simmons sds 8 brain

[wheely]

hi, was thinking about getting a simmons sds 8 brain.. i dont want pads tho, would like to trigger it from the computer, ie, program beats in sequencer, send midi to simmons..

is this possible?, i know it had no midi in or cv.

cheers.

[EdisonRex]

The SDS-8 wants to see varying trigger pulses at the drum inputs in order to generate sounds. Coming up with triggers might be interesting, but with the right interface, I think it can be done fairly simply.

If you can get a multi channel audio interface, you can manufacture the "pulses" with short sounds (a clave, click, or something like) and just pipe each of those channels into the 5 channels of the SDS-8's drum sensors. Those inputs are looking for a range of 5mV to 1.5V so working within those line levels you should easily generate the triggers. I shouldn't think that AC vs DC matters much; just presenting the right kind of signal to the SDS-8 will cause it to trigger.

So your sequencer would "play" very simple clicky sounds as audio out, hopefully with some velocity differences to them. Each track plays a single note, and 5 tracks would be needed, which would then trigger the SDS-8.

Is this clear?

[wheely]

yes i think i understand. i have a spare motu 2408 which has 8 rca outs.

so, say in ableton, i would load some short sounds into a sampler, assign each sample to an individual audio channel, send each channel to an out on the motu, connect outs of motu to sds 8.......

thanks for ur reply.
regards.

[EdisonRex]

Yes, that's it exactly. You will probably have to adjust levels to suit the SDS-8 to get into it's envelope, but you understand the method perfectly.