--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "epvk_jahoe" <yahoo@e...> wrote:
The question is whether someone
> somewhere did the same sort of dissection of the pads as OGD did
for the Yamaha pads.
> Does anyone know where to find it on the web, or does anyone know
what the right
> combination (including layer thicknes, best kind of foam) should
be? I've also been looking
> on the Pintech groups, but couldn't find anything. If all else
fails, I'll buy a new one to find
> out.
>
> Another point is how to assemble it to the Yamaha rack. I can
figure out something, but if
> anyone has experience it will help.
>
> Final point is the potmeter that Ed has been mentioning for using
Pintech pads with the
> DTXPress brain. What are the specs of such a pot and where do I
need to solder it. (Ed?)
Hi Erik Paul,
The interior of the Pintech CCs is extremely simple as shipped from
the factory. There were basically two types--one with a bottom metal
plate with a slit configuration and one with a slender metal rail
across the bottom diameter. In each case, a piezo sat at center
bottom with foam on top of it to make contact with the center of a
tightened mesh head at the top. If the foam is inserted properly and
the head tightened sufficiently, the top of the foam should be
inconspicuous to the touch--creating a uniformly flat, taut surface
that allows strikes anywhere on the head to be propagated effectively
through the foam to the piezo below. This Roland-type design is
famous for its "hot spot" at the center, compared to triggering on
the periphery. To some extent, this is unavoidable; it plays a part
in positional sensing. But adjustments in playing technique and
attention to trigger set-up can render it only mildly annoying.
Pintech has used three different foam shapes to straddle piezo and
head: the tapered cone, a trapezoid, and the more recent cylindrical
design. I did a review of the new Pintech trigger assembly, with this
latest foam, sometime last year, and posted a preliminary report on
its installation and performance in message # 8347. It might be
helpful to read. When this new assembly first came out, Pintech was
willing to send it out to people to install by themselves. Roland,
however, objected to this tactic (Pintech is a licensee of Roland).
Now if you want to get upgraded, or repaired, interiors for Pintech
meshes, you have to either piece them together yourself or send your
drums to the factory. Obviously, letting Pintech do the work would be
an option for you, though DIY is much less expensive. I know that
there was a site that showed the interior of both earlier Pintech
models, but I can't remember where. I'll work on it.
As you might imagine, e-drum companies are guarded about the specific
industrial foam that they use. But you might give Pintech a call to
see whether they'd send you a few columns of it, or at least give you
a price on the complete factory upgrade. I can't remember the cost.
In general, the foam should be of the firm, closed-cell variety. Open
cell foam is too spongy to send a signal and to hold up under the
battering of drumsticks. One site that I noted at one time for such
foam is efoamstore.com/default.asp. I know that people have had
success more recently at www.foamonline.com.
The Pintech CCs will fit on the Yamaha rack as toms with a simple
adjustment of the standard-issue clamp's orientation, no? The snare
is better-mounted on a separate stand, both to cut down on crosstalk
from the other pads on the rack and to allow for better positioning.
I suggest that you get your pads in good working order and test them
through the module before trying to alter their response. The pot
would be a 250k audio taper pot. Looking at the pot from the top, the
mid-terminal would usually be the one soldered to the incoming plus
wire and the left terminal to the ground. The right terminal would
connect to the hot output of the spliced cable. That's how I see it.
Ed
