(An updated version of this cymbal can be found here)
Hi all,
At last, I have been able to put together a 3-zone piezo/switch/switch cymbal that is relatively easy to make, reliable and (possibly) durable. For some time I'd been fiddling around with DIY membrane switches but in the end I decided that they just wouldn't do - they were too flimsy and were bound to fail somewhere down the line. A few days ago a megadrum user posted a picture of a 2-box cymbal showing how they make their edge switches. I'd seen it before but seeing it again got me thinking. So cheers Privatex for the inspiration!
Material:
- 2 plastic practice cymbals
- Copper tape
- A hacksaw
- Glue
- 1 mm sheet rubber
- Carbon fibre car body vinyl
- Piezos, jacks, etc.
So, here's how it's done:
First, I took one of the cymbals (for the top) and cut out a circle at the bell just big enough to clear the felt of the wingnut. You'll see why later. Then, I made a series of cuts down slightly past the bell area. Each of these segments can now be easily bent downwards with little force and will return to their position:
bell.jpg
Then, I made some cuts around the edge, similar to what 2-box does, to achieve the same effect:
edge.jpg
Next I prepared the top of the bottom cymbal. A ring of copper around the edge and another around the top of the bell. It looks pretty terrible because I reused it from a previous experiment and it still has some gunk from the glue on it, but it doesn't matter because it won't be seen:
bottom_cymbal.jpg
Now comes the laborious part. Each segment around the edge has copper under it, but since each segment is separate from the other, I had to run a ring of copper around the cymbal further in and link each segment to it. The bell was a bit easier, just strips going down to the ring that joins them. Last of all, the edge and bell copper each goes to its own wire to go down through the bottom cymbal and into the jack box. To make double sure all connections between the strips of copper work and because I found that even though the sticky side is conductive, sometimes for some reason it isn't, so I applied a very thin layer of solder to every point where the copper strips meet. The white bits are duct tape folded over itself to create the tiny gap needed for the switch. The gunk around the bell on the bottom cymbal did the job there:
top_cymbal.jpg
Ideally, the bottom cymbal should be sanded around the edge and the bell to create the gap. I had neither the tools handy, the willpower to do it by hand nor the patience, so I just did without.
Hi all,
At last, I have been able to put together a 3-zone piezo/switch/switch cymbal that is relatively easy to make, reliable and (possibly) durable. For some time I'd been fiddling around with DIY membrane switches but in the end I decided that they just wouldn't do - they were too flimsy and were bound to fail somewhere down the line. A few days ago a megadrum user posted a picture of a 2-box cymbal showing how they make their edge switches. I'd seen it before but seeing it again got me thinking. So cheers Privatex for the inspiration!
Material:
- 2 plastic practice cymbals
- Copper tape
- A hacksaw
- Glue
- 1 mm sheet rubber
- Carbon fibre car body vinyl
- Piezos, jacks, etc.
So, here's how it's done:
First, I took one of the cymbals (for the top) and cut out a circle at the bell just big enough to clear the felt of the wingnut. You'll see why later. Then, I made a series of cuts down slightly past the bell area. Each of these segments can now be easily bent downwards with little force and will return to their position:
bell.jpg
Then, I made some cuts around the edge, similar to what 2-box does, to achieve the same effect:
edge.jpg
Next I prepared the top of the bottom cymbal. A ring of copper around the edge and another around the top of the bell. It looks pretty terrible because I reused it from a previous experiment and it still has some gunk from the glue on it, but it doesn't matter because it won't be seen:
bottom_cymbal.jpg
Now comes the laborious part. Each segment around the edge has copper under it, but since each segment is separate from the other, I had to run a ring of copper around the cymbal further in and link each segment to it. The bell was a bit easier, just strips going down to the ring that joins them. Last of all, the edge and bell copper each goes to its own wire to go down through the bottom cymbal and into the jack box. To make double sure all connections between the strips of copper work and because I found that even though the sticky side is conductive, sometimes for some reason it isn't, so I applied a very thin layer of solder to every point where the copper strips meet. The white bits are duct tape folded over itself to create the tiny gap needed for the switch. The gunk around the bell on the bottom cymbal did the job there:
top_cymbal.jpg
Ideally, the bottom cymbal should be sanded around the edge and the bell to create the gap. I had neither the tools handy, the willpower to do it by hand nor the patience, so I just did without.
Next, I stuck both cymbals together and waited for the glue to dry. I stuck 3 piezos to the underside of the bottom cymbal for even 360º triggering, wired everything up, covered the bottom with some vinyl and attached a small project box with its jacks (I use rca jacks). The top is covered with 1 mm sheet rubber and then some carbon fibre vinyl for looks. Here is the end result: finished.jpg As you can see, if you don't cut out the circle at the top of the bell, the pressure from the felt and washer would close the bell switch. I just need to glue something there to prevent dirt from getting in under the switches. I've been playing with it for a couple of days and it works great, better than anything else I've tried until now, and I'm hoping it should last. I'll post a video if I get a chance one of these days so you can see. Anyway, that's it. Total cost: around €10 plus about 2 & 1/2 hours putting it together. A bargain! Edit: this design has been updated here: https://www.vdrums.com/forum/advance...zone-cymbal-v2 |
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