Hubcap Handpan

[BJG145]

I'm wondering about trying to make a MIDI handpan out of a hubcap.

Would that be interesting, or just weird...? Hmm...





YouTube

Reverb

[resistorman]

Hmm, so you would put the pads in the spaces?

[BJG145]

...yep. There have been a couple of these, the Oval and the Lumen, but neither is currently available.



Choosing the right hubcap is key. The Oval has eight notes (including the central one), the Lumen has nine. I think nine might be best.



I'm not sure if it could look cool, or just ridiculous. But it should be simple to make a basic one so I might give it a go.

[ManFromGlass]

I’ve always wanted a hang drum but missed the boat. I researched a bit of how to tune a steel pan (similar to tuning a hang drum) and talked to people who did it. Seems it is not straight forward, as tuning one note changes the others. Please post your progress as I still might give it a go at some point.
Using a hubcap is great idea!

[BJG145]

OK. I just picked this up on eBay for £4. It'll do for a start.

[BJG145]

...I recently found a helpful local place that does laser cutting and engraving. I thought I might start by seeing if laser-cut ply covers might fit; get them etched with runes or something. Depends how curved it looks. Or rubber/cloth covers maybe, if I can stick down the edges.

[ManFromGlass]

ah ok. Midi handpan! I was assuming it would also produce sounds. I was thinking where does one find metal hubcaps these days. Still a cool project. Distantly related to the BopPad perhaps which is fun in it’s own way.

[MOF]

Distantly related to the BopPad perhaps which is fun in it’s own way.

Agreed, go straight to that.

[resistorman]

OK. I just picked this up on eBay for £4. It'll do for a start.

That looks perfect!

...I recently found a helpful local place that does laser cutting and engraving. I thought I might start by seeing if laser-cut ply covers might fit; get them etched with runes or something. Depends how curved it looks. Or rubber/cloth covers maybe, if I can stick down the edges.

Excellent.

[BJG145]

The BopPad has quarter divisions doesn't it? I'm sure it's great but it's not a Hubpan.

[ManFromGlass]

exactly!

[Martin Walker]

I went for a 'real' mini Hand Pan a couple of years ago, and have been really pleased with it. Its maker Phil runs our local Djembe drum circle (to which I also belong), and his drums are made about 3 miles away from me in Camelford here in North Cornwall:

http://www.tonguedrum.co.uk/



I went for a 'gold' finished D pentatonic scale.

Martin

[BJG145]

I went for a 'real' mini Hand Pan a couple of years ago, and have been really pleased with it. Its maker Phil runs our local Djembe drum circle (to which I also belong), and his drums are made about 3 miles away from me in Camelford here in North Cornwall:

http://www.tonguedrum.co.uk/



I went for a 'gold' finished D pentatonic scale.

Martin

Wow! Very nice.

[Wonks]

I went for a 'gold' finished D pentatonic scale.

Martin

Did you go for D because it matches the letter on your hat?

[Martin Walker]

Is that a 'pointed' remark Wonks?

[Wonks]

You’ve got me ‘cornered’.

[Folderol]

... or possibly corny - ed

[MOF]

The BopPad has quarter divisions doesn't it? I'm sure it's great but it's not a Hubpan.

It’s got pressure and zone response though.

[BJG145]

I was thinking this could look wicked with translucent pads and NeoPixels. A bit tricky though. An easier option would be some kind of latex/rubber pads with piezos stuck to the underside, and then reverse filled with insulation foam.

For percussive instruments it's usually piezo or FSR (Force Sensitive Resistor). Piezo is simpler but more liable to crosstalk. I expect there are some Arduino libraries to help with that though, so for this cheap and cheerful edition I'll probably go with piezo.

[ManFromGlass]

I’ve had issues with the BopPad not sending note offs either in time or at all. (been awhile since I checked that) This is fine for triggering percussion and short samples but not great for multiple hits on the same note.
I do like the Drumkat’s FSR pads for playing chords and melodies where sustain is required.
as for colour choice? Hot rod colours would look great!! (personal bias!)

[BJG145]

...just came across this pic of an early Lumen protoype made out of a salad bowl.

After some tinkering, the capacitive sensors were thrown out entirely and replaced with piezo elements. The shell was modified to allow for independent and dampened vibration of the new sensors.

It looks like the pads here are separated from the instrument body by springs.

The discontinued Oval seems to have used multiple FSRs or similar per pad.





Instead of piezo/FSR, the KMI BopPad apparently uses a type of smart fabric. (Kudos to Keith McMillen; their instruments are always innovative. The Eviola was partly inspired by his K-Bow.)

(The Lumen, not yet released, will have a built-in speaker and sounds created by Soniccouture; would be nice to get this working with their Handpan library.)

https://www.soniccouture.com/en/product ... pan-drums/
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/sample-cds-test-8

[BJG145]

The hubcap turned up; I've hosed it down and I think this should work OK for the lid. I'll probably spray it black.





After browsing eBay for a suitable base, I thought I'd try this 45cm garden saucer which will hopefully be a good fit.



I was wondering about trying some 3mm flexible polyurethane for illuminated pad covers...



...but I think I'm going to use 3mm flexible plywood. (The holes have a narrow 'shelf' round the edge that it can sit on.)



I'm imagining getting this laser cut into pieces that can be neatly glued into the gaps, laser-engraved with central runes which are cut out in an oval shape for the pads. These can have a piezo mounted on the back and be fitted back into the holes with some kind of slightly springy separation.

The 5cm central circle can be fitted with a Bela Trill ring.

Trill Ring is designed to fit within a Neopixels ring, and fits an arcade button in the central hole.

This could be used for things like volume/transposition.

There's a local company which offers various kinds of laser cutting and engraving work on their HPC LS1290...



...but they mainly arrange stuff for weddings (they use it for custom craftwork/design accessories), and they're pretty busy with that at the mo. But they said to call back in October and they'll help with the hubcap.

[resistorman]

This all looks good! Thanks for the link to Trill, I didn't know they existed!

[Martin Walker]

Wow BJG145, I wish I had half of your energy and determination with new projects. Really looking forward to seeing/hearing the end result in due course.