The XY Drum

Standard electronic drum pads are equipped with one piezoelec­ tric sensor that converts stick strikes to electronic pulses which are measured and used to trigger pre-recorded samples or other sounds. Advanced models can measure the amplitude of this pulse and adjust the volume of the resultant sample or even select a different sample en­ tirely. The state of the art electronic drums are equipped with several ’trigger zones’ on each head that allow for two to four different sam­ ples to be mapped to different parts of the drum. The XY Drum aims to offer a new level flexibility to electronic drum designs by providing high resolution x,y strike position for each trigger event. Furthermore, the XY Drum uses this information to enrich the interface of electronic rhythm, affording an entirely new playing experience. This paper mo­ tivates a fundamental approach to capturing x-y information using several piezoelectric sensors simultaneously and demonstrates its via­ bility. Furthermore, an early prototype of the XY drum is described. However, further obstacles in the analog design of the system must be overcome before this prototype will be able to successfully generate the desired x-y strike positions.