HELP: Hi-hat pedal not playing "chick" sound.

T

tcxstudios

New Member
So I've had an Alesis Surge Mesh E-Drum kit for close to 3 years, and a little while ago I noticed the hi hat pedal isn't playing the "chick" or closing hi hat sound. The pedal will recognize open and closed hi-hats, so I get open and closed hi-hat sounds. But if I hit open hi-hats and then step on the pedal or "Close" the hi-hats, the open hi-hat sound file continues to play out.

When I turn on the kit, I get one "chick" when I press the hi-hat pedal, and then it won't play again, but I have open and closed hi-hat sounds only.

I did have the pedal itself checked out and there are no hardware issues at all - no crosstalk or damaged pieces.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
There are a ton of variables here so I'll always suggest starting with the basics. Unplug the wire, check for damage and dust, make sure it's plugged all the way in, etc. You can always do a factory reset, as long as you don't mind wiping out any customized settings you set up. Take a look in the voice settings for the foot pedal, maybe you accidentally muted it or something like that. Check the pedal itself just in case. On the alesis website you can find the manual PDF which will give some troubleshooting tips. You can always try to reach out to alesis directly and see what they say as well. That's about the best I can offer unfortunately. You'll just have to eliminate every possible variable.
 
I've opened and cleaned it, and I did reset it multiple times. I haven't really changed much in the settings since I use an external plugin
Thanks though I'll keep looking.
 
When you open the pedal the sensor strip goes into the board with a flat cable, check if it's seated well. But first you could test the sensor how it works by pushing the 4 rectangle parts with the rubber actuator. I never cared to figure out which one does what.. maybe it's a combination of them? The rubber tongue has 4 matching bumps, are they intact? I suspect it's "closed" if all are down, and somewhere between is the elusive half-open? No idea how it makes a chick. Just a short push? If it chicks, you may just have a mechanical issue. If not, look for used pedals...
Also make sure the other end of cables are fully inserted into the module.
 
Pic for reference.
IMG_5131.jpeg
(I've never seen these sensors sold separately, only the Roland ones, which are a continuous strip.)
 
Doraemon said:
When you open the pedal the sensor strip goes into the board with a flat cable, check if it's seated well. But first you could test the sensor how it works by pushing the 4 rectangle parts with the rubber actuator. I never cared to figure out which one does what.. maybe it's a combination of them? The rubber tongue has 4 matching bumps, are they intact? I suspect it's "closed" if all are down, and somewhere between is the elusive half-open? No idea how it makes a chick. Just a short push? If it chicks, you may just have a mechanical issue. If not, look for used pedals...
Also make sure the other end of cables are fully inserted into the module.
Click to expand...
I did - it is a combination of them. I'm not sure which makes the chick sound though, I tried pressing the four in different combinations. I could only manage to get the open and closed hat sounds though.
 
Doraemon said:
Then the first thing should be checking with module sounds using headphones directly. What if it's just a mapping issue?
Click to expand...
Okay I just tried that, and it seems that the chick sound does work, but it is very inconsistent. The first time I hit the pedal, a proper chick plays, then after that it's very soft or it just doesn't play the chick sound at all.

Another thing I noticed:
When I close the hi-hat pedal when connected directly to the module and hit the open hi-hat then it gets closed properly when I press the hi-hat pedal, but I don't get the chick sound on playing the hi-hat pedal alone.
However, if I play an open hat when connected to Addictive Drums 2 through an audio interface, if I hit the open hi-hat and then immediately press the pedal, the hi-hat continues ringing and doesn't close immediately, and I don't get the chick sound either.
 
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tcxstudios said:
Okay I just tried that, and it seems that the chick sound does work, but it is very inconsistent. The first time I hit the pedal, a proper chick plays, then after that it's very soft or it just doesn't play the chick sound at all.

Another thing I noticed:
When I close the hi-hat pedal when connected directly to the module and hit the open hi-hat then it gets closed properly when I press the hi-hat pedal, but I don't get the chick sound on playing the hi-hat pedal alone.
However, if I play an open hat when connected to Addictive Drums 2 through an audio interface, if I hit the open hi-hat and then immediately press the pedal, the hi-hat continues ringing and doesn't close immediately, and I don't get the chick sound either.
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with your unit. I would be looking at the parameters (trigger level, gain, decay, xtalk, noise floor, etc.) associated with the HH channel.

I hope this helps.
 
Lunasee said:
I'm not familiar with your unit. I would be looking at the parameters (trigger level, gain, decay, xtalk, noise floor, etc.) associated with the HH channel.

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
I have tried checking those parameters but nothing seems to change.
 
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