Author Topic: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional  (Read 4535 times)

Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« on: February 18, 2010, 08:20:47 PM »
Yep.This is my trainwreck. Kids... Do NOT try this at home. If you do, you'll be kicking puppies and punching yourself in the face in no time. Nothing is ever made to fit anything ever. Nothing. If something looks like it will fit... It wont. But you will do whatever it takes to fit a square peg into a round peg. Sometimes you will succeed. Sometimes you will check your little box o' crap and find something that will work for you. But looks can and will be deceiving. And this time, your frustration causes over-aggressive manipulation that, after a couple hours, renders that part that caused you to drive a flat head screwdriver into the palm of your hand, useless.
And the little purple ring never goes away.
But here's my thing. It started off as a used 5 piece I accidentally won on ebay. And then another. The second one helped me to replace the n/o switches I used to trigger the bass drum and crash triggers on my now retired Kawai drum machines. I bought misc pads and stuff here and there (if they were really cheap), and found a grown-up kit with a larger frame that does not connect or play well with the 3/4 inch frame I got with the first two kits. And vice versa. They do not play well together. But... I refused to let it kick my ass. And I refused to let it tap into my wallet.
I am victorious!
And believe it or not... This thing is as solid as a rock.

In the picture above, you might notice that the throne is indeed, not a throne at all. It is a modified office chair with the back removed. I also took the seat off the "main frame" thing and added a 4 inch box made from only the finest scrap 2X4's to bolt between the frame and seat to give it the lift I need to keep my knees below my waste. You will also see an old Tascam multitrack unit (30 bucks at the local pawn shop) that I use to mix the 3-4 modules and auxiliary input from my CD or computer. The outputs are sent to a little 12 track mixer that also handles strings and keys. The Gibralter double pedal and 12 track mixers were also good pawn shop finds.
 In the picture below, the only thing that isn't totally effed is the silver frame and connectors. Oh. The drum on the lower left isn't unnaturally manipulated as well. I think everything else you see is somewhat modified to fit. That Roland pad is mounted on a boom intended for a regular cymbal. The base of that boom is now a keyboard stand. And in the last picture, you will see that it is fixed to the chrome boom next to it that is sleeved into another piece that is mounted to the leg of the 1 1/2 inch frame. That sleeve allows me raise or lower the pad by loosening the wing nuts in the tee connected to the end of the 3/4 inch frame. When it is secure, the kits are then locked together. Theres more, but I decided that it would take longer than I had expected to explain them all tonight.

This next picture is just an example of the random pads that make up this kit. Maybe I just posted this picture to show off my DIY Taurus Pedals that are back there lurking in the shadows.

All in all, the thing is pretty compact. It covers an area of about 6ft by 5ft. That's equivalent to two fat chicks, if anyone's keeping score. And since my space very limited, I cut an inch by inch piece of a Miller Lite can to add girth to the rod on my music stand so I would be able to clamp it to the cymbal clamp that clamps to the 3/4 inch frame. It makes it reachable and keeps me from kicking it over every time I walk past until I eventually end up harpooning someone with it. And, yes. That IS a Rickenbacker 4001 hanging back there. Thanks for noticing. And thanks for lookin at my stuff. Really. I appreciate it.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2010, 04:33:50 AM by AnubisXII »
When you see a mime doing that Trapped in a Box thing, I think a funny thing to do is punch him in the throat.
A12

Offline ghostman

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2010, 10:08:40 PM »
haha!  very cool.
Alesis DM10 & Trigger IO, 5 8" single input DIY shells; 2 18" DIY Bass drums, 1 13" DIY eSnare, PinTech 14" Visulaite Hi-Hats, 2 PinTech 14" choke-able crashes & 18" dual-zone ride; Steven Slate Drums EX.  Mounted on Superstrut custom rack.

Offline Guinness

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2010, 02:16:52 AM »
Awesome post!    :o
 
Cool kit!

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2010, 05:02:49 AM »
you just had to out do neil peart didnt you...lol nice setup bro how many mods you have and what are they?
the process of a thought is only stirred on by creative ingenuity

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2010, 08:17:57 AM »
you just had to out do neil peart didnt you...lol nice setup bro how many mods you have and what are they?

The only way I can outdo NP is with my cushy backless modified office chair. It has wheels.
But right now, I'm using a iDM02 for a couple cymbals and a ride. Also using it for the tambourine. (This is under "normal" circumstances)
I'm using a D4 for the snare, splash, china, crash, kick drum, hi-hat, and all the toms.
I'm using a Simmons SDHB2 for a bell ride and something that sounds like you're striking a rusty tin can with keys inside it.
And I've got a DM5 that just don't jive. That is to replace the Simmons and take the toms from the D4 to free up some spots for some extra cymbals.
And a partridge in a pear tree.
I'm still trying to figure out a way to make my own module out of a coconut and a piece of twine.
Thanks for asking.
When you see a mime doing that Trapped in a Box thing, I think a funny thing to do is punch him in the throat.
A12

Offline Guinness

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2010, 12:11:47 PM »
I'm still trying to figure out a way to make my own module out of a coconut and a piece of twine.


MacGyver!   that should be your forum name.  lol :D

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2010, 05:23:41 PM »
I'm still trying to figure out a way to make my own module out of a coconut and a piece of twine.

balin twine and duct tape you can do anything what happen to the peach tree i tought southerns liked peaches better...lol
 
MacGyver!   that should be your forum name.  lol :D
the process of a thought is only stirred on by creative ingenuity

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2010, 03:41:45 AM »
Wow. With a little tweak here, and a little shove there... I had no idea how much my kit has changed since I posted this. And I haven't even really done anything. Well... Nothing major. I found a way to put the modules in the same area as the mixer, but everything else just kinda settled into place I guess. Ooh. I also added a rack mount Peavey EQ that I bought from a friend of a friend for 20 bucks. I guess his wife decided that he had no future in the hip hop community as a deejay. It's kinda funny now that I think about it. It was in a parking lot after midnight. Here I am with these two black guys at an apartment complex in the parking lot after midnight giving one of them cash for something he dug out of his trunk. I'm sure I was probably wearing an old Slayer shirt or something. And they were kinda thugged out a little bit. Nothing good could be happening over this way.
When I realized what we must have looked like to someone viewing this transaction, I felt like I looked a little suspicious and out of place. So I stabbed the guy.


Not really. I was just looking for a way to end this thing. My kit has changed quite a bit since I posted this, but I don't know if the changes are significant enough post some new pics.
When you see a mime doing that Trapped in a Box thing, I think a funny thing to do is punch him in the throat.
A12

Offline Guinness

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2010, 12:09:47 PM »
Quote from: Anubis XII aka 'MacGyver'
.... So I stabbed the guy.


That made me crack up.   :D

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #9 on: June 29, 2010, 10:45:38 PM »
Wow thats incredible , a  refrigerator and a stove and you'd be set  ;) , I could imagine trying to find the exit after a 12 pack   . . Rock on  8)

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2010, 04:03:35 AM »
Wow thats incredible , a  refrigerator and a stove and you'd be set  ;) , I could imagine trying to find the exit after a 12 pack   . . Rock on  8)
Already got it handled. Kinda.
I use the refrigerator compressor as a driver for a generator to help maintain a full charge to a series of magnetic ballasts that keep any fluctuations north or south of 60hz at a constant if there is any loss of power or a surge in the city's electrical grid. It does this as the evaporator coil keeps the equipment at a nice, cool 58.6 degrees Fahrenheit. I didn't really use the stove in a way that challenged its full potential. I use the thermostat as a high temperature release switch that kicks out the relay controls feeding the generator if two or more ballasts were to overheat, and I'm taking advantage of the encased heating elements because they each encase a wrapped internal conductor much like the spring reverb units that came with the old phonographs of the early seventies. You remember those? A good example of the reverb can be heard clearly in the Jimmy Dean song, "Big Bad John". And using one of the burner controls as a potentiometer, I can control how much reverb I get back through the mixing board without pulling from the mixers effect loop. I probably could have used more of the stove, but it was getting late. Oh... The knobs on the stove that controlled the burners were shaped like little pilgrim hats if you were to pull them off and lay them on the counter. It looked like a bunch of little bitty pilgrim hats laying on the counter. So I got my sharpy and drew a tiny little smiley face on the tip of my finger and gave it a little pilgrim hat. Its like my finger instantly became a cute little pilgrim. A happy one too. I named him Pinky. Pinky the Pilgrim. Kept trying to climb into my ear though. And I'll be damned if I couldn't keep him away from my nose.
Strange little people, those pilgrims. Downright wacky.
And in my cave, there are no exits. Only entrances from somewhere else.
When you see a mime doing that Trapped in a Box thing, I think a funny thing to do is punch him in the throat.
A12

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2010, 10:53:09 AM »
 :D  Stated fact . . it is this friction. . Conclusion - Ear infections and sore throats in the middle of the night are caused by invisible underpant gnomes that run around aimlessly on viagra   8)  8)  8)

Offline Guinness

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2010, 12:54:35 PM »
You gotta start writing short stories for little kids or something. 
 
 
Again...  you had me laughing out loud.  This dry humor killed me:
 
"The knobs on the stove that controlled the burners were shaped like little pilgrim hats if you were to pull them off and lay them on the counter. It looked like a bunch of little bitty pilgrim hats laying on the counter."

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #13 on: July 10, 2010, 10:52:56 PM »
Already got it handled. Kinda.
I use the refrigerator compressor as a driver for a generator to help maintain a full charge to a series of magnetic ballasts that keep any fluctuations north or south of 60hz at a constant if there is any loss of power or a surge in the city's electrical grid. It does this as the evaporator coil keeps the equipment at a nice, cool 58.6 degrees Fahrenheit. I didn't really use the stove in a way that challenged its full potential. I use the thermostat as a high temperature release switch that kicks out the relay controls feeding the generator if two or more ballasts were to overheat, and I'm taking advantage of the encased heating elements because they each encase a wrapped internal conductor much like the spring reverb units that came with the old phonographs of the early seventies. You remember those? A good example of the reverb can be heard clearly in the Jimmy Dean song, "Big Bad John". And using one of the burner controls as a potentiometer, I can control how much reverb I get back through the mixing board without pulling from the mixers effect loop.

Dude, didn't you used to write script for Star Trek? LOL

Jer
Taye GoKit with Pintech trigger conversions, Hart mesh heads, Zildjian Gen16 AE cymbals, Pintech Nimrods, and various and ever-changing accessories

Re: Hideous... Yet Dysfunctional
« Reply #14 on: July 10, 2010, 11:40:57 PM »
You gotta love all those orphan triggers! LOL good work--the beat goes on