An electronic steelpan drum with mixing capability, comprising:
- an oval can-like outer housing with extended control function surface along one side, said outer housing having a top circular sunken concave playing surface, said outer housing having a convex back surface, the height of said outer housing being of varying lengths for aesthetic purposes, said outer housing further having an attaching means for hanging said steelpan drum on a pan stand;
- a plurality of rubber striking pads arranged on said concave playing surface, said striking pads further comprising:
- an outer ring of larger striking pads generally associated with lower frequency sounds;
- a central ring of medium sized striking pads generally associated with mid-range frequency sounds;
- and
- a central patch of at least four small striking pads generally associate with higher frequency sounds, which are played with a pair of pansticks;
- pressure sensors attached to the bottom side of each said striking pad for determining the force applied to said striking pad by a pannist;
- a central processing chip for electronically controlling the functions of said steelpan drum, said processing chip mounted on a circuit board enclosed within said housing;
- one or more memory chips mounted on said circuit board and coupled to said central processing chip for storing a variety of synthesized steelpan sounds and a full range of musical, orchestral, and symphonic sounds to be reproduced by said steelpan drum;
- a plurality of function selection buttons mounted on said control function surface of said housing for selecting one of said variety of synthesized steelpan sounds;
- audio drivers mounted on said circuit board, the input of said audio drivers coupled to an audio output of said central processing chip;
- volume control equalizing circuitry coupled to the output of said audio drivers;
- one or more speakers mounted on said outer housing, said speakers driven from said audio drivers;
- a CD burner/player port coupled to said central processing chip for mixing other musical, orchestral, and symphonic sounds with the steelpan drum sound and for recording the output from said steelpan drum;
- a display mounted on said outer housing for use in plug-and-play setup and controlling the basic elements of said steelpan drum, said basic elements of said steelpan drum being selected from the group consisting of:
- sound type, configuration of striking pads, tone, rhythm, melody, harmony, tone color, and equalized volume;
- an audio output jack mounted on said outer housing for use with an external audio amplifier;
- a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) provided on said outer housing for interfacing said steelpan drum with other musical instruments;
- a series of equalizing volume control buttons mounted on said outer housing for quick equalization of the sound from said steelpan drum by a musician;
- and
- a power supply for providing DC power to said circuit board of said steelpan drum, said power supply being sourced from a 110-volt AC outlet.