Hardware DIY/Mods/Repairs Thread

Thats definatelly a very cool pedal setup. Cool idea for the hi-hats but they seem a little close to the ride for me. Obviously you are used to it, looks cool for open handed playing

Edit: Apparently I can't think of any good adjectives right now :\
 
Thanks, k3ng and Shinx. I've got a lot more stuff to display and I'll keep adding it. Also, feel free to put up any stuff you've done - it doesn't have to be fancy. I like seeing what other people are doing. At the top of this thread are some other threads discussing mods and the people there are doing some great stuff as well.
 
CEILING MOUNTED MIC STAND

When the band comes over, I like to record the session because it helps to learn new songs. I have a small practice room and the mic stand and cords would keep getting in the way, with two or three people and their gear in a small space.

The ceiling mount mic stand provides a good way to mic stuff without taking up floor space. I painted, drilled and mounted a desktop mic base to the ceiling, drilled and grommeted holes and ran mic cable through. I used a 3/8-inch coarse threaded rod to go into the base screw adaptor (available at any music store) and that connects with a mic boom. Velcro keeps the mic cables in line and there is several feet of cable stowed in the ceiling. The mic cables run through the ceiling and down a wall to a mixing board, which is connected to a CD recorder. Simple, but it works!

Mic stand stowed, out of the way of people of average height.
Micstand1.jpg


Mic cables come out of the wall through a steel cover plate, drilled and cushioned with rubber grommets. The phono out lines go to the CD recorder.
Micstand2.jpg


Mic stand extended for use. I have rod extensions to allow the boom stand to go much lower if necessary, even to ground level for miking tablas. But this range is excellent for general ambient recording of practice sessions.
Micstand3.jpg
 
DJEMBE STAND

I used to integrate my djembe into my drum set, putting it to my left so I could play ride patterns on it with my left hand and keep my right hand on the snare/hats/ride cymbal. So I welded this stand, using a ring roller. I still use this stand when playing the djembe in conjunction with congas. Otherwise, I put the djembe between my legs sitting or hang it from a strap standing.

This shows the stand holding the drum.
Djembestand1.jpg


This is the stand without the drum. The bottom ring is actually quite a bit larger than the top ring. I put many layers of plastic handle coating on the top ring to cushion and grip the drum.
Djembestand2.jpg


I flip the stand over and the drum nests inside. Everything fits in the transport bag.
Djembestand3.jpg
 
ok you need to open your own company and make stuff for drummers. I would buy a lot of the stuff that you have made.
 
That mic mount is awesome and just a great idea. Really well done too. I'd love to play all that crazy stuff you have
 
THE WEATHER MACHINE

Thank you, gentlemen. Ramping up a business is just too much hassle, so I just make these one-offs for myself, but if anyone wanted one I'd consider doing stuff on commission. Because I have pretty basic tools, I can't manufacture these in any quantity and anything I'd charge would barely cover time and materials.

Below is the Weather Machine. It's not so much a hardware mod as an interesting way of mounting stuff. It consists of (top to bottom) a Meinl rain wheel (sounds like rain), LP temple blocks (sounds like clouds), LP chimes (sounds like sunlight) and and LP feng luo (wind gong, sounds like wind and thunder). It's all mounted on some unknown '80s vintage stand. I put this together about ten years ago and it's mainly for accents and adds a lot of drama to shows, but it don't use it much.

Front view. I have to rotate the stand for maximum stability as it's front-heavy. A screw secures it to the wall while at home. Mallets store on the instruments.
Weathermachine.jpg


Back view. Pretty strightforward mounting, except the wind gong hangs from the chime mount with Velcro to prevent wandering. I use roller skate bearings to secure the rain wheel, assuring smooth operation.
wm2.jpg
 
Cool stuff, Im going to make a cowbell/tambourine holder soon......

also, DMC, is that a modern drummer kit of the month I spy on your wall?

Is it your kit?
 
I did not have a holder for my tamburine, so I put together a few things to make room for it:

Cy001.jpg


Cy002.jpg


Cy003.jpg




=​


Cy004.jpg


Cy006.jpg




-Mofle
 
I'd like to see a photo taken from farther away, so we can see how the new tambourine fits into your set.

It works great, by the way. The crash doesn't hit the tambourine at all. I did not have to tighten the felts, so the crash moves freely, as it is supposed to.
Here you are:

Left:

Cy011.jpg


Right:

Cy012.jpg



As you can see, I have made an x-hat, the way someone (I can not remember who) did here on the forum. That was a great way to make an x-hat! Thanks!

-Mofle
 
Cool stuff, Im going to make a cowbell/tambourine holder soon......

also, DMC, is that a modern drummer kit of the month I spy on your wall?

Is it your kit?

Indeed it is. That is the Dec. 1999 issue. My ironwood kit has since replaced it. But the Kahuna Set took a huge amount of modifying. I did things with drums and percussion that you're just not supposed to do and I couldn't find any mounts, so I had to have a friend develop my designs. In the process, I learned about doing my own mods.

KahunaSetinModernDrummerDec.jpg
 
That looks amazing! Do you have any clips, playing it? Sound, or video. I would like to see some pics of you behind it too, to get a look of how you sat\played aso...
(Not that you Ironwood isn't superb)

-Mofle
 
Well there is a short story behind this DIY. I went to sam ash to return a broken cymbal, got there,and they said i have to send it in myself. I was dumb and didnt read the warranty, it clearly says that. So im at samash and figured i should look around. I was looking at some of the hardware they have and saw the Danmar wooden beaters. I thought, ive seen a lot of metal drummers using these maybe ill give them a shot. There was no price tag so i said " they cant be more than 12 bucks each right?" I proceed to the checkout to find out that they are 20 bucks each! Thats 40 bucks for double beater! I went home and decided to make some myself.

I used the shaft off of some old felt beaters that came w/ stock pedals ive had. The wood came from the leg of a chair! This chairs legs were not straight they, they had designs in them, some parts rouded and others pointy. Hard to explain ill post a pic when i get back home. I took a part of the wood that was rounded and cut a peice big enough for the shafts that had. All I had to go then is sand them down a bit and dill holes. I chose to drill the holes off center so i would have more adjustment. I think they are a great option to spending 40 bucks on Danmar beaters. Total cost, free for me, i had the chair lying around. For those who want to do this i would say go to ur local home depot or hardware store and see if they sell decorative legs, if they dont just but a peice of 2x2 or 3x3 and sand it down a bit, square beaters might be cool too.
Anyway heres some pics.
beater3.jpg


beater2.jpg


beater1.jpg


next ill be bending the shaft in two places to give the beater more of a foward angle.
|
|
\
.\
..|
..|
like that^^

p.s. this post has made me realize how hard it is to describe shapes lol.
 
Indeed it is. That is the Dec. 1999 issue. My ironwood kit has since replaced it. But the Kahuna Set took a huge amount of modifying. I did things with drums and percussion that you're just not supposed to do and I couldn't find any mounts, so I had to have a friend develop my designs. In the process, I learned about doing my own mods.

KahunaSetinModernDrummerDec.jpg

I see, awesome.

well done old chap ;-)
 
That looks amazing! Do you have any clips, playing it? Sound, or video. I would like to see some pics of you behind it too, to get a look of how you sat\played aso...
(Not that you Ironwood isn't superb)

-Mofle

Thanks for the comments. The Kahuna set was a lot of fun to play, like a giant toy.

There is one clip online. Go to our band's Web site www.terrasonus.com and the clip "Atman Soliloquy" on the Listen page features the set. However, it really takes a whole CD to hear each of the percussion items played. I was in some bands a few years back that featured the whole set and you can hear it on the MondoRagaSamba CD Katsu vailable at www.cdbaby.com. But there is no other way to hear it online.
 
Well there is a short story behind this DIY. I went to sam ash to return a broken cymbal, got there,and they said i have to send it in myself. I was dumb and didnt read the warranty, it clearly says that. So im at samash and figured i should look around. I was looking at some of the hardware they have and saw the Danmar wooden beaters. I thought, ive seen a lot of metal drummers using these maybe ill give them a shot. There was no price tag so i said " they cant be more than 12 bucks each right?" I proceed to the checkout to find out that they are 20 bucks each! Thats 40 bucks for double beater! I went home and decided to make some myself.

I used the shaft off of some old felt beaters that came w/ stock pedals ive had. The wood came from the leg of a chair! This chairs legs were not straight they, they had designs in them, some parts rouded and others pointy. Hard to explain ill post a pic when i get back home. I took a part of the wood that was rounded and cut a peice big enough for the shafts that had. All I had to go then is sand them down a bit and dill holes. I chose to drill the holes off center so i would have more adjustment. I think they are a great option to spending 40 bucks on Danmar beaters. Total cost, free for me, i had the chair lying around. For those who want to do this i would say go to ur local home depot or hardware store and see if they sell decorative legs, if they dont just but a peice of 2x2 or 3x3 and sand it down a bit, square beaters might be cool too.
Anyway heres some pics.

next ill be bending the shaft in two places to give the beater more of a foward angle.
|
|
\
.\
..|
..|
like that^^

p.s. this post has made me realize how hard it is to describe shapes lol.

Very good! The contrast between the old-world look of the beaters with the high-tech look of the Axis pedals is a neat contrast.

It is possible to buy round wooden balls of about that size at most hardware stores. But I like how you found suitable materials around the house and did your own thing. The outrageous cost of gear has led me to do my own mods in many cases. Heck, for a lot of the stuff I want to do, no one makes gear for it. I recently made my own beaters with a couple of those giant superballs ($1 each out of a vending machine). They're not as bouncy as you'd think and they really fatten the sound.

You might want to glue a piece of felt to one side of the beaters and sand another side flat. Then you'd have different playing surfaces to use.
 
MOUNTING FENG GONG ON CYMBAL STAND

I did this mod perhaps 10 years ago. Actually, it was my concept and design, but my friend Dirty Ed did it because I didn't have many tools back then and he has great stuff.

These gongs have a great sound - they're sometimes called Ascending Gongs. People carry them in parades and hit them on the flat part with sticks and the make a crazy, weird metallic sound that rises at the end, in the space of about a second. As soon as I got this I wanted to mount it, but of course you can't put a hole and mount it like a cymbal. So I came up with this solution.

The metal rods are padded with tubing where they touch the gong metal and the nut screws onto any 8 mm stand. The ends of the three arms are threaded and a small nut keeps the gong in place
Fengmod1.jpg


Shown mounted from the side.
Fengmod2.jpg


Shown from the bottom
Fengmod3.jpg
 
Cool stuff man, I was just looking at pics of your woodshed, and am truly amazed at the number of options you can put in a single room....

good work, all of you.
 
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