Alternate MIDI pads...

[Gary Phillips <gary@friendlyspider.com>]

Morley pedals do rock ! by the way....
I've got an early one that's maybe 20 years old
or more and only had to replace the bulb and
shine the chrome every now and then.
But here's my post:
I've been building my own drum pads for a while
using Radio Shack piezos....made some very
sensitve pads using hard woods and some great
feeling pads using foam padded video cases
(these are great, by the way...I'll send a pic if
interested)  But I really would like some pads
that I could use with real cymbals that I play
with timpani mallets and that utilize some sort
of proximity switch similar to Buchla's Marimba
Lumina....  In other words, I want to be able to use
some sensitve mics on my cymbals and be able to
hit some sort of pad with the mallets and have the
percussion sample play at the same time as the
strike so that the sound will mask the actual attack
of the mallet on the pad surface.  I think there are
others out there that could appreciate this situation.
There is no replacement for real cymbals but you
don't want the sound of a stick (or mallet) hitting
a rubber pad.  If anyone out there has run into
or has been thinking about possible solutions
or fairly simple, obtainable electronics, ....chip in.....(pun)
gary
@friendlyspider.com