DIY eDrum Build: Part 4 (continued)

Wow, I really was rolling today :lol:

DIY eDrum Build: Part 4

My brother and I worked on the eDrums again yesterday, and so today I tested out the hi hat pad - and TOOK PICTURES! :-D

^ This is the 1/4" jack on the end of the cable going into my audio interface which converts the analog signal to digital so my computer can understand it.
^ It's kinda hard to see, but that's the piezo and cable taped to the underside of the hi hat pad.

And the last picture is the top of the hi hat pad on the rack and connected to the interface. This isn't the final setup, but I wanted to test and see what kind of signal I got when I hit the pad. So far so good! :-)

DIY eDrum Build: Part 3

Well, the piezos got here a few days ago, and yesterday I soldered my first piezo pickup assembly together!

^ The 1/4" jack that will plug into the drum module.

^ The piezo pickup element.

Then I tried it out and it works! :-D It picks up drum hits very well, and I can also pick up my acoustic guitar with it - a nice bonus! I may have to get a few more and make a dedicated guitar pickup with them :-)

~Mac

DIY eDrum Build: Part 2

Well, my module arrived - and didn't work :-( I found out that they had included the wrong power supply with it. However, they were very nice about it and refunded all my money - so it worked out fine! I'm now waiting on another power supply to arrive, as well as my piezos and drum rack. So far, I have my module, cables, and jacks to solder to the cables. Now it's time to wait . . . so I should get to the other things on my plate, like studying and work and stuff :-D

~Mac

DIY eDrum Build: Part 1

So I've decided to build my own electronic drumset for my studio. It's getting so playing drum parts with my MIDI keyboard just doesn't cut it anymore, so I've decided to upgrade.

A few days ago, my adventure began when I won a used Alesis D4 drum module off of eBay. This will be the heart of my rig, that will convert the signals from my pads into drum sounds and MIDI notes. I just ordered 10 piezo pickup elements that will convert drum hits on the pads into electricity. These will be soldered to cables, which will be plugged into the drum module. I'm probably gonna grab a used drum rack off eBay as well to hold the drums.

In a few days my module and piezos will get here, and it will be time for some experimentation with different pad materials and designs. Hopefully when this is finished, I will have a kit that I can use for practice, recording, and possibly live performance.

Should be fun! :-)

~Mac

Random Updates

Well, we finally bought a digital camcorder - for Mom, for her birthday. Of course we're all using it too :-) and it's great that we can now edit and touch up our home movies! Plus digital is just so much more convenient :-) Maybe I'll post some videos . . . maybe.

On a related subject, I'm working on polishing up my collection of moves for the office/study space breakdancing genre I've created. It's mostly done in, on, and around rolling office chairs. Chairspins are so much easier and more fun than headspins - plus they're easier on the head, and work well for those of us who can't do a headspin :lol:

Oh yeah, I also bought a Red Ryder BB gun (70th Anniversary Edition! :O) for fast, cheap plinking when I don't want to get my bigger guns out. It's pretty accurate and it smokes out the muzzle when it shoots which is a nice plus :-) I've done some fun trick shooting with it!

I miss all the people from the OH gathering :-(

I really need to do some studying . . .

Till next time, peace out!

~Mac

Seeing Opportunities in the Little Things

It seems that lately, I've been stuck on thinking big at the expense of the smaller here and now.

Several of my friends are going or have gone on mission trips, they know what God is calling them to, and they are going out into the world to evangelize people for Christ. And while that is great, sometimes it just makes me feel inferior in some way. I mean, here are people traveling to foreign countries, teaching others about Jesus, and here I am, doing schoolwork, watching siblings, cleaning dishes, changing diapers . . . MUNDANE STUFF.

I have slipped into the mindset of regarding one set of activities as somehow "holier" than another.

However, God has been telling me lately that instead of trying to avoid these little things in life as I grasp for bigger, "holier" things, I should make the most of every opportunity (Eph. 5:16). He's telling me to live more in the present, rather than in some uncertain, imaginary future. He's showing me that I should view even the little things as having eternal value and as being opportunities for growth, and that in order to be entrusted with bigger things, I must show myself faithful in little things.

It's a rather large perspective shift, and it will not come to me easily I know. But I am confident that with God's help I can truly see every good activity as having real meaning and value, and that every day I live will be rich with new meaning! I'm excited!

~Mac