This is making me rage. DIY electric kit.

[Loren Littlejohn]

So look at this:

Pretty fucking neat right? Yeah that's because it is. This kit triggers BETTER than the stock configuration did from Roland....

EXCEPT THE KICK. I can't get that mofucka to stop double triggering even with all that BS blanket stuffed in there so hard (it's even worse without it).

Am I doomed to put a mesh head on that fucker or has anyone else come up with a way to rock and roll a real kick drum head on a rigged up kick?

As far as design the kick is pretty much the same in the way it functions as the tom triggers so I thought this would work.

Other than that, this thing works FLAWLESS.

 

[~BURNY~]

There are super cheap kick pads that worked good enough for me (and feel quite nice)...

These are from Millenium or Fame or Medeli here in Europe but I'm sure there are equivalent brands in US.
Put your toms on stands with clamps and you're set...

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I'm kind of to the point where I might figure out how to put the Roland KD-8 I already own or one of the rubber roland pd-8 pads I have inside that kick. I mean at this point it's only for looks anyway.


Or maybe just saying fuck it and going with a mesh head in hopes it fixes the problem.

 

[The StabbinCabin]

Isn't that Roland clip on trigger supposed to work pretty well? And why is the snare the only thing you kept like that? I haven't done DIY edrums but I feel like I would have done a snare to adjust the tension. Unless that snare can be "tuned" lower and still trigger properly.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

The snare was stock mesh head and yes you can adjust the tension of the mesh head.

I want to make a dual zone out of a cheap snare shell like the toms though because of both coolness factor and I believe rim shots/side stick will work better from my experience of building these.

 

[Sloan]

Can't you just slap the trigger on like a piece of wood or something? Maybe run a gate on the raw signal to fine tune the threshold and reduce incorrect triggers?

 

[Trevoire520]

Just get a normal kick trigger for the kick. Drumdials are cheap and work really well.

 

[fade_2_black]

Looks cool man. I went through a phase of using mesh kick heads for all the recordings I was doing. It was great as I could get away with any kick editing I wanted. I don't imagine it'll feel too bad considering you already have it stuffed to hell with blankets in the existing kick.

What are the triggers/piezo elements you're using?

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Triggers are ordered from ebay built like that (it's a foam cone with a transducer on the bottom and a small piece of peel and stick foam on the bottom, you just peel the bottom adhesive off and place them where you want then wire to 1/4" jack). A little on the pricey side, but considerably better than the bullshit I was coming up with.

Actually I got the idea for the design from other people, I just tweaked it to work the way I wanted. I have aluminum baking pans sitting just inside the bearing edge of each tom. I drilled 2 holes to attach those conduit covers on bolts (so the hight of the trigger can be adjusted), and then put the 1/4" jack through the bottom of the pan. Those crappy toms could be used for an acoustic kit again as I did no modifications to the actual shell itself.

The kick is the same idea, but I used L brackets on the lug mount holes and attached a drawer slider between the 2 (cutting off the guide wheel). Then drilled a hole for a bolt to go through. Then JB welded a specialty fender washer to a nut, then blue lock tited that nut to the adjustment bolt (for hight). Then stuck the trigger to the top of that flat washer.

I think a mesh head will make this work and I won't have to keep all that fucking blanket inside.

 

[LeSedna]

Isn't it because the frequency is so low that it lasts relatively longer than it should for those triggers, therefore double triggering any kick ?

 

[fade_2_black]

I'd be interested in some close-up photos of the triggers and mounting systems - don't quite understand what you were describing with mounting..

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

 

[colonel_claypoo]

There are super cheap kick pads that worked good enough for me (and feel quite nice)...

I second this. had a breeze tracking with this. however, the drummer has to be used to the feel which is different - same with mesh heads.
playing on mesh heads is simply not very exciting for any drummer.