Author Topic: Sonar Black Mamba Snare  (Read 1849 times)

Sonar Black Mamba Snare
« on: March 10, 2018, 12:06:12 PM »
I recently made the purchase of a Sonar snare drum and converted it to an E-drum.  Still tweaking with the settings but so far i'm in love with the look and feel this adds to the kit.  Next project I am going to convert an acoustic bass drum. 
« Last Edit: March 10, 2018, 12:08:58 PM by jacobliford »
Jacob Liford
Your Average Drummer

Offline Dartanbeck

Re: Sonar Black Mamba Snare
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2018, 08:15:41 PM »
Sweet! Any chance of sharing the conversion process/products you used?

Nice freaking snare!

Also, I recall seeing a bass drum pedal attachment (not that long ago, but can't remember where) that allows the use of a smaller sized drum with the standard kick pedal. Then we'd just need legs of whatever fashion we decide.

That said, we could pretty much use any drum for the bass pad - like the snare size used on the Strike, for example.
Alesis DM10X Mesh - Laurin Drums & Cymbals - Strike Module
Dartanbeck.com Digital Artist

Re: Sonar Black Mamba Snare
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2018, 08:57:27 AM »
Sweet! Any chance of sharing the conversion process/products you used?

Nice freaking snare!

Also, I recall seeing a bass drum pedal attachment (not that long ago, but can't remember where) that allows the use of a smaller sized drum with the standard kick pedal. Then we'd just need legs of whatever fashion we decide.

That said, we could pretty much use any drum for the bass pad - like the snare size used on the Strike, for example.

Thank you for the comment on the snare.  I'll look into the attachment your talking about. 


I'd love to share the process. The product I used was a pintech acoustic to electronic conversion kit.  http://pintech.com/product/a2e-conversion-kit/?attribute_size=13%22+Drum&attribute_single-or-dual-zone=Dual+Zone&attribute_jack-styles-see-above=Flush-Mount+System) and a 3 ply mesh head I purchased on Ebay. 

Installation was a breeze, The trigger just attached to the lug screws on the inside of the drum.  No harm done to the drum at all.  The hardest part was figuring out how high to place the foam above the rim of the drum.  I think I would up with about a quarter of an inch above the rim.  Once the head was tightened down you can hardly feel the foam under it.  It seems to trigger pretty well.  I"m still playing with the settings to get it dialed in. 

I have a 22 inch bass drum shell that a friend was going to throw away.  I wound up taking it.  It's in bad shape and in need of some tender love and care. Its missing the hoops and heads but has all the other hardware.  I"m going to refinish it and see if I can find a deal on some hoops.  This way all I'll need is a mesh head and a conversion trigger.  I think for this I can even use an outside mounted one since it's only a single zone trigger.  I've seen some pics of drums with a full size bass drum and love the look of it. 
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 09:16:20 AM by jacobliford »
Jacob Liford
Your Average Drummer

Offline Dartanbeck

Re: Sonar Black Mamba Snare
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2018, 09:08:15 PM »
Yeah... they do look cool with a full-size bass drum!

I laid down my 16 x 16 floor tom to eye up how it would look as a bass drum... ouch! Friggin' cool looking!!!

Thanks for sharing the setup! You know, it was one of those places that sells hoops and hardware (lugs and such) where I saw that riser thing. You won't need that with the 22 though!

Does your new snare respond as well as a regular Alesis mesh pad, you think? Or does it still need some dialing in for that, or is it maybe better? Just curious.

Still kicking around the idea of doing that same process (because no harm is done to the shell) with my acoustic kit. I'm definitely wanting to expand my kit to having more pads... just haven't exactly decided upon which route to take.

The hardest part about converting my acoustic kit is that I'd love to one day set it up 'with' my e-kit as a hybrid setup, using the actual (which I LOVE) sounds of the acoustic kit.

So, to that end, I've really been dreaming about just adding an Alesis Command, Command Mesh, or DM10 MKII Pro. Perfect addition of pads, pedals and cymbals and just the right rack pieces to add on to mine to make it all work.

In the meantime I just rock out on what I have - and I love it!
Sure love that snare!!! Very nice job! Really interested in hearing how well you like that Pintech setup! Looks like a great product, great installation process... now if only it works as well as expected!
Cheers!
Alesis DM10X Mesh - Laurin Drums & Cymbals - Strike Module
Dartanbeck.com Digital Artist

Re: Sonar Black Mamba Snare
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2018, 04:28:29 PM »
Sorry for the delayed reply.  It seems to respond pretty well.  I wound up moving the sensor to the edge of the drum as I was getting way to much hot spotting.  I would say it does as well as the original pad did.  But I’m still trying to dial in the settings.  Thanks for the feedback on the bass drum. I’ll be a little while before I can get it all set up.  Got to get some spare cash.   
Jacob Liford
Your Average Drummer