Lemon 3-zone rides have three zones: bow, edge and bell. This guide gets them working on your module and checks each one, so if something isn't right you'll know whether it's the cymbal, the cable or a setting.
Where everything plugs in
The ride has two jacks under the cymbal, on the molded cover:
- Ride 1 carries the bow and edge, and only the edge after the bow and bell rewire.
- Ride 2 carries the bell, and the bow as well after the bow and bell rewire.
Both need a stereo (TRS) cable. A mono cable drops the second zone, so the edge or bell goes silent. If your kit's pads plug into a bundle of labelled leads from the module (a snake), plug its ride leads straight into these jacks instead of using cables.
Done the bow and bell rewire? Then Ride 2 is the only cable you use, unless your module's page says Ride needs a rewire. The steps below say where that changes anything.
Already set up and something's wrong?
Start at the step that matches what you're seeing:
- The bell or the edge doesn't play at all: step 1 (your module may not read it), then step 2.
- Bow hits play the bell sound too: step 3.
- Edge or bell hits play as bow: step 3.
- A zone only plays when you hit it hard, or now and then: step 3.
- Bell hits play the edge sound and edge hits play the bell sound: see below.
- Still misfires after the settings: step 5.
Step 1 — Check what your module can do
Open your module's page in Support and look at its ride section for the inputs and settings to use; note them down for steps 2 and 3. Then look for a Things to know before you buy box near the top of that page:
- No box, or no ride entry in it: your module reads all three zones, with an input for each cable. Use both.
- Ride needs a rewire: your module reads all three zones, but only after a one-time rewire inside the cymbal. Do that first, then use both cables on the inputs your module's page names.
- Ride is 2-zone: your module reads one cable, so you get two of the three zones. Ride 1 gives you bow and edge. On some modules you can have bow and bell instead, after a one-time rewire inside the cymbal; your module's page says whether yours is one of them.
- Ride is 1-zone: your module plays the ride as one sound. Bow hits will play; the edge and bell won't, whatever the settings.
- No ride input: this module can't use a Lemon ride. Stop here.
Step 2 — Connect it
- Plug a stereo (TRS) cable into Ride 1 and connect it to the ride input your module's page names. On a snake kit, plug the snake's ride lead into Ride 1 instead.
Done the bow and bell rewire? Plug Ride 2 into the ride input instead, and leave Ride 1 unplugged unless your module's page says Ride needs a rewire. - If your module reads all three zones, plug a second stereo cable into Ride 2 and connect it to the input your module's page names for the bell (on a snake kit, plug in the lead it names). It isn't always labelled “ride”; some modules use a crash input for it.
Module page says Ride needs a rewire? Then, after the rewire, the second cable goes from Ride 1 to the edge input that page names.
Step 3 — Module settings
- Pick the ride preset or pad type your module's page names.
- If your module asks what kind of sensor the edge or bell is, set it to Switch, not Piezo. With Piezo, edge and bell hits play as bow.
- If a zone only plays when you hit it hard, or misses now and then, raise its sensitivity and lower its threshold.
- If bow hits also play the bell sound, check the Switch setting above first. If that's right, try the crosstalk (XTalk) setting, where your module has one.
Step 4 — Check each zone
Hit the bow, then the edge, then the bell, a few times each.
You should hear each zone play its own sound, once per hit. On a 2-zone module you'll hear two of them, the two your module's page says.
Step 5 — Still wrong? Find out which part
If a zone still misbehaves after step 3, borrow an input you know works. Unplug one of your crash cymbals that's working fine and plug the ride's cable into that same crash cable:
- Ride 1 on the crash cable, on a cymbal as it ships: bow and edge should play like a crash.
- Ride 2, only if you've done the rewire: bow hits should play the crash's bow sound and bell hits the crash's edge sound. On a cymbal as it ships, Ride 2 plays only together with Ride 1, so this test can't check it; if the bell is the problem, contact us.
Works there: the cymbal is fine, so it's the ride input's cable or settings. Swap the cable for one you know works, then check the settings again. Misbehaves there too: it's the cymbal. Contact us.
Plug your crash back in when you're done.
Bell and edge swapped?
Some modules read the bell and the edge the other way round, so bell hits play the edge sound and edge hits play the bell sound. First find your module in Support and check its ride setup: on some modules the fix is a setting, such as Invert Bell & Edge. Don't swap the two cables: keep each one on the input your module's page names. If neither applies, the fix is a small change inside the cymbal, shown in this video: Lemon Ride Cymbal: The Fix (YouTube, about 3½ minutes). Rather not open the cymbal? Contact us with your module's brand and model.
Still not right?
Email contact@lemonedrums.com with your module's brand and exact model, which zone is wrong and what it does instead, and how it's cabled (which jack goes to which input). A short phone video of you hitting each zone usually lets us answer in one reply.