www.megadrum.info

Well, the vdrum forum user JManWord is known to have a "perfect" trigger system for converting acoustic cymbals to dual zone or triple zone cymbals. The problem is that, unlike any other DIY people, he wants to make profit of his design, so you have to spend nearly $100 to have that "magic" box in you cymbals. I don't blame him, anyone can make money from what he wants...

The thing is that batacas.com (the most important spanish drumming forum) has its own "electronic DIY" community. JManWord was an interesting aproach to A-to-E conversion but none of us wanted to spend $100 to see what that "magic" box had inside. So some forum users, after researching how he could have designed it, they came to a great solution that maybe it is not exactly as jman does it, but, what the heck!, it works flawlessly!!

Here you have some videos of how it performs:
http://es.youtube.com/user/noekkkk

If anyone is interested I can upload the tutorial (with Spanish explanation but with self-explanatory images). It was in rapdishare but it has been lost. I need to contact the author...

I am interested. English translation highly appreciated!

Btw I don't find those videos to be very expressive, I would like to see more of how the cymbals perform in real playing situation with fast rotations over the zones (eg 16-32th on the bow with accents on the edge or bell).

I am planning to build an acoustic-like cymbal with this method. If you find it interesting, I will write it in english. The other tutorial is too long to translate it... hehe.

Besides, it would be a good oportunity to test it with megadrum.

elrules wrote:If you find it interesting, I will write it in english. The other tutorial is too long to translate it... hehe.

I'm interested. Please post the details on how to create multiple zone cymbals. Thanks.

Yes, I only know enough spanish to get my self in trouble in the DF and almost enough to get out of it...

Jmans triggers likely just use piezos and Raper circuits and maybe a switch.

Here's two related threads on the v-drum forums.

http://www.vdrums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33816

http://www.vdrums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29590

Maybe jman uses keith raper circuit, but I am not sure. Cosmograph does it in an original way. But I think that way the triggering is not precise, because you depend on a second piezo, that can introduce unwanted vibrations and trigger the edge when it mustn't

The secret of the trigger I propose here is this:

(layers):
- Cymbal
- Project box
- Glued to the box, a plastic tube that goes to the edge
- Inside the tube, a microswitch (button)
- A small piece of rubber sticked to the cymbal, in contact with the switch.
- When you hit the edge, the deformation of the cymbal makes the rubber piece to push the microswitch.
- It is quite precise. You can hit the bow really close to the edge and you still get the bow sound
- If you hit the edge (with the stick at 45 degrees for example), then you get edge sound, even wwith soft hits.

Just for information, Keith Raper circuit :

Diagram for Roland cymbal pinout (like CY-15R, ...) :
(note : in true Roland cymbal, there are true membrane/film switches)

Other one :

(Source : http://www.vdrums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33816)

The CY-15R has a single piezo mounted on the underside.
The other zones are actually membrane/film switches.

See the following schematic for a CY-15R cymbal :


Anyway, Notice the CY-15R schematic shows three switches and one piezo.
Switch 6 is the choke switch, switch 7 is the edge switch, and switch 8 is the bell switch.
All of the velocity information comes from a single piezo.

BTW, notice that the bell switch and the choke switch are wired in parallel.
This allows you to choke both the bell and bow sound with a sinlgle choke switch.
Of course, an odd side effect is that you can also choke the cymbal by pressing really hard on the bell.

(Source : http://vdrums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22039)