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Yamaha PCY-135/PCY-155 and 2Box

Started by Manfred, September 09, 2011, 12:01:34 AM

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Manfred

Hello,

last week i bought a Yamaha PCY-155 and would like to share the results of my tests. Out of the box it can be used as a 2-zone crash. With some minor modifications it can also be used as 2-zone ride or hihat. As far as i know the PCY-135 uses the same circuit board. So the following descriptions should also match for that.

General description:

The cymbal has a piezo wired to the tip of the TRS jack. In addition there are 3 switches wired to the ring of the TRS jack. Two to detect edge hits and the third to detect bell hits. The switches at the edge are in parallel and have a series resistor. This resistor is used by Yamaha modules to differentiate between edge and bell. The 2Box module can not detect the difference between bell and edge switches so bell and edge will trigger the same sound. Directly connected to the piezo is a voltage divider (two resistors and a potentiometer) to lower and adjust the output signal.

Schematic:



Picture top layer:



Picture bottom layer:





Manfred


Usage as Crash (2 zones bow / edge)

The cymbal can be used out of the box as a crash with 2 zones (bow, edge) and choke. Recommended trigger type is "CyEdg". You can also try "Cym12/14" but these are made for the 2Box cymbals with 3 zones. Depending on the gain setting you might have bell sounds somewhere on the bow when using "Cym12/14". Thats why i recommend to use "CyEdg".

Hits on the bell will also trigger edge sounds. If you don't like that you can simply unplug the connector for the bell switch. Then you will have bow sounds at the bell. Here is a small video using the cymbal as a crash (with disabled bell switch):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKWPqwNBDrs



Manfred


Usage as Ride (2 zones bow / bell)

To use the Yamaha cymbal as a ride with bell and bow zones i recommend to set the trigger type to "CyCup". To avoid bell sounds when hitting the edge i also recommend to disable the edge switch. This can be done easily by unplugging both connectors for the edge switches. With this settings you will have a very good differentiation between bow and bell but no choke anymore. Loosing the choke function is the price for having a better differentiation between bow and edge compared with the original 2Box-cymbals. Here is a short video using the Yamaha PCY-155 as a ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t6pc4VQrvw


Manfred

#3
Usage as Hihat

To use the Yamaha cymbal as a Hihat you need an additional circuit board for the level detection. This can be either the original board taken from the 2Box hihat or the adapter board which i posted in the other thread. There is also a small modification at the cymbal required. In order to have both zones at the hihat (bow / edge) you need to bypass resistor R2. This can be done by soldering a wire between the pads of this resistor. Of course a 15" cymbal is pretty large for a hihat but it works also with a PCY-135. This was already tested by espen.

Picture with bypassed resistor R2:



And again a short video with a PCY-155 as Hihat (trigger settings not really optimal, i did just a quick setup):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1zYmUzp1eY



Manfred

#4
Increasing the output level of the cymbal

If you already have set the output level of the cymbal to maximum but still need (too) high gain settings at your module you can increase the output voltage by bypassing resistor R5. To bypass the resistor you can solder a wire between the 2 pads of this resistor. Afterwards i recommend the following procedure to setup the output level.

- Set potentiometer for output level at cymbal to minimum (marked with "-")
- Connect cymbal to one of the three cymbal inputs
- Switch on module
- Choose trigger type
- Set gain to a low value (something between 0 and 4)
- Play the cymbal and increase output level at cymbal until hard hits trigger full velocity
- If you reach maximum at the cymbal continue by increasing gain at the module if necessary

Thats all!

Picture with bypassed resistor R5:




GenuineHuman


franz-tanz

Hi there,
So what about the YAMAHA RHH-135 HI-HAT E-DRUM PAD,
Is there any difference if you youse this pad in comparison to the PCY 135 Cymbal Pad used as a hihat?
Maybe its build different?
thanks

Baby Samus

Hi Manfred, just want to congratulate you on another useful and detailed post, great work.  :patbat2box:

rythm

Quote from: Baby Samus on September 10, 2011, 08:16:58 PM
Hi Manfred, just want to congratulate you on another useful and detailed post, great work.  :patbat2box:
+ 1, same here, thanks for sharing!

3drum

Hey Manfred,
I'd like to purchase one of your boards for the hihat modification. I have a yamaha pcy135 and will be using it for my hihat. What is the procedure for purchasing them.

            Thanks,

                John

Nico

Thanks Manfred. Very useful !
Has anyone ever tried to put the bell switch CN3 in parallel with R5 ? Would this make the cymbal 3-zone with cym12/14 setting.

pro424

is there no way to make this a 3-zone cymbal?

pro424

Hm, trying to learn about this stuff. So where is the piezo in this one located?

My thinking: If you disconnect the bell switch, and then relocate the piezo to the bell and use the cymbal with cym12/14 settings, wouldn't that make it work as a 3 zone cymbal?

Nico

Quote from: pro424 on September 27, 2012, 09:22:27 AM
Hm, trying to learn about this stuff. So where is the piezo in this one located?
Piezo is located in the box where connector is.

Quote
My thinking: If you disconnect the bell switch, and then relocate the piezo to the bell and use the cymbal with cym12/14 settings, wouldn't that make it work as a 3 zone cymbal?
2box cymbals are using a ring piezo in the bell so it triggers 360 degree.
If you put a standard piezo in there, you will probably need to hit accurate but in theory it should work.

pro424

hm can i buy a ring piezo somewhere? or maybe put four, or eight regular piezos in a ring?