Natris M. J. T.
Digital
Sound
SYSTEMS
, DE.
Natris M. J. T.
Electronic pads are drums, which do not produce an acous¬ tic sound, but give off a pulse-signal by means of a microphone when they are hit. When a number of these pads are connected to equipment which can translate these signals into audio-signals, they form what is called • electronic percussion' .
When several of these pads are mounted on a rack or stand and the pads are being played, crosstalk may appear. This means that vibrations caused by a hit on a certain pad also generate signals in one or more of the other pads. Of course this phenomenom is highly undesirable.
To solve this problem two methods are used in practice. On the one hand there are pads over which a drumhead is braced by means of a rim. The vibrations that appear after the drum is hit are damped at the rim of the drum.
On the other hand there are pads with a springy or soft surface. This surface damps the vibrations in such a way that they can still be detected by the microphone in the pad itself but do not carry far enough to cause crosstalk.
A totally different approach is not to damp the vibrations in the pad itself but in the connection of the pad to the rack or stand. Crosstalk can then be countered by using silent-blocks. When these silent-blocks are used as the only connection between pad and rack or stand all vibra¬ tions are absorbed by these dampers so that they cannot reach the rack or stand nor any of the other pads.
As shown in the diagram vibrations caused by a hit on a pad (1) , that is connected to a rack (3) by means of a silent block (2) are absorbed in this way. Here, the silent-block (2) is assembled on the rack (3) by means of the screw-thread. The pad (1) can then be fastened to the silen -block in the same way.
With this new working-method the microphone (4) that detects the vibrations can be attached to the pad in different places in- and outside the pad.
Silent-blocks can also be applied to other areas of the electronic percussion to avoid crosstalk, i.e. in pedals and between different parts of the rack or stand.
This working-method has a number of advantages. The si- lent-blocks can be fastened to and unfastened from the pad and the rack or stand in an easy and quick way. Moreover the forces that are put on the pad when it is not hit in the middle will be absorbed by the silent-block.
Furthermore, one does not have to take the reduction or elimination of crosstalk into account when the design for a pad is made. This means that pads can be designed and manufactured quicker and at much lower cost, neither are there any demands on the design of the pad or on the material of which the pad will be made.