ElectronicDrummer.com

Mesh or Rubber edrum pads?

Posted by emoray

What’s the difference between a rubber pad and mesh head

Since the pre-MIDI days of Simmons electronic drums, the prevailing design of most pads followed the rubber “practice pad” paradigm. Then a few years ago Roland added a new element with mesh head “drums” that emulate acoustic drumheads. So is one design “better” than the other? Not necessarily. There are plenty of applications for both. Here’s a rundown of the qualities of rubber pads and mesh heads.

Rubber Pads:

Economical:

Literally they are much cheaper to buy than mesh heads. For example a Roland TD-6 kit with rubber pads retails at round £800, wack on some mesh heads and your into the £1000+

Compact:

If you’re adding electronic sounds to your acoustic kit you may feel a bit space challenged. But a 7? pad can slip into the smallest spaces - and even fit discreetly over the rims of your acoustic drums. The compactness of pads also helps those who are not full-time drummers but want to get into percussion controllers. You can set pads up in any configuration that works without having to worry about space issues. It’s much easier to reach a nearby pad than an 18? floor tom!

Consistent:

Many players prefer their controllers to have identical response and rebound as they move from pad to pad, as opposed to the varying tensions of acoustic drum heads as they move from snare to toms. When using percussion controllers for alternative sounds, including triggering sustained tones or loops, often a pad is more appropriate. The consistency of rubber pads is a plus in these situations. You could set up an array of like-sized pads in a quasi-keyboard arrangement if you wanted to!

Better than ever:

Years ago many pads felt a little hard and didn’t offer the rebound that drummers expected. Recently both Roland and Yamaha have introduced improved pad designs with reformulated rubber. They offer more “give” when struck and have a much more natural bounce. The new pads also promise longer life and resistance to developing dead spots.

Mesh Heads:

Realistic:

For emulating drums, you can’t beat (sorry) mesh heads. They’re remarkably close to traditional drum heads in feel, “give” and rebound. The currently available mesh head controllers from Roland and ddrums are closer in size to acoustic drums, giving you a more realistic playing experience.

Sensitive:

When used with a module that supports these features, mesh head controllers offer a wide range of sound responses based on the location you strike. Roland’s TD-20 module delivers near-the-rim sounds when you play near the rim and dead-on-center sounds when you strike there. You can even play brush sweeps thanks to the combination of the head surface and the piezo sensor acting as a microphone in brush programs.

Tunable:

One of the immediate advantages of mesh heads is the ability to adjust their tension to achieve a feel and rebound that suits you. This allows you to have, for instance, a fairly tight, bouncy snare head even though the sound you’ve selected is a 1970s style slack-tuned, heavily muffled deep snare.

So there’s room for both in the electronic percussion world. As we often say in these situations, the “best” pad depends on your needs, your expectations and your budget. We’re here to help you sort out the information.

DIY e drum! Make a cheap DIY edrum in 10 easy steps!

Posted by emoray

Making your own e drum pads should be a complicated and difficult process with the price Roland/Yamaha and other companies charge for their hardware. But it really isn’t! Check out the guide below for your 10 easy step guide to making an e drum pad.

Introduction

The concepts behind electronic triggering are actually quite simple. A piezo acts much like a microphone. It picks up shock waves and passes them to your drum module to interpret. The trick is getting the most accurate representation of your sticking action to the module without sacrificing the feel of a real drum. This design accomplishes both goals.

We wanted the feel of a drum head and assumed that the best way to achieve that was with a drum head. So, in 1992 we chose a Remo™ practice pad to house our experiments.

Assembly Instructions:

Step 1:

Disassemble Remo™ practice pad. Remove foam disc from inside. There should also be a mylar disc under the drum head. Discard the foam, but save the mylar disc. This will become your template for cutting out the other foam. (Another ‘last resort’ option is to discard the mylar disc and save the foam. It is generally easier to use new 1/2? foam. You may instead elect to slice the original foam in half at your own risk. We have been marginally successful with an ‘electric carving knife’. This is where the gloves, goggles, pliers and carbonated beverage come in…)

Step 2:

Cut out two 10? diameter foam circles using the mylar template. Cut a 1? slit in the center of one of them. This will serve as a wiring pass through later. (If you elected to use the existing foam, this would be the time to cut this in half and use them for this step…)

Step 3:

Remove the plastic casing of the Piezo transducer with a pocket knife and pliers, being careful not to damage the brass colored disc or wiring. (or yourself. Again, gloves, goggles, etc…) Carefully scrape the silicone residue from the bottom of the piezo transducer. This will become the surface that mounts to the raw piezo element.

Step 4:

Remove the coffee can lid with a can opener (if not using a galvanized metal plate) . Score the center of the surface with the pocket knife. This will ensure a bonding surface for the Piezo. This surface will transfer the impact of the drum head into the Piezo.

Step 5:

Solder the “ground” wire (usually black) on the piezo to the “ground” conductor of the speaker wire. Solder the “positive” Piezo lead (usually red) to the “positive” conductor of the speaker wire. Hot glue, tape or shrink tube all connections to insulate from each other.

Solder the “ground” end of the speaker wire (usually black) to the “ring terminal” of the RCA jack assembly. (The “positive” wire end will be soldered to the RCA jack once it is assembled.)

Step 6:

Spread a thin layer of hot glue on the scored surface at the center of the coffee can lid. Quickly place the smooth side of the piezo assembly in the glue and massage it as close to the plate as glue drying time allows. (This step is very important to get right. The Piezo must be as close to the plate as possible for good response. If you must, you can use a stove burner to slowly heat the plate to the glue’s melting point. This will give you a longer time frame to get the Piezo positioned correctly. DO NOT OVERHEAT!!) Hot-glue seems to work best due to it’s flexible properties and ability to be re-done if needed.

Step 7

Place the completed Piezo & Plate assembly on top of the slitted foam disk. Gently pull the wiring through the slit. Apply hot-glue around the top edge of the foam disk, being sure to overlap some on the metal plate. Quickly place the second foam disk on top of the freshly glued surface. Press together until set. (Hot-glue will take a bit longer to set like this because the foam insulates the heat.)

Step 8

Drill a 1/4? hole into the plastic base of the practice pad, centered between two spokes of the bracing pattern. Drill a second hole directly across from the first. (This will assist in releasing the air pressure, allowing the drum head to move more freely. This will also prevent air from forcing the RCA plug out over time.)

Step 9:

Push the remaining piece of the RCA jack assembly through the bottom of the hole in the practice pad assembly. Slip the terminal ring over the jack’s threads and tighten the nut. Solder the “positive” lead of the speaker wire to the center terminal on the RCA jack. Place the completed into the Practice Pad base.

Step 10:

Reassemble the head and rim on to the practice pad. If using new foam, it may appear as if you’ve overstuffed the pad. This will settle down within a day or two. You may then tension to your liking.(A snare pad should be tight for the best response…)

Plug the pad into your module/midi converter and your off ready to drum!

Source: http://www.electronicdrums.com/pads/pads2.htm

Note: This is how I personally made my own DIY edrum kit. You can see an image of that below: