My problems' thread...

[elrules]

I have been testing all this afternoon the megadrum with my whole kit connected. I have had so many problems and trial-error that I feel very very disappointed. I think I want to cry

I'm going to explain all of my problems.

We take the starting point that all the pads worked perfectly with the Roland td6, and that I have configured correctly the drummap of my sampler (that was my setup before making megadrum)

1.- Piezo/switch pads don't work, ...any of them. I have set a different midi note value for all the 32 channels. Set the Head pad to Dual head, and set the Edge pad to Type:Switch. All inputs have the same Crosstalk, Threshold, etc (the parameters that can be set up with the first options of the menu). When I hit them, they trigger the edge sound, but never the bow sound. Some sounds have a short decay, as if they choked automatically.

2.- Dual piezo pads (mesh head pads) have a lot of difficulty to separate one trigger from another, I hit only the mesh heads and if I hit it hard sometimes it triggers the rim sound. Hitting the rim triggers a very low sound in some pads and well in others. (pads are built exactly the same and had all of them the same settings with the roland module)

3.- Drum rolls are a completely mess. I can't perform a medium strength roll. It triggers high, soft and medium levels, with no timing at all, and it results in a crappy roll.

4.- Nearly all the pads, specially the mesh head pads (my hihat and splashes don't nearly suffer this effect) send several midi notes for every medium to hard hit. If i hit it soft it sends one note (velocity 10 for example). If I hit it normally, I see in the midi log, a lot of notes triggered at the same time for the pad, like this (note_velocity):
D1_112, D1_005, D1_003, D1_001...
If I hit it hard I get even more notes:
D1_126, D1_015, D1_012, D1_004, D1_002...

5.- Choke is slow. I grab the cymbal and a second after it stops the sound (maybe this is a sampler issue or not)

I have tried a lot of configurations, testing a lot of combinations of values, raising one, lowering another, both, etc etc etc, but any of them gave me a good result, ...even worst than with the default values.

I think I'm going to shoot my head... :S

[dmitri]

One problem at a time

1.- Piezo/switch pads don't work, ...any of them. I have set a different midi note value for all the 32 channels. Set the Head pad to Dual head, and set the Edge pad to Type:Switch. All inputs have the same Crosstalk, Threshold, etc (the parameters that can be set up with the first options of the menu). When I hit them, they trigger the edge sound, but never the bow sound. Some sounds have a short decay, as if they choked automatically.

Raise Threshold on the Edge. Threshold on a Switch pad determines at what voltage level MegaDrum registers switch as shortened. In your case Threshold is set too low so MegaDrum thinks the switch is always shortened/pressed/hit.

5.- Choke is slow. I grab the cymbal and a second after it stops the sound (maybe this is a sampler issue or not)
with the default values.

Related to the first problem. If Threshold on a Switch is not set correctly, choke won't function properly.

I think I'm going to shoot my head... :S

In my opinion this is the worst attitude when solving problems. It's just a drum;)

[dmitri]

One problem at a time

1.- Piezo/switch pads don't work, ...any of them. I have set a different midi note value for all the 32 channels. Set the Head pad to Dual head, and set the Edge pad to Type:Switch. All inputs have the same Crosstalk, Threshold, etc (the parameters that can be set up with the first options of the menu). When I hit them, they trigger the edge sound, but never the bow sound. Some sounds have a short decay, as if they choked automatically.

Raise Threshold on the Edge. Threshold on a Switch pad determines at what voltage level MegaDrum registers switch as shortened. In your case Threshold is set too low so MegaDrum thinks the switch is always shortened/pressed/hit.

I meant lower the Threshold;)

[dmitri]

You do take some time to test the first suggestion. With this rate we'll never get to the last problem:)

[elrules]

I can only drum from mid-day to afternoon. If I play at night my parents can kill me

You could give me the possible solution for the rest of the problems, so I can test all of them this afternoon (once at a time) an post my results.

Thanks

[dmitri]

I can only drum from mid-day to afternoon. If I play at night my parents can kill me

You could give me the possible solution for the rest of the problems, so I can test all of them this afternoon (once at a time) an post my results.

Thanks

As I said, when dealing with multiple problems I approach them one at a time. Otherwise I end up dealing with too many variables.
Anyway, in you case the problems can come from:
Incorrect input wiring
Low quality soldering
Trying to configure all pads at the same time
I overestimated MegaDrum capabilities and it is not up to the task

[Beamtreetaker]

Hi elrules,
sad you're facing so many problems at once!
I think the major problem in your approach is that you started with all the extras at once and expected to get it all working instantly (dual head, choke, roland-like performance). My tipp: Try to get a basic setup working first, just one zone per pad, and learn how to adjust each value. Once you've done this step, I would slowly start with all the dual zone and choke features. There's so many settings and pads do differ so much that it's quite impossible (I think) to get your dream setup in just some minutes.
I don't know what level you're talking about when hinting at snare rolls, but for my understanding rolls work just great with MD - Very dynamic and accurate. But..Maybe you're so pro that your understanding differs from mine (although I would call my self highly critical in that area ).

If you'd like to get some support from my side, feel free to contact me via ICQ 335-321-601. I think we will get this running - just be patient!

[elrules]

Wow, today I got it! I have discovered where is the error in my megadrum config. It was Gain and HighLvlAuto. it seems HighLvlAuto is not working properly for me, so I set all my pads with 1023 maximum level, 800 for snare and tom rims. Gain 0 for all pads. I can get velocity value 127 with a heavy hit on all of them and sensitivity range is good (I still don't find an optimal curve, Log1 has too much loud medium hits, and Linear has too low medium hits, ¿don't you have a Log0'5 curve ?)
THe rest of the values are as follows:
Threshold = 15
Retrigger = 15
MinScan = 30
DynLvl = 6
DynTime = 32
Gain=0
Crosstalk=3
Do you think I have set crazy values or is there some value that does not fit well with other values?

Let's analize my problems:

1.- Piezo/switch pads don't work, ...any of them.

Problem solved!!

2.- Dual piezo pads (mesh head pads) have a lot of difficulty to separate one trigger from another, I hit only the mesh heads and if I hit it hard sometimes it triggers the rim sound. Hitting the rim triggers a very low sound in some pads and well in others. (pads are built exactly the same and had all of them the same settings with the roland module)

Not completely solved. All of my toms trigger now excellent. But when I hit them strong sometimes I get the rim sound. I can see it on the LCD: doing a heavy roll (slow or fast) it shows upper meter dancing up/down (that's right) but, sometimes, the lower meter is the one that jumps (they alternate randomly with heavy hits).
In my snare pad the rim has a very low sensitivity. As all of my pads are built the same, I think this could be a hardware issue. Where do you think I could have made a mistake? Soldering? in which pins?...

3.- Drum rolls are a completely mess. I can't perform a medium strength roll. It triggers high, soft and medium levels, with no timing at all, and it results in a crappy roll.

Problem solved. I need to do more tweaking to get the response I had with td6, but it is quite good now.

4.- Nearly all the pads, specially the mesh head pads (my hihat and splashes don't nearly suffer this effect) send several midi notes for every medium to hard hit. If i hit it soft it sends one note (velocity 10 for example). If I hit it normally, I see in the midi log, a lot of notes triggered at the same time for the pad, like this (note_velocity):
D1_112, D1_005, D1_003, D1_001...
If I hit it hard I get even more notes:
D1_126, D1_015, D1_012, D1_004, D1_002...

I still get this effect, on some pads it is nearly not appreciated, but in my snare pad, puajj, it sucks. The harder I hit the pad, the biggest the number of subsequent midi notes sent (as in the example above). This is by far the most anoying problem I have, because I cannot play the snare properly

5.- Choke is slow. I grab the cymbal and a second after it stops the sound (maybe this is a sampler issue or not)

I have started thinking this could be a software sampler issue. Correct me if I am wrong, you all users of megadrum.


Despite those problems above, I am now happier with megadrum (i am not going to shoot my head;)), algthough I have some minor problems:
- Kick drum does not trigger some hits. I tried lowering the Threshold but it is the same.
- Crosstalk is an issue on my kit. I have it set 3 but it still trigger some unwanted hits. Some tweaking to do? maybe threshold?

[dmitri]

Wow, today I got it! I have discovered where is the error in my megadrum config. It was Gain and HighLvlAuto. it seems HighLvlAuto is not working properly for me, so I set all my pads with 1023 maximum level, 800 for snare and tom rims. Gain 0 for all pads.

HighLvlAuto is there only for a rough quick estimation. Once you found a best setting for HighLevel, HighLvlAuto must be turned off.

I can get velocity value 127 with a heavy hit on all of them and sensitivity range is good (I still don't find an optimal curve, Log1 has too much loud medium hits, and Linear has too low medium hits, ¿don't you have a Log0'5 curve ?)

I can add a few more intermediate curves.

THe rest of the values are as follows:
Threshold = 15
Retrigger = 15
MinScan = 30
DynLvl = 6
DynTime = 32
Gain=0
Crosstalk=3
Do you think I have set crazy values or is there some value that does not fit well with other values?

Thresholds seems to be a bit low. It can cause problems with crosstalk if physical isolation is not very good and with dual piezo/piezo pads.
Probably as a result of above you had to set Crosstalk to the maximum. My pads have between 1 and 2.

Let's analize my problems:

1.- Piezo/switch pads don't work, ...any of them.

Problem solved!!

2.- Dual piezo pads (mesh head pads) have a lot of difficulty to separate one trigger from another, I hit only the mesh heads and if I hit it hard sometimes it triggers the rim sound. Hitting the rim triggers a very low sound in some pads and well in others. (pads are built exactly the same and had all of them the same settings with the roland module)

Not completely solved. All of my toms trigger now excellent. But when I hit them strong sometimes I get the rim sound. I can see it on the LCD: doing a heavy roll (slow or fast) it shows upper meter dancing up/down (that's right) but, sometimes, the lower meter is the one that jumps (they alternate randomly with heavy hits).

This is where I think too low Thresholds on Rims may be causing problems. After a hit, especially a hard one, a pad may vibrate for some time and if pad attached to a rack through a shell than most of this vibration goes to a rim. I myself sacrifice some of rim sensitivity due to this effect but it's not a problem for me since when I hit on a rim I do it usually with a noticeable force.

In my snare pad the rim has a very low sensitivity. As all of my pads are built the same, I think this could be a hardware issue. Where do you think I could have made a mistake? Soldering? in which pins?...

Try raising Gain level for the rim snare.

3.- Drum rolls are a completely mess. I can't perform a medium strength roll. It triggers high, soft and medium levels, with no timing at all, and it results in a crappy roll.

Problem solved. I need to do more tweaking to get the response I had with td6, but it is quite good now.

4.- Nearly all the pads, specially the mesh head pads (my hihat and splashes don't nearly suffer this effect) send several midi notes for every medium to hard hit. If i hit it soft it sends one note (velocity 10 for example). If I hit it normally, I see in the midi log, a lot of notes triggered at the same time for the pad, like this (note_velocity):
D1_112, D1_005, D1_003, D1_001...
If I hit it hard I get even more notes:
D1_126, D1_015, D1_012, D1_004, D1_002...

I still get this effect, on some pads it is nearly not appreciated, but in my snare pad, puajj, it sucks. The harder I hit the pad, the biggest the number of subsequent midi notes sent (as in the example above). This is by far the most anoying problem I have, because I cannot play the snare properly

Try upping DynLevel and DynTime for the snare. If it doesn't help try raising Threshold one point at a time. There must be a sweet spot.

5.- Choke is slow. I grab the cymbal and a second after it stops the sound (maybe this is a sampler issue or not)

I have started thinking this could be a software sampler issue. Correct me if I am wrong, you all users of megadrum.

You can check it with MIDI-OX. The choke signal should appear instantaneously after you press on a choke switch.

Despite those problems above, I am now happier with megadrum (i am not going to shoot my head;)), algthough I have some minor problems:
- Kick drum does not trigger some hits. I tried lowering the Threshold but it is the same.

Raise Gain level for the kick and make HighLevel for the kick lower (may be even much lower).

- Crosstalk is an issue on my kit. I have it set 3 but it still trigger some unwanted hits. Some tweaking to do? maybe threshold?

I'm pretty sure your thresholds are too low especially for rims on dual piezo/piezo pads.