Topic: FOR EVERYONE THAT NEEDS E-DRUM IDEAS

Participant

So after about a month of reasearching, purchasing, and building Ive decided its only right to give back to the community. So hopefully this is a good site to post this on so other DIYers like myself can have sucess building their own e-drums. Ive been literally looking on every e-drum diy yourself site out there to find the best ideas for the best price (not made of money). There are many people Id like to thank for ideas but like I said, way to many sites to reply to…so if you read this and come across your own link…thanks for the help! Im gonna post some pics of my set @ the bottom and throw some great links in here.

Well I decided to build a e-set cuz my neighbors are *****, so I started off with a drum kit already, Tama swingster to be specific, not the most costly of sets. So having the hardware, stands, ect, I figured it wouldnt be that hard to do using all that hardware laying in the gradge and set it up in my room. I went in to this project figuring if i cant create e-drums at least Ill have a cool practice kit. My original idea was to get the remo 5-piece practice w. the pads ($150ish) and the pintech 5-piece ($55.00 @ musiciansfriend.com, new gear, they beat EVERY price except ebay and craigslist of course). After losing the bid on ebay for the remo I said **** it all i need are the pads because I have a snare stand and a few extra snare stands. I purchased 2-10″pads (snare + floor tom), 2-8″ ( tom1 and kick drum) and the pintech kit that includes a splash, 16″ crash, 2 14″ hihats, and a 18″ crash/ride …..all I really need! So I mounted the pads and cymbals after “gutting” the pads first…..read on…

Every thing u need 4 this is at radioshack and let me tell you, its preety easy. I did this to all the pads and its the most explainatory and simple description link.

http://members.cox.net/ampage/triggers.htm

After this was done, I had to figure out how to trigger the cymbals and and create a bass pad now. Being the cheap *** I am, I didnt wanna pay for a triggered roland kick nor did I wanna pay for a gilbralter practice kick which was $30-40 (cmon…for a practice kick consisting of a pad and a piece of metal?) So after reasearching how to make a sturdy bass stand (yet attractive one) and fussing around with metal and stuff, I went back to the basics and created this. All I used was a 4×4 and a 6×2, sprayed them black, bracketed them, and screwed long screws from the bottom up as well. This DOES NOT wobble. I then used a simple long L bracket to mount it to the pedal. For extra stillness, I pul velcro on the bottom to the carpet. This guy has a nice design as well…

http://www.toontrack.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=59824

For the triggering of the pintechs, this link seems the simplest. I havent got around to it yet but I will. I would liek to add that you should probally add metal to the piezo (just liek in the pads) for a better response range. There are many sites that have a variety of ways, but do, i repeat do not just attach the piezo with double sided tape. cmon, think about. Also once u order the pintechs, youll probally have to put some type of foam on them because these things are loud as heck when u hit um. There plastic not rubber.

http://www.toontrack.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=35470
http://users.telenet.be/philippe.ceuppens3/DIYdrum/

( If you are daring enough or good at electrical stuff there is a site that sells “membrane switches” to choke your cymbals. Me, I really dont care, its just an e-set but just an option, or do what this guy did in the second link…)

http://www.toontrack.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=35465

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=o-edbFjbNeg

Now Im left with the highhat which I havent begun… but here is a few different options. There is always hihat controllers you can by which are easy, but im gonna still figure out how I wanna trigger mine because I already have a hihat stand. Here are a few good links. I liked the first specifically because your able to GRADUALLY go from closed to open. The other links work as 2-way switches to go from either.

http://www.toontrack.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=35474

Totally cost so far:
$60- used yamaha TMX drum brain @ music-go-round
$60-remo practice pads
$55-pinctech 5-cymbals
$15- big outdoor carpet @ HomeDepot
$6-piece of sheet metal @ HD
$15-piezos+ RCA jacks
$15- 10 ft. RCA to 1/4 snake cable by Hosa @ ebay (I split the cables rather than buying individual 6 ft. cords @ radioshack…longer and cheaper!)
$5- brass tubing for rims of mesh head replacment (Quieter + better responce+ better feel)

…havent really broke the bank yet and the most expensive things are already bought!

And just for any odds adn ends, out of all the links on e-drumsets, this link has the most helpful stuff. Again, thanks everyone for the ideas and good luck building yours!
http://www.toontrack.com/edrum_for_free.asp

Timothy A. Kozak

FOR EVERYONE THAT NEEDS E-DRUM IDEAS

E-drum Workshop