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Drum sticks for iPad
This is gonna sound crazy but I was wondering if there is any kind of something that I could tape onto the tip of my drumstick that would give me the ability to touch my iPad with said stick. I don’t want those tiny little sticks that are made for iPad as I’m hitting a spdx sample pad. I’d like the ability to reach over with the stick and gently touch a button on the iPad
Comments
iPad is not good for drumming. You’ll have better luck with the Impaktor app, or dialing up a patch with FAC Envolver controlling a drum app.
https://www.iclarified.com/i1232/streetbeat-drumsticks-for-ipad-and-iphone
https://www.instructables.com/iStick-How-to-make-a-drumstick-for-an-iPad/
https://www.amazon.com.au/StreetBeat-Drumsticks-iPad-Android-Tablets/dp/B07D5TWP4W
Yeah, I’d be concerned about damaging the screen trying to drum on it with anything other than my own fingers.
You guys are missing the part where I said I am playing an spdx with the drum sticks, i want to reach over and GENTLY press a button on the iPad (to change kits or do multiple other things inside loopy pro running audiolayer with my ezdrummer kits i multi-sampled) . I’m not going to hit the screen, I’m not that special haha. I have the abilities to press buttons and do all sorts of things with my drum sticks
Thanks but Yeah nah, as I said I’m hitting an spdx sample pad so I need normal drum sticks, I just want to change kits and other marvellous things within loopy with my left hand using the stick , I’m not wanting to drum on the iPad
There has to be some capacitance present at the tip to activate the touch. That means either a wire or other conductive material running from the tip up to your hand or some non passive way to generate it, such as a battery. The tip has to be conductive as well. Passive styluses are metal and have a rubber tip placed over a metal mesh, which seems to deliver enough charge. I’m not sure how successful conducting that small of a charge the length of a drum stick would be though.
Maybe a metal drum stick with a suitable tip that could transfer the needed charge?
It’s possible to find tutorials on making touch screen capacitive drumsticks. They’re Frankenstein-ish contraptions and surely wouldn’t hold up as regular drumsticks.
Not an easy thing to solve.
Something like a BlueBoard foot switch with an expression pedal or two might be more practical.
Yeah ok so I’d have to run a wire or something up the shaft of the stick…probably not going to be an easy thing so Il probably stick (pardon the pun)to using a nano pad and pressing it with the end of the stick. Not sure if I’m up for making a Frankenstein although my setup is a bit of a Frankenstein already! I’ve already got a 12 button floor midi pedal but all the buttons are purposed already, I actually need another 12 really haha
Have you used up all your trigger inputs on spd-sx?
Perhaps you could attach some of the material that is used by those touchscreen gloves? Tape a small stylus onto the back of the stick or something like that. I’m not a drummer so don’t have a clue if it would be practical at all.
That would be my suggestion too: Use the soft conductive tip of a cheap touchscreen stylus and screw it to the other end of the drum stick. Should be an easy hack.
I never had this problem with my older Octapad because the "preset" buttons were large enough to be pressed with a drum stick. No idea why Roland changed that in the newer models.
Also, I prefer the pad response of the older ones (Pad-8 and Pad-80) over the newer models.
I would suggest you to take a look at those touch screen gloves (some are really cheap) or fingertips covers. You can take the connective fabric away and put it to the head or the bottom of the stick (with fingertips covers would be even simpler). Hope it helps!
No I’ve only actually used one, I did think about that but I don’t want to buy heaps of pads and take up heaps of space. I’ve ordered a few piezo pickups so was thinking I might make my own. I know of the bt-1 triggers but they are over $200 so I’d end up spending way too much. For the mean time I thought of using a nano pad which works ok but I’d rather touch the iPad screen as I have so many buttons and loops to press in loopy pro but I’d have to put a stick down and reach over to the iPad or press a button on my Apc40
Hmmm gloves, it may work. It’s worth a try although I’m thinking the gloves work because they are so close to the fingers. I’m really not sure how the tech works of a touchable screen
Cheers I’ve ordered some, fingers crossed it works 😁
I was wanting to use the tip end of the stick as I’d have to flick the stick around to use the back of it, would probably be easier just using my finger.
I don’t actually use the sounds or kits on the spdx so I’m not really phased about the preset buttons. All my kits are on the iPad playing in audiolayer which I multisampled from ezdrummer. Sounds so much better than stock kits in the spdx.
I've said that because the buttons can switch programs with different drum kits, also over MIDI.
I'm using the iPad too as a drum sound source.
Anyway, whatever works for you is good 😊
Yeah I know, that’s pretty awesome it works like that. I do have a couple of kits I change like that but I also have instruments I can play with the pads that trigger sounds in audiolayer which is super fun. Like tuba, pizzicato violin, harp even some omnisphere sounds. Audiolayer is a game changer to be able to make your own multisample instruments and kits (I use logic audio for that) I have scales setup as kits on the spdx so I use the kit change buttons to change the octave range in a particular scale in a particular key so I’d like to be able to hit buttons on the iPad to change instruments and also fire loops and hit macro buttons. Loopy pro is awesome for making your own buttons that do multiple things.
This is what I was going to say. I do think the stylus hack is a pretty good solution also.
I saw a video where a drummer after a great take, gave his tom where his phone was laying to record a nice victory whack. The phone was destroyed. Watch out with the drum sticks...
Or worse! Bass drummer hits fellow student in the face with mallet
I've always assumed that these work because the metal body of the stylus conducts the charge from your hand down to that mesh. If there's nothing to conduct the charge down to the mesh I'm not sure it'll work.
Same for gloves. I assume that there's enough conductance for them to transfer the charge from your hand to the screen. But still you have to have a source of conductance (your hand).
So, I don't think that it'll work without some kind of wire or conductive material connecting hand to tip. I'd be happy to be wrong though.
Have you considered leveraging the new multiple profiles feature to multiply those 12 buttons? For instance, a long-press on one of the switches could switch to another profile with those same buttons mapped to different actions. Each profile can be like another 12 buttons.
Haha that’s hilarious! I mean no that’s not funny at all, poor person 😬
@wim Here comes a reason to be happy: Indeed these tips work on their own, at least on the typical capacitive touch screens like we have them on most modern touch devices.
You've tried that or have seen it demonstrated? With the tip attached to something non-conductive such as a wooden stick?
Yes I've tried it. It doesn't need a hand but it might need a short wire connected to it.
On my iPad, a 1in long aluminum strip was enough to make it work.
Dang no that’s genius! Thanks man that’s a great idea, I did notice ages ago that I saw you could midi map changing profile. I was like “I wonder why you’d want to do that”. Oh so multiple profiles are a new function? I thought I’ve always had multiple profiles although I’ve only ever had one per device.
Yea way better with a small midi pad of some sort. I wouldn’t risk it. However, Remo makes these really cool handheld drums for kids called the [lollipop drum](Remo ET-7110-00 Kids Percussion Lollipop Drum, 10" https://a.co/d/9QF37IB "lollipop drum"). It has a handle so you can twist it after you hit it to get these cool sounds. Anyway the actual drum stick which is also sold separately for like $8 has a soft foam ball on the end. It’s not super precise like a stylus but might work. If you are going to try this I would look at some of the remo kids drum sticks. I would not rec this at all since touch is how you interact with the entire device so I can see it causing a slew of potential issues, that would prevent you from using your device. If you do Remo’s series of soft Kids drums sticks would be a top consideration in my opinion. The make very high quality instruments for kids, as well as regular percussion stuff.
Cool!
I'm glad my assumption about the needed source of the capacitance was wrong.
There has been multiple profiles, but I thought it was fairly recent that you could switch between them. Probably though that ability was always there but I didn't know about it until seeing Michael's video about it (around the 6:30 mark).
[edit] OK, yes switching profiles was already there in 1.0 but is made a little easier in 1.1 because you can have more than one profile active at a time and just turn them on and off as needed.