Cymbals

Pads can be made in many shapes. Two shapes that got their own name are Tubes and Cymbals. A cymbal pad is an electronic equivalent of an acoustic cymbal. Usually it is a circular disc with a piezo at the bottom (or inside).

The design I made in the 90's contained two parts. First of all a PVC disc with a diameter of about 15cm and a thickness of 3 to 5mm. At the bottom I glued a trigger in a PVC housing (see triggers).

Just like with Tubes you can choose to put a playing surface on top of it, or choose to use it without a playing surface. You can buy rubber as a playing surface but you can shop around for other materials. For example, I like the rubber of table tennis bats, it's pretty soft. You can't get those in big diameters but for a cymbal pad it's big enough. Contact a wholesale trader or a sportsclub to get more info!

Two other places to look for nice and unique playing surfaces are shops with household goods and floor covering shops. I started with placemats. The next picture shows one with a cow print, pretty Dutch, isn't it? Placemats are pretty thin and therefore not useful for regular drumpads, but for cymbal pads they suffice. If you want a slightly thicker layer you could look at vinyl floor covering. Also available in many colors and designs and mostly with a thickness of a couple of milimeters.

Some manufacturers produce chokeable cymbals. The edge zone of a chokeable cymbal contains a sensor. It doesn't react on vibration but on resistance. I never made such cymbals, I also never made cymbals with multiple piezos. I rather keep things simple. You can choke cymbals rather easily with foot switches or by hitting other pads. Take your time to learn the possibilities of polyphony and grouping of your trigger interface or drum module and you will see that these simple Cymbals suffice!