discussion on pad molding that somehow came from a bug post

Mr modnaR wrote:another thing: the contacts on the sensors, are they on the top surface only?

yes top only
hah you may be thinking what i was thinking a while back - invert the sensor, have it in the rubber, and then get pushed down, maybe against another sheet of rubber on the bottom side.

i liked that idea. i'll probably end up making a prototype of it. the only thing i was slightly worried about is that the cables would be moving any time you made a hit - albeit slightly. this may eventually weaken the port on the pcb board. one of those pins has broken on me before, and it may lead to more damage than it'd be worth.

actually i hadn't thought of that! i was wondering if there'd be any shorting problems if the sensors were placed directly on a metal surface, it would appear not.

oh - yeah, no risk of short between sensor contact and metal frame less i were to really screw up my soldering.

Antonym wrote:i'd thought about that, and it'd solve so many problems if i could figure out how to make that work

the issue is space. if the underside of the pad sits directly on a hard space, there's noplace for it to go besides compressing itself. this'd be great for dead on hits, since all the force is directly transferred to the sensor, but corner hits would either not register or they'd register far more quietly than they should have.

i think i'll try it though - it'd make for even more solid feeling pads since there'd be no "space underneath." i think people'd like that, myself included. it's worth a try, but like i said the real issue is preserving those corner hits.

i think with solid pads, the force will be transferred through the rubber irrespective of where you hit it. if these sensors are sensitive enough, that is.

ps, i think this thread should be renamed! 'nym & modnar go off on a tangent' may be suitable?

Antonym wrote:oh - yeah, no risk of short between sensor contact and metal frame less i were to really screw up my soldering.

cool.

Psyched for the pad fix.
I have two or three that are dying on me, do you recommend I get replacements from VST? When do you think your mod will be available, and what do you think it will cost?

my own fix will be done hopefully late tomorrow night. that would mean that i would start making them for other people come this weekend or maybe sooner - i'm taking a trip to visit a sick uncle in kentucky come wednesday, but i might take my work with me.

don't buy replacements from vst - just wait. since vst and other akai replacement dealers offer the pads for about 108 for a full replacement, i'll be attempting to stay close to the bottom half of 100 dollars, between 120 and 140 depending on the options involved and what you need from me.

it'll be less if i can get the rubber for very cheap, so that price estimate is not definite yet.

yo nym, you should start a nice blog to cover all the work in progress stuff of your pad-constructing progress...

The pad design looks solid too...

i will. i have pages and pages of notes that i'll scan. there's a lot of ground that's been covered.

my own fix will be done hopefully late tomorrow night. that would mean that i would start making them for other people come this weekend or maybe sooner - i'm taking a trip to visit a sick uncle in kentucky come wednesday, but i might take my work with me.

don't buy replacements from vst - just wait. since vst and other akai replacement dealers offer the pads for about 108 for a full replacement, i'll be attempting to stay close to the bottom half of 100 dollars, between 120 and 140 depending on the options involved and what you need from me.

it'll be less if i can get the rubber for very cheap, so that price estimate is not definite yet.

What is Tutor's royalty rate? VST might get pissed at you since they actually pay for their advertisements

By the way....I am taking preorders for the MPC 3500

i contacted tutor about buying advertising space but never received an answer, so i don't know what tutor's "royalty" would be, if any

i'd still be interested in buying adspace on mpc-forums and/or mpc-samples .com

as for vst being mad at me, there's really only one person who i know at vst who i'd actually be concerned about whether or not they'd be "mad at me" and that's nick, who has answered many questions and shown interest in my progress so far.

let VST fix mpcs for people who are yellow to crack em open themselves - a sucker is born every minute - and all the power to em for being able to fill such a niche. the only criticism i have is that vst should have more of an engineering facet - this is my first electronics project of my life, it seems like someone else who had the right connections from the beginning (eventoff, inaba rubber, etc) could have thrown something together and sold it through vst.

but as far as parts go, besides stuff like the HD adaptor, you can get pretty much everything else for pennies compared to paying for factory parts.

Antonym wrote:my own fix will be done hopefully late tomorrow night. that would mean that i would start making them for other people come this weekend or maybe

Hey Nym,
Do you think you'll be able to get the corner hits out of your pads, or will they have to be dead on in the center?
I see you've discussed this, not certain of the outcome though...

corner hits are a must. i've designed the mold so that hard corner hits trigger notes that have about half the velocity than if the finger had hit dead center.

i was telling distortedtekno that i gave the rubber sample a test run - put it over the sensor and held it taut, simulating what it'd be like once cast, and started tapping. the result was great, as i asked distorted "when was the last time you could confidently play a drum roll with one pad and a smooth velocity curve?

so yeah i've compensated for corner hits.

werd.
sounds dope.

keep me posted as you get near the finish line, but don't sacrifice finishing it up quickly for a quality product.

I'm psyched....

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