Alesis 14" Triple Zone *Solved*

[Zman369]

So I have a Alesis 14" Triple Zone Cymbal (2 Ports) Ride Crash DM10 DMPad. The problem is… I can’t figure out how to get the cymbal to work right.

Only two zones are triggering (bell and bow) I have not been able to get the edge to trigger, but bell and bow triggers simultaneously. However, I was successful in getting the bell to react with a harder hit, but it’s still also triggers the bow. Vice versa if I hit lightly on the bow, the bell won’t trigger until I hit hard enough on the bow.

I’m trying to get all three zones to work separately and not bleed into each other.
Could I be punching in the settings wrong or am I hooking up my cables wrong?

My cable set up is a stereo cable from the MEGADRUM unit to a mono splitter, splitting the signal into two separate signals. Am I doing this wrong? Do I need a special adapter with a resistor like some things I’ve been reading? Or do I need to just have two separate cables one stereo one mono?

Any help will be appreciated.

[dmitri]

Is it piezo/switch/switch cymbal like Roland type 3way cymbals?

[Zman369]

I’m not 100% sure I believe it’s the same set up. I’ve included a link below of the same cymbal I own, hope it helps.

https://www.amazon.com/Alesis-3-Zone-Si ... B09PJ7CF7V

[dmitri]

Please find out if it is piezo/switch/switch (Roland 3way type) and if this is the case configured as viewtopic.php?p=17613#p17613

But if it is piezo/piezo/switch type (neither Roland nor Yamaha type) than it is not good as having two piezos on the same surface is not good for zones separation. You can still try to configure it, e.g.:
1. Configure the first cymbal input (from A on cymbal to e.g. Aux1) as a dual piezo/piezo cymbal and set in a separate XTalkGroup.
2. Configure the second cymbal input (from B on cymbal to Aux2) as a dual piezo/switch cymbal with the bow Notes set equal to the bow Notes on Aux1 and with the edge Notes set equal to the edge Notes on Aux1.
Bell/Bow zones should work (with bad zones separation) and choking should work but the third zone (edge) may not work.

[Zman369]

Yes, after much research, it is a Piezo/switch/switch set up. I even took apart the backing plate and found only one piezo with 2 switches.
Thanks to this link:
https://www.drummerworld.com/forums/ind ... st-1880435

I will study the link you gave me (viewtopic.php?p=17613#p17613) and post my findings.

I will be in touch if I am not successful.

[Zman369]

So, I finally got a chance to play with the ride settings today and I discovered the Alesis is 14 inch three zone ride is programmable.

Although, I’m not sure what setting to set it to Under piezo type.

If I set it as (Dual or three-way Yamaha) I’m able to get 2 zones working (bell & bow) with two stereo cable inputs. The only thing is, I can’t get the edge to trigger.

Vice versa, I’m able to do the same with the (3 way Roland) piezo type but it flips the zones and now the bell triggers the “edge sound” and the edge still won’t trigger any noise.

Cymbal output A to ride input
Cymbal output B to aux 1 input

I triple checked all my midi notes and they are routed correctly.

However, if I keep it on either piezo type and route the midi notes according the “piezo Type zone flip” with the same 2 stereo cable setup…

When I strike the edge which is on the auxiliary input 1 i finally hear the edge sound. Also the bell and bow are working like it should.

Although, now I have the crash edge triggering, but I also hear the ride bow triggering at the same time and if I hit the bell too hard, it triggers the edge noise.

I’ve messed with a few settings, and I am not able to separate the two or able to get the edge to act as a separate switch.


*Update Revised*
OK so now I’m having a completely different experience. So I swapped the cable connections.

Cymbal output A to aux input 1
Cymbal output B to Ride input

Now I have everything working perfectly, except I have No bell and my choke only shows in the midi log.

2 lines white
2 lines grey

Which I assume is the on and off for each midi note on the choke,
but the choke doesn’t mute anything.

Also, Im using the Dual or three-way Yamaha Piezo Type for bow and Edge is Switch.

Set all edges to *Working*
and
Set all Bell switch to *Working*

I check my settings a second time and both are reset to *No* again.


What am i doing wrong ?

[dmitri]

As per viewtopic.php?p=17613#p17613 , Roland type 3way cymbals (piezo/switch/switch with two cables) must be connected to two adjacent (consecutive) jacks, e.g.:
Ride and Crash
Crash and Tom1
...
Aux1 and Aux2
Aux2 and Aux3
and so on

They cannot bed usd on non-adjacent jacks like Ride and Aux1.

[Zman369]

Dmitri, It worked!
After your last message, I reviewed the link you sent again under Roland three-way and kept reading a few pages in.

I noticed the user by the name of Alec who had a similar problem. I followed the steps in your post, and I copied the setting of the other users screen shots.

All of a sudden everything started working perfectly.

Also, your advice about the adjacent plugs and a picture I found of something similar showing inputs circled in red on the back helped immensely.

After everything started working, I noticed that I had to flip the input jacks, because at first everything was operating backwards. My edge was on the bell, and my bell was on the edge. So after I flipped the cables.

Everything works just as it should now.

Also I’m still experiencing no choke on the crash edge.
I can see the choke notes turning on and off all three but I have no mute on the edge to operate it like a crash/ride combo.

Is it possible to get that working?
Also asking for a future reference on the choke for the crash cymbals.

[dmitri]

I'm not sure I understand the problem with the choke. You say that you see chokes in the visual MIDI Log (Aftertouch On/Off messages in the MIDI Log) but no sound muting. If this is the case then it is the problem with the drum/sound synth app configuration.
Or did I misunderstand you?

[Zman369]

Nope, you understood me correctly. I just over looked how the choke works. Looking into your suggestion and I will share my results when finished. Also I will post in the proper forum when all the final settings are finish on the whole kit.