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A 2nd hand TD3 works great but the 'proper' cable for the hi-hat pedal is missing. We tried with a guitar lead but it only worked (intermittently) when inserted about half-way in. The other pads all use 1/4" jacks which look like stereo leads (?) but when we tried one of those, it didn't work at all.

What is definitively the correct cable type, so I can figure out if the fault is with the pedal or not?

It's a Roland FD-8 HH pedal

Mr. Boy
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  • Why did you insert the cable only halfway in? Which model of Roland hi-hat pedal do you have? – Todd Wilcox Jul 20 '18 at 14:07
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    @ToddWilcox I meant the _only_ time we could get the pedal to work _at all_, was with a mono (guitar) cable, part way in. Inserting it fully, or using a stereo(?) cable in any way, didn't work – Mr. Boy Jul 20 '18 at 14:09
  • I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a stereo cable for full functionality. The module (TD-3) itself might have a setting on it that lets you choose. Again, does it say on the bottom of the hi-hat pedal what model it is? – Todd Wilcox Jul 20 '18 at 14:11
  • @ToddWilcox Q updated - FD-8. – Mr. Boy Jul 20 '18 at 14:12
  • You may get quite a few interesting information from https://www.vdrums.com/forum/advanced/technical/17753-fd-8-hi-hat-controller-pedal-notes-on-improving-volume-and-feel – Alen Siljak Feb 05 '19 at 09:32

1 Answers1

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According to Sweetwater, the correct cable is a TRS (stereo) cable. Two notes from the TD-3 manual:

  • Connect the hi-hat control pedal to the TD-3 before turning on the power.
  • Do NOT press the pedal when turning on the power.

I suggest turning off the TD-3, plugging in the HH control pedal with a TRS cable, then turning on the TD-3 and checking operation after the TD-3 is fully booted. If there are still problems, it's probably the cable, pedal, or module.

Roland has service centers all over the world, so worst case scenario you can hopefully have it serviced for a reasonable fee.

Todd Wilcox
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  • Those instructions would make me think the switch polarity is tested at init, so you can use either switch type, open by default or closed by default. Some keyboards do the same for sustain pedals. Test if your does by holding the pedal down at init & see if it reverses the functionality. – Tetsujin Jul 20 '18 at 14:42
  • @Tetsujin As implied by the requirement for a TRS cable, a Roland FD-8 is not a switch, it is a continuous control. I'm also not sure the FD-8 has a "polarity" switch, since it's only meant to be used with Roland V-Drum systems and therefore should just work, in general. The FD-x line of pedals and V-Drum modules support partially open hats of various amounts of opennes, and also support playing the hat by closing the pedal with different velocities, all of which are sensed by the module by tracking the position of the HH control pedal - hence continuous and not switched. – Todd Wilcox Jul 20 '18 at 14:43
  • hmm.. OK. It has to be doing some kind of measurement, or it wouldn't care what you did with the pedal at init. – Tetsujin Jul 20 '18 at 14:45
  • @Tetsujin It's probably calibrating the rest position. As the spring inside the pedal ages, the default position would likely change somewhat, since the weight of the pedal remains constant. – Todd Wilcox Jul 20 '18 at 14:46
  • That makes sense. – Tetsujin Jul 20 '18 at 14:46