Help with Calibration

[lamarrgroove]

Hello my Friends! I just got a WaveDrum Oriental yesterday. I've gone through the calibration instructions 5 or 6 times. The sensitivity won't save for me. I hate that you have to hit it so hard to get a sound. My Roland manuals are easy to follow. Can someone help me?

[WaveDrummer]

Hey, the forum is up and running again! It's still a little glitchy but I have faith that the admins are working that out.

Wavederum Calibration!

First off, I would definitely suggest reading this older thread about tensioning and adjusting the drumhead:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=58750

Secondly, I'd be willing to be bet that if you aren't getting what seems to be a proper dynamic response from the Wavedrum (and the Tabla program is one of the best to check sensitivity and response) then there is a very good chance that the drumhead is too tight! This can really reduce the overall playability of the Wavedrum, and it is by far the most common error I've seen in terms of setting up the instrument properly.

The fact of the matter is: the head should be only be tight enough to keep the tension rods from rattling. A couple of turns of the drumkey tighter than that should be as far as you'll want to go. As drummers (for those of us who are) it is quite natural to think that tightening the head will have some sort of beneficial effect on the Wavedrum. It does not! A looser head will be much more responsive and dynamic (unless taken to the extreme, of course). This is one very important fact that the manual does not address.

Easy experiment: Dial up program #35 Tabla. Loosen the head to a very low tension and play around with the sound. In particular, try pressing on the head with the heel of one hand, to create some pitch-bending, while playing the head with either your other hand or a stick/mallet. Also, listen to the overall sustain of the un-muted, open sound and how delicately you can play it. Be sure to strike the center of the head as well as the edge.

Now tighten the head up gradually, eventually getting to the point where you feel some noticeable resistance to the drumkey. As you do so, keep checking the sound by playing in the above fashion. You should easily begin to notice that as the head tension increases, the dynamic response of the tabla sound is diminished and, eventually, when the head is much tighter, most of the sustain just disappears.

So keep the amount of tension on the head low. Trust me.

As far as the actual calibration settings go...
To reiterate what I stated in the "Tuning" thread: I have played dozens of Wavedrums all across the country. New ones, used ones, Silver, Black, Oriental...all of them. I've done countless in-store demos and multiple day-long trade show performances. What's my point? Not once, ever, have I had to adjust the calibration settings. Never! Head tension? Definitely. But never the calibration settings.

If ever in doubt, I perform the Factory Reset function, and I'm good to go. (Page 28 of the Owners's Manual - Appendix)
My current settings should be the standard Factory Default settings:

H.ca & R.ca
Lo=007
SEn=020

P.ca
VaL=000
P.Lo=005
P.Hi=100

If you are changing any of these settings, then saving them should be as easy as pressing the WRITE button twice. After the first press of the button, the display should be blinking. Pressing it the second time will save the settings.

If your are performing the above procedure correctly but the Wavedrum is not actually saving any adjustments that you're making, then there may actually be an issue with the Wavedrum itself. But I have never encountered such issues. If the Factory Settings are being displayed, then the Wavedrum should respond appropriately.

Good luck. Keep us posted on your developments!

[WaterDrum]

hi lamarrgroove

when iI adjust the tension of my remo skin
at first I only use 1 finger to turn the key tool

always the opposte screws (see manual)
then I give each screw 90 more degrees

I control this "loose" feeling after 1 hour playing

calibration should be OK with standard settings

[lamarrgroove]

Thank You!
You're one of two people that answered my question. I tuned it slack and now it's great. Many thanks! Jonathan

[Bertotti]

I did just what I shouldn't have done when I got mine. I tried to tighten it for consistent tone all around the rim. I got it to tight had to recalibrate the head etc etc etc. Changed head to a cyber skin, I love it, and followed Wavedrummers advice and it worked great! Have you seen some of the threads for modding you WD?

[martygras]

The manual has been updated:

1. Using the included tuning key, tighten each tension
bolt, skipping one bolt each step. Be sure to use only
light force to turn the bolt, and stop when the bolt
stops turning (i.e., at the point that strength would be
required). Do this for all five bolts.
2. Tighten each tension bolt one full turn, skipping one
bolt each step. Do this for all five bolts.
3. Tighten each tension bolt approximately 45 degrees,
skipping one bolt each step. Do this for all five bolts.

When the head is loose I can't get any bounce on the sticks, so the above statement seems more likely.

[WaveDrummer]

When the head is loose I can't get any bounce on the sticks, so the above statement seems more likely.

Hi martygras!

I wanted to respond to this as well as your similar concerns in the "using sticks" thread. I hope you had a chance to follow the link in my post above about head tuning/tensioning.

Quite honestly, I would ignore the suggestions in the manual. For reasons that I outline in the linked thread about tuning, I have no reason to believe that the manual was written by a drummer or anyone that truly understands what they're talking about in regards to the drumhead.

Don't worry about "skipping bolts", etc. Just go around in a circle. I detail this in the other thread.

As far as getting much bounce out of the Wavedrum:
To be blunt, it is not going to happen—at least not the way a normal drum would respond. Sorry.

As I explained in the "tuning" thread, the fact that the pressure sensor is pressing on the bottom of the head in the center, there is no way the head is going to "bounce" like a tom-tom or snare drum would. Plus, as I have also explained above in this thread, tightening the head too much will only cause you to lose a great deal of dynamic response and sensitivity. The Wavedrum needs to "breathe" in a sense, to be fully expressive. This means using a lower head tension.

I don't want to repeat myself too much, so please read those other posts. If you have any other questions after doing so, don't hesitate to bring them up.

Good luck!

[edit]
I just realized that you stated in the other thread that you play mostly with your hands anyway, so maybe I'm giving you information that you didn't really ask for. Sorry if that's the case.

[martygras]

I don't want to repeat myself too much, so please read those other posts. If you have any other questions after doing so, don't hesitate to bring them up.

Good luck!

Thanks wavedrummer,
Yep, I read 'em all.

My concern is that people are buying these and (some) are actually reading the manual.
If users do what the manual says, they may not be satisfied with the sensitivity they experience from the head tightening technique.

[Bogtrumpet]

Thanks wavedrummer,
Yep, I read 'em all.

My concern is that people are buying these and (some) are actually reading the manual.
If users do what the manual says, they may not be satisfied with the sensitivity they experience from the head tightening technique.

I agree with Martygras, I've actually returned one wavedrum and exchanged it. The output appears low and (even with the new one so nothing wrong with the original) I get channel noise before I get a decent output. (first class connections etc) I'm keen now to go off and retension the head - detension that is. I'm waiting for a miricale.

BT

[WaveDrummer]

Hi BT!

Did you see this thread regarding the Output Level?
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=52325

A few excerpts worth noting:

The The Wavedrum has two selectable output levels, Normal Mode and x2 Mode. Normal mode is the factory default setting. If you hold down the BANK button during power-up, the display will read "Set" and then either "1.00" or "2.00" You can then turn the value knob to select between the two output levels. "2.00" will be the louder output.

IMPORTANT: You then need to save your selected setting by holding the BANK button and then the WRITE button. Turn the power off and then on again. Your new setting should be stored. One way to confirm the new setting (if you have changed it) is to shut the Wavedrum off, then repeat the steps of powering up while holding the BANK button. The display will show which output settings is active, 1.00 or 2.00. To play the Wavedrum, you will need to turn it off then power-up again in a normal fashion.

There should be a noticeable increase in output going from Normal Mode (1.00) to x2 Mode (2.00)

Small addition: One can confirm whether it's Output Level 1 or 2 via watching the 1-4 LEDs while switching on. When Level x2 is selected all 4 (1-4) LEDs will light up simultaneously for about 0.5 sec. After this the normal loading-procedure continues. During the start up procedure the 1-4 LEDs will light up too, but not simultaneously. When output level 1 is selected, the 1-4 LEDs dont light up simultaneously immediately after switching on, but they will light up one-after-the-other later on during the loading procedure.

Global Mode Factory Settings

There will definitely be unwanted noise if the LO setting is below "003"

Head Calibration [H.ca]
Lo=007 SEn=020

Rim Calibration [r.ca]
Lo=007 SEn=020

Pressure Sensor Calibration
VaL=000 P.Lo=005 P.Hi=100

Press the WRITE button twice to save these settings!

[Bogtrumpet]

Thank you WD

Yes I had spotted it when I fleetingly read the manual (are you allowed to say that?). I've tried to find it again in the manual but not got round to it. Now I don't need to as you've spelled it out for me. Thanks so much... I'm off to do that now.

I did loosen the head tension as you describe and this made a significant difference.

ATB

BT