The Board¶

Description¶

The NiftyDrum board is shown in the following image.

NiftyDrum Board

This board features the following interfaces:

Terminal blocks for sensor inputs
USB Type-C port for laptop or PC connectivity
9 potentiometers for sensitivity adjustment
2 LEDs
Reset button
Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header
4 mounting holes

Connecting Sensors¶

The board provides 9 piezo inputs, supporting up to 9 single-zone pads, as well as 1 FSR input.

Hi-Hat Sensors¶

On the left side of the board, two dedicated terminal blocks are reserved for hi-hat sensors:

Top terminal block: Connects to an FSR (Force Sensing Resistor) sensor for hi-hat controller input
Bottom terminal block: Connects to a piezo sensor for hi-hat cymbal trigger

Standard Pads and Cymbals¶

The remaining eight terminal blocks, located at the bottom of the board, are for connecting regular pads and cymbals. While the board labels indicate the default firmware assignments, these inputs are fully customizable.

Important Notes¶

For all terminal blocks, the ground pin is positioned on the left-hand side
Nine onboard potentiometers enable hardware-level sensitivity adjustments for maximum flexibility
If unsure about sensitivity settings, leave potentiometers at their midpoint for balanced performance

MIDI Outputs¶

The board offers two methods for transmitting MIDI notes and Control Changes:

USB-C port: Outputs USB MIDI messages
GPIO UART pins: Raspberry Pi GPIO-compatible interface

USB-C Port¶

Using NiftyDrum as a USB device is the recommended method for receiving MIDI messages. This configuration enables:

Integration with DAW software for high-quality sound output from your laptop
Control and configuration via the official app

Raspberry-Pi hat form factor¶

The board is designed with a Raspberry Pi 4 HAT form factor, ensuring seamless integration.

App Features¶

The official app provides comprehensive control over your NiftyDrum board:

Customize MIDI note assignments for each trigger
Design custom velocity curves per trigger
Adjust advanced parameters including gain, threshold, scan time, mask time, and decay
Update board firmware to the latest version