Diy Electronic Drumset Different Approach to Triggering It.

This is the way that worked for me after following one of the tutorials on how to build a custom electronic kit. I hope this helps. feel free to ask any  questions and I will answer what I can or point you in the right direction. UPDATE !  After finishing this tutorial I have learned a lot more about  trigger sensitivity and electronic drumming. Mikej's approach to triggering is best utilized when you want to have a dual-zone drum such as a snare (head+rim) or just add sounds to the rims of your drums if you happen to have enough inputs on your module. My approach works fine for single zone drums, and you can still use Mikej's approach on the drums you need to be dual-zone.

Step 1:

Start by selecting the drum you want to cut. (one tom makes 2 drums if  the hardware is present meaning rims on top and bottom) measure the half way point and mark it with something that you can remove unless you are going to paint the drum then it doesn't matter if you use something more permanent. as the old saying goes: " Measure Twice, Cut once" I didn't care much about precision but if you do then follow that advice.

Step 2:

Remove all the hardware form the drum and measure the half point, mark and cut. be really careful if using power tools, if you have no experience, you can take it to a carpenter shop and they will gladly help you. (maybe for a small fee or free if you ask them nicely)

Step 3:

Again select your drum to cut, measure, mark and cut.

Step 4:

The drum is cut in half, but the hardware is still full size... Now what???
you can use a small hand saw (designed for metal, and cut it by hand) if you have a table clamp I recommend using it.  I do not recommend using power tools for this since you do want to be precise on this step and power tools are harder to control than the old trusty hand. unless you have a dremmel and are good at doing precision cuts, do use safety glasses then.

Step 5:

This are the tools I used: and no table vise either just my hands, I will get a vise soon though.

Step 6:

Finished drum just need to get the mesh head...

Step 7:

Same here just waiting for the mesh head, this tom didn't have two rims but it was just too big to keep in one piece, and it's going to be painted black to match the rest of the set.

Step 8:

Drum head removed from the built in rim, if you don't have a beat up drum head laying around,  get the cheapest one you can find (single ply) and cut the plastic but keep the rim.

Step 9:

Once the drum is cut in half, the hardware is cut to match, and the head is finished and installed, the  fun begins.... or does it??
I had triggers laying around (Pintech) and I decided to try and test them this way before building a base inside the drum for the piezo (if you diy the triggers from scratch).
Tthis way worked for me. (if you buy the set of 4 triggers I believe they are around $ 90  or just follow a diy tutorial (plenty of great ones here) and make your own for a lot less.
A lot more goes involved in doing that since you do have to build a base inside the drum for the triggers and the triggers themselves. for that tutorial Mikejl47 did an awesome job you can find it here:
https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electronic-Drums/
oh and again all the credit on how to make the mesh heads goes to him.
Thanks a lot mike!!

Step 10:

Cut 4 layers of window mesh (thanks to the guy that posted this tutorial, all credit goes to him) l am just showing you how I did it.

Step 11:

Use clamps to hold the mesh in place, it makes it a lot easier to keep it in place while you stitch it to the rim, also as you go around the rim, make sure to keep the mesh as tight as possible so your head stretches well once placed on the drum.

Step 12:

Mason line, way better than thread, it will take a beating.
You do need to get an upholstery needle for this and gloves.
I started from the inside of the drum head.  Give yourself about 6 feet of line per head unless you are doing anything bigger than 16" that should suffice. Again start from the inside of the drum head, pull all the line through, make a knot at the end, you might need to make it bigger by making 2 or 3 combined knots and then bring the line back from the outside, continue on this way until you get all the way around the head.
I can't  really show you how to sew but i'm sure you can figure it out or look for a simple sewing tutorial.

Step 13:

Once  I figured out that the triggers would work on top of the mesh head, I needed to create a mounting mechanism for them.
I found this thin metal scraps and cut them to size, bent them to shape, and drilled them until I had my very own trigger holders. 

Step 14:

I wish i had some of those big scissors that they use to cut metal, instead I had to do it by hand and saw, it took 10 minutes too long!!!

Step 15:

The end result is a practical if not elegant ( yet ) solution to keep the triggers in place.
I did cut the corners on the part that is being held by the screw outside the rim so in case I was to touch them I won't get caught/cut.
I also put a piece of rubber underneath to add more space between the trigger and the piece of metal because the height of the rim is almost as much as the trigger meaning even if you bent the metal down on the holder, the trigger would still be too loose. I glued the rubber underneath the metal holder and "painted" the holder with a black permanent marker, nice black paint coming soon, I just wanted to have a functioning set ASAP since instant gratification is what is all about

Step 16:

This will become the rack that will hold the drums in place, for now, I got them mounted on my regular set and haven't had much time to do the rack, I will update this as I progress, or if anybody has a tutorial on how to set a rack please advice.  here is a link of my very first video so you can see/hear how it sounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khq-p4LoIi4

More videos coming soon!!