Andrew Payne wrote:

Thanks Damian for your detailed explanation – very helpful and clears up a lot. Unfortunately I don’t have my Yamaha DTX900 module with me to be able to “test” these new settings as it is in for repair and I cannot access it due to a long and protracted lockdown ! I don’t use hi-hat splashes so this is not a concern for me. What I do want to be able to do is a fast cymbal roll on the hi-hat and gradually lift the pedal all the way up and then gradually close it all the way down to generate a foot chick (or closed pedal note) with a continuous roll. When I do this I want to have a relatively smooth transition from fully closed to fully open and then again a smooth transition back to fully closed. Is this likely to give a smooth transition or is it always going to sound like an electronic replication of a hi-hat due to the “sharp” transition that occurs at whatever CC value generates the next articulation. And if so am I likely to have a less noticeable transition with all the 8 available articulations (not including closed pedal) or is it better to not have as many articulations ie say 4-6 of these rather than all 8 (where 8 are actually available).

I cant wait to get my module back so I can experiment with these settings but in the meantime would love to hear your thoughts or those of any other e-drummers. Obviously the acoustic hi hat is the most difficult instrument to replicate with electronic hi-hat triggers using cc values along with edge/bow and bell articulations (where available – bell not an option with Yamaha RHH135). cheers, Andrew

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.2.5
Operating system: Windows 10

With the 8 articulations loaded performance should be very good and in normal playing situations extremely close to acoustic hi-hats. With the later Superior Drummer 3 libraries a lot of effort has gone into capturing the transitions from closed to open that give the most realistic performance with e-drums. During editing and development of these libraries we also A/B with acoustic hi-hats to try to get the most authentic performance (some of the hi-hats in the later SDX’s are from my own personal collection so this makes the process of A/B’ing a little easier). Of course we are always looking at new technology and ways of improving things but I really believe the new E-drum Optimised setting provides a great alternative to the default especially with moving hi-hats.

Regarding cross-fading, we have discussed this in the past but playing two samples simultaneously could potentially create extra problems such as phase and comb-filtering issues. It is also a compromise in its own way as you are doubling the sound of physical interaction of the two cymbals at the mid-point. That’s not to say it isn’t an area worthy of further exploration.