CRASH PAD
Electronic Crash Drum
Congratulations on your purchase of the Crash Pad, a faithful reissue of the
Electro-Harmonix Crash Pad drum synthesizer first released in 1980. The Crash
Pad uses analog synthesis techniques–such as resonant filter sweeps of a noise
source–to create a range of drum sounds from cymbals to snares to otherworldly
oscillation sweeps. Trigger the Crash Pad from the on-board push button or an
external, non-MIDI, electronic drum pad. Pass external sounds through the
resonant filter via the auxilliary input. Use the expression pedal/CV input for
external control over the filter in real-time.
- CONTROLS -
SWEEP Controls – Together, these three knobs control the Crash Pad’s filter
frequency sweep:
START Knob – Sets the starting point of the frequency sweep. Filter
sweeps can begin anywhere from 250 Hz at full counterclockwise to 7.5
kHz at full clockwise.
STOP Knob – Sets the end point of the filter’s frequency sweep.
Sweeps can end anywhere from 50 Hz at full counterclockwise to 7.5
kHz at full clockwise.
TIME Knob – Controls how long it takes to sweep from the START
frequency to the STOP frequency. As TIME is turned clockwise, the
sweep time slows down. Sweep time ranges from 40 ms to 4 seconds.
SENS. Button – Controls the sensitivity of the Crash Pad to an external trigger.
Sensitivity is high in the down position and low in the up position. We
recommend you start with the high setting because smaller amplitude pulses are
required to trigger the Crash Pad as compared to the low setting. Additionally,
the amplitude of the external trigger signal changes the Crash Pad’s output
volume and start frequency to a limited degree so that hitting your drum pad
harder may produce a louder output signal.
RESONANCE Knob – Adjusts the resonance (or Q) of the low pass filter. As
you increase RESONANCE the filter’s Q increases. The filter begins to self-
oscillate at around 3 o’clock on the RESONANCE knob.
VOLUME Knob – Controls the volume of the output signal. As VOLUME is
turned clockwise, the output volume increases.
