www.megadrum.info

Hi,

I made myself another 3 zone cymbal using a similar method to that used here, but changed the design in some ways to make it easily repairable and better-looking.

This time, instead of gluing the two practise cymbals together, they are bolted using small flat-headed screws, bolts and locking washers. The screws are very small and with a little countersinking and epoxy they are fixed to the top cymbal:


I used 5 of them:


Then I layed down the copper on top and bottom cymbals. Another change is that now the piezos go in between the cymbals. I shaved off an area the size of the piezos so they were flush with the surface and linked them with copper tape. Also, I didn't make any cuts around the edge and the triggering is still good, so it turns out it wasn't necessary and simplifies things somewhat.

For the spacing I used strips of 1 mm sheet rubber, the same stuff I use to cover the cymbal surface to dampen noise. It creates a perfect gap, though some experimenting was required to determine how far from the edge it had to stop to let the cymbal flex. At 12 o'clock on each cymbal there are strips of copper that make contact when you assemble the cymbals, to pass down the signal from the top to the bottom without using a wire. That way, when you disassemble them, there are no wired connections that could accidentally get tugged loose.


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Next, I covered the top of the cymbal with the sheet rubber (pond liner):


And then covered it with carbon fibre vinyl:


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Last of all, I cut out a circle of 5 mm hard poron to fit the centre and covered that too:


Added a project box underneath and that's it. It takes some patience to put it all together, but I think the end result looks pretty OK and it triggers great. One major flaw of the previous design was that if anything failed, as the cymbals were glued together you had to pretty much destroy the whole thing to get at the internals, while now it's as easy as it gets. Also, the glue made the spacing, which is very important, uneven, causing some areas to be harder to trigger than others - now it is uniform all around.

I think that they look good. I prefer the smooth version (before the added carbon fibre) and I don't doubt they work very well, given your ingenuity and and a MD together.

Yes, it does look good with just the rubber on and I did consider leaving it like that - but there is a problem. You can't really see it in the pics, but the rubber is slightly textured and is a magnet for dust, fluff... dandruff... Try wiping it with a cloth and you just smear more gunk into it - the only way to keep it clean would be to use a hoover. When I ordered it, the pics on the website showed close-up pics of smooth rubber. When it arrived, it turned out to be textured. Then, it turns out the vinyl wouldn't adhere properly to the rubber, so around the bell I used some flexible loctite. The damn stuff reacted somehow with the vinyl and made it slightly lumpy in places, and fixing it would require tearing it all apart and starting again, something I don't have the willpower for right now... After all, it's just a slight aesthetic imperfection.
C'est la vie...

Well, I think the old school 'turned' effect isn't really needed with samples. That slight variation you would get with stick on rough metal would be covered with RR these days.
From a visual point of view the 'furrowed' look needs to go around ( I suspect you agree ) rather than acroos.
I'd order some from you if I thought they would help me - seriously, but, alas, I've narrowed my triggering down to velocity and flam (pressroll), as I need to with this many triggers.
On a traditional kit these would be great.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8pZ3Na7d0k

Yes, I do agree that it would look better if the pattern on the vinyl was circular, and it probably could even be done as it can be stretched into all kinds of shapes using heat, but I think it'll stay as-is. They could look better but what's most important to me is that they trigger well and can be easily repaired if/when a fault crops up.

I'm flattered to read you'd be willing to order a few if they suited your needs, but for the record and just in case, I have to say that I will definitely not be making any of these to sell. I can barely scrape together enough spare time to do them for myself, let alone make them for others... I made this cymbal over the course of about 2 weeks, in tiny increments... I just publish this so people can see that with some patience, it is possible to make yourself gear that can perform just as well as commercial stuff for a tiny fraction of the price - plus you get the satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself, which is the main motivation for me.

ignotus wrote:I'm flattered to read you'd be willing to order a few if they suited your needs, but for the record and just in case, I have to say that I will definitely not be making any of these to sell.

No, I understand that. I really appreciate your endevours and willingness to share your experimentation. What has occured to me that something along these lines could be 3d printed.
Food for thought?

Too big to use a 3D printer. Anyhow, the practise cymbals I use, which cost €4 for a 14" and €8 for a 16" cymbal, are already perfect to use as the foundation and are very cheap. The idea is to be able to make it with easily purchased and cheap parts - I think 3D printing would immediately make it beyond the reach of most people, myself included.

Nice work ignotus,
I like your improvement to fix it with screw instead of double tape or glue.

Some technical questions:

1. The 3 triggers are for one signal, connected parallel
I ask me: produce the 3 triggers any fails or mess around among themselfs, because all will driven different by a hit and produce their own signal.
(I saw the vid , seems to work properly)
2. Can you use the edge as a choke? Theoretically will that work, when I see your design.

3.How loud ( or better silent) is your cymbal compared to a brands cymbal (I dont know if you have one)

Tx for answer

br

Nepo