Author Topic: Using a bottom hihat cymbal under Surge hihat?  (Read 1233 times)

Offline ironman187

Using a bottom hihat cymbal under Surge hihat?
« on: June 21, 2018, 12:18:05 AM »
Hi all, I'm getting an acoustic hihat stand and plan on either buying or DIYing a hihat controller for it. I'm running surge Cymbals on my kit and was wondering if anybody has used a bottom high-hat under the surge hihat for a more realistic feel. If so, does it negativity impact triggering? I'm also toying with the idea of buying a large PVC pipe cap, drilling a hole through it, adding rubber or foam around the rim of it, and putting it under the hihat so when the foot pedal is depressed, the high-hat feels more like an acoustic one.

Online Hellfire

Re: Using a bottom hihat cymbal under Surge hihat?
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2018, 08:29:39 AM »
Hi all, I'm getting an acoustic hihat stand and plan on either buying or DIYing a hihat controller for it. I'm running surge Cymbals on my kit and was wondering if anybody has used a bottom high-hat under the surge hihat for a more realistic feel. If so, does it negativity impact triggering? I'm also toying with the idea of buying a large PVC pipe cap, drilling a hole through it, adding rubber or foam around the rim of it, and putting it under the hihat so when the foot pedal is depressed, the high-hat feels more like an acoustic one.

I say try it and let us know how it turns out. Personally I think a bottom hat is not necessary. Your PVC pipe cap sounds like it would do the trick of making the top hat move less when the pedal is depressed. Let us know how it works and be sure to take some pictures. Make sure you post it in the Do-It-Yourself or DIY section.

Offline ironman187

Re: Using a bottom hihat cymbal under Surge hihat?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2018, 05:01:05 PM »
Hi all, I'm getting an acoustic hihat stand and plan on either buying or DIYing a hihat controller for it. I'm running surge Cymbals on my kit and was wondering if anybody has used a bottom high-hat under the surge hihat for a more realistic feel. If so, does it negativity impact triggering? I'm also toying with the idea of buying a large PVC pipe cap, drilling a hole through it, adding rubber or foam around the rim of it, and putting it under the hihat so when the foot pedal is depressed, the high-hat feels more like an acoustic one.

I say try it and let us know how it turns out. Personally I think a bottom hat is not necessary. Your PVC pipe cap sounds like it would do the trick of making the top hat move less when the pedal is depressed. Let us know how it works and be sure to take some pictures. Make sure you post it in the Do-It-Yourself or DIY section.

I don't have a bottom hihat to try out, and I figured before investing in one, I should see if anybody else has tried it. I do plan to make a thread for the hihat mod, so be on the look out for it. I'm also repairing the trigger plate from a crimson snare, I'll be posting a thread on that as well.

Re: Using a bottom hihat cymbal under Surge hihat?
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2018, 07:20:03 AM »
I chopped down a module mount to make my vh-10 work with a bottom hat. Put a little grommet at the top to stop wobble. Hope it helps

Offline ironman187

Re: Using a bottom hihat cymbal under Surge hihat?
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2018, 07:44:54 AM »
My gosh, I've done it! Using a 5" PVC drain cap with a cut out for the trigger box/hump, added rubber foam pipe insulation to the edge of the cap so it doesn't trigger every time the highhat closes past half way (it clunked, so I am assuming this would have been the end result. As a side effect, the foam actually helped give it a more realistic feel, I was expecting the opposite result. Because of the diameter of the cap, I can actually tilt it like you would a real highhat bottom. It's not 100% real feeling, but it is very close. Also it works with both a DM Pad hihat, or a Surge Hihat. I'm not done transplanting the guts of the realhat pedal to the hihat stand yet, and I haven't implemented an anti-spin device for the cap, but I fully expect to be complete and on to testing tomorrow. I'll do a write up as soon as it's confirmed working.