Digital/Wireless Drum Stick+
Modified Drum
Hybrid-Instrument
Ongoing-2025
Coming from a club background, I felt the need for an instrument that would allow me to easily jam with other musicians or perform without relying on pre-existing material, as is often the case with DJ controllers. I chose an instrument that I could use to create rhythms—one that I also know from its ceremonial and entertainment uses in Turkey. You can find an example where the davul is played. It’s quite performative.
I believe Cevdet Erek (I am a fan) is a must to mention when it comes to davul. A contemporary approach of performing with the instrument. He also released an album on Sebtext with the davul recordings.
00. Process of Modification
I made some jam with the instrument to see what would I like to have on the drum as a controller. Here is what I have as a conclusion.
With this chart, I had a clear path for the project, and I will divide it using the same structure: Mic Input, Looper, and FX.
01. Mic Input
The most unexped thing for me was to realize the feedback when I amplified the drum with any sort of microphones. While talking about the project with Enrique Tomás, he suggested me to have an opinion from Bernhard Breuer. We met in the Bruckner University in Linz, before our class Postdigital Ensemble.
After some research, we found that a condenser boundary microphone would be the best option. I chose the Behringer BA 19A, as it fit my budget. Later, I began looking into how to properly mount the microphone inside the instrument.
While researching microphone mounting solutions, I came across kellyshu(dot)com, whose internal suspension designs caught my attention. I used their approach as inspiration while developing my own DIY version tailored to the specific rotation and mounting needs of my setup. With budget in mind, I decided to go for 3D printing and teamed up with Mehmet MÜDERRİS from FormatPrinting, a service that helps turn custom ideas into physical prototypes.
After a few tests, we managed to get the key components working as intended. The rest came together with a quick visit to Bauhaus, where I picked up some elastic rope and mounting hardware. With those, I built the final platform. I connected one ready made XLR output and screwed it onto the davul itself.
Here is an impulsive session after I first implemented the mic.
02. Looper/Remote
My initial idea was to mount the looper directly onto the davul itself. However, during prototyping, I realized that the most efficient control comes from having the looper on the drumstick instead. The very first prototype (pictured on the right) was a chaotic mess of cables—painful to look at, but it did work, I promise. Later, I started learning how to make things wireless using ESP-NOW communication. For the ESP setup, I built a simple circuit with four buttons that send MIDI notes, plug a powerbank, plug the reciever: it works: which I then will be mapped to Ableton’s four main looper controls. But to be able to hear it here is a test:
One of the first test with the ESP-NOW.
4 buttons should be mapped to those places on Ableton.
Here is the 2nd Protype of the brush: I will go back at it again.
03. Davul
Huge thanks to Enrique Thomas and Thomas Geissl—and their support, I was able to figure out how to manage the ESP-NOW protocol and send both MIDI CC and MIDI note signals to a single ESP module simultaneously. This allowed me to design a system where the loop control signals are sent from the brush-side circuit, while FX loops and volume can be controlled directly from the davul itself.For the second variation, I calculated the available space on the instrument and drilled holes to install the potentiometers more cleanly, with the cables now routed internally. I also designed new knobs with a rounder, more tactile “choppy-roundy” shape to improve both the feel and the aesthetic.
End of Variation 2 Updates
I’ve cleaned up the bugs from the ESPs and nicely filtered the signals. I also switched from the softpot to a regular potentiometer and built an enclosure around it that gives it the feel of a handle—though I’m still experimenting with the design to make it as comfortable and intuitive as possible. Now that the hardware is mostly stable, I’m starting to shift my focus more toward the musical side of things, taking a bit of distance from the physical side of it. Here's an image of the davul, waiting for me to play it.