Yamaha DD-50

[cebreez]

I would really like to get my hands on one of these:


I want to gut it for the drum triggers to midi it has onboard.
Anyone else have any ideas for a cheap drum trigger to midi converter?

[deeaa*]

Pretty old but Alesis Trigger IO is only like 125 new.

[cebreez]

Hey deeaa! I looked at the Alesis and almost got one but a little out of my project budget for only getting the midi IO. That being said after a little more research it looks like the DD-50 might not work either. Thankfully its a personal project and I can take as long as I need. I am pretty sure I will pick up an Alesis DM5 or D4 at some point so I can at least get a running start. The intial project is set on the drum pads and not the module but I need the module to test the pads.

[deeaa*]

I have a dm5 right now...works well with any pads but only supports one-trigger I.e. mono triggers. I would like at least the snare and ride be two or three trigger pads for sideclick and bell etc.

Pads and cheap pad kits are plentiful...you could probably scavenge one of those RockBand pads for triggers as well.

[cebreez]

I plan on getting an old cheap drum set. Cut shell down to about 4" and stretching pet screen and doing the mesh head thing with the foam cone piezo trigger. At least for everything but the bass drum. I did not realize the dm5 only did mono triggers. Hmmm... I should have picked up on that one. I have been looking at an Arduino solution which can implement up to 48 inputs but requires programming and still only gives you the midi IO and not an audio out with onboard sounds.

[deeaa*]

I thought of that as well - actually at some point had an old kit...but I decided it was too much work, would come to be too expensive and take up too much room.

Here's what I have now:



That's basically an Alesis DM5 kit...surprisingly nice, with a Yamaha kickdrum. You can get a kit like this for as low as under 300 with luck.
All I'd like is the better snare and ride, BUT I'm pretty sure, as the DM5 has free inputs, that I can use a Y cable to split the stereo lead from stereo pads to TWO D5 inputs and assign sounds to them. That should work.

A TriggerIO would work best for me, because I use EZDrummer sounds from PC anyway most of the time. I could live without its own sounds.

[cebreez]

Nice setup! That is really all I wanted to start. I just wanted more options from the same kit. Which means fancier kits with much higher prices. That is what got me thinking about tearing apart some old "First Act" drum kits. Besides I wanted to build at least 3 kits. Getting past the hardware the the costly part. Oh... and whatever I figure out with the module.

I have a dm5 right now...works well with any pads but only supports one-trigger I.e. mono triggers. I would like at least the snare and ride be two or three trigger pads for sideclick and bell etc.

All I'd like is the better snare and ride, BUT I'm pretty sure, as the DM5 has free inputs, that I can use a Y cable to split the stereo lead from stereo pads to TWO D5 inputs and assign sounds to them. That should work.

Couldn't you use a 2 zone snare and split it to the free inputs and assign the edge shot?
What I really can't stand about any of the modules is the lack of inputs. My research has uncovered the fact that it does not cost that much extra to double or triple the inputs. Especially when using Arduino or PIC or ARM. I really wish I was smarter sometimes!

[cebreez]

Oh hey!! I have that rack. And I ordered a whole bag of extra feet so if ever need one or two let me know. If you need a "hand" though I'm sorry I can't help ya.

[deeaa*]

It's not in the manufacturer's interest to make them too expandable. I looked at this Yamaha starter kit for instance - a very nice simple kit but only the snare is stereo for rim shot - and there is ZERO empty slots and moreover the pads don't use a standard 1/4 cable at all, so you simply can't upgrade it. When you want a better kit you really have to sell it and buy a better one.

My problem is, if I buy a better ride and snare and indeed split the free inputs and assign them, it will work I think, but will cost me nearly the price of the kit i.e. 250-300...whereas I could get an Alesis DM10 set used for 600. That would be better in every way and have better, newer own sounds etc. so it might make more sense. But we'll see. I'm not eager to spend too much money into it before I've learned a bit about playing the drums - I just started on 'em and it's quite hard to record MIDI drums in Cubase, you have to be so accurate to pull it off reasonably well.

I recorded this first short test, randomly played some beat and then added random chords over it yesterday before leaving for work: http://deeaa.pp.fi/drumtest3.mp3

It's the EZD sounds played 'free' with the DM5 set and Amplitube guitars. That's the best I can do with drums right off the bat...so I need to work on the timing and groove quite a lot still before starting to put money into the drums. I have such a good drummer friend who can provide my songs with superb drums online if I need, so I'm just doing the whole drum thing as a personal challenge to learn something new :-)