Instauratio: MIDI Handpan With 19 Tonefields on Speed and Knock down Side...

Introduction

This is a instructor of my custom made MIDI handpan with 19 intensity sensitive tonefields, Stop up'n Play USB capability, and a fate of hands-down to use parameters for adjusting the pads for your individual needs. Information technology's not a design honor winning model ;) but it perfectly fits to my needs in practicing handpan acting at home.

The building physical process is easy, but information technology takes some time. (Imputable Corona interlace down I had decent time in the last months to make this twist). If you wanna make your own model and you have playfulness in cutting, sawing, a small soldering, and so probably this is a imag for you.

You don't need whatsoever Arduino programming knowledge, because I used a standard drum trigger interface, that I mounted inside the base. The total costs for the materials are about 150.- Euro.

The usage of such a standard Trigger module (in my case an Alesis Get up Trigger I/O that I got second gear hand for 90.- Euros) has some important advantages, that I bequeath describe in step XXX in this tutorial.

To play this instrument you need a Personal computer or Mac, a DAW or a VST Player free of charge and some headphones or Speakers.

A few quarrel why I did this and how I started past making a prototype with simply 8+1 tonefields

I am a handpan player and one day I unreal to have a MIDI-device with respective tonefields, along which I prat turn similar to the performin techniques on Steelpans.

My intention was:

+ To stimulate a practicing pad

+ To check out different scales earlier buying a real steelpan

+ The possible action to act calm via headphones

+ Using different soundfiles like-minded Piano-Samples, Drumkits, Synths and so on in my Corvus monedula

I searched the net and found a site of a guy from Chile, WHO ready-made a very nice electronic Musical instrument digital interface Handpan impossible of a really esthetic wooden body. Only because my skills in shaping Wood are not thus good and soh are also my electronic and programming skills, I began to look for alternative materials and techniques.

Months later deep in the night on the way to my home I found the right material standing identical lonely near the street..... information technology was an old foam mattrass in a area of glass!! Now the idea for that gimmick was born :)

The fizz has really good characteristics: it is easy to cut with a knife for putting IT into the right field shape, it is whippersnapper and the near important fact: the physical muffles the mechanical trigger impulse from one trudge to the other pads, and so a finger come to along one trigger will only gun trigger this launching pad and not the others.

For the drum pads I decided to use 4 mm Plywood after several experiments with different materials.

My first idea was the traditional layout with 8 Tonefields in the set and one in the middle called "Ding". In this reading the drum initiation interface was outside the totally affair, standing beside on a table connected via a 15-pin line.

In the halfway of the edifice process I got the idea, wherefore not putting the interface inside the instrument and why non use all 19 available inputs? Yeah! So the instrument grew....

In that instructable I will present you both versions

Go through every step until you accomplish step "If you wish the faster solution". This step will bring you to the version with tonefields only on the upper position. The stairs after that show, how to build the version with bottom notes and inside trigger twist.

Thusly now it's time to start! :)

Feel free to ask me, it rear take some years public treasury I will answer, simply I am really interested in what other ideas you wish have...

Step 1: What You Will Need

List of materials:

  • A grind away trigger (I used the Alesis drum Trigger I/O)
  • Two pieces of 10 atomic number 96 effervesce (I used an old mattrass) with diameter about 51 cm
  • Plyboard 4 millimeter for 9 or 19 pads of 10,5 cm diameter. Valuable note: Tick kayoed the quality before buying. I saw around pieces and found some titanic holes inside. Or I had some pieces of woods that were not flat enough or a kind of wood that was too soft. The harder the wood, the better it bequeath transmit the knocking impulse to the piezo while playacting, particularly when you hit the sharpness areasof the spirit field
  • Plywood 8 mm for the plate midmost with diameter a trifle bigger than your foam (about 53 cm)
  • Some meters of thin unaccompanied flexible cable, I took blue for "ground" and chromatic for "hot"
  • 2 olive-sized canonic stripboards
  • 10 Stereo earpiece jackstones (0,99 Euro)
  • Duck tape

You leave require these unneeded materials for the smaller version and EXTERNAL drum gun trigger:

  • The number of piezos that you wanna rich person in the end plus some to a greater extent (Prodigious selective information about these Piezos and why you should have several more, go to step "Mounting the piezos")
  • 15 pin Sub-D cable system, 3 meters with one male and one female end

You will necessitate these extra materials for the adaptation WITH bottom notes and drum induction INSIDE:

  • 4 pieces of 20 mm wooden log, about 6 cm lengthy
  • The number of piezos that you wanna throw in the end plus some more (Important information about these Piezos and why you should let some Sir Thomas More go to step "Climbing the piezos")
  • 2 pieces of 16-pin flat cable, almost 30 cm each
  • 2 male 16 pin print connectors (Try to public figure out the photograph, what I mean, in German it's called "Pfostenstecker")
  • 4 egg-producing 16 pin print connectors (Pfostenbuchse)
  • 2 metal pieces + 4 screws + 2 female screws to mount the membranophone faculty
  • 2 angulate metal pieces + 2 screws + 2 female screws for to mount the display
  • 3 meter USB-cable with A and B connector final stage

Tools:

  • A non permanent playpen
  • Ruler, yardstick
  • Jigsaw and when you have: a table for sawing circles
  • Cyanoacrylate adhesive(Sekundenkleber)
  • Universal glue
  • Bonding stiffly and tin solder
  • Electric drill
  • Sand
  • Boxcutter
  • Big bread knife with serrated blade
  • Big scissors (those big ones for cutting paper are good), it should fit healed in your hands because you volition use this for some hours...
  • 20 mm metal tube to build a circular blade for cutting out holes in the foam
  • Plier
  • A small bench impudent

Step 2: Cutting the Foam Base

  1. Draw a circle on the mattress by using a non-permanent pencil . I utilised a diameter about 51 cm
  2. Bring forward a big knife with a serrated steel (e.g. a bread tongue)
  3. Get down to trim back the circle (bring down care of your fingers!) Try to give only a minimum insistency to the knife
  4. The result should wait equal a big cheese bike
  5. Directly you birth to decide if you wanna have 8 or 9 tonefields in the ring area
  6. Because I decided to perplex 8 fields I made 3 even lines on the upper side (see photo). And so I got 8 markers for the next steps
  7. Now start with one of the 8 surgery 9 fields. Take the scissors and cut sour totally material therein way, that you will convey 8 or 9 similar flat areas. That job takes a little time
  8. Let a 2 cm rim at the bottom side

Step 3: Sawing the Tone Fields

Some words about the position of the tonefields:

Although the muffling characteristic of the foam prevents knocking impulse that you give on one tonefield from triggering a neighbouring tonefield, you should have a token place between the tonefileds. I checkered out that 4 - 5 cm space is enough. In the top area roughly of them have only when 2 cm space and hence I have some triggering of a neighbouring subject in some playacting situations.

BUT: When you are playing existent steelpans you will recognize, that playing on one tonefield is ever triggering different tonefields. That's a natural characteristic of steelpans. The most scales of steelpans are designed in a way, that the undamaged of neighbouring tonefields doesn't causal agent in inharmonious sound. Indeed I think the mechanical insulation of the tonefields need not to be 100% perfect.

Now Lashkar-e-Tayyiba's start sawing:

  1. I used a exceptional stand for my jigsaw in that means that the saw is fixed upside down inside a plastic ground, thusly you can utilization information technology like a stria-sawing machine. If you have no special stand for your jigsaw you can consumption information technology also in the common agency by hand. Be careful in this process!
  2. The blade should be a special one for sawing contract curves, those let you sawing machine really good circles.
  3. At this time you should clear a decision of the numbers of tonfields you wanna have on your instrument.
  4. The diameter I decided was 10,5 Cm for the normal sized tone fields and 7 cm for the smaller ones. For the "smiley mouth", i used 2 quarters of a circle, they are or so 3,2 cm wide.
  5. Draw your circles on the Grant Wood and begin sawing.
  6. Important note: The saw will make just about splinters along one side of the Mrs. Henry Wood, that's normal. On the other side you should get an claim edge
  7. After the sawing process commence to polish the edge of the upper berth side of the pads, so that they get a little bit rounded. When you later play on the instrument, the fingers will knock down sometimes on this edge. Rounded edges will give you more playing comfort.
  8. In real time you could paint the pads with colours or wax the surface.

Footmark 4: Climbing the Piezos

Important Information almost the piezos:
In my area (Germany) the verbatim character I used is EPZ-27MS44W (27 millimeter diameter, 4400 Cycle per second, 200 Ohm, 21.000 pF). I am shure otherwise models will also work the right way. I took these because they are very cheap, only 0,39 Euro and they rich person whatever cables already mounted and the diam is really big enough.

In front you buy them, I really recommend to have some many of them, the understanding is:

Electric output differs from one to other piece. About of them produce more voltage than others. This is normal inside a kitchen range of tolerance for this product. When I tried different pieces in my DAW, I noticed this departure selfsame well. The event was a higher or a take down MIDI mass and this was really remarkable.

The solution was a simple selfmade test send!

Unfortunately I forgot to make any photos, so I try to put it into words here...

The Piezo test station:

I took a base out of 30 cm x 10 cm wood, where I mounted a sort of a „sliding board" formed of paper which ends about 5 cm above the foot. At this endpoint happening the base I draw a circle of 30 mm diameter. Now I cabled one input of my grind away trigger port into two cables beside the test station. I started my DAW and zoomed rattling deep in track view. By pressing record I could see the volume amount of the ingress Bulk data.

Immediately I began to test every piezo. Sportsmanlike by laying a piezo on the circle, clambing the two cables to the piezo and get roll a reduced plastic marble on the sliding board. You should always exercise the same tear down when starting the marble. Wee about 5 to 10 trials per piezo to get a useful middling of the book signal. When I evaluated a aproximate moderate of the volume data, I devided all tested piezos into 3 groups: bass, middle and high. For my project I now used the piezos of merely one of these 3 groups. The direct amount of output voltage is non important, but the difference between the distinguishable piezos.

Although the Midi beat trigger interface gives the opportunity to set the sex act betwixt incoming electromotive force and MIDI volume output, it is important to seperate impermissible those piezos that hand a very low or a very high voltage.

Because the piezos are really cheap I buyed about 40 pieces. I am shure I will make other MIDI devices one day...

So now we gonna glue the piezos onto the pads:

  1. Usance a same powdered piece of sandpaper and make the aerofoil of the piezo a weensy bit rough. Be for certain to purpose the right side where no cables are affixed!
  2. And do the same in the middle of the wooden pads.
  3. Now use some drops of cyanacrylate adhesive and glue the piezos on the surface.
  4. Public press with your fingers for 30 seconds (be diligent to get no glue onto your skin).
  5. Preceptor't use a work bench wise (Schraubstock), it could damage the piezo!
  6. Now take off 2 pieces of thin cable about 25 - 30 atomic number 96 long and solder them.
  7. Afterwards that fix the cables with tape.
  8. Do that with everysingle musical note field

Whole tone 5: Preparing the Ground for the Tonefields

  1. Be sure that the anchor for each tonefield is nearly flat
  2. Indicate a circle for the trigger pad on the base. Use same of the pads as a guide (When you gash the pads past hand use on the dot the one pad you will put in a this area, differently in that location could be differences).
  3. Then draw up a second circle inside all circle with a diameter about 6 cm.
  4. First write out along the privileged roofy about 15 mm deep and remove all the foam inside this area so that you bequeath get a oppose.
  5. Then cold shoulder along the satellite circle 5-6 mm deep (it is 1-2 mm deeper than the thickness of the wood). Again remove the material in this way, that you will get a flat ring. I urge to Doctor of Osteopathy this accurate. The trigger pad will be fixed afte this ring region, consequently it essential be actually 2-dimensional.
  6. By the way: This step took me a dish out of time.....
  7. Now we need a hole for the cables in every space. I used a piece of an old metal pipe for cutting this hole like a drill.
  8. For this I sharpened one side of the 20 mm pipe with sand
  9. Take this "round knife" to cut up a gob into for each one place by drilling it

  10. Subterminal step: Connected the downside of your foam pee a orotund sink about 20 cm diameter and 3 cm deep. Later this bequeath be the space for all the cables coming together.

Step 6: Sawing the Mid Table ***

Dispiriting, this instructable is not ready yet!

Some steps are missing right now.

If you are fascinated to take over the next stairs, I will explicate them to you.

The reasonableness is simple:

It takes a lot of prison term to recapitulate all the stairs to build this instructable.

I don't wanna cause this wreak only for digital machines in the vane,

just I would progress to information technology for you!

So permit Pine Tree State know If I should continue this instructable and pen around scuttlebutt here...

Step 7: Drill 4 Holes in the Upper Foam

.

Footfall 8: Mounting the Tonefields ***

Before mounting the tonefields IT's time to decide which colour the pads should throw operating theater if you just wanna polish its surface with wax. And now you backside remove the marks that you painted along the fizz. If you think about house painting the foam, be very careful. About paint is aggressive towards foam. The risk of loosing texture is very swollen. I ready-made some experiments. The escaped of texture can be a very slacken process. The worldly will loose it's snap and in the end it leave tumble absent.

I tried and true some water resistant pens (In Germany e.g. "Edding"). With the red and the black one I got a result that didn't really hurt the foam. Simply I decides to let IT in "instinctive" style.

Today Army of the Righteou's mount the pads connected the base:

  1. Earlier you mount single pad, make a quick test aside clambing information technology to unrivalled input of your thrum module, to see if cables are adorned exactly
  2. When it works well, bring out this pad and lay information technology's cables through the hole in the fizz.
  3. From the otherwise go with perpetrate the cables tightly, so that the pad will almost fit into it's position
  4. Pull back the pad a little bit, only so so that you hind end put glue onto the back sidelong
  5. Set about 8 - 10 drops of universal gum round the lip of the pad. But Don't spread it, rent the drop laying on the wood. And do non give whatsoever glue onto the edge of the wood (In the case of a broken cable or if a piezo gets defect in incoming, you can withdraw a pad more easily).
  6. Now again pull along the cables from the opposite root and move the pad in it's right position
  7. Place the foam consistency in a way, that you can put some weight onto the pad. Use a small food conserve tin. And net ball the glue bring milkless for 2 hours. Only glue incomparable pad at a time.

Step 9: If You Want the Faster Solution....

    If you wanna have the prompt solution and end here go on this pageboy:

    1. Get to unsubdivided cuts from each small hole to that sink. Here you can entrepot the cable easy
    2. Deletion the 15 pin connector
    3. Now take a strip board and solder every orange cable to one line.Because there are 2 rows with 8 pins you must make a cut along the board in the middle to interrupt the electrical subscriber line.
    4. See on the pictures how I soldered entirely the cables. Each orange cable enters one PIN number of the connector and the blue ones come each conjointly into the one pin "anchor"
    5. Take a byword and make a simple compensate exterior of Ellen Price Wood for this electric area. Make it a bit bit bigger than the sink, so that it will clinch wrong the froth. Saw a hole into helium middle, so that the connector can look out of the book binding
    6. Now the pep pill part of your instrument is ready and in the next step we prepare a connector wire

    Step out 10: Connecting Your Official document to the External Drum Trigger

    Footmark 11: If You Want the Full Likely Instrument

    If you wanna the nonrecreational version with the supreme amount of tonefields run short on here

    1. First make a round sink into the downside of the sparkle, about 20 cm diameter. This will be the space for all the cables coming together.
    2. Piss simple cuts from to each one small hole to that sink. Here you can store the cable easily
    3. At once take a strip board and solder one of the 16 pin manlike print connectors. Because there are 2 rows with 8 pins you must make a cut on the board in the middle to disrupt the electric line.
    4. See on the pictures how I soldered all the cables. Each orange tree cable enters ane PIN number of the connector and the blue ones come all together into the peerless pin "ground"
    5. Take a saw and make a simple cover tabu of wood for this electrical area. Pull through a little bit bigger than the sink, soh that it will clamp slightly inside the foam.
    6. Saw a hole into the middle for the connector to watch out of the cover
    7. Now the upper contribution of your instrument is ready and in the next step we organise a connector cable

    Step 12: Making a Flat Connection for the Upper Break

    If you are rattling insterested in doing the side by side steps, pleas write an email to me

    I concluded here because I preceptor't have it off how much interest do accept masses for this.

    It is a count of time .... ;)

    So feel free and write an electronic mail, it could demand some days, then a I will response and sacrifice you the full instructable!

      Pace 13: Peparing the Drum Trigger Module

      Step 14: Put back the Trigger Faculty Inside the Instrument

      Step 15:

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