Re-designed plan (again!)
Upon further discussing my plans with James and doing additional research on the project, I have decided not to 3D print a snare, predominately for the following reasons:
1. As I'm a university student and don't have access to a 3D printer as readily as a teacher in a school (that has a 3D printer) would, gaining sufficient access to a 3D printer is presenting itself as a challenge.
2. One of my main goals is for this project to be replicable for classroom music teachers, so to be sure that it can be successful, I need to produce the project myself before I can be sure others can replicate it.
3. 3D printing a snare doesn't change the musical experience for students.
4. 3D printing the project myself would bring the cost up significantly and one of my goals is to keep the costs down so that it's affordable for schools.
My current project
Collecting information and materials for my DIY electronic drum kit project
Today I purchased:
- 6 piezo mics ($22)
- 6 CDs (had lying around at home)
Total cost so far = $22
Today I have been teaching myself about how Arduino works...
Questions which I will find the answer to along the way:
- What's the best way to set up the kick/bass drum?
- Do I need two computers to run two drum sets or will one be enough (given that my Mac has two USB ports)
I've come across the following site from Instructables which seems to simplify the process.
I will use the code and applications from this source:
The programs I will be using are Arduino and Processing.
They use the lids of jars as the surface of the drum, however I plan to continue with my plan to attach the piezo mic to the middle of a CD and 'sandwich' this using mouse pads.
I also plan to create 1 drum kit and then replicate it to create a second kit (drum-off time!)
My next steps for this project are:
- Make the 'drum pads' when the piezo mics arrive (ordered them online and should arrive in a few days time)
- Purchase 12 mouse pads from Target ($3 each)
- Get some super glue
- Borrow James' soldering iron
Project updates #1
