One of a kind HTPC

[Drum Thumper]

So I've been kicking around this idea of modding a floor tom into a HTPC for quite some time now, and I'm kinda thinking it might be my next project after I finish up the John Deere Mod for my parents. My biggest concern was cooling, but after some careful consideration, I've decided that if I go this route, I might as well go all out and WC this one.

My question is this: Real drumhead on the top or should I go with some plexi? There might be kids in my future (SO and I have talked about it and have pretty much decided that if it happens, great!) so I'm trying to plan ahead and whatnot. Either way, this beast is gonna get some hardcore lighting added to it for the occasional times that I decide to fire up some mp3s and/or CDs.

Like I said, I'm still very much in the planning stages on this one. Hopefully it'll see the light of day.

[Drew]

What's a floor tom?

[Nagoshi]

Google answered :

http://www.gaugerpercussion.com/imagesound/Fullftxsm.jpg

[Drew]

D'oh.

Have a proper top. Then you can beat it when you feel the need.

[Drum Thumper]

D'oh.

Have a proper top. Then you can beat it when you feel the need.

That's what my Tama kit is for!

[Ticien]

That is an awesome idea. Personally I would go with the plexi top, so you can show off the inside and lighting.

I wonder if you could turn a whole drumkit into a multimedia entertainment center...(thinking about a big ol' bass drum subwoofer and speaker satellites in a hat and cymbal...put a stool in front of it and mod a keyboard into one of the other toms, and use the snare as a mousepad...wow that would be cool)

The more I think about it the cooler it sounds...do it!

[agnat]

Drumthumper, I had also thought of something along those lines, but I have a vintage Rogers kit that I do not want to ruin. What I had in mind was to get an inexpensive Pearl or Gretsch kit and do something in the floor tom such as a media type puter that could integrate midi out from my electronic set with mp3's to allow me to practice or to come up with new patterns to go along with original songs that will compliment them, not overrun them. I'll be interested in what you do with this one of yours.

Agnat

[Drum Thumper]

That is an awesome idea. Personally I would go with the plexi top, so you can show off the inside and lighting.

I wonder if you could turn a whole drumkit into a multimedia entertainment center...(thinking about a big ol' bass drum subwoofer and speaker satellites in a hat and cymbal...put a stool in front of it and mod a keyboard into one of the other toms, and use the snare as a mousepad...wow that would be cool)

The more I think about it the cooler it sounds...do it!

I had a similiar idea when I first thought this idea up. +Rep for thinking alike!

[anvilinc01]

hey killer idea what diameter is the tom you plan to mod? is it deep enough to fit in a pair of "proper speakers that aren't visible, ie facing the floor, out of the bottom of the tom? also what would be the harm in modding a flat screen under the headskin? get a real skin in clear and plexi between the skin and the screen!black plexi around the screen and clear on the visible area?

[.Maleficus.]

Or you could go with like really opaque frosted plexi, like almost white but not quite (heh that rhymed). All of the ideas so far are great, and I definitely wan to see this done!

[Airbozo]

Great idea!. Just don't expect to be able to use the tom with a computer inside unless you cushion it from vibration.

My buddy had his recording computer sitting next to his kit and kept getting read/write errors, but only when they were playing... His LCD also developed a nasty habit of blanking out randomly. It can be cured for a little while by facepalming the bezel above the screen.


Some pictures of his kits... FrankenBone (http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/songquester/FrankinBone/)

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/songquester/FrankinBone/setup.jpg

[billygoat333]

I like the idea of using a clear head and putting plexi under it for protection. that way at first glance it looks like a real "stock" drum with a compy stuck in it. do some EL wire or a string of LEDs around the head and plexi too. maybe wire up one of those music reacting PCBs to it. that would be awesome.

http://nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads2/2008/05/v-beat-air-drum-electronic-drumsticks.jpg

air drum motion sensitive drumsticks (http://nexus404.com/Blog/2008/05/30/v-beat-air-drum-motion-sensitive-electronic-drumsticks-hit-firebox-virtual-drum-kit-a-great-frustration-buster/)

maybe hook one of these bad boys up to it somehow? lol

[si-skyline]

Id say go for the clear plexi then if a drunken mate or as you say kids confuse it for a real drum and start banging crap out of it then it can damage the parts inside.

also im thinking of the mental confusion of a child. yeah its a drum you can tap along to. but you cant tap this drum xD

[simon275]

also im thinking of the mental confusion of a child. yeah its a drum you can tap along to. but you cant tap this drum xD

lol

On another note what OS are you gonna run on this HTPC? As I am also in the progress of building a a HTPC and was wondering what decision you had made on os.

[progbuddy]

I think it would be pretty neat to just build a window into the side. Leave the material on the top of the drum alone, so you can actually use it. Put some vibration dampening and maybe a small SSD in there. :)

[Drum Thumper]

My God, talk about a thread necro. Who's responsible? :P