Welcome! If this is your first visit, you will need to register to participate.

DO NOT use symbols in usernames. Doing so will result in an inability to sign in & post!

If you cannot sign in or post, please visit our Forum FAQs section for answers to forum related FAQs.

Longboard/direct drive pedal mod

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • ignotus
    Registered Member
    • 01-2012
    • 688

    Longboard/direct drive pedal mod

    ​​​​​Hi,

    I was curious about longboard direct drive pedals and decided to try my hand at modding my current cheap chain-drive doubles.

    The footboard is made with carbon fibre, the heel hinges are done with pillow block bearings, and the connecting rods (4 mm aluminium plates) have small 8 mm bearings in them held in with rivets. The latter look a bit ghetto but are perfectly effective and functional.

    IMG_20170825_135129~01.jpgIMG_20170825_134826~01.jpgIMG_20170825_191127~01.jpg They actually work great - smooth, silent and fast. Heel-toe is easier and the smooth surface is much more pleasant for playing barefoot. I think the longer footboard has more of an impact than the direct drive, so I might put the chain back on one of them to see if it's really the case.
    Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!
  • Hoppy
    Registered Member
    • 10-2010
    • 491

    #2
    Nice job!
    Hardware: TD20SX --> Roland UA-25EX --> MSI GT780DX w/ i7 2670, 16-GB of Ram, Windows 7
    Software: Superior Drummer 2.0, Metal Foundry SDX, Metal Machine EZX, Toontrack Solo - - Sonor X1 Studio - -

    Comment

    • ThePod
      Registered Member
      • 03-2013
      • 237

      #3
      Very cool. Post a video!

      Comment

      • ignotus
        Registered Member
        • 01-2012
        • 688

        #4
        Cheers! My rubbish playing doesn't do the pedal justice though - I can make a video just showing it actually "working", but just like a pro can make a spongebob squarepants kit sound good, I'd make a $1000 pedal look faulty...
        Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!

        Comment

        • Ericdrumz
          Registered Member
          • 10-2006
          • 2826

          #5
          looks very cool.. ..your name makes me assume you're a Virgil fan.. so, yes i'd like to see those pedals in action : )
          Audio | Video | Roland/Yamaha e-kit | Sonor/Gretsch a-kit | Zildjian/Sabian/Ufip/Meinl cymbals

          Comment

          • ignotus
            Registered Member
            • 01-2012
            • 688

            #6
            Ok, but it'll have to wait until I get back from holidays. Be warned that my playing sucks.

            Nah​, I've been using that nick for the last 25 years because it means "anonymous", nothing to do with Mr Donati...
            Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!

            Comment

            • ignotus
              Registered Member
              • 01-2012
              • 688

              #7
              Hi again.

              I made some changes to the direct drive assembly and also made a drive shaft, as the original one had developed horrible play in the u-joints over the years. The above version of the pedal was ok as proof of concept, but it was a bit ugly, so I decided to redo it.

              The cam and connecting rod are made with 6 mm thick carbon fibre. The cam is held onto the shaft with a flanged shaft coupler that has insert screws to keep it in place, and the carbon fibre cam is riveted to that. The connecting rods have flanged ball bearings in them that stay in place nicely.

              IMG_20171109_175942.jpg
              IMG_20171107_190944.jpg
              The drive shaft is made with some decent u-joints, solid 8 mm aluminium rods and 12 mm aluminium tubes. They are connected together with shaft couplers that have an 8 mm opening at one end and 12 mm at the other - the smaller 8 mm rod fits inside the tube so the width can be adjusted. No play at all. However, I ordered the wrong size shaft coupler (8 mm/10 mm) and drilled a 12 mm hole in one side, messing it up a bit as it didn't come out properly centred, so I've ordered the right ones.
              IMG_20171109_175837.jpg
              IMG_20171109_175658.jpg
              I reckon I've removed a fair bit of weight from each pedal as the original cams were quite heavy. The drive shaft is also considerably lighter. Pretty happy with the result so far - we'll see how they withstand some abuse.
              Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!

              Comment

              • Clem3000
                Registered Member
                • 08-2019
                • 31

                #8
                Man this looks gorgeous.
                Yamaha DTX900 - XP120S Snare - PCY135-155 / RHH135
                Currently transitionning to DIY pads...
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rntZ4AHfvJE

                Comment

                • ignotus
                  Registered Member
                  • 01-2012
                  • 688

                  #9
                  As the cam was only secured to the shaft by two small grub screws, over time it would pivot, misaligning it and damaging the chrome finish on the shaft. So having recently got a 3D printer, I decided to have a go at printing some cams and rods. They're made with PETG, 100% infill, and have been in use for the last couple of months. Apart from normal playing, they've withstood repeated, exaggerated stomping to try and see if they would break, but they're still in perfect shape. I had my doubts, but I think it's been a successful experiment. Now I know it can be done I might try out other designs in future.
                  direct_drive_1.jpg direct_drive_2.jpg
                  Attached Files
                  Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!

                  Comment

                  • winterson
                    Registered Member
                    • 03-2019
                    • 941

                    #10
                    these look great
                    Alesis STRIKE, PD-105/125 rack toms, 14" PDP MX floor tom diy single zone trigger, Mapex snare with ISM-6, PDP MX 22" kick with ISM, iron cobra 900, hart e-cymbal2 (stack), CY-5 (splash), Lemon 18" (RD), CY-12R (RD2), DMPad14 (CR1), PCY155 (CR2), DMPad16 (CR3), diy cymbal pad (bell), PCY130 (china), Lemon 13" (HH), with goedrum ctrl.

                    Comment

                    • ignotus
                      Registered Member
                      • 01-2012
                      • 688

                      #11
                      Hmm, the cam on the right started slipping on its shaft. PETG is supposed to be more resistant than PLA, but I think it has to do with its ability to flex more, which is what's causing this problem. PLA is more rigid, but also more brittle, so I redesigned the cam and rod to make them more robust, with tighter tolerance on the hex shaft to prevent any slippage. We'll see how this works out - so far so good.


                      cam_upgrade.jpgcam_upgrade_2.jpg
                      Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!

                      Comment

                      • winterson
                        Registered Member
                        • 03-2019
                        • 941

                        #12
                        so were these still 3D printed?
                        Alesis STRIKE, PD-105/125 rack toms, 14" PDP MX floor tom diy single zone trigger, Mapex snare with ISM-6, PDP MX 22" kick with ISM, iron cobra 900, hart e-cymbal2 (stack), CY-5 (splash), Lemon 18" (RD), CY-12R (RD2), DMPad14 (CR1), PCY155 (CR2), DMPad16 (CR3), diy cymbal pad (bell), PCY130 (china), Lemon 13" (HH), with goedrum ctrl.

                        Comment

                        • ignotus
                          Registered Member
                          • 01-2012
                          • 688

                          #13
                          Yes, these last ones in PLA. Still going strong BTW.
                          Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!

                          Comment

                          • winterson
                            Registered Member
                            • 03-2019
                            • 941

                            #14
                            would you be willing to share the files for them? i'd love to convert my iron cobras to direct drive, looking at the ACD conversion kit but it's pretty expensive.
                            Alesis STRIKE, PD-105/125 rack toms, 14" PDP MX floor tom diy single zone trigger, Mapex snare with ISM-6, PDP MX 22" kick with ISM, iron cobra 900, hart e-cymbal2 (stack), CY-5 (splash), Lemon 18" (RD), CY-12R (RD2), DMPad14 (CR1), PCY155 (CR2), DMPad16 (CR3), diy cymbal pad (bell), PCY130 (china), Lemon 13" (HH), with goedrum ctrl.

                            Comment

                            • ignotus
                              Registered Member
                              • 01-2012
                              • 688

                              #15
                              No problem sharing - I'll attach the STL files. I'm a noob and these are made in Tinkercad . You'll probably have to design an additional part to attach it to the pedal board. This cam fits a 10 mm hex rod shaft (the horizontal bar on the pedal), and I'm not entirely sure about the ball bearing dimensions... I think they're 5x10x4 (inner diam x outer diam x thickness), 4 for each rod, flanged, like these. Cam_1 and Cam_2 are glued together after sanding the surfaces smooth for better adhesion. All bolts and nuts are M5, 30 mm long hex bolts. Overall everything is a tight fit, but I suppose it depends on your printer when it comes to tolerances. I lined the inner part of the cam with some thin rubber so it clamps firmly on the hex rod, but YMMV.

                              If you have any questions fire away.
                              Attached Files
                              Last edited by ignotus; 05-26-22, 04:54 AM.
                              Megadrum module, DIY A2E pads, DIY 2 & 3-zone cymbals, DIY hall-effect 3-zone hi-hat, El Cheapo buttkicker, DIY trigger beaters on DIY longboard/direct drive modded pedals. DIY IEMs. Some kit pics/history. Check out Jamulus for real-time online jamming!

                              Comment

                              Working...