Practicing a musical instrument takes a lot of time, preceded by the loss of a sizable pile of money. To parents, they can be a double edge sword as they can be expensive and loud but also a considerable skill and hobby to acquire if their child is truly interested. This is the case unless the parent is a tech-savvy engineer. In which case, the perfect solution has already been built for kids that want to practice the drums.
Ian Cole was able to make an electronic drum set using the "Drum Kit - Kit Ai" all included (DKKAI) from SpikenzieLabs and some misclanious hardware from IKEA and the corner-store. The Spikenzielabs drum machine is an ATMEGA168-based kit that includes piezoelectric sensors. These sensors can be placed on any makeshift drumhead. Using the SpikenzieLabs DKKAI Roadie, programming the sensors becomes even easier. This DKKAI Roadie is a daughterboard add on that allows the user to designated a MIDI output sound to each sensor and store it in the ATMEGA eeprom directly from the connected MIDI device.
Cole opted for using Tupperware from IKEA as the drums. He attached the Piezos on to aluminum plates, which were the placed under the lids of Tupperware containers. The PVC piping structure holds the drums in place, and it also doubles as electrical conduit for the wiring.
His son is now able to play quality electric drums with the use of a MIDI capable iPad and the Garage band software connected to an amp or headphone. Lets hear it for tech-savvy parents.
Everything you need to know about the SpikenzieLabs drum kit can be found after the link.
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