Conference napalm::commusic_v1

     >Does anyone have information on the drumKAT (made by KAT)?
     
      I own a drumKAT, and to sum things up, this controller is FABULOUS!!!
    
      I also am a drummer, and this thing was designed for drummers *BY*
    drummers.  I don't have much time, and you are welcome to call me for
    more info (DTN 338-5672), but here are some details:
    
    - Shaped like Mickey Mouse (but no "Mickey Mouse" internal design).
    - Has a Display at the top (LCD, sometimes hard to see, but you can
    change the viewing angle via internal software).
    - Your hands never leave your drumsticks!  By switching to edit mode,
    your pads become the edit panel.  For example, one pad = next menu, one
    pad = advance cursor, one pad = next value, one pad = reverse, etc. 
    Very easy to maneuver.  You can change values quickly by doing a drum
    roll on a pad for example, or by holding a stick on the pad and
    adjusting pressure.
    - 10 pads total onboard.  The "EARS" are small and are hard to hit from a 
    distance, but you can easily "copy" a pad's information to its neighbor
    to create a slightly bigger pad.  Example: Join the two pads that make
    up an "EAR" together.
    - Plenty of phone jack triggers inputs (I believe 9 more) which can be 
    "trained" for sensitivity. Also, the keypad can be trained for your
    personal style of hitting.
    - 4 pedals, (you need at least #1, to toggle between play and edit
    mode.  Another pedal with quickly let you switch "SETS" (1-32 on mine),
    and you have two more for Open/Close High Hat, and one other, maybe for
    short sequences or TAP TEMPO (haven't gotten to this yet).
    - Functions for each pad are quite numerous.  You can have a pad
    generate up to three different MIDI signals at once, in succession, or
    have them dependent on velocity.  Example: Soft hit = snare, Medium =
    Rim shot, Loud = Crash cymbol. You can adjust gate time per each pad,
    and other normal things like thresholds, pad dynamics, etc.  You can
    even have dynamics reversed, so that the louder you play, the softer
    the signal.
    - Input triggers have just as much control as the onboard pads.  I used
    my front doorbell as an input trigger for my Halloween Pranks last year
    (one of the other notes in this file).
    - TWO MIDI INs, TWO MIDI OUTS, which can be set for MIDI left, right,
    or MERGE.  The MIDI INs come in useful for setup of your SETS:  Move
    the cursor to NOTE VALUE for a pad, then press the instrument you want
    on the drum machine.  The correct MIDI note value is copied to the KAT.
    - Pads have a good feel to them IMO.
    - Plenty of MIDI goodies, like DUMPS and LOADS, and sequence control. 
    You can use the KAT to TAP TEMPOs, and (although I don't have it yet)
    there is a chip update which will generate short sequences call MOTIFs.
    - Price of mine was about $700, (a year ago).  May be different now.
    
    Conclusion:
        This is my favorite controller.  A lot of thought was put into it
    including a good user interface and documentation.  When I found out
    that by tapping sticks on the pads, you can adjust the viewing angle, I
    was sold immediately.  It may look like Mickey Mouse, but this is the
    Mouse that Roared!
    
    BUY IT IF YOU CAN.  It is BOSSAREBO!
    
    K.R.

    RE: .1  
    
    I meant to say the the display is an LED (one of those BACKLIT).  You
    have to move around a bit to see it sometimes, but other than this, the
    KAT is worth its weight in Kitty Litter.
    
    K.R.

    When I was looking at drum pad things, I looked at both the Roland
    Pad-80 (Octapad II) and the Drum Kat.  Having played both, I preferred
    the DrumKat but opted for the Pad-80 given the price/features ratio.  I
    am NOT primarily a drummer so the extra money for the extra features
    didn't seem worth it.
    
    To be fair, however, I am now interested in getting bass drum and high
    hat controllers for my feet (and a new pair of shoes but that's a
    different story).  This led me to get a used Boss Pad-1 (that might be
    the wrong model number) which can do high hats and I've got delusions
    of grandeur about building a simple bass pad.  So, in retrospect,
    I've spent almost as much as the DrumKat but was able to spread it out
    over a year and a bit.
    
    One thing I remember being nice is that I think the sound of hitting a
    DrumKat pad was more pleasant (it sounded less "plastic-y", if that
    makes sense) than a Pad-80.  Certainly, that's an individual judgment.
    
    - John -

    Does the drumKAT come with foot pedals included?  Are they options? Do
    they just plug in or do they require any extra interface?
    
    I am thinking about using a multipad set-up in place of a drum set.  I
    am a drummer, but I want to know how compact I can get and still play
    drums live (as opposed to using a programmed machine).  This discussion
    is informative for me, so far.
    
    	Willy

>I've got delusions
>of grandeur about building a simple bass pad.

Go for  it.    I  just built a 5 pad extension for my Pad-8 and I am very
happy with  the  results.    (I  will post my report momentarily as a new
topic).

Previously, I bought a rather expensive kick pedal trigger (Drum Workshop
EP-1, I think), and while it  is  certainly  a  high  quality  pedal with
excellent feel/response, I think you can probably  build one yourself for
alot less money (like $75 instead of $200).    I  would say buy a regular
kick  pedal  for about $50-60 and then built something  for  it  to  kick
against (like a sturdy upright piece of wood) and mount  a  piezo trigger
on it near the strike point.

Enjoy,
/Mitch

    re: .3
    
    I believe the DrumKat comes without any foot switches/pedals.  They ar
    optional extras and are probably wired such that many standard brands
    or a do-it-yourself option is possible.
    
    re: .4
    
    >>> Go for  it.    I  just built a 5 pad extension for my Pad-8 and I am
    >>> very happy with  the  results.    (I  will post my report momentarily
    >>> as a new topic).
    
    Thanks for the confidence.  I'll look forward to your note!  I've got a
    piezo out of its case at home but haven't wired it up yet.  I've been
    considering using my bass pedal and having it slap a pad on a piece of
    wood or something in place of a bass drum head.  I'm glad to hear
    others have tried and succeeded. 
    
    - John -

>    Does the drumKAT come with foot pedals included?  Are they options? Do
>    they just plug in or do they require any extra interface?
    
    Sorry for the delay in answering.  The DRUMKAT does NOT come with
    pedals.  When I got my DRUMKAT, I purchased two additional FOSTEX pedals 
    which plug directly into (two of the four) input switches.  They are fairly
    inexpensive, and are basically open/close pedal switches, and don't 
    require batteries.  DRUMKAT sells pedals too (I think as a four pack), as 
    well as stands for the KAT, carrying cases, etc.  Good ol' consumerism.
    
    For you to build a totally electronic drumset (I'm assuming that you
    are a real drummer who uses both feet and hands), the you would
    need:
    	1 DRUMKAT  (10 pads included)
    	2 or 3 on/off switch pedals:
    		1 to toggle between EDIT/PLAY modes
    		1 optional, for Kit Performance changes.  You *can* switch
    		  kits in edit mode, but the extra pedal is probably worth it.
    		1 for High Hat (used in conjunction with one DRUMKAT pad 
    			to control:  Open HH stick, Closed HH stick, and 
    				     Closing HH (no stick)
    	1 BD trigger pedal.  (Shark Pedal, Drum Workshop, or build-your-own)
    	Optional triggers, if you want to access more of your MIDI sounds
    	  at once.  After reading a recent COMMUSIC submission, I think
          I'll try to build my own, using Piezo's, velcro, etc.  But I've
    	  used my DRUMKat for a year without any extra triggers.   
    
    Triggers for the 9 auxilliary trigger inputs also directly plug in via
    mono phone jacks.  My guess is that the piezo-type triggers found in drum 
    stores will plug right into these inputs.  Or you can be adventurous and 
    build your own.  So far, I've experimented and have had success with:
    		A 9-volt battery, aligator clips, and a phone jack.
    		My front doorbell circuit (15 volt ac stepdown transformer
    			to a Bridge Rectifier resulting in 15 volt DC).
    
    		NOTE:  Do not use a SCUD or PATRIOT missle as an input trigger.
    
    Like I mentioned before,  the DRUMKAT can be trained per each trigger's 
    voltage, so you don't need really fancy triggers.  And note that all 
    functions that apply to the 10 onboard pads also apply to the trigger 
    inputs.
    
    Currently, I use my DRUMKAT to enhance my Yamaha Drumset, but am
    working towards a totally electronic set to use in the studio.  If you
    are a serious drummer, I recommend the DRUMKAT for its feel and
    interface, but you will want to get a good Bass Drum pedal trigger, and
    some sort of high hat trigger to make a total electronic set. 
    
    (Or get used to using your left hand as a bass drum - YECCH!!!)
    
    K.R.

    Which, if any, of the available devices have external trigger inputs.
    
    That is, basically you plug a mic or something into it and it triggers
    the electronic sound whenever a certain threshold is crossed.
    
    Oddly enough, my SAMPLER (Roland S-550) has such an input (I'm pretty 
    sure), but I don't like to take that to gigs (it's been gigged twice
    and broke both times!
    
    	db - Willy's keyboard player

If you ever get a chance to check out a local (Nashua area) act called 
the Moondogs, go see them. Their drummer uses a DrumKat setup instead 
of a traditional drum kit, and it looks and sounds great. He really 
likes the setup, and he's quite technically oriented, so he may be 
able to give you a lot of advice and tips/tricks/etc.
They play a lot at Martha's Exchange and City Streets.

(db - this band has two former MAX Q musicians, Jim Hinkle and Keith 
Aziza - a hot keyboardist).

-Dan

>>>    Which, if any, of the available devices have external trigger inputs.

    The Octapad II (Pad-80) has 6 trigger inputs using 1/4" mono phone plugs.
Each of these inputs can be programmed with the same parameters as the built-in
pads.  The setting for the expternal pads are saved as a "kit" along with the
internal pads whenever a save operation is done.  I believe that the original
Octapad also had 6 trigger inputs but I'll defer to an actual owner to comfirm
the details.

    Note that, to my knowledge, the Octapad II does NOT have any of the triggers
acting like a "hi hat mode".  That is, there is NO setting that lets a pad be
one MIDI note number when the a pedal is "up" and a different MIDI note number
when the pedal is down.  There is a way you can use the velocity of the strike
to determine which note gets played but, to me, this does not feel like playing
a highhat where the tone produced is dependent on foot position NOT on velocity.

- John -
    
 

    Yes, the Octapad I also has the six 1/4" jacks.  You can fake the
    Hi-hat capability by using the "next-program" facility, but it's a
    royal cludge to do that.
    
    	-Bill

    I've made two very simple foot-triggers to go with my Octapad II
    (and Roland R5). They are simple switches as follows:
    
    )---------->\   <----------)
                 \
    1.5 V in      |      trigger out
                 ---
                 ---
                  |
    )--------------------------)
    
    The condensor is 0.1 microfarad or less. The Voltage can be lower too.
    I use them as Hi-hat and base-drum-trigger. Ok, I know what you're
    going to say: this way you loose the velocity. IMO this not very
    important for Hi-hat and bass-drum.
    On my R5, I direct the Hi-hat and bass-drum sounds to different
    output-channels which can be controlled independently from the rest
    of the drum-kit (using Peavy KB-100 amplifier which has 3 inputs).
    
    Re. on the hi-hat controll: you can tell the R5 that Pedal-hi-hat
    and open-hi-hat are exclusive. I.e. when I hit the open-hi-hat on
    the Octapad and shortly after that hit the foot-trigger for the
    pedal-hi-hat, the open-hi-hat sound stops, just like a real hi-hat.
    
    I use this setup for rehearsels, so my whole drum-kit (Octapad,
    PD31, R5 and chair) fits in one simple case (except for the Peavy
    of course). On stage I add on my real hi-hat, PD11 (bass-drum pad)
    and a few cymbals.