Minimalist Drummania Controller (with pics)

[defiled]

I figured maybe I should show off this project of mine to inspire those who are dissuaded from playing Drummania at home because the DTX kits are too expensive.

First, the back story:

There is no bemani scene where my parents live (St. Louis), at least none that I know of. The closest DM cab which I can't even confirm the existence of is a 3rd mix in some movie theater half an hour away from their house, and even if there was a fully functional machine in this theater, it'd be a big hassle to always go out there.

When my sister came out to visit me (in Seattle), I showed her Drummania and she loved it. Since then, she's always wanted to play, but has always been deprived.

And I myself have withdrawals whenever I go back home (there's jack shit to do in St. Louis)...

To remedy this, I decided to build a cheap midi drum kit for our house, its sole purpose being for Drummania.

Being used to my DTXpress, I wanted this thing to be just as good (for Drummania, that is. For normal drumming, not so much) This meant Yamaha pads all around. But just the bare minimum needed for DM - hi-hat, snare, hi tom, lo tom, crash, kick.

After acquiring the pads/trigger/cymbal (for $20 a pop), I dug up an unused, ancient Yamaha Percussion Midi Converter (PMC-1) that I got with a bunch of other drum hardware from an auction a while back. The PMC-1 module is from the frickin' 80s (at least 20 years old) and doesn't even generate its own audio, but it serves its purpose as a drum trigger input - MIDI output device, and that's all you need to play Drummania. So I dusted it off and programmed it (and the manual, which I was lucky to find a PDF of, was no help whatsoever)

All the pads registered, so now all that was left was a rack to put all this shit on.

I went to a local drum store here to see if they could sell me a basic rack. All the ones they had were out of my budget, but the guy did show me a peculiar piece of hardware - a tripod stand, made by Roland.

This thing was just a multipurpose stand that you could attach drums, pipes, etc to if you ran out of space on whatever rack you normally use.

I asked the guy about the extent to what I can stick on this thing, and he told me that he used one of these before to make a very bare-bones drum set in the past, which intrigued me, as that was the purpose of the whole project.

That, and it was only $50, so I bought it. Whether it worked out or not, I could still make use of it in the future for something else.

When I found some free time, I started experimenting with all of this equipment. Obviously, I could not just attach a bunch of pads to a tripod, as everything needs to be spread out over a horizontal bar.

I happened to have two extra bars left over from my DTXpress kit, two extra bars that were the exact lengths I needed for this. One long, one short.

I slowly started putting all the pads on, and figured out a perfect set up utilizing both bars.

I present to you the end result:

A top down view of the set.



Loading up one of my favorite songs...



Just to give you an idea of how compact the set is, and at the same time, how fuckin' huge the Yamaha PMC-1 module is.




The pad layout can't be customized too much before you have to tack on extra bars. Right now it's just 3 pieces - the tripod, the short bar for holding the snare, and the long bar for holding everything else.

But it holds up really well. It's perfectly balanced because the tripod has a really strong base (Roland makes amazing products). It doesn't shake or wobble, and the portability is amazing.

Most importantly, the pad layout is pretty close to the arcade. Not 100% exact, but damn it, it works so well. All the songs I can play on my DTXpress, I can play just as well here.

And what did all this cost me? $300.

If you're lucky you can find a complete DTX or DTX 2.0 kit for about that much (hell, I got my DTXpress fully loaded for $300 flat), but I kinda had to make do with whatever spare parts I could slowly acquire and not rely so much on the possibility of a real good deal popping up on eBay, because I need to ship this thing out within the next few days.

Plus, in all honesty, I'm glad I built this thing from the ground up instead of getting an already complete kit. It was all a labor of love. Experimenting with the pad layout, programming the ancient PMC-1 to spit out a Drummania compliant MIDI, tweaking everything just right to eliminate crosstalk... The feeling of satisfaction afterwards that all this unused junk put together made a neat little ASC.

So if you can't afford to get a complete set all at once, but can pick up parts here and there, you can come up with your own unique controller for half the price, and never have to deal with the piece of shit Konami controller ever again.

[Ztype]

That's a really good deal you got going, very compact. Have you been able to try hooking this up to a PS2?

[defiled]

Thanks!

To answer your question, as long as the MIDI channel is 10 for every input, and every input is set to the right MIDI note, it works just fine on PS2.

[Ztype]

That's pretty cool, I have no use for something like this because I use a DTXpress, but I enjoy seeing all the DIY stuff on this site. Good work

[Opethian]

awesome job dood 300 sounds a hell of a lot better than 600 (which is how much used DTXpress's around me cost and they are in terrible condition)

[AdamW]

nice stuff. now get a proper TV instead of a laptop screen =)

[Zarcom]

now THATS something I can simpy do without using wood lmao *looks at shattered failed project*.

See yaz bye.

[PlatinumHawke]

After seeing this kind of a set up, I'm really considering making a drum kit similar to the one that you've made. I just have a few questions that hopefully you can answer.

1. Can you mix and match manufacturers of the drum parts, or is it best to stick with one brand for everything?
2. Will any make/model of drum module work on the PS2, assuming it's configured properly as stated?
3. Do you need a MIDI>USB adapter (I'm assuming that you do)?

[defiled]

Originally Posted by PlatinumHawke

After seeing this kind of a set up, I'm really considering making a drum kit similar to the one that you've made. I just have a few questions that hopefully you can answer.

Hey there. Glad to see another do-it-yourself guy. I'd be happy to answer your questions.


1. Can you mix and match manufacturers of the drum parts, or is it best to stick with one brand for everything?

Yes you most certainly can mix and match parts. Most drum pads have a 1/4" TRS jack, and every modern ('90s on up) rack, mount, and clamp out there (these are the things that support your pads) all conform to one standard so everything will fit together.

Whatever brand rack you use, and whatever brand module aren't going to be as important as the brand of the pads however.

It's the pads that make or break an electronic drum set (not just figuratively but literally as well). So if you have some kind of selection to choose from, take this into consideration:

As far as electronic drum equipment goes, Yamaha and Roland are pretty much at the top in terms of quality. There is a big difference in price between the two however - Roland is far more expensive, which is why I stick with Yamaha (which is also why Konami sticks with Yamaha hahaha)

I have never had a Yamaha pad crap out on me, they are built solid and you can find'em as cheap as $20 if you look around.

I can't vouch for drums by other companies, but I've heard horror stories, especially from the new Simmons sets (pads just dying after 4 or 5 months of use). But it's always a learning experience to try new equipment and see what works (or doesn't work).

Whatever brand you settle on though, you want a single zone pad. Dual/triple zone pads are more expensive and aren't going to make a difference for Drummania (unless you want to play some songs with cross stick action!)


2. Will any make/model of drum module work on the PS2, assuming it's configured properly as stated?

Yeah, the only requirements for the module is that it takes in inputs from at least 6 triggers - (your snare, kick, tom 1, tom 2, hi-hat, crash) and outputs a MIDI.

There are plenty of old vintage drum trigger modules from the 80s that perform this function adequately. Generally, you can find these a lot cheaper than you would a more recent module, because the modules from the 80s don't produce audio on their own, their sole purpose was to spit out a MIDI stream to go to a synthesizer so you could hear what the hell you were actually playing.

Modern drum modules have audio systems built in that allow you to hook up an amp or headphones, so obviously these are going to be more expensive because they're more practical for drummers these days.

If you end up with a vintage module though, keep in mind that documentation might not be so easy to come by, it depends on the company. But in my experience, the modules I've programmed have had relatively simple interfaces, and you don't have to do all that much tweaking to get Drummania up and running anyway.


3. Do you need a MIDI>USB adapter (I'm assuming that you do)?

Yes, you need the Yamaha UX-16 adapter to bridge the gap between your module and the PS2.


If you got any more questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, good luck with that! I think it'd be neat to see more homemade sets.

[Checky]

Where did you get those sticks?

[defiled]

Originally Posted by Checky

Where did you get those sticks?

They're Vic Firth "Kid Sticks."

You can get them at any Guitar Center for like $5 a pair.

[AdamW]

no Guitar Center in Canada AFAIK...

[m-force]

Originally Posted by AdamW

no Guitar Center in Canada AFAIK...

If you can find a local music store or even a drum shop around, they probably have the Vic Firth Kid Sticks for a cheap price. Other than that, I'll probably buy a Vic Firth 2B 10 Pairs Stick Pack online.