PD-120 and Hotspot Suppression

[TheStewards]

Note: I originally posted this in the Troubleshooting forum, but I’m not sure that board gets much traction, so I’m posting on the main board now as well. Hope that’s OK. Anyway:

Howdy. I started calibrating my eDRUMin10 today, and I’m happy with my progress so far.

I am having some issues with two PD-120s I recently acquired. For both pads, hotspot suppression seems to be engaged right as I begin to calibrate but then essentially shuts off, failing even to register and/or display hits on the Thresh meter.

Rob or others, any thought on what I’m facing here? I know that monospace uses this pad successfully, so I’m confident that it can work. I had a look at the other thread about this functionality and the problem a poster faced when the signal from his DIY build was too hot, and I’m beginning to wonder whether these particular pads have been refurbished with new piezos, cones, or both, and if so, whether those could cause an issue.

In any case, I’d appreciate any advice here. Thanks!

[thenewdrummer]

After calibration did you enabled it?

You can play with head tension and also with the height of the trigger if possible.

On mine I had 2 problems, piezo too hot and the foam that the piezo was on. Did you tried to decrease the gain?

[TheStewards]

Lots more experimentation today, but no progress to report. I've inspected the innards of the pads, and both have had their cones replaced, which makes sense given the age of the PD-120. Both cones measure 35 mm, so no problem there.

I've come to think it's just about got to be a problem with the peizos, which I suspect were replaced as well. I surmise this in large part because of your experience and findings, thenewdrummer. I don't think I'm capable of wiring up a pot, so I'm not sure what to do next.

[Rob]

There's something unintuitive with the Hotspot suppression control. If you set the 'amount' too high, it will stop working in an effort to prevent hits from being completely cancelled out. When adjusting make sure you start with amount a zero, and slowly increase it.

Also, if you have the GAIN slider set too high, the signal from the pad will be clipped and the device will not be able to detect the hotspot.

[MWJT42]

Lots more experimentation today, but no progress to report. I've inspected the innards of the pads, and both have had their cones replaced, which makes sense given the age of the PD-120. Both cones measure 35 mm, so no problem there.

I've come to think it's just about got to be a problem with the peizos, which I suspect were replaced as well. I surmise this in large part because of your experience and findings, thenewdrummer. I don't think I'm capable of wiring up a pot, so I'm not sure what to do next.

Is it a 27mm piezo? If not, swap one in. Other diyers have had some issues with the 32mm being too hot.

[TheStewards]

Lots more experimentation today, but no progress to report. I've inspected the innards of the pads, and both have had their cones replaced, which makes sense given the age of the PD-120. Both cones measure 35 mm, so no problem there.

I've come to think it's just about got to be a problem with the peizos, which I suspect were replaced as well. I surmise this in large part because of your experience and findings, thenewdrummer. I don't think I'm capable of wiring up a pot, so I'm not sure what to do next.

Is it a 27mm piezo? If not, swap one in. Other diyers have had some issues with the 32mm being too hot.

Yeah, I can’t say I’m sure. I bought these pads used and am not sure what parts are in it. Is there an easier way to tell what size the piezo is than removing the cone to have a look?

[Rob]

If they have 27mm piezos, then they shouldn't clip the eDRUMin inputs. By that I mean if you set the gain to 1, you shouldn't be able to max out the VU meters.

35mm piezos will likely max out the VU even when gain is set all the way down to 1.

[TheStewards]

If they have 27mm piezos, then they shouldn't clip the eDRUMin inputs. By that I mean if you set the gain to 1, you shouldn't be able to max out the VU meters.

35mm piezos will likely max out the VU even when gain is set all the way down to 1.

Thank you Rob. Don’t think I’m clipping the input with gain set to 1, but the signal certainly is strong. Will evaluate that more closely tomorrow.