Anybody have experience using Roland PD8 type pads?

[lrizzo2001]

Yes sleeve and Ring, I did not touch the tip.
No resistors added, just stock PD-9 with stereo cable.
I could swear the resistance was 0 before squeezing the edge,
All other PD-9' pads displayed same resistance. I did not test the smaller pads.

I get the feeling that my readings seem off? lol
Does it matter if Red was on Sleeve or Ring? I think I remember getting the same results either way

So I understand it is 6.94 kOhm.
You measure it between sleeve and ring?
You did not add any resistors?
What resistance does it show when the switch is not pressed?
Is it 6.94 kOhm on all other PD-8 pads when the rim switch is pressed?

[dmitri]

I could swear the resistance was 0 before squeezing the edge,

So it is 6.94 kOhm when pressed and zero Ohm when released? Please confirm since it will mean the edge switch is normally on and off when pressed and I have never seen such implementations and it would require firmware changes.

I get the feeling that my readings seem off? lol
Does it matter if Red was on Sleeve or Ring? I think I remember getting the same results either way

It doesn't matter for measuring resistance.

What is the resistance between sleeve and tip when you press and when you release the switch?

[lrizzo2001]

I'm pretty sure it measured 0 before squeezing and then 6.94 when I squeeze, and remains that value until I release.
I will double check again when I get home.
Please provide any and all steps you would like me to try so I can try and do them all and report back.
How should a normal rubber pad respond to this resistance test.
What values should I be seeing and under what conditions. ex. what should it read without touching the pad, and what should I read when I squeeze the rim etc. Should I be measuring any values when the head is struck? or when the rim is struck VS squeezed?

I could swear the resistance was 0 before squeezing the edge,

So it is 6.94 kOhm when pressed and zero Ohm when released? Please confirm since it will mean the edge switch is normally on and off when pressed and I have never seen such implementations and it would require firmware changes.

I get the feeling that my readings seem off? lol
Does it matter if Red was on Sleeve or Ring? I think I remember getting the same results either way

It doesn't matter for measuring resistance.

What is the resistance between sleeve and tip when you press and when you release the switch?

[dmitri]

It is not like I have an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) with all the questions and answers. Your case seems a strange one and I come up with new questions after analysing you previous answers. The edge switch (sleeve-ring) on a standard dual zone piezo/switch will read infinity (if you don't touch metal contacts with your fingers) when released and close to zero Ohm when pressed. The piezo (sleeve-tip) will normally read a few kOhm regardless of pressing/releasing the switch. The reason I ask you to measure sleeve-tip resistance is to make sure that the piezo is on the tip and switch is on the ring, not the other way around.

[lrizzo2001]

LOL, and there lies the possible issue. my fingers were definitely touching them when I measured!
Also, these pads have a Polarity switch on them, which I currently have set to (roland). Not sure what the other option does or how it would effect anything. I've tried googling that switch and can't find any info on when one would use the other setting.

I will re-do my testing tonight with no finger touching and report back.

It is not like I have an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) with all the questions and answers. Your case seems a strange one and I come up with new questions after analysing you previous answers. The edge switch (sleeve-ring) on a standard dual zone piezo/switch will read infinity (if you don't touch metal contacts with your fingers) when released and close to zero Ohm when pressed. The piezo (sleeve-tip) will normally read a few kOhm regardless of pressing/releasing the switch. The reason I ask you to measure sleeve-tip resistance is to make sure that the piezo is on the tip and switch is on the ring, not the other way around.

[lrizzo2001]

Ok, so I'm getting infinity not touching the pad, when I squeeze the rim, it's going to 6.94 with meter set to 20k
with meter set to 2000K it's infinity when not touched and 006 when squeezed

It is not like I have an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) with all the questions and answers. Your case seems a strange one and I come up with new questions after analysing you previous answers. The edge switch (sleeve-ring) on a standard dual zone piezo/switch will read infinity (if you don't touch metal contacts with your fingers) when released and close to zero Ohm when pressed. The piezo (sleeve-tip) will normally read a few kOhm regardless of pressing/releasing the switch. The reason I ask you to measure sleeve-tip resistance is to make sure that the piezo is on the tip and switch is on the ring, not the other way around.

[dmitri]

Ok, It is indeed 6.94kOhm when pressed and infinity when released. This means the rim switch is connected over a ~6.8-7kOhm resistor. In this case I suggest the following:

1. On the Rim/Edge input set Gain to 8 and set Threshold to 0.
2. While monitoring MIDI Log for Aftertouch On/Off messages start increasing Threshold by 1 pressing and releasing the rim switch. At some Threshold level you will notice Aftertouch On/Off messages when you press/release the switch. Note this Threshold, e.g. 30.
3. Continue to increase Threshold by 1 pressing and releasing the rim switch. At some Threshold level you will notice Aftertouch On/Off messages stopped appearing when you press/release the switch. Note this Threshold, e.g. 40.
4. Set Threshold on the Rim/Edge to between first and second Threshold. In this example it would be 35. Now there should be perfect separation between head and rim hits.

Setting Gain to 8 allows to widen the range between low and high Threshold levels for detecting the switch make/break.

[lrizzo2001]

Wonderful, I will try this tonight.
Is there a formula you use for this in case I get different readings from the other pads, or simply apply the same concept.

Ok, It is indeed 6.94kOhm when pressed and infinity when released. This means the rim switch is connected over a ~6.8-7kOhm resistor. In this case I suggest the following:

1. On the Rim/Edge input set Gain to 8 and set Threshold to 0.
2. While monitoring MIDI Log for Aftertouch On/Off messages start increasing Threshold by 1 pressing and releasing the rim switch. At some Threshold level you will notice Aftertouch On/Off messages when you press/release the switch. Note this Threshold, e.g. 30.
3. Continue to increase Threshold by 1 pressing and releasing the rim switch. At some Threshold level you will notice Aftertouch On/Off messages stopped appearing when you press/release the switch. Note this Threshold, e.g. 40.
4. Set Threshold on the Rim/Edge to between first and second Threshold. In this example it would be 35. Now there should be perfect separation between head and rim hits.

Setting Gain to 8 allows to widen the range between low and high Threshold levels for detecting the switch make/break.

[dmitri]

If the rim switch resistance is the same for all pads then Thresholds will be similar. Otherwise you will need to adjust Thresholds individually.

[lrizzo2001]

ok, tried all that, still unusable results. I'm still triggering the midi note assigned to rim when I strike the head above average force, and hitting the rim gives very little to no velocity on that assigned rim midi note. I'm giving up on the roland pads on the MD for now, i'll just connect them back to the TD7 and use midi thru with MD for the other drums. I'm still not understanding how all these parameters effect the outcome, it seems that even with 3rd zone disabled it still has great effect on the outcome.
Only way for these pads to be even tolerable is to use single piezo settings on head and disable everything else.

Heres a snap shot of the closest settings I can get.
first strike is head average force, next hit is head hit harder, 3rd hit is head hit pretty hard, 4th is aftertouch.
Aftertouch starts around 66 and even at 127 is still being registered.

If the rim switch resistance is the same for all pads then Thresholds will be similar. Otherwise you will need to adjust Thresholds individually.