Building By Numbers The PDP-FD Hybrid DIY Electronic HH Stand

Here is the Picture Folder  I have found the Roland FD-7 HH controller/pedal to be excellent for these stand conversions. After comparing many stands I found the PDP HH820 to be simply ideal. The base of the stand is wide enough with modification to fit with the parts and housing of the FD pedal. The stand is a 2 leg stand with rotating legs, and it is very economical... sweet little stand. Even the chain bracket and bolt fits perfect with the FD-7 pedal and the bolt thread is identical to the bolts of the FD-7. So we start with a great match up: PDP HH820 and Roland FD-7.

What you Need: The HH820 stand, the Roland FD-7 Pedal Controller, 2 ea. 8-32 X 1 1/4" pan head machine bolts, 2 ea. 8-32 hex nuts, 2 ea #8 flat washers, and 2 ea. #8 lock washers. Tools: Battery operated reciprical saw or just a hacksaw, battery operated drill and 3/16" metal drill bit, Allen wrenches, screwdrivers and pliers.

The pictures are numbered for the construction of this stand.I will give an explaination of the build following the order.
1. Sizing up the stand and controller
2. Removing the pedal base of the PDP HH
3. View of the underside of the PDP pedal, sizing things up
4. The chain attachment bracket is a perfect fit even the bolt is usable in the FD pedal attachment.
5. Disassemble the FD Pedal by removing the top 3 Allen bolts
6. Remove the slide bracket, plunger and spring
7. Turn the FD pedal upside down and remove the bolts holding the plastic housing, But hold the plastic housing together when removing the last bolt. Slowly swing the housing up like in the picture. There is a sensor strip that just slides into a slot. If you are cardful you will be able to see how it attaches. If it slips out before you notice you can see in my pictures where it connects. It is an easy connection. It just plugs/slides in.
8. Cut the base of the PDP stand. You will be removing enough so the base will fit neatly inside the housing of the FD-7. The holes for the carpet spikes of the PDP will be used to bolt the stand to the FD-7 plate.
9. I now cut an additional portion of the base so that it will not contact the sensor strip. I used an Batter operated 18 Volt Ryobi SawzAll  for the cutting.
10. Place the stand and plate together, check the fit. When satisfied, hold the base in place and mark the holes for attaching FD plate to stand. You can scratch a mark on the plate by screwing the spikes down to mark the plate, or just use a nail to scratch a mark.
11. Drill the 2 holes for stand attachment. I drilled 3/16" holes and used 8-32 X 1 1/4" machine bolts, #8 flat and #8 lock washers, I used wing nuts only because that is what I already had, but 8-32 nuts or locknuts will do fine. Place the machine screws through the bottom plate. You can cut a little hole in the rubber of the plate to allow the head of the bolt to flush up to the metal plate.
12. Place the stand base over the machine bolts and fasten the stand down.
13. The stand is now fastened to the plate.
14. Side view of the same.
15. Cut out the 2 corners of the FD plastic housing. Cut just barely more than you need to to make for an easy fit. The picture shows the plastic housing in place after I had cut out the 2 corners. An easy way to do this is to cut a the 2 areas out but don't go too big... then check it ... cut a little more if needed.
16. Another view of the housing cut outs.
17. Reattach the plastic housing being sure your sensor strip is plugged in before closing.
18. Put the plunger and slide bracket back inside the plastic housing. Put the pedal spring back in place. The pedal must go on top of the black bracket. Attach the pedal to the bracket from underneath using 2 of the Allen screws.
19. Attach the chain and chain bracket using the remaining Allen bolt. 
YOU ARE FINISHED .... The remaining pictures show the finished stand. Picture 25 shows an adapter that I made for VH-12 mode on the TD-12 or TD-20 Drum modules. But the adapter is not really necessary. For technical questions on projects like this or most any E drum related question ... I find the best forum on the net is Vdrums.com  Have fun with your DIY endeavors..... J

TD-6V Kit Upgrade file

I am adding this link as the latest and greatest invention for splitting the Aux. input of the TD-12 or TD-20

Plenty of discussion of late on this topic. With the help of my friend Chris .... Here's the DIY solution... Thanks, feef  for the concept, research, pics, explanation..

 

All you need to get independent triggering of 'head' and 'rim' sounds from ANY of the  'dual piezo'  trigger inputs (including Aux's.,Toms,and Snare inputs on the TD-20)  IS:

* two mesh head pads (one you're willing to modify by soldering a piezo
to)

* two stereo TRS leads,

* one stereo 'y' adapter,

* an extra piezo element (plus ability to solder it to the jack inside
a PD-80 pad).


See these attached pixs from a year ago (note the date).
This photo shows a mono-piezo PD-80 I modified by adding a 2nd piezo to.Here   

Notice the two sets of red/white leads sticking out from underneath the
black cone.  Basically, the wiring connects to two piezos which are
under the cone, with one piezo on top of the other (separated by a thin
layer of blue foam).  The uppermost piezo is the rim piezo (soldered to
the ring-sleeve pathway on the PD-80 jack), and the bottom piezo is
just the 'stock' PD-80 head piezo (which is soldered tip-to-sleeve on
the jack).

Why is the rim piezo on top?  Simple: in order to get consistent
triggering of the 'rim' sound whenever you hit the mesh head pad, you
want the rim piezo to be more strongly stimulated than the head piezo;
thus the rim piezo must be CLOSER to the cone/mesh head than the head
piezo.  Every hit will generate a stronger head piezo signal than a
head piezo signal, and voila: a rim sound will be produced.

Look at the design of a stock PD-80R, and you'll see the head piezo is
CLOSER to the head/cone (since it's under the cone).  The rim piezo is
mounted underneath the black metal platform on a metal plate that's
attached to the white ABS shell.  That actually couples the rim piezo
to the shell, which is also connected to the rim via the lugs: great
for rim triggering on a conventional PD-80R.  But unfortunately, that
set-up is not going to work for this application as we'd want.  Hence
why you need to move the rim piezo closer to the cone and mesh head
than the head piezo.

I think I had to SLIGHTLY shave off the tip of the cone to accommodate
the extra space needed by the rim piezo (and the thin layer of foam
placed between the two piezos: it helps to decrease the triggering of
the head piezo underneath).  That kind of stuff has to be done
trial-and-error basis in order to maximize the results, but hey: it's a
DIY project.  That's what it's all about.  :)

@@@@

As a result of this incredibly simple design, it should be readily
apparent to anyone that hitting the mesh head will thus stimulate the
rim piezo stronger than the head piezo, and hence you can guarantee
that all hits to the mesh head will stimulate the 'rim' sound.  ALL
hits will result in simultaneous stimulation of the head and rim
piezos, and thus the rim sound will always be produced when striking
the pad.

So that takes care of the 'rim' sound pad.  What about the other pad?

That's obvious: it's simply an unmodified mono-piezo pad (e.g. PD-80),
and it should go without stating that hitting it's mesh head will
always stimulate only the head piezo, since, duh, it's a mono-piezo
pad.  :)

Connecting the two pads into one dual-piezo trigger input requires
using a stereo (headphone) 'y' adapter.  Set the trigger type to an
appropriate setting (a dual-piezo type, e.g. PD-120), and you're good
to go.

Here's a pix of two pads I've set up to do exactly this.  I found it
was cool to do this for sounds like timbales, etc. without having to
waste extra trigger inputs. Here

lt;P>Although the above DIY modification deals with single zone mesh pads.. Chris and I discussed Cymbal pads and agree the concept is the same... With a single zone cymbal pad ... a second piezo would be added as with the above project. The piezo performing the head function would need to be isolated to some degree, perhaps by mounting it to the upper...underside of the pad with a layer of foam for insolation ... allowing it to be stimulated when the rim is hit... but assuring that the rim always receives the triggering blow... This leaves the ball in the court of you DIY wizards.... Results will vary!    Jman .. Thanks again feef.

PD-80R BLACK  ... A Simple Photo-Enhanced DIY Project

This is a simple paint by photos project for those that just wanna change of colors.  They say a picture's worth a thousand words, so I'll just let the pictures say the rest!  Check thisout.

CUSTOM WRAP DRUM STICKS

This is my latest wrapped drumsticks. I find grip wrapped drumsticks preferrable to dipsticks. I've tried different variations, and the dipsticks peal pretty quickly for me, even when I dip my own. I also find the Wrapsticks eliminate much of the harmful vibrations.

These I call my Tlok Gurt Wrapsticks. I have become fond of the Zildjian Trilok Gurtu Dipsticks, but I have changed the groove, slightly.... placing it ever so slightly higher on the stick, and I've added a slight Bump, via elec. tape, at the bottom of the groove, which tends to keep the stick from sliding forward in my hand.... that has been a problem for me lately...

Here are the pics of this DIY project... pretty simple... I started with Vic Firth 8DN sticks... which are the same approx. size as the Trilok's (I prefer Nylon tip). Here

1. Marked the position of the groove with felt tip pen. Here

2. Used my grinder to notch my groove... For those more Tooled enthusiasts, a lathe would be cleaner, but I find since I do an overwrap anyway, my grinder does fine. Here

3. Next I lay a few wraps of elec. tape at the edge below the groove.... that's my extra Bump.... purely a preference.... you obviously don't need that step unless you prefer. Here

4. Wrapped the stick using Tennis Racket Overgrip tape... One Piece is sufficient when cut in half to do both sticks....So ya get 3 pairs from one pkg. You can also buy Drumstick Grip tape at music stores. The Tennis type is cheaper... Here

5. Play the drums! Whoalla!