[sdiy] CEM3394 (sds8 vs. 800)

[gregory zifcak]

terry
according to that link, the sds8 actually has the 3372. i also have one and 
i might get into modding it after i mess with the 800. they are quite 
different. the 800 sounds quite a bit more gentle than the 8 and doesn't 
have such extreme decays. also, the presets are just marks to help you line 
up the knob!
the bass drum sounds really nice though, especially the click (i think it's 
a pulse instead of a burst of noise), the snare's filter has 
self-oscillating resonance control, and the toms have a "second skin" 
function, which adds a weird distorto second oscillator which is good for 
bells, more colorful bass, etc. the best thing about it though, is the run 
generator. it changes the pitch of tom 1 in time with the rhythm. you can 
set the length of the pitch sweep, mix between up and down sweeps, and mix 
to a random pitch sweep. manipulating these controls becomes a very 
unconventional way of devising and tuning melodies.

i do have the schematic for the 800 but i don't know if it would be of much 
use with the 8. i got it from www.schematicconnection.com. i think he also 
has the 8 for sale.

http://home.hetnet.nl/~emiel_rooijackers/index.html has some great info 
about the simmons and tama modules, including comparisons and pictures.

greg


>From: KA4HJH <ka4hjh at gte.net>
>To: "gregory zifcak" <zifcak at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [sdiy] CEM3394
>Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 00:55:16 -0400
>
>Greg:
>
>I can't really answer your question but I'm sure the folks on this list can
>give you some useful advice (certainly better advice). As it happens I have
>a question for you: do you actually have schematics for this thing? I have
>an SDS-8 with a dead channel that I'd love to be able to fix, and Simmons
>schematics seem to be scarce. I've never heard of the SDS-800--maybe it's
>similar (I know the SDS-8 has CEM chips in it). Any help would be greatly
>appreciated.
>
> >i am just beginning to experiment with modifications, and know nothing 
>about
> >electronics. i have a simmons sds800, which has CEM 3394 chips inside. my
> >question is: what kind of control signals do i need to apply to the pins? 
>i
> >am examining the schematics in an attempt to figure out where to break 
>and
> >modify the circuit, but i am not familiar with the behaviors of parts of 
>a
> >circuit. one possible question: what kind of signal is required to switch
> >between wave shapes? i am hoping to apply the existing panel controls to 
>the
> >pins of the chip. is experimentation safe?
> >thanks for any advice
>--
>
>Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>"The Mac Doctor"


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp