemo]

If I understand correctly you do not have now any center trigger.
In this case there's a recently added option in edrumin for ad-s13, which does not have center trigger.
This is just a reminder to try this one in case of issues.

[stringerbell]

good suggestion, will try!

[mrantarctica]

Given my recent understanding of the rim signal playing a role in PS (with the right settings) and the traditional PS working based on a center cone, I am going to give the following a try:
IMG_1447.jpg

The idea being that:
- the 4 head triggers together forming an alternative center trigger (but hopefully less hotspotty)
- i ensured good vibration isolation between the head trigger mount and the rim trigger mount -> there is a layer of foam between the 2 pieces of wood that I took from an old laptop sleeve, and mounted it together with double sided tape. The rim trigger wil be on the alluminium L bracket on the left (i'll try it with one first, but can add more if needed). I can clearly hear a difference when hitting the top or bottom wood layer with my stick, the drum only resonates when hitting the bottom half.

still have to wire everything up, will report back when i have some results

How did you get on with this design without a centre piezo? Are you having much luck with 3 Ply Mesh Heads?