New owner of DrumIt 5 module, asking for assistance

[Pret]

Finally picked a used module, now trying to learn through the manual to setup it for my current set.
Currently I have old Alesis DM6 kit which I used to run through VST.
I'm in the process of building a new kit most certainly comprised of a2e snare and Roland triggers, but in the mean time intend to configure the module for existing at my disposal Alesis triggers (rubber heads).
I'm trying to calibrate toms following the procedure in manual. The toms are 8". The default module setting has toms 1-4 of Type Pad10 which means 10".
Does that matter ? What is the importance of choosing Pad size type to comply the actual pad size ?
I tried to get to Pad8 during triggers setup (Unit mode, TRIG), hitting the tom did not notice any difference from when it was on Pad10..
What do I miss ?

Also, when I'm Tom 3, calibrating for Gain and Curve I noticed hitting to the left off the center produces a weird high-pitch sound on top of the desired Tom sound. This occurs always when I hit the particular area to the left off the pad center, towards the left end of the pad.
Can it be probably due to the fact the sensor residing beneath of this particular area and in fact I'm hitting the sensor itself ?
If so, is the any way to treat that aside of just avoiding hitting this area ?

More questions will follow as I'll continue to learn the new joy..
:-)

[welshsteve]

Ok what pads are you using. I'm guessing 8" rubber pad like Roland PD8 or something. Or maybe the mesh 8" pad like what was on the TD15 kit. If so, the Pad 8 or 10 trigger types in the module may not be the best settings, they're for the 2box pads which have the trigger at the edge. Someone else would have to suggest what one is the best. Or you could just go through them with trail and error, adjusting gain and threashold as you go.
As for the high pitched sound when you hit, does that always happen, even when playing a different sound on Tom 3?

[Pret]

Yes those are 8" rubber pads as come with modest Alesis DM6 set
Just did module Reset according to the page 61 of the manual.
And OK, with the installed OS 1.30 figured there are new trigger types available specifically for 2box rubber heads :-)
So now configured the Tom1-4 channel for rubber head type.
The sound became more similar to that by pressing Tom button, but strong high-pitch still persists when hitting, on top of the normal Tom sound. Moreover, it persists almost over entire pad surface, with even stronger effect on certain pad area.

The gain and threshold settings adjustments do not matter to that disturbing distortion.
Can be any pad compatibility issue ?

[welshsteve]

No, module like any others work on electronic pulses which then are translated and assigned to a sample. It doesn't affect the sonic properties/audio of the sample only the way it's triggered. It maybe a clipping issue. What are you using to listen to the module through?

[Pret]

Using the same in-ear headphones I usually use for drumming, connected to headphones output of the module. The drum sound while pressing on the pad button on the module sounds just fine

[welshsteve]

Does the pad make a noise on its own when played hard. Sounds daft but you could be heading the pad noise being heard outside and filtering through your headphones.

[Pret]

No this clearly comes through the system. When back to my regular setup running through Alesis module MIDI to a PC with VST no such distortion is heard

[edtc]

Is your tom3 mono or dual zone ?

[Pret]

Mono, single zone

[edtc]

it s possible the pad output is to hi for the module input ... set the gain to 0 and curve to neg1 ... if still too hot , change the pad type from pad 8 to acc1 ...

[Pret]

Well, tried that..
My setup was not Pad8 or 10 but RubHd1 or 2. The pads are rubber and I figured it indeed works better on RubHd type then Pad8 or 10. However, the high-pitch sound is still pronounced
All that with Gain 0 and Curve to Normal. Neg1 and lower curves do the effect as described in manual but do not get rid of the aforementioned distortion

Switched to AcTr1 - doesn't trigger at all unless raising up the gain very high (over 12 dB) and Curve towards Lin1 and higher. Then the pad responded to the mid and high strong hits but only in the area close to the sensor...and the distortion is still here...
So this turned to be not appropriate unfortunately

[edtc]

try another cable , if it s the same , then try another pad on tom 3 ... or try your actual tom 3 on another input ...  to see if it s cable , pad , or modules input that is faulty ...

Try & errors is the offten the way to go ...

[Pret]

Yes did that as well...
Today I switched the headphones to another ones (usually I use in-ears Sure 215 for drumming and studio-grade over the ear for listening music), used by over the ears - the distortion sounds to be less pronounced...
It is still here but sounds less disturbing with these headphones...

I tried various settings for pads, the best appeared to be RubHd1 and 2, Gain 0 and Normal curve
Not ideal but certainly bearable, for the time being until I'll upgrade the pads to the a mesh...

One more thing, since I have yet to receive the proper cables (my original Alesis set have all the pad cables gathered into the bundle to get connected to their module y a unified SCART-type connector).
So checking each pad separately without others connected. Hence cannot calibrate yet for possible crosstalk...