Yamaha DD-55 or DD-65 Kick Drum Pedal Modification

If your kick drum pedal breaks or if you just want the feel of a real drum set this is how to build yourself a kick pedal pad and sensor.  I do not go into detail about the pedal build but mainly into how to build and wire the sensor.  

Step 1: What You Will Need

First you will need a piezo transducer from Radio Shack #273-073 $2.19 This is the gold disc you see in the pic with the red and black wires coming off of it.  the transducer has been removed from the black housing that it comes in.  Be careful while removing it as to not bend the disc or pull off the wires. 

The silver disc you see is the lid off of a regular can of canned vegetables.  Don't ask me what size.  I don't know.  It is about 3.5" in diameter.  This will transfer the vibration to the piezo transducer.  

The two black squares are rubber pieces cut from a mouse pad just larger than the can lid.  Any flexible rubber or foam cushioning material will work here that is not to thick.  

Lastly you will need a 1/4" instrument cable.  you will cut one end off of the cable and strip the wires back to find the center conductor and the ground shield conductor.  

A little duct tape and epoxy and you are there.


Update: After using the pedal for a while I was getting to many "double triggers" so I did a little more work on the sensor.  What I ended up using in place of the mouse pad rubber was the thin cardboard from the back of a notepad (not corrugated).  This seems to work very well and I do not get any double triggers now.     

Step 2: Assembly Step 1

Now that you have your materials gathered you will first need to epoxy the gold disc onto the can lid.  Then place that assembly on top of one of the rubber cushions that you have cut out.  Duct tape the cushion to the assembly to hold it in place.  It would be a good idea make note of which side the can lid is touching because this will be the side that your drum pedal will strike to make the noise.  You will then place the other cushion on top of this assembly to fully enclose the can lid and sensor.  Proceed to tape all sides of the pad assembly with duct tape being careful to make sure that your wires are sticking out at the angle that you prefer.  

Update: After using the pedal for a while I was getting to many "double triggers" so I did a little more work on the sensor.  What I ended up using in place of the mouse pad rubber was the thin cardboard from the back of a notepad (not corrugated).  This seems to work very well and I do not get any double triggers now.

Step 3: Assembly Step 2

Next you will run your wire through the hole in your kick pedal and solder the black wire from the sensor to the ground shield conductor and solder the red wire to the center conductor (note the knot tied in the wire for a strain relief).  Use ample electrical tape to ensure that these soldered connections do not touch.  Now you can mount your sensor to your pedal.  I used hot glue.  You can tape it down or attach it however you want.  Just make sure that the can lid side is up (or facing the pedal contact).  

As you can see from the pictures I used a rubber bumper under the pedal to contact the pad.  It seems to work well.  I used a door hinge at the hinge point and some springs I got at the hardware store for the return springs.  The frame and pedal are cut out of a old phone switch cover.  The hinge is screwed and epoxied to the frame and pedal and the screws were grinded off to make it smooth on the pedal side and the bottom.  There are other instructables that will tell you how to construct the pedal.  https://www.instructables.com/id/Diy-Bass-Drum-Pedal-For-Diy-Electronic-Drum-KitRo/
or you tube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJU0dLSF5Nk

I dont know if this will work for the high hat pedal.  I have not tried it.