Korg Forums

[WaterDrum]

In several threads it was mentioned ,
that the WD has not a really "natural rebound feeling"
when played with sticks in a drumkit - snare style.

Well I am not an experienced drumkit player ,
more kind of hand drummer , or 1 hand 1 stick drummer.
(Im playing the newbie card now..)

my thoughts:
if one plays with sticks only ,
he will probably not need the possibilities of the pressure sensor.

So why not disable it completely ,(my EXP pedal is still working)
remove the dampening effect of the touching pressure sensor ,
give a bit more tension to the head (slowly and carefully) and
get a more realistic feeling and rebound ?

works like this:
1.remove the rim and the skin

2.remove these 2 screws (again hidden under black tape)


3.remove the plastic shield with the rubber on top


4.reassemble the rim
5.tune the head slowly and carefully overcross (manual style!)


I have done that already , and it works.
As said above , I am not so experienced with sticks technique ,
maybe someone can try this and tell us about it .

after an email to freestok he sent me this link with his thoughts :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGTbCxLqTZk&feature=results_video&lr=1&ob=0

So...what do you think ?

[freestok]

I think, this rebond problem not only for drummers with stick...
...because when i play with my hand, the feeling not the same too... cause the rubber smooth under the skin absorb all small vibration i try to put sometimes, it's strange feel feedback

The poor solution is to strike just on border...isn't enough...for many drummer, not confortable to modify their playing technics stick just for a case of the Wavedrum

i doubt korg make on a futur a more sophistical system sensor pressure without this rubber...already they don't want to put a USB connector...no comment....then, i deduce the better solution is remove and displace this system pressure sensor on external way like you WaterDrum.

[Panason]

Yeah, I also figured that's the way to go to make this behave more like a snare drum.

Or just compromise like i did, and lower the pressure sensor so that it is still usable but doesn't create a visible bump in the middle of the head. You just need more pressure to activate it.

I am using these little flexible plastic mallets with wooden heads that I found in a music shop, I think they're for glockenspiels, and they make for great bouncy and twangy effects. They have HONSUY written on them.

One of those in one hand and a soft headed mallet in the other, and you can easily get two different sounds from the head in many programs (eg kicks & snares).

[k44]

Hi, WaterDrum!
A couple of questions for you.

* Are there any wires connected to plastic shield? If so, is there a safe way to disconnect them and not to cut anything?

* Doesn't pressure sensor start to indicate an error when the shield is removed?

* Did you try hand playing using djembe/darbuka presets?

[WaterDrum]

hi k44 ,
no wires connected ..easy to lift off the shield
if you do not scratch the screws nobody can see , that you opened it

no error message without the shield ,
(you only get error 10 if you boot up the WD and press at the same time...)

I dont use this setup , as I would loose the pressure function
its a bit better though , than the normal setup with the shield.

this setup is for "stick drummers" only ,
who dont need the pressure function ...

another variation would be to keep the shield ,
but only remove the rubber mat

edit:
positive results of removing the shield can be found here
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=473666&sid=eb945dc419d8390f68449fd8c6e0a218#473666

[MidiSaron]

Does anyone know how the pressure sensor works? Does it generate a voltage depending on pressure or travel of the drumhead?
Maybe it can be replaced with a proximity sensor that does not touch the drumhead at all, like the CNY70. See here for a datasheet:
http://www.vishay.com/doc?83751
I once built a gadget using this sensor, it can really detect the distance of a surface in a 1..5 mm range (see Fig. 9 in the datasheet). Probably it has to be re-calibrated when the drumhead is replaced with one of a different colour.

[WaterDrum]

the pressure sensor is a pressure sensitive Ohm resistance

(similar to this one:)
http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/503368/Drucksensor-FSR-400-ca-10-g-10-kg

the effect of pressing can be done with an expression pedal
or a hi hat controller pedal
or with a potentiometer (permanent synth +sound changes !! )
or with a pressure area to lean on , or... or...or...

---parallel connected to the pressure sensor


effect starts at about 25 kOhm
the sensor that you posted would have to give out
an Ohm resistance between about 25 kiloOhm down to zero Ohm.
( I never tried audio signal on the pressure sensor
for rhythmic effects , could work ? )

interesting sensor...

so with a working sensor and/or an expression pedal
you could still do the Art Blakey thing ?

parallel working of course.

[MidiSaron]

I think it's unlikely that you can just replace the FSR with the receiver of a CNY70. This is not a ohmic resistor, it's more like a current source. But maybe it works, you never know until someone tries
Besides, of course you need a power supply for the infrared emitter of the CNY70.

[WaterDrum]

yes a press sensor with no contact would be the optimum solution...
the head piezo alone does not dampen the sound too much

the EXP pedal then is kind of a"special" Wavedrum hihat pedal
with VERY different possible effects
more than just opening and closing a sound