Electronic Drums Lingo

In this tutorial I explain some of the terms used by DIY'ers when talking about electronic drums and related accessories.
I try to add images when available to better support the definitions given.

Step 1: The difference between an electronic drum and an acoustic drum

Acoustic drums don't need a power source or an amplifier to produce sounds, they are by nature fairly loud and can be tuned.

Electronic drums:
They come in 2 categories:
Electronic pads or Acoustic to Electronic conversions.

The Electronic pads do not produce much sound other than the stick noise against the pad's material, (Rubber, Mylar, or Mesh) they need a module to produce the sounds and an amplifier or headphones. Some pads can be tuned.

The Acoustic conversions volume level depends on the material that is used on the batter head (the head that is hit by the stick) if Mylar is used then the same acoustic volumes are to be expected, if Mesh is used a lot less volume will be produced. Rubber is a little more noisy than mesh but a lot less noisy than Mylar.

In my previous tutorial I explain how to make an acoustic to electronic conversion with minimum alteration to your drums, furthermore you can make your own mesh heads or buy them from several different places all over the internet.

Comments

[maheshuptoor]

it is realy wonderful i wish to have it made by me
but
sir my question is
how to use STEAVEN STEL DRUM SOFTWQRE & ASIO WITH WITH HOME MADE ELECTRONIC PAD . PLEASE HELP ME SIR


MAHESH a drummer

[doggyd69b]

First things first:

You mentioned that you have a home made pad...
how are you connecting it to the computer?

If that is part of your question (how to connect a pad to the computer), then I can suggest a couple of ways, some better than others though as more appropriate choices can be made with the right equipment and not so great choices with lack of equipment.

Way number one: (single pad with a 1/8 or 1/4 female connector + no external sound card:
Depending on the connector (1/8 or 1/4), find a cable that goes from the pad to the mic input on your computer. This will work but your sound quality will suffer as Windows is not great for connected instruments due to the generic nature of the on board sound card. In other words, it is not designed to be very efficient for inputs since people who record instruments and such, will generally have a dedicated sound card with the right inputs. That said, this method will work but it isn't ideal. Once that connection is made you can open your DAW (your music production program) open Steven Slate Drum inside it, and ensure that you can set your mic input as a midi input on the program's MIDI dialog box. Again this will work but not great due to latency.

Option number 2
Home made pad + Drum module+ Sound Card:
Probably the easiest way. Just connect the output of the drum module to the sound card and ensure the sound card is selected as the MIDI input on your DAW. Some drum modules even have a USB out which is used to connect straight to the computer to send MIDI data making it even easier to connect your drums to the computer. You still need a sound card to eliminate latency.
most sound cards will be compatible with ASIO drivers or may have their proprietary version of ASIO. the drivers are optimized to improve performance and eliminate latency and other issues.
Some other modules only have audio out and MIDI out but not USB that is still ok as long as you have either a MIDI to USB adaptor , or your sound card has a MIDI input so you can connect from the MIDI out of your drum module to your sound card's MIDI in. there are plenty of MIDI to USB adaptors out there for very cheap but if you get one check customer reviews before spending your $$
there is also the Alesis I/O which is designed specifically to connect drum pads and to be connected to a computer, it is not new but it also isn't expensive which is why it is still around. if you have any more questions let me know and I will try to give you a decent answer.

[doggyd69b]

I will make a tutorial on how to use drum sofware in the very near future, I had typed a long answer but it dissapeared so now i am left with this lame answer,sorry, but stay tuned and you will get a better answer, even with pictures.

[bosstune]

outstanding and well done,...thank you

[doggyd69b]

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Sorry for not being here more often , I promise to make more tutorials and answer questions as I get them.

[Waren-Neutron]

that an ok to use?

[doggyd69b]

??? I did not understand your question.

please try to be more specific

or post it in Spanish if you speak it.

(Those are the two languages I speak)

[Waren-Neutron]

it meaning to say it is good to use because it is my favorite
music instrument!!!!!