Yeah, those are cardboard "octobans" - an instrument which scraps of PVC tube seems destined to become. When I worked in residential construction, I would "play" the end of various lengths of PVC as I cut it, listening to how the length changed the pitch. As a matter of fact, right now I have a box full of 12" rims in the garage. I plan to put standard lugs, rims, and heads on lengths of 12" PVC to make... hopefully giant tuned bass cannons. I'm intrigued that you say "suspended" lengths, though. Suspension mounting is a big thing with drums, because hardware taps the resonance out. But I guess you already knew that!

Anyway, I have a knew Low Resolution Illustration. This one shows the Ergonomic considerations I make when setting up my kit. I set up my snare and my throne, then place the bass drum pedals where my feet naturally rest. The bass drum comes straight out from my right leg (note that the bass drum is not the actual "front" of the kit). My high hat is straight out from my left leg, when shifted just to the left of the left bass drum pedal. With those core components in place, the toms can be placed within the green lines (the line down the middle of the bass drum indicates the highest point, which limits placement of deeper toms).

I have this diagram in my head as I set up my gear. Here, I have reproduced it as a 256-color bitmap, created entirely with MS Paint.

I can't think of a witty retort that I feel comfortable making here, in resonse to a comment that peripherally involves my little bug.

Yes, they take up plenty of space, but she loves me, and drumming is part of who I am. When we lived in a tiny apartment, with no space for drums, she went out and bought me a djembe (hand drum). She said that living with me, without drums in the house, just didn't feel right. Also, little bug loves Papa's drums. She heard Papa's drums the whole time she was in the belly. Papa's drums make bug happy.

It'd be much easier to let this camel toe go through my stockings than to try and fix it with this needle right now. Heavens, i just need a rich man. Oh my kingdom for a new pair of- eye eye yai!

Martha
11.30 p.m.

What the bleep are you beepin' about, chick?:worried:

My sig line, I think.

Tsk tsk, stefania - making fun of the BIBLE? Naughty naughty!

Ooh, nice drums and drawing. And the baby is sooo cute!

Do you still play djembe at all? I danced a solo with a djembe player providing live accompaniment once. It was lots of fun.

I do keyboard, and I'm learning Bass, so this is kinda like greek to me, but I like it.

This is fascinating stuff, Flint. I'm sure you're probably too well trained to change, but would it not be more ergonomically comfortable to reverse the pedals? As in, the ball of the foot remains on the floor pad while the heel is lifted up and down? That way you would have the benefit of the weight of your calves and part of your thighs working for you. I see no difficulty in designing such a linkage.

Also, would it help to strike a beat on the upward motion as well? No problems there, either. Could easily be designed to be selective.

Pardon me, Texas, but I'm an engineer and such things are downright fun to me.

Great Ideas!
 

@Hyoi: You have some great ideas! In fact, they have been proven not only to be valid from an engineering standpoint, but also to be marketable. The Sonor Giant Step Twin Effect pedal captures the heel motion, while the Duallist Single-Foot Double Pedal captures the upward stroke.

That's downright slick. Well, it's back to the hydrostatic transmission (front wheel drive, variable speed steering, articulated chassis, regenerative braking).

Thanks, Texas.