Drum Lights
metron9
Posts: 1,100
Well it's official. I have gone public with my drum lights with some help from the folks here in the design process we are ready for the big time, check it out.
www.acousticlights.com
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
www.acousticlights.com
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
Comments
A couple of suggestions on the web site.
If you could make the move a "click here to play", that would be nice. Some people (me) don't like their speakers blasting music upon loading a web page.
An image of the product would be nice.
Some information on functionality, batteries?
I understand you just put the site up, just tossing that out there.
I'm sure there are very expensive products like this on the market. If you can get the price down to a "weekend warrior" level I'm sure you will do very well.
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- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
good luck
Jeff T.
By the way here is the google link
video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5711315484871083056&q=drum+lights
I have not yet finished the details and photos of exactly what the product looks like, how it functions, price, etc..
I hope not giving that information at this point will create a mystery and an internet buzz.
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
Best of luck to you!· I hope you sell millions.· My days of playing in bands are (temporarily) over.· But I know a lot of drummers.· I'll spread the word.
If you're near southern California, you may want to walk the floor of the NAMM Show later this month.· You can·research the competition·and check their technology and pricing.· Maybe you could·exhibit there next year!
Keep us posted.· I·would also be interested in the details.
Chris I.
http://www.drumlights.com/
When I have my products page up in the next week or so I will post pricing and what they look like.
Yes the NAMM show, I am just not ready for that as I like to build from a solid base of quality products that will last a long time. Until my product is in use by several bands I don't even want to look at big production, my dad said do it right or don't do it at all and you just don't know how good a product is until it is tested in the field for a while. There are millions of drummers and millions more that are going to be drummers every year.
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
Take your time·in setting your pricing.· Remember, when you're a hobbyist selling your wares, you only need to recoup your costs plus get paid a little·(if any) for your time.· In the future, you will need to run your business (overhead, payroll, etc) and make a profit (required to grow your business).· If you take on dealers, they will need a cut as well.
Chris I.
http://www.acousticlights.com
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
kelvin
Not to mention the unhelpful TonyThePony joined the forums the same day as the post.
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- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
Comments like TonyThePhony's are really a good thing for your business.· They help fuel the marketing that you need to get your product recognized.· Nothing markets like controversy.· Look at Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donald.· Part of me thinks they planned that whole feud to garner free press coverage.
Think about this: People either love or hate PT Cruisers or Scions.· Very few are indifferent.
BTW I really like the look of your product.· Nice design and presentation.· I wish I played drums.· I might buy a couple anyway.
Chris I.
I bought a new DW Drum kit in the summer of 2005, I started the Acoustic Lights project very soon after. I decided to market them almost a year ago but because I can be quite a nit picker I redesigned the units three times during that time. I created a web site called AcousticLights and while searching for a name I found a site called DRUMLIGHTS.com It was taken and the site simply said "coming soon" I had no idea whatsoever what their concept was or even if it related to acoustic drums!
We finally decided at the end of last year that we had procrastinated long enough and fired up the website with copy that said we would be ready to sell Acoustic Lights by the end of this month. (we are selling them now website updated) A few days later while searching "drum lights" on google to see if any of my movie clips would come up in a search I noticed the drumlight.com website again and I am not sure but I think they went live a few days after I did but I don't know for sure.
I of course have many prototypes and actually a search on this forum and avrfreaks will show many of the ideas for resistor ladders and circuit design for the original concepts I had. I used an ATINY13 for one of the designs but later modified the design to lower the cost even further.
I am glad you like your drumlights. They look like a fantastic product and I love the towers that light up, very nice design. My concept was quite different through the entire process as I tried in every way possible to not show the LED light directly to the audience as I thought it would be too bright especially in close small venues like bars and clubs. The drumlights product would look great I think for a super bowl halftime show, Acoustic lights would probably not even be seen as you say in a situation like that.
I also like the midi interface on the drumlights product. I designed one using a MEGA48 Atmel chip (sorry parallax I just don't have the hang of the SX yet) I used a current sensing circuit to monitor the acoustic lights current draw and then output a midi signal to a midi device. I abandoned that idea even though it worked well because of the cost of bringing that type of system to market. I would need to interface with the user, make sure my device would not have decremental effects on their midi equipment etc.. I applaud drumlights for taking the time and effort to do that with their product.
AcousticLights are really designed to be accent lighting not designed to be overpowering super high output devices. I am a easy listening Jazz type guy and I could not see bright blinking lights on a drumset while listening to Ben Webster play Blue Velvet, but I can see the ride cymbal washing on that jazz drum set on stage while Ben hits those notes on his Sax.
One other complete design opposite is the blinking of the LED's. I intentionally use an R/C circuit to fade the lights in the same manner as the sound wave fades with each note, I did not want a device to blink lights, I wanted the lights to flow with the music. Originally I had a control knob to adjust the fade as well as put them into strobe mode but we again decided after months of playing to go with the design that we are marketing now to keep the cost as low as possible.
So , points well taken and one you should apologies for. I wish drumlights all the success in the world , the more people using lights triggered by drums out there the more potential for my product to be sold. There are millions of new drummers taking drum lessons every year so I don't worry about the market to sell them, it is expanding.
I should note though that if through market research I find that people want higher powered AcousticLights well I am up for that challenge as well, Luxeon makes 5W LED's and adding PAR light cans that can trigger from the AcousticLight is also in the works.
By the way the toy drum made by a major toy manufacture has been lighting up a little toy drum for years, I did find that AFTER I designed mine and then hoped people would not think my Idea was a 'TOY" for tots. But the market will decide and these are two very different systems.
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
Post Edited (metron9) : 1/24/2007 11:11:40 PM GMT
So I was thinking how this product would work on stage. As far as where it would physically be. Then I started thinking about the wires and came up with a suggestion.
Will there be wires placed on the floor? If so, it would be good if both sides of the wire had "breakaway" connectors in case someone trips on it in the dark.
Wires are always a problem on stage.
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- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
I plan to eventually have a power box with 12 female jacks the same size as the acoustic lights. I would then supply 5 foot and 10 foot wires with plugs on both ends to make a cleaner wiring system as well as provide a on off foot switch but as I have eluded too previously. Most folks out there playing gigs especially drums have a hard enough time buying new drum heads let alone spending hundreds on a lighting system. I know that to be the case as I pass down my drum heads to the less fortunate drummers in my area as well as fork over money to buy new heads well because I just don't need to change mine so often. But why should good lighting be just for the well to do? It is my hope I can drop the price 50% if I can get enough sales to warrant producing them in larger quantities so that a 12 light system could be under $200.00.
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
Metron9, I am sure that you are quite proud of your product and as well you should. I do have several legimate opinions about the product·that I won't go into as I don't want to be slammed again. What I will say however is that StarMan used a good analogy
"Think about this: People either love or hate PT Cruisers or Scions.· Very few are indifferent."
What I see as the a good analogy between DrumLights and Acousticlights is like the difference between a Lexus and a Yugo. DrumLights for the serious musian who wants a lighting setup for his drum kit for performing at shows. Acousticlights for the person who wants to sit in a darkened room playing by himself.
Each product has a different purpose and a different target market. Good luck with your lights.
By the way, thanks for modifying your posting and taking out the diaper remarks. It was unprofessional and unwarranted.
· Why do you think you have the exclusive right to make negative posts ?
· You made a negative post, then PLJack made a negative comment about your post (how dare he!).
· It has nothing to do with you being a new member, it has everything to do with both of your first posts are negative.
Bean.
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Cheap used 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com
Low power SD Data Logger www.sddatalogger.com
SX-Video Display Modules www.sxvm.com
Stuff I'm selling on ebay http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZhittconsultingQQhtZ-1
"USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." - David Letterman
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John R.
8 + 8 = 10
Besides where did I make a claim that I had exclusive rights to anything. The unprofessional and unwarranted is my comment because metron9 made a personal reference to my being on a diaper related site. He removed the comment and I thanked him for doing it. It was very professional and respectful of Metron9 to remove a comment that was must likely made in haste. I have the upmost respect for him for that decision. If my any of my comments made to him are viewed as a personal and negative nature to him he has my appologies.
What would you like to say that is negative about me now?
Post Edited (originator) : 1/30/2007 10:52:30 PM GMT
I haven't got time for this nonsense.·I thought you might get the point, but, no. Why do I even try. I mean I only have over 3300 post here. Now where is that ignore button...Ah there it is, I feel better already.
Bean.
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Cheap used 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com
Low power SD Data Logger www.sddatalogger.com
SX-Video Display Modules www.sxvm.com
Stuff I'm selling on ebay http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZhittconsultingQQhtZ-1
"USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." - David Letterman
Well there were no unprofessional remarks in the post and I said nothing about diapers, I simply searched your "tonythepony" name on google and posted the link to a site asking if it was you. But then I realized that just because you made unprofessional remarks saying that I got the idea from drumlights that i should keep my standards a bit higher.
If bright blinding lights are what people want, I can sure make an add on bright kit that will trigger additional LEDS.
Thanks for idea, I will make that my next project. I just got a batch of photo transistors in that will be perfect for the task.
I will post a movie clip of the prototype, It won't take long to prototype it so maybe this weekend I will have some movie clips to show. I can't wait to get started on it.
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
Generally people come to this forum for assistance with Parallax products.· For you to come to a "Sandbox" forum and have your only posts be derogatory to a developer is a pretty large indicator that you are not interested in parallax products, the other engineers, Firmware development, or assisting developers.
It is really unfortunate that you have been here such a short time and given yourself such a bad reputation.· There are a lot of Great Engineers in these forums (Bean for example is a phenomenal resource) and a lot of people who have their hands very deep in the electronics industry.
I am surprised that you came onto an engineering website to troll for attention for another product.· I really hope that you are an engineer, or you develop firmware for microcontrollers...Because if you are just here to promote a 3rd party product, and compare somebody's design to that 3rd party product...then you are pretty off base for intentions of these forums.
Again, there are a lot of Great Developers here.· And the only product here is not 'drum lights'.· We all work on multiple projects...Some get to shelves, some don't.· I hope that you didn't come here with the naive assumption that drum lights is the only project that metron has worked on.
I hope that you have been through the development cycle from conception to product release and understand all of the work that has gone into the product.· *If* you had, you would understand that it is EXCITING for Metron...and we all like to encourage that excitement. Metron is not screaming for a patent...Metron is making an option for consumers and putting his heart on the line...
I would hope to see you in other portions of this forum, such as the SX or Even the Basic stamp...But until then, I will have you on ignore.
This is a link to the Harmony Central Drum Forum the link to the google video is in the first post.
I wonder is anyone has a guess as to what they are using for these "wraps" as they are called.
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1531207
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
Chris I.
metron9 did the hard part of getting the control and response systems into place and working. kudos for all that.
The output to particular light arrays can easily evolve in many ways. One might even have it all trigger a fireworks display in an outdoor concert. How would that be?
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"If you want more fiber, eat the package.· Not enough?· Eat the manual."········
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!
congrats on launching a product. as a indipendant young researcher\inventor, i find that impressive. especially because i am also a drum player and all-around rhythm fan.
clearly this person is a marketing type from the drumlights company.. i really doubt many people who have the $ to buy that stuff would come and bother people on the parallax board.. that said, the drumlight technology is the sort of stuff i get really into, less so than your simple stuff. still, i like the effect of your simple device better... this guy's claim you got your idea off drumlights is absurd.. doesn't anyone remember bonham with his light-up vistalites?! wtf?! this idea is about 40 years old!! probably older. i wouldn't be surprised if it turns out tesla invented the drum-trigger light!
so on this note, i think your device looks all analog, which gives it some REAL possible features for almost no extra cost.. i will happily outline some now..
1- add a direct piezeo output so people can hook these triggers into their drum brains and trigger to midi boxes.. i know it may sound unlikely many people will want this functionality, but i know 1 drummer, at least, for sure(not me) who would.. my drum teacher.. i recomend this output be a 1/4" jack. this should not cost much more than the cost of a jack... the main disadvantage might be the need to rethink mounting.
2- add a 5v control output. this would then allow you to very inexpensively offer solid state relay boxes so the things can trigger full size stage lights... if you added the fade in dynamic you mentioned, all the better... again, a very inexpensive mod.. these are things a clever guy could do with a soldering iron and some wire and jacks and stuff...
i am sending you a PM as well about something else.
keep up the good work!
Robert
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3D & 2D Design - Technical Documentation
www.robertguyser.com
I post this as a reminder to those who are just learning electronics that have their own big ideas.
Stay with it and never give up. It took 1 year and 3 months but the review is now on the news stand and sales are brisk.
Also thank's to the folks on this board for all of their help with questions I had during development.
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Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!