[new setup] looking for snare, ride and hats pads

[julien79]

Hello

After reading the manual, watching videos, etc I am sure the eDRUMin 8 (or maybe 12) is the right trigger-to-MIDI interface for me. I don't have it yet but will try to order it soon


I have these pads, plugged to a TMC-6 at the moment:
- KD-7 bass drum
- 3x PD-8 toms (one is currently the snare)
- CY-13R ride
- PD-9 (used as hi-hat at the moment, but I may sell it)
- FD-8 hats pedal

I would like to add:
- a dedicated snare pad
- 2 crashes (or china, you get the idea)
- a hi-hat cymbal

(details below)


1) I need a snare pad with positional sensing:
- center
- off center
- rim shot (playing both the rim and the head; not sure "positional rim shot" is possible)
- cross stick (or side stick, not sure about the name).
- (optional: playing only the rim with the stick, not sure about the name)

What are the "bare minimum" snare pads that support all this?
I read about the PDX-100, but are there any others? Like the PDX-8, PD-85, or Yamaha pads? (can be used or new)
Important: I don't want, and cannot afford a high-end pad that looks exactly like, and feels exactly like a 14" acoustic snare drum


2) I have a CY-13R ride which is officially supported for « bell sense ».
Is there a better ride (still with decent price, or used), when it comes to bell sensitivity and bow / bell separation? On another forum I read two users found the Yamaha PCY135 and PCY155 better, but it was long ago so algorithms may have improved since and finally maybe the CY-13R is equally good.
I ask because if the CY-13R is as good as the PCYs then I will get two used CY-8 as crash / china; else I will only get one CY-8, keep the CY-13R as a crash, and get a PCY as ride.
Of course I will want to plug the ride to a single eDRUMin TRS input.


3) Would you recommend the CY-5 or CY-8 as hi-hat? Or something else? Again no need for something that looks like acoustic hats, I just need something that works well in terms of triggering


4) Does « edge sense » work with (crash) cymbals too? Or only PD-8 style pads?


Thanks for your help
Best regards

[Rob]

What are the "bare minimum" snare pads that support all this?
I read about the PDX-100, but are there any others? Like the PDX-8, PD-85, or Yamaha pads? (can be used or new)
Important: I don't want, and cannot afford a high-end pad that looks exactly like, and feels exactly like a 14" acoustic snare drum

You probably want a snare with a center mounted sensor. If positional sensing is important, stay away from Yamaha pads. The PDX-100 is probably a good choice. It'll support everything you were hoping for except positional rimshots (eDRUMin doesn't support that on any pads).

The CY-13R is great. I would keep it. It works pretty well with bell sense, but the CY-15R works even better.

3) Would you recommend the CY-5 or CY-8 as hi-hat? Or something else? Again no need for something that looks like acoustic hats, I just need something that works well in terms of triggering

Go for the CY-8.

4) Does « edge sense » work with (crash) cymbals too? Or only PD-8 style pads?

Unless you are you using a splitter to combine two cymbals into one input, then you wouldn't need edge sense for a cymbal. That said, it does generally work with the cymbals that I have.

[julien79]

Thanks for your answer Rob

You probably want a snare with a center mounted sensor. If positional sensing is important, stay away from Yamaha pads. The PDX-100 is probably a good choice. It'll support everything you were hoping for except positional rimshots (eDRUMin doesn't support that on any pads).

For the half the price of a new PDX-100 I bought a used bundle containing two PDX-100 and two PD-85. They look like new actually, and work very well with my current TMC-6

The CY-13R is great. I would keep it. It works pretty well with bell sense, but the CY-15R works even better.

Go for the CY-8.

OK

Unless you are you using a splitter to combine two cymbals into one input, then you wouldn't need edge sense for a cymbal. That said, it does generally work with the cymbals that I have.

Yes using a splitter was the idea, so that I can have the following kit ultimately:
1 - (split) bass drum / DIY cowbell with edge sense
2 - snare drum
3 - tom 1
4 - tom 2
5 - tom 3
6 - (split) crash with edge sense / china with edge sense
7 - ride with bell sense
8 - high hat
P - high hat controller

Obviously it is possible to
a) use splits for toms instead of crashes, and have 3-zone or fully positional detection for all cymbals
b) play with two toms instead of three
c) get the eDRUMin 12 instead of the 8, but it is more expensive and likely overkill
d) use a split for hats and bass drum + another split for cowbell and crash1, then crash2 can be 3-zone or positional