DIY Electronic Drums

Converted my Roland TD3 KW Electronic Drum Kit. Upgraded it to a TD6 module with meshhead drums.

Step 1: Cut Tom Drum in Half With Jigsaw

I found this tom on eBay for $30.00. The price included shipping. This tom was cut in half with a jigsaw to create two 10" toms. I used tape around the cut line to prevent splintering.

Step 2: Roof Truss Clip

Roof truss clip. Purchased at Menards $0.49

Step 3: Roof Truss Clips to Support Cross Member

The roof truss clips are attached inside the drum shell where the lugs connect. They will support the spoke cross member.

Step 4: Tom Mounts

Cable clamps purchased at local hardware store $1.50 The red arrows show where metal had to be removed with hacksaw to make flat. Black arrows show metal strips drilled with holes that were added to modify the clamps so they will grab the Roland L rods.

Step 5: Tom Mounts

The cable clamps where a low cost way to mount the toms to the Roland L rods.

Step 6: Tom Mounts

Clamp shown with Roland L rod.

Step 7: Wood Spoke Cross Member

I used wood cut out with a jigsaw for the spoke cross member.

Step 8: Wood Spoke Cross Member

Drilled 1/4" holes in wood spoke cross member & Outlet box cover.

Step 9: Assembled Wood Spoke Cross Member

Assembled wood spoke member with adjustable sensor support.

Step 10: 1/4" Jack

I drilled a hole in the shell for the 1/4" jack. These jacks where not long enough to go through the drum shell. With the right size drill bit I was able to screw the jack into the shell. It was a nice tight fit.

Step 11: 35mm Piezo Sensor

35mm Piezo Sensor is attached with double sided foam tape. The Piezo Sensor is connected to the 1/4 Jack.

Step 12: Foam Sanding Block

I cut the foam sanding block into 1"x1"x1.5" foam blocks with a miter saw and peeled of the sanding surface.

I tried the foam cones. Had triggering problems like double triggering, miss triggering . Made many adjustments to the module with no success in getting it to trigger properly.

The sanding block foam blocks work great. I was able to set the module back to the default settings. No triggering problems at all.

Step 13: Double Sided Foam Tape

Double sided foam tape used to attach foam block to sensor.

Step 14: Adjusted the Sensor Support

I adjusted the sensor support so the foam block is 1/8" above the rim of the drum shell.

One down and three to go. Now I need to create some DIY mesh heads using fiberglass window screen.

Step 15: Other Tutorials

Check out more of my tutorials.

DIY Oak L Rod Mounting Brackets

Acoustic to Electronic conversion

Convert Yamaha DD-55 Drum Module

Hardware Store 12" Bucket Drum

Hardware Store 10" Bucket Drum

Comments

[pedrolarenas.]

looks wonderfull great job dude

[szellner]

Im sorry i meant 2 inch squares

[szellner]

Nice work. If you are now encountering double, false, and crosstalk triggering. I woukg sugest cutiing uo a mouse pad in 3 inch squares. Then laminate them so the squares are about 3/4 of an inch thick. This shock mount should effectively isolate the piezo from shell vibration. Place the piezo on top of the shock mount you have made. And cover the piezo with your cone. You can also glue another piezo or two to the spidrr you made and use that as a rim trigger. You will have to look up the wiring for a roland module which is wired differently than an alesis module. You will need to employ a srereo jack and cable to use this feature.

[dilsonbelper]

Great job looks great....

[siddiq4321]

this siddiq , India,
i have a very cheaper and working method :

1)use the software flexi music orchestra - a very user friendly software to play wav. files etc. on the keyboard
2)download yamaha / ronald / alesis drum samples over the net or from torrents ...they are very quality one and ull have no complaint
3)load all these sample to the key u want for EACH drum/cymbal ...which is pretty lengthy and save it ..
4)then comes the hardware ...use and old PC keyboard -ic ...or if u get confused with the ic pins j...just keep it attached to the plastic sheets which are below the keys ...and the pass out a pin ter . rhe conductor holes ..which is again a time taking job ..but cheap and working
5)now on other ends of the wire ..anttach a piezo...which is the cheapest drum trigger ..of if u r keyboard does not get enouhgh gain on tapping ...the attach 2 /3 in series and keep one above another ,,....and place it beneath the mouse pad (to experiment ) ..the strike u r mouse pad to play ....

was it helpfull ?????/////////////////////////
don't forget to tell me how was it .....
Replyflag[delete]

[Murder Moose]

That totally works!!

[mattcc]

The only problem is you can play 2 keys at the same time :/

[mattcc]

cant*

[thealeks]

piezos wouldn't work with a pc keyboard, they generate electricity, whereas the keyboard buttons are simple switches, temporarely connecting the circuit

[siddiq4321]

U need to see my instruc.
https://www.instructables.com/id/WORLDS-CHEAPEST-VIRTUAL-DRUM-at-10-Rs500-us/
Cheers...:-)

[cure1973]

Hi
What is the rubber on the bottom of the drums? Im looking for the same sort of thing for my kit!
Thanks

[mikejl47]

It is just a fuel hose with a slit on one side that slips over the bottom of the drum shell.

[robsedleski]

I bought a Roland TD-6 that came with a whole bunch of auxiliary electronic percussion equipment included:

-Alesis D4 module / brain
-11 cymbal boom arms w clamps, foams, and washers
-10 home made drum pads (metal plates w foam and rubber covering; piezoelectric sensors with RCA outputs

I just use the TD-6 on its own, so I'm thinking that these items might be of interest to those in this forum. I live in Vancouver, BC, and my email is [e-mail].

If you know of anyone that might be interested, please pass this along.

Thanks!

[dhane]

hi.. can you help me to make a circuit? i have a boom sound and i wanted that every time i hit the pad the sound it produce is the boom sound which is mp3 format that i have..

[pady_j]

im in the process of converting my acoustic kit into a mesh head, triggered Alesis DM-Pro metal blasting machine but i made a test drum like yours and i ran into a problem. i made a drum pretty much identical to your design. my problem with it is instead of my drum being too sensitive (which seems to be everyone problem on the internet who is trying this), is it's not sensitive enough in the fact that i have to hit it way too hard to get sound out of it. i tried putting less foam on it, my settings on my Roland SPD-S are too the max sensitivity and lowest threshhold, im wondering if maybe its my peizo i bought. its from a peizo buzzer i got from The Source (radio shack in canada). my materials besides the peizo are all identical. i was wondering if you or anyone ran into this problem or could help me figure this out. thanks.

[bigredlevy]

I simplified the design a bit by removing the adjustment mechanism. it's a bit harder to set up initially, but i guess equally less work in construction.

Perhaps as a result of the design changes, i got a LOT of crosstalk and double triggering. i moved the piezo to the top of the foam block, but this has resulted in a few sensitivity issues.

I'm running the piezos through an arduino serial converter -> virtual midi port -> ableton. response isn't great, but that's due to lack of processing power.

everything i used is here (i didn't actually buy it, just gleaned the site for info)

thanks for the instructable. LEVY

[tommah04]

when I made a few and hooked them up I was getting ALOT of crosstalk, any tips (besides messing with the module) I could do to help this?

[mikejl47]

The only other way is to isolate the drums on the rack as much as you can. The best way is use the crosstalk settings on the module. I know the cross talk settings on the Roland modules work very well for fixing that problem.

[wiebevandomburg.hotmail.com]

me too!!

[drummonkey92]

my sentiments exactly can we get a petition goin sayin more drum based instructables n less k'nex? lol