Air Pressure Kick Pedal for GH4
(Note: Wow, amazing how much press a mod I did in like 2 hours can generate!)
It’s Guitar Hero 4, I don’t care what anyone says.
Anyway, I had a request to build an alternative to the GH4 drum kit’s kick pedal for a person who uses a wheelchair. Tour apart the kick pedal and a few hours later came up with this:
Yes that’s right, it’s wrapped in electric tape.
Basically this turns the kick pedal into an air pressure diaphragm. You can now “kick” the bass drums by blowing into a tube.
Want to do this mod for a friend in need? Check out the easy how-to instructions after the break. Please note: this is for the Guitar Hero 4 (ahem WORLD TOUR) drum kit, not Rock Band. A Rock Band suggestion is at the end.
For yet another video of me acting like a moron while demonstrating my projects, click here.
OK let’s build this sucker. Rip apart a GH4 kicker pedal and you’ll find this metal disc in the base of it.
This is a piezoelectric sensor which creates a small voltage when impacted. What we’re going to do is make a small assembly that is sensitive to air pressure instead of… well… pressure pressure.
Ever buy this Goo Gone stuff? Well you should – it works great. Use some to get the glue off the top of the sensor.
OK next cut up some PVC pipe. You’ll need 2 pieces, each about 1.5″ long. The inner diameter needs to be wider than the sensor, in this case, about 1.25″. This assembly will be in 2 halves.
Next, glue some pieces of plastic onto the end of each piece of PVC. These are the end caps.
OK now run down to the hardware store and get a rubber hosing barb. Drill a hole into one of the end caps and glue the barb in but good. I’d suggest liberal amount of hot glue inside the pipe to make sure it’s well sealed.
Aforementioned liberal use of hot glue – hey it’s cheap.
Fun tip – if you cut yourself – perhaps while scraping off glue with a knife too close to your fingers – and the blood is getting all over your project, simply seal the wound with a bit of superglue. It works quite well, thanks for the tip Jesse!
OK now for the other half. Cut away the edge of the end cap so the cable can fit though. It may also be useful to drill some air holes so that this side of the assembly isn’t a vacuum.
Put the sensor and end cap on the other piece of PVC. The PVC should be short enough that you can still grasp and work with the sensor.
Now find a rubber glove or any similar type of material. Cut a small slit in the middle of it, then feed the sensor and wires through. Then glue the sensor over the slit onto the rubber to seal it airtight (seal up the slit).
Next stretch the rubbery material tightly around the PVC pipe and tape it down – you will note this is very much like making a drum in kindergarten. Be sure the sensor stays centered on the pipe.
Now tape the two PVC pipes together. I used electric tape for an airtight seal. Try blowing on the barb – you should feel the diaphragm “click”. This will simulate the foot pedal being kicked and voila – you have done it! Simply attach a tube of desired length to the barb and you are ready to rock.
Note: Use a tube with around 1/4″ inner diameter… if it is too small/thin it is difficult to get enough air pressure to trigger the switch.
The Rock Band drum pedal is somewhat simpler… it’s just a magnetic switch. To build something like this for it, do an online search for “pressure switches”, wire one to the pedal, attach a tube and go for it!
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March 2nd, 2009 at 12:35 am
Looks awesome, I can’t wait until it gets here. Great video too, lawl. Now not only do I see the finished product i Get to see it in action, too. :D
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:33 am
Ben Heck is the next mother Teresa.
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:14 am
You should attach the tube to a headset, that way you don’t have to clamp it with your teeth to keep it from falling down.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
[...] Heck] the uber modder has posted a new project. He has made a breath controlled kick pedal for all of the Guitar Hero style games. Though the tutorial focuses on Guitar Hero World Tour, he [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Ben you know this paves way for the Jazz Band expansions right… Sax and Trumpet molds? Brass Band Hero anyone? Great work and kudos as usual for putting a new spin on an old interface to make it user friendly for everyone.
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
[...] Heck] the uber modder has posted a new project. He has made a breath controlled kick pedal for all of the Guitar Hero style games. Though the tutorial focuses on Guitar Hero World Tour, he [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:38 pm
lol jazz hero!! awesome
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:44 am
[...] Heck] the uber modder has posted a new project. He has made a breath controlled kick pedal for all of the Guitar Hero style games. Though the tutorial focuses on Guitar Hero World Tour, he [...]
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 am
[...] [BenHeck.com via hackaday] [...]
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I thought you were going to use a fan or something XD
The Piezo works for everything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwWZEq3mUQM&feature=channel_page
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 pm
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March 4th, 2009 at 12:32 am
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March 4th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Sweet! I’ve always been a bit bummed that I could never be the drummer because of my spinal cord injury. Can’t wait to attempt to build this.
March 4th, 2009 at 1:37 am
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[...] Read a2a_linkname=”Ben Heck fashions breath-controlled kick pedal for Guitar Hero”;a2a_linkurl=”http://www.frenzytech.info/2009/03/04/ben-heck-fashions-breath-controlled-kick-pedal-for-guitar-hero/”; This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 4:53 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 4:05 am
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Post tags: Air Pressure, Ben Heck, Engadget, Guitar Hero, Hack, Hot Glue Gun, Job, Legs, Nbsp, People In Wheelchairs, Piezoelectric Sensor, Pvc Piping, Rock Band Posted in: Gadżety | | [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 4:20 am
It amazes me there isn’t a company that does this sort of stuff on a mass market level.
With a fracking war going on, it would seem the already existent market for handicap accessible accessories would be noticeably increased.
I know Ben is starting to market this sort of thing with his one handed controller, but with the insane popularity of games like this, why is he the only one?
The country is going down the crapper, and big companies are still too stupid to realize the market for things like this?
Bravo to you Ben. I hope someday you make a million dollars for being the only one intelligent enough to think of this stuff.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:33 am
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments aaaaaa<a href="http://inkandvirtue.com/2009/03/04/ben-heck-fashions-breath-controlled-kick-pedal-for-guitar-hero/" >Ben Heck fashions breath-controlled kick pedal for Guitar Hero</a> [...]
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March 4th, 2009 at 6:21 am
[...] to help a friend in need? Heck’s posted the way to do this mod on his [website. [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 6:50 am
[...] http://benheck.com/03-01-2009/air-pressure-kick-pedal-for-gh4 [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 6:53 am
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March 4th, 2009 at 7:54 am
[...] Ben has included instructions as well as a video of himself demonstrating his controller on his webpage, the link to which you can find after the break.Source: Ben Heck’s Homepage – Air Pressure Kick Pedal for GH4. [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 7:55 am
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March 4th, 2009 at 11:34 am
[...] pedal! Want to help a friend in need? Heck’s posted the way to do this mod on his [website. [...]
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[...] of other hackery – even for creating some digital ‘wind instruments. Read on for more of the step-by-step. [via Hack a [...]
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March 4th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Hey.
Interesting and applaudable mod, dude! :)
I had a question though. Any way to get my GH4 drums hooked up to my computer? They only have a MIDI in, no out :(
I had a look inside, and found a simple 2 pin connector on a PCB, that goes to that specific MIDI port. I tried to swap the connectors around, but no change.
Any ideas?
BTW, you looked like you were having fun in that video!
March 4th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Can you elaborate on the type of pressure switch when doing a search for the Rock Band Drum mod? There are a lot of different types of pressure switches that pop up when just googling ‘pressure switches’.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Instead of superglue–liquid skin works well for sealing bleeding cuts :x
March 4th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Radu, you could try that wireless USB adapter if you’ve got the 360 version.
As for pressure switches, they don’t have to be very big or sensitive. For [another project that isn't on the site yet] I used some from a Michigan company called World Magnetics.
Mark… I just super-glued a new cut. What’s liquid skin? Is that like liquid metal?
March 4th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
[...] took a fair amount of fancy engineering, but Heck recently uploaded instructions to his blog that show how to remove the pedal’s piezoelectric sensor, and make it respond to air pressure [...]
March 5th, 2009 at 1:20 am
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March 5th, 2009 at 9:41 am
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March 6th, 2009 at 10:44 am
[...] Ben Heck’s at it again, and this time, he’s cobbled together a breath-controlled kick pedal for use with Guitar Hero (or Rock Band, if that’s your flavor) meant for people in wheelchairs, or who don’t have use of their legs, but still want to get in on the rocking action. After tearing apart the kick pedal to expose its piezoelectric sensor, he mods it so that, rather than reacting to physical pressure, it’ll react to air pressure. To get the job done, you’ll need some PVC piping, a hot glue gun, and a drill. Hit the read link for full instructions and video of Ben himself testing out the device![Via Hack a Day]Source [...]
March 7th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
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March 8th, 2009 at 8:55 am
[...] put instructions on his site on how to complete the set up. It doesn’t require too much know-how, just some careful cutting and gluing. You can also see [...]
March 9th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
[...] Para ver um tutorial, basta acessar o site do modder clicando aqui. [...]
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April 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Great blog. Do you know of any relevant marketing forums or discussion groups?
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Ben you ROCK!!! You are the hero of the day my man! Thanks for sharing the directions. I’m going to surprise my brother with it. I CAN”T WAIT!!! OMG He is gonna LOVE THIS MAN!!!!!!! xoxoxo -Shell
September 16th, 2009 at 1:50 am
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September 22nd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
[...] a customer. It doesn’t have a fancy case but went together pretty quickly, kind of like the Guitar Hero drum pedal puff switch. (Well, not as quickly as that one, but faster than [...]
October 15th, 2009 at 3:57 am
Great mod! Used a lot of ideas from it for my el-cheapo puff switch for testing accessibility software (see website). Thanks!
January 7th, 2010 at 3:09 am
Be careful with that superglue. sealing a wound with it may seem like a good idea but putting foreign material especially if it contains formaldehyde in an open wound can lead to more scar tissue.
February 20th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Any ideas on using this concept for a set of roland electronic drums??
April 10th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I came up with a similar concept (thought I was being original – apparently not hah..but this is great stuff). I have no visuals as I’ve not found anyone yet who can actually help me put this stuff together — but have a look at the blog – http://www.musingamused.blogspot.com and if anyone has any ideas/suggestions, feel free to contact me.
DRUMMERS (and wanna be drummers) UNITE!!!!!
-Ian.