KVR Audio

vtx · Post by **vtx** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 3:20 pm

I've been trying to set up a bass kick on the external trigger of the Octopad.
I put a piezo mic on a practice kick and although it works, it multi-triggers every 4 or 5 hits so I bought a Roland midi kick and it does the same thing.
I phoned Roland and they won't give me any answers, just to bring it in.Its a 2 hour drive and I'm not gonna send it to them for what I think might be a $2 part.
I've been in and out of the box over the years and could install anything it needs.
Anyone know of a part that can filter the power from a piezo mic to stop the multi-triggering?
thanx

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 4:37 pm

I can't really offer any help, but I do have an Octapad2, and a few years ago I bought a handfull of piezos just for this very purpose. Naturally I never actually did anything with them...

WhiteNoise · Post by **WhiteNoise** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 5:01 pm

You might be able to run it through a volume pedal and just turn down the volume (if volume is infact the problem). Does the octopad have any settings for sensitivity?

paradiddle · Post by **paradiddle** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 5:12 pm

I have an octopad also and I use an old simmons drumkit for external triggering and I don't get any multi-triggering. Are you sure it's not just the pedal that bounces off on the kick? It doesn't take much.

Markleford · Post by **Markleford** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 5:27 pm

I have an Octapad II and used "acoustic guitar tuner pickups" as external triggers: they're mounted on a little suction cup, so I can stick them on the Octapad itself over the top row of pads!

Is it possible that the piezo is sensitive enough to register the "pedal noise" from the actual foot pedal mechanism itself? Can you tighten up the bolts and maybe even lubricate it to make it quieter?

Have you tried adjusting the sensitivity of that trigger input in the Octapad such that it has a very high threshold?

Otherwise, I could probably write an MFX filter to eliminate the extras if you have a compatible host (recent Cubase or Cakewalk offerings).

- m

vtx · Post by **vtx** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 9:17 pm

Thanx for the replies,,I went down to a electronics store to see if maybe a diode would solve the trigger,,they need a rating which I'm working on now..I tried my volume pedal and the sensitivity on the Octopad, no dice.
The kick is not bouncing,,its not that,,I borrowed a really good Slingerland speed pedal just in case it was mechanical noise,,nope..
Really good advice though guys but ,,not happenin.
The MFX filter sounds interesting but I think its an electrical problem or are you thinking like a gate?
I need an electronics guy to figure out the milly amp rating and install a device before or after the piezo to keep the power constant.
I'm determined to get this working,,so portable,,so useful with all my drum samples or even keyboard sounds,,but as a drummer you need to have the kick on the kick , if you know what I mean..
Markleford,,can you stick the tuner pick-ups on a practice pad and 1/4" it into the external input...?
This problem is exclusive to the external trigger inputs ,as the pads all work fine...

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 10:00 pm

If you do solve the problem, could you post the solution here? It looks like there are a number of us who could use the information.

vtx · Post by **vtx** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 10:41 pm

Okay deastman,,,I've got the rating,,I just have to figure out whether to gate the power on and off or filter the power so it stays constant....
later...

Markleford · Post by **Markleford** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 10:59 pm

vtx wrote:The MFX filter sounds interesting but I think its an electrical problem or are you thinking like a gate?

I'm thinking like a gate: if more than one MIDI On message is received before a specified time window passes, the rest are removed from the output.

However, this means that you can't plug the Octapad straight to your keyboard for live purposes (without a software host in the loop), so that really wouldn't do much good in that situation.

In that case, you're better off trouble-shooting the electronics as you've been doing. Also, check to see if you can hit the kick pad with a stick and see whether it gives you the multi-triggers: that might indicate that it's picking up pedal mechanicals as well.

Don't know if I could get the tuner pickups onto a practice pad and get them to transduce the vibration through the surface: in the case of mounting them on the Octapad itself, I'm actually hitting the back of the pickup *itself*, which is housed in plastic!

- m

Octopad2 and external trigger